2018 Season

[yanktonyote]

Dear Coyote Football Alumni,

While it may be tournament time for basketball, it’s really football time as spring practice begins this week and we are excited to get the 2018 version of Coyote Football on the field.

We will hold our first practice on Saturday, March 17th at the Sanford Fieldhouse in Sioux Falls at 7:00 pm. The rest of our practice sessions will all be held in the Dome. Check out our website for the dates and times of our full spring practice schedule.

Spring will provide us an opportunity to build on last year’s success and get valuable repetitions for the fall. We have several young players that figure to factor into the action for 2018 particularly in the secondary and in the offensive backfield.

Several top line players will be held out for most of our spring drills as they recover from surgeries they had in the off-season. They include several offensive linemen including sophomore Mason Scheidegger, junior Tyler Johnson (who missed last fall as well) and seniors Tanner Anderson and Nick Jensen. Freshmen defensive lineman Nate Schultz and junior Luis Peguero will also not be available for the spring along with senior WR Shamar Jackson and senior linebackers Alex Coker and Alex Gray. All of them should be back to 100% by early this summer. While we will miss these experienced players, it will give us even more opportunity to work with some of our younger guys.

The Spring Game is set for Friday April 20th at 7:00 pm and like last year we will be hosting a tailgate prior to the game, more information on the tailgate will be coming.

It has been a very busy winter and our new staff members have hit the ground running. Our focus will be on practice for the next 5 weeks and then we go back out on the road recruiting for late April and May. Our players have worked hard in the weight room over the past 8 weeks under new head strength coach Clete McLeod. Coach McLeod is also training Chris Streveler and several other seniors for our pro-day which will be held in conjunction with SDSU on March 30th.

Check for daily spring practice updates on the website and if you get a chance to come watch practice this spring make sure you stop the office and say hello.

 

Fight South Dakota,

 

Bob Nielson

Head Football Coach

University of South Dakota

[phone]

[easmus]

Crazy how many guys are being held out this spring.

[sportschic]

Does anyone know if this Saturday's opening spring practice going to be televised by midco at all?

[usdtator]

Mar 14, 2018 10:26:02 GMT -6 sportschic said:

Does anyone know if this Saturday's opening spring practice going to be televised by midco at all?

I doubt it. Since it's in the Sanford Fieldhouse, it would be hard to get cameras in there to cover it. Plus, it's all pretty much position drills and everyone is scattered across the field.

But I could be wrong...

[yotebewithyou]

For some reason I was under the impression that Nick Jensen was a senior last year. Great to have him coming back!

[easmus]

Coach just said at halftime of wnit game the defense is switching to 3-4 scheme.

[Yotes]

The staff must be high on the young LBs on the roster. Did we even have the bodies to try that scheme last year?

[easmus]

I kinda wondered the same thing if this was motivated by the stable of LB coming up and trying to get more of them on the field.

[obc]

Mar 15, 2018 20:01:49 GMT -6 easmus said:

I kinda wondered the same thing if this was motivated by the stable of LB coming up and trying to get more of them on the field.

IMO you need stud interior DL to run an effective 3-4. It should allow some more speed on the field. They must feel optimistic about their big dudes that will play NG.

[easmus]

Makes me wonder how guys like Greenfield, Kline, Hopkins, Kramer etc fit now because DE in a 3 man front aren’t going to have as easy of a time getting around and to a QB if I’m not mistaken.

[elcoyote]

Mar 15, 2018 20:28:06 GMT -6 easmus said:

Makes me wonder how guys like Greenfield, Kline, Hopkins, Kramer etc fit now because DE in a 3 man front aren’t going to have as easy of a time getting around and to a QB if I’m not mistaken.

Unless the plan is to drop them back to an olb position and create some sort of hybrid. I think with the athleticism in this group that could be a possibility. It'll be interesting to find out.

[sportschic]

I like the switch, my only concern is, are our DE's going to match up against the MVFC teams front guys? I like the 4 linebacker scheme because Moose will be able to confuse the heck out of the opposing offenses. With the athleticism of the linebackers and DB's the blitzing schemes can cause major disruption. I trust Moose knows he has the personnel to make the scheme change. The most important position in this defense is the NT and we have depth at the position and a heck of starting an NT!

[elcoyote]

Mar 16, 2018 13:30:45 GMT -6 sportschic said:

I like the switch, my only concern is, are our DE's going to match up against the MVFC teams front guys? I like the 4 linebacker scheme because Moose will be able to confuse the heck out of the opposing offenses. With the athleticism of the linebackers and DB's the blitzing schemes can cause major disruption. I trust Moose knows he has the personnel to make the scheme change. The most important position in this defense is the NT and we have depth at the position and a heck of starting an NT!

I actually prefer a four man front and I do think the defensive ends are one of our stronger and most talented position groups, but one thing I definitely know for sure is that these coaches have probably forgotten more about football than I ever knew and that I totally buy in to what they're doing. It's fun to speculate, but in the end the coaches are the guys who are at practice working with the players every day and best know their abilities and what they're capable of.

[usdtator]

Went to the first Spring practice at the Sanford Fieldhouse Saturday night. I spent the majority of my time watching the QBs, WRs, and RBS.

From my non-expert opinion, we have a stable of QBs who all looked very sharp. Not any one in particular stood out from the rest... considering it was the first practice, I wouldn't make any bets in Vegas at this point who will be starting come Sept.

The WRs all looked great. Returning players Allen and Case stood out the most to me as they made some crazy catches deep down the field. Keep an eye on Vander Esch as well. Case looks like a potential All-Conf player. He looked quicker and faster than last year and seems to have bulked up somewhat. That kid is a playmaker!

RBs were an impressive looking group as well. Klett and Falaniko are both huge and looked like they could certainly earn their share of carries this year.. Henry seems to have added some thickness and definitely looked like he has made some advances in the off-season. Fredrick is the old man of the group now and definitely carries himself as the most experienced, but look for Henry to possibly become the premier RB we've been needing for a long time.

Looking forward to maybe making it to another couple practices and will definitely be at the Spring game.

Anyone else make it to Fieldhouse Saturday night? If so, what were your first impressions of this year's team?

[thebacksackdad]

Mar 15, 2018 21:25:26 GMT -6 elcoyote said:

Mar 15, 2018 20:28:06 GMT -6 easmus said:

Makes me wonder how guys like Greenfield, Kline, Hopkins, Kramer etc fit now because DE in a 3 man front aren’t going to have as easy of a time getting around and to a QB if I’m not mistaken.

Unless the plan is to drop them back to an olb position and create some sort of hybrid. I think with the athleticism in this group that could be a possibility. It'll be interesting to find out.

Kind of helps explain the staff keeping on recruiting light and fast DE's when the team already has a bunch?