South Dakota State University Football

Dan Jackson was named the 22nd head football coach in South Dakota State history on Dec. 31, 2024. His hiring marked a return to the Jackrabbit program which...

Brian Bergstrom returned to the South Dakota State football coaching staff in January 2025 as defensive coordinator. He also will coach the team's safeties. ...

Deontae Cooper joined the South Dakota State coaching staff in January 2025 and will work with the Jackrabbit running backs after serving in a similar role at Idaho during the 2024 season. "Deontae is going to bring a high-energy coaching approach and I was extremely impressed with how he developed our running backs at Idaho last year," SDSU head coach Dan Jackson said. "He's also played at the highest levels, and I couldn't be more excited to have him bring those experiences to our staff." From 2019-23, Cooper was head coach at Highline High School in Burien, Washington, where his squads went undefeated in league play three consecutive seasons and advanced to the Class 2A state semifinals in 2022 and quarterfinals in 2023. Cooper overcame a series of injuries to rush for 555 yards and three touchdowns over two seasons at the University of Washington. He was selected as a team captain for one season and later earned a tryout with the Oakland Raiders before embarking on his coaching career as a recruiting assistant at Washington in 2017.

Eric Eidsness rejoined the Jackrabbit coaching staff in January 2025 for his third stint as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Eidsness served as the Jackrabbits' offensive coordinator on two previous occasions — from 1999 until 2003 while SDSU competed at the NCAA Division II level and again from 2010-18. The Jackrabbits made seven consecutive appearances in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs to close out his second go-around, including back-to-back semifinal berths in 2017 and 2018. He also held the title of associate head coach under John Stiegelmeier from 2015-18. "Eric brings a ton of experience on the offensive side of the ball and I'm really fired up to have a South Dakotan on staff who knows everything about the past, present and future of Jackrabbit football," Jackson said. "The offense that we've run at South Dakota State for the last 10-plus years really originated with Eric, and each offensive coordinator since has put his own twist and approach on it." Most recently, Eidsness worked in similar coaching roles for six seasons at Northern Illinois. The Huskies played in three bowl games, including posting wins in the Camilla Bowl in 2023 and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2024. With Eidsness directing the offense, the Jackrabbits have posted prolific numbers in both the running and passing games. SDSU has consistently re-written the record book under Eidsness’ watch, including establishing 28 new single-game, season and career marks during th

Logan McCormick took on the duties of defensive line for the South Dakota State football team in January 2025. McCormick served the past two seasons as an as...

Luke Bengtson was hired as wide receivers coach at South Dakota State in January 2025. Bengtson has coached at various levels of college football for nearly ...

Marcus McLin joined the Jackrabbit defensive staff in January 2025 and will coach the team's cornerbacks. McLin spent the past two seasons at his alma mater, Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he directed a unit that led the conference in scoring and total defense in both 2023 (16.4 points per game, 284 yards per game) and 2024 (14.0 ppg, 289 ypg). Besides being the defensive coordinator, he served as the program's associate head coach and defensive backs coach. "Marcus has been a really successful coordinator and sees the game in a big-picture way so he's going to be a huge help to Coach (Brian) Bergstrom in game-planning and mentoring our players," South Dakota State head coach Dan Jackson said. "He has great personality and the ability to connect with the players." As a player, McLin served as team captain on the Warhawks' 2014 NCAA Division III national championship team. After coaching for four seasons at the high school level, he moved to the collegiate ranks in 2018 as an intern coach in charge of cornerbacks and return specialists at Minnesota Duluth. He later was promoted to a full-time coaching position at UMD as defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator before returning to Wisconsin Whitewater as wide receivers coach in 2021. McLin became a defensive coordinator for the first time in 2022, when he moved to Bemidji State. In his lone season with the Beavers, BSU won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference championship and led the league in scoring defense (15.2

Veteran offensive line coach Mike Bangtson was hired to fill the same role at South Dakota State in January 2025. "This is a big-time get for the Jacks with ...

Nathan Morris was named the director of football performance at South Dakota State University in the spring of 2025. "The strength coach is integral to the d...

A former Jackrabbit tight end, Benedetto returned to Brookings in January 2025 after a successful tenure as a high school coach in South Dakota. "Vince did a phenomenal job as a player and early in his coaching career as a graduate assistant before transitioning into leading one of the most dominant high school programs in the state," Jackson stated. "His experience in South Dakota and in the state of Illinois will be an asset for our program moving forward. For the past four seasons, Benedetto led Sioux Falls Jefferson High School to a 29-14 record, highlighted by winning the 2022 Class 11AAA state championship in only the program's second year of existence. He also served as head coach for two seasons at West Central High School, leading the Trojans to a pair of state semifinal appearances. A native of Crystal Lake, Illinois, Benedetto lettered for the Jackrabbits from 2010-13, then began his coaching career at SDSU as a graduate assistant/quality control coach in the spring of 2014.

Zane Busekist was hired as linebackers coach at South Dakota State in January 2025. Busekist spent the past two seasons at Boise State, where he served as assistant defensive line coach. The Broncos went a combined 20-8 in winning back-to-back Mountain West Conference championships, including qualifying for the 12-team College Football Playoff and a berth in the Fiesta Bowl this past season. “Zane is young, motivated, hungry and a highly intelligent coach who will make a difference with our linebackers,” Jackrabbit head coach Dan Jackson said in announcing the hire. “He’s from the great of Nebraska and will do a phenomenal job recruiting down there.” In 2024, Boise State set a single-season school record with 55 sacks and allowed an average of 3.4 yards per rushing attempt during the regular season. Busekist began his coaching career as a graduate assistant defensive line and outside linebackers coach at Nebraska in 2022 while working on his master’s degree in business administration.