ST. LOUIS, MO (GoJacks.com) — Sixteen players from league co-champion South Dakota State were honored Monday on the all-Missouri Valley Football Conference Team, highlighted by four-time selection Mark Gronowski at quarterback.
Nine of the Jackrabbits’ selections earned first-team recognition — five on defense and four on the offensive side of the ball. The team was selected by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors, along with a select media panel.
Pacing the defensive unit were the Jackrabbits’ two leading tacklers, linebackers Adam Bock and Caleb Francl. A graduate student from Solon, Iowa, Bock received the third first-team all-MVFC award of his career after registering team bests of 75 total tackles and eight tackles for loss during the regular season. Previously a first-team honoree in 2021 and 2022, Bock also shares the team lead with three sacks, while adding an interception and fumble recovery.
Francl, a senior from Grand Island, Nebraska, ranks second on the team with 64 tackles, including seven tackles for loss and a sack. He also broke up four passes for a squad that is allowing only 12.4 points per game.
The Jackrabbit secondary also received a pair of first-team honors with safety Tucker Large repeating on the top squad and cornerback Dalys Beanum moving up after receiving honorable mention recognition each of the two previous seasons.
Large, a junior from Sioux Falls, was limited to eight games during the regular season but solidified the Jackrabbit defense upon his return to the lineup the second half of the season by tallying 19 total tackles (12 solo), intercepting a pair of passes and breaking up four passes.
A senior from Omaha, Nebraska, Beanum totaled 37 tackles (25 solo) to go along with an interception, pass breakup and forced fumble. SDSU gave up only eight passing touchdowns in 12 regular season games and did not allow a league opponent to throw for more than 200 yards in any game this season. Beanum also handled the bulk of the punt return duties for the Jackrabbits, averaging 12.1 yards per return, including an 88-yarder for a touchdown Sept. 21 at Southeastern Louisiana.
Rounding out the Jackrabbits’ first-team selections on defense was senior defensive tackle Jarod DePriest. A native of Trivoli, Illinois, DePriest recorded 25 total tackles, including 4.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks, in 12 regular season starts. He also forced a pair of fumbles.
The first-team offense features a pair of Jackrabbit linemen in guard Evan Beerntsen and Gus Miller, who helped pave the way for SDSU to average 36.6 points and 441.9 yards of offense per game. A three-year starter and a senior from De Pere, Wisconsin, Beerntsen was an honorable mention selection a season ago.
Miller, a Brookings native, helped anchor an offensive line that has surrendered only six sacks all season and has led the Football Championship Subdivision in fewest tackles for loss allowed at 2.58 per game. A second-team all-MVFC selection a year ago, Miller went on to win the Rimington Award for FCS as the top center in the subdivision.
SDSU backfield mates Amar Johnson and Angel Johnson also were first-team honorees. Amar Johnson received his recognition as a running back after leading the Jackrabbits with 910 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground, while also ranking second on the team with 26 receptions for 187 yards and a score. A senior from O’Fallon, Missouri, Johnson was a first-team all-purpose back last season.
Angel Johnson took over the all-purpose back role for the Jackrabbits in 2024 and earned first-team all-league honors after averaging 104.3 total yards in 10 games. A junior from Viborg, he collected 555 rushing yards on 78 carries (7.1 ypc) with three touchdowns, caught 15 passes for 181 yards and a touchdown, and served as the team’s primary kick returner with 307 yards on 14 attempts (21.9 yards) that included a 99-yard touchdown versus Youngstown State.
Gronowski, meanwhile, led a group of four Jackrabbits named to the all-MVFC Second Team. Previously a first-team honoree during the 2020-21 spring season and again in 2023, as well as a second-team selection in 2022, the senior from Naperville, Illinois, completed 61.8 percent of his passes (173-of-280) for 2,190 yards and 17 touchdowns during the 2024 regular season. He threw only one interception in eight league games and also rushed for 309 yards and five touchdowns in running his career record as a starting quarterback to 47-5.
In addition, Gronowski was an MVFC Offensive Player of the Year during both the 2020-21 and 2023 campaigns.
Gronowski’s primary receiving target, sophomore Griffin Wilde, also was honored on the second team. A Sioux Falls native, Wilde ended the regular season as the Jackrabbits’ leader in all major receiving categories with 56 receptions, 900 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns. He topped the 100-yard mark four times and had a pair of multi-touchdown games.
Two more members of the Jackrabbit secondary, safety Colby Huerter and cornerback Colby Humphrey, were second-team honorees. Despite missing four games to injury, Huerter still managed to rank fifth on the squad with 44 total tackles. The senior from Katy, Texas, also notched 2.5 tackles for loss and an interception in regular season action.
Humphrey moved into the starting lineup as a graduate transfer and responded by registering 22 solo tackles among his 27 total stops. A native of Birmingham, Alabama, Humphrey also contributed an interception and three pass breakups.
Another key contributor in the defensive backfield, Matthew Durrance, was one of three Jackrabbits to receive honorable mention accolades. A starter in 10 games at either of the safety positions, Durrance ranked fourth on the squad with 51 tackles (36 solo), including a pair for loss. The native of Lutz, Florida, also turned in a fumble recovery, two interceptions and three pass breakups.
Also receiving honorable mention awards were defensive lineman Kobe Clayborne and punter Hunter Dustman.
Clayborne split time at both defensive tackle and defensive end, totaling 24 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. A junior from Sioux City, Iowa, he also recovered a fumble.
Dustman earned all-MVFC honors for his punting for the second time in his career after averaging 43.1 yards on 36 attempts during the regular season. The senior from East Bethel, Minnesota, recorded eight punts of 50-plus yards with a long of 56, and landed 14 of his attempts inside the opponents’ 20-yard line. As a team, the Jackrabbits rank sixth among FCS squads for net punting at 41.77 yards per attempt.
South Dakota State claimed the MVFC’s automatic bid to the FCS playoffs for a third consecutive year, completing the 2024 regular season with a 10-2 overall record and a 7-1 mark in league play. The third-seeded Jackrabbits open postseason action Saturday by hosting Montana, with kickoff slated for 1 p.m. at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium.
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