The champs are back: 2024 Jackrabbits kick off camp ready to ‘write their own story’

Jul. 31—BROOKINGS — The two-time defending FCS champions kicked off their bid for a three-peat on Wednesday with the first official practice of the 2024 season, and it was hard not to feel the absence of several faces that had become overly familiar at South Dakota State.

Mason McCormick and Garret Greenfield were gone from the offensive line group. Tight end Zach Heins’ big red head wasn’t there poking above those of his teammates. No Jadon or Jaxon Janke. Zach Lujan had been a presence on the first day of camp every year since 2014, when he was the backup quarterback to Austin Sumner — he’s now in Chicago calling plays for Northwestern.

But after winning two national titles behind a deeply experienced roster, the Jackrabbits now have an opportunity to do it with a somewhat new cast of characters.

There are still plenty of veterans on this team, and as much talent as any in the Championship Subdivision, but new faces will need to step into new roles for SDSU to win again. They’re relishing that opportunity.

“We’ve been saying we’re going to write our own story,” said running back Amar Johnson, who rushed for 801 yards last year as a backup to current New York Jet Isaiah Davis. “There’s obviously a lot of talk about last year’s team and how special it was, but that season is over. We have to move on to the next one. This team hasn’t done anything.”

No, the Jackrabbits aren’t playing the ‘nobody believes in us’ card. They were the consensus pick to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference and will be No. 1 in the first Top 25 polls of the season. They’ll take a 29-game winning streak into their season opener Aug. 31 at Oklahoma State. Everyone believes in them.

But there are new players who must prove themselves and in some cases replace All-Americans, and Johnson says those players will indeed take the field…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/champs-back-2024-jackrabbits-kick-000600430.html

Author : The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.

Publish date : 2024-08-01 00:06:00

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