Rants & Rave: 2019 Season

The Jacks season wrapped up with a disappointing loss on Saturday to UNI.  This whole season I had no doubt in my mind that this team was one of the top teams in the country.  I was sure of it and I still sort of am.  However, the inability to stretch the field on offense and not take care of the football ultimately doomed this team and at the end of the season, you are your record.  This year, the record was 8-5 which is unacceptable for the standard that has been set for this program.  So let's dive into what went right and what didn't in 2019.

Rave: The defense.  The Jacks have made the playoffs for eight consecutive seasons.  For a majority of the previous 7 the offense carried this team and the defense played a true bend but don't break style.  2019 was different. The defense was phenomenal and only allowed 16.7 ppg. They recorded 36 sacks and forced 18 interceptions.   In addition, they held opponents to just a 34% conversion rate on 3rd down and were stingy in the red zone allowing just a 44% touchdown rate.  The group returns 9 of 11 starters (Ryan Earith and Christian Rozeboom) and only loses a couple rotational players along the defensive line (Austin Smenda and Spencer Hildahl).  The future is bright for this group and depth will be VERY good in 2020.

Rant: The Jacks lacked an identity on offense in 2019.  From week to week you never knew what you were going to get.  The game against the University of Minnesota will go down as one of the most exciting games that I have experienced.  I know I was nervous about the offense prior to that game but when we came out in all sorts of exotic formations and moved the ball at will against a Big 10 defense, I truly thought we would be okay.  However, those formations and that gameplan were never seen again.  Why?  I don't know.  I understand that every defense can be attacked a little differently but to me, it really seems like a mistake to recreate an offense from week to week.  Look at our main conference rivals.  They run the same stuff every single week and add wrinkles to take advantage of matchups against specific opponents.  They run it really well and force the defense to stop it.  I'd like to see the Jacks get back to that style of install and playcalling. This gives the team an identity and allows the offense and defense to play complementary football.

Rave: The freshmen class played really really well.  I'm so excited for this group.  Quinton Hicks, Diamond Evans, Chase Norblade, Payton Shafer, Adam Bock, Jordan Gandy, Keaton Heide, and Devin Blakley all played extensively and made impact plays at times.  I've continued to hear good things about their peers who didn't get on the field this year and expect big things from them next season and beyond. 

Rant: Injuries maybe weren't as widespread as some years but they seemed to be more significant than in the past.  J'Bore Gibbs and Zach Heins on offense and Ti'Jaih Davis were all lost for the season.  The two offensive players coupled with missed games for CJ Wilson and Pierre Strong really hurt. At the start of the season, those four (along with Cade Johnson and Adam Anderson) were expected to be our primary offensive weapons.  Not having them for the stretch run, really really hurt.  Heins was on his way to a breakout season and seemed to be a key piece of the offense.  Cornerback is likely our deepest position on the team so losing Davis wasn't as big of a hit but a corner with his size and length is rare and it's hard to know how he could have impacted the defense.

Rave: An area that has improved immensely the last few years is the Jackrabbit special teams coverage units. In 2018 the group was paced by Preston Tetzlaff and Don Gardner and was very good but 2019 felt more like a complete lock-down by the unit.  They allowed just a 2.1 yard per punt return average and just 18.5 on kick return.  These are outstanding statistics!

Rave: Cade Johnson continued to climb the leaderboard and has the potential to finish as one of the best to ever wear the blue and yellow.  This year he totaled 72 receptions for 1,222 yards and 8 TDs through the air and 8 carries for 149 yards on the ground.  His career receiving numbers now sit at 162 receptions for 2,872 yards and 28 TD.  He's a special player with the ball in his hands and didn't seem to slow down no matter who was throwing the passes.

Rant: Offensive line consistency has to improve.  At times they were very good to excellent and other times were brutal.  The Jacks lose two very good seniors in Evan Greeneway and Matt Clark.  Their presence will certainly be missed as both were above-average run and pass blockers.  Clark improved steadily throughout the season and was playing very well at the end and it makes you wonder what might have been if his career hadn't been derailed by off the field issues.  The Jacks do bring back four guards (Lickiss, Miller, Gruetzmacher, and McCormick) who played extensively, Wes Genant at center, and Aron Johnson at right tackle.  This group is good but needs to take a step forward in their week to week gameplay. At times, Johnson was dominant at right tackle.  Again, the University of Minnesota game against Carter Coughlin and the first matchup against UNI's Elerson Smith come to mind.  Other weeks, not so much.  This was his first season starting and I expect him to take a big jump forward and compete to be on an All-MVFC team in 2020.  Who will be opposite him at left tackle remains to be seen.  I think Garret Greenfield, Bo Donald, and Jason Titus will all have a shot to take over that position.  The guard position needs to be an open competition this spring and in the summer but then they need to settle on a duo and stick with them.  The rotating from series to series and week to week had to have been tough on the players mentally and likely affected communication and feel of the collective group.
     
Rave: Even though he ended the season hurt, I thought Pierre Strong looked fantastic. He finished with 143 attempts for 1,018 yards (7.12 ypc) and 8 TD.  He also added the element of catching passes out of the backfield to his repetiteur and totaled 14 receptions for 169 yards and a TD.  I'm excited for his next two years in Brookings and hope that he comes back healthy and better than ever.

Rant: Turnovers and specifically fumbles have to be a focus of spring ball.  Every loss this season was set-up by turnovers.  Turnovers in the red zone and turnovers deep in your own end are backbreakers.  There were countless times that the defense had to rise up and most of the time they did.  It's unfortunate that this couldn't be fixed in the season but it just has to be a key in the offseason program.  Historically it has not been a problem and I'm going to hope that it was just a one year blip. 

Rant: The fanbase has to be better and has to reverse this trend of decreased attendance.  ESPN College Gameday in Brookings for the matchup with NDSU showed how cool games at SDSU can be.  Our fans responded!  However, the three home games after that were pathetic in attendance and atmosphere.  The team talked about it, the media talked about it, we have talked about it. If you are reading this, you are likely not part of the problem BUT we all need to think creatively about how we can all do better and help grow the brand of Jackrabbit football.

Rave: The senior class is going to be missed.  I worked as an academic advisor at SDSU when this group first came to campus.  In my orientation room, I had Ryan Earith, Luke Sellers, Jake Harms, Chase Vinatieri, and Taryn Christion.  They were impressive then, even as 18-year-olds.  I remember emailing Coach Stig just saying how great they were to work with and him emailing me back telling me they felt the same way.  Five years later and that group continues to impress me. They've been great on the field and off the field and along with the rest of the seniors, raised the bar and the expectations for SDSU football.  Thank you Jacob Brown, Christian Rozeboom, Chase Vinatieri,  Mikey Daniel, Lance Eide, Austin Smenda, Luke Sellers, Turner Blasius, Matt Clark, Evan Greeneway, Grant Schmidt, Adam Anderson, Kal Hart, Ryan Earith, and Spencer Hildahl for all you have given to the Jacks.

As always, Go Jacks!
Matt