South Dakota football coach Bob Nielson took the podium Wednesday as part of the Missouri Valley Conference Football Media Days.
After a historic season in which the Coyotes won 10 games and made it to the FCS quarterfinals, USD was picked to finish third in the 2024 Missouri Valley Football Preseason Poll. South Dakota also had nine players named to All-MVFC preseason teams.
Here are five takeaways from Nielson’s media day session Wednesday.
What comes after a historic season?
Last year brought plenty of much-needed success for South Dakota football. After going 3-8 in 2022, the Coyotes rebounded with a historic season.
They won 10 games at the FCS level for the first time and made their first appearance in the quarterfinals. But while all that was great, Nielson said, his team is hungry for more.
“Last year, there were a lot of great things that happened,” Nielson said. “But when we walked off the field that playoff game that we lost against North Dakota State, there wasn't any satisfaction in our locker room.”
That’s been the attitude of the South Dakota football team and the logical next goal is to become a championship-contending team.
Nielson knows what it takes to reach that level. He led Minnesota Duluth to a pair of Division II National Championships in 2008 and 2010. Nielson sees plenty of similarities between those championship teams and his current squad at USD, most notably their leadership and maturity.
“We've demonstrated that we have the ability to be a really good football team over the last three years,” Nielson said. “But at the same time, our goal now is to not just be in the playoffs, but get to the end of the playoffs, and everybody in our football team is focused on that goal.”
USD wants to establish an explosive offense
Last season’s team won gritty, in large part thanks to their defense while their offense did just enough to win. They weren’t the most explosive offensive team but their offense was efficient. They always seemed to do just enough to scrape out a win.
Nielson and Coyotes fans alike are expecting to see improvement in their offense in year two under offensive coordinator Josh Davis and lead quarterback Aidan Bouman. South Dakota has a strong returning group, including 10 starters. Six of those 10 starters were voted onto a preseason All-MVFC team.
“We've got players at every position group that are capable of being all-conference level players in our league,” Nielson said. “We have a group there that we can lean on.”
Bouman is entering his second season at the helm of the USD offense and with that comes greater expectations and responsibilities. Nielson said that they'll allow him to make more adjustments at the line of scrimmage. The head coach also said they hope Bouman can make a difference with his arm, making big throws at critical times and providing balance for their offense.
They need to get their younger talent acclimated to their positions after losing key defensive talent
The Coyotes lost three All-Americans on defense to graduation meaning there could be some drop-off on that end. South Dakota does have some experience coming back with three starters returning in the secondary and three up front.
“That, we feel like gives us a great base of leadership and guys that we've needed to have a good spring,” Nielson said.
Linebacker Gary Bryant III and defensive end Mi'Quise Grace are two players who have impressed Nielson thus far. Nielson said Bryant can be a high-level linebacker in the league and that Grace should be able to give the team a lot of what Brendan Webb did as a consistent pass rusher and edge against the run.
What they want to accomplish before the season kicks off
The objectives heading into their first game against Northern State are clear: Nielson wants to improve their offensive production and solidify their younger players on defense.
Nielson said while their offense is efficient, and not the most explosive, he wants the team to be more productive and put more points on the board. Nielson wants to see the offensive unit continue to build on their efficiency.
On defense, the Coyotes want to get the new faces in the linebacker core up to speed. They also need to get players into the right positions and adjustments, Nielson said.
Who’s stood out so far?
Nielson name-dropped a few players who have stood out to him on offense thus far including Travis Theis, Charles Pierre Jr., and Keyondray Jones.
Theis took a large portion of the snaps from the running back position last season and showed that he could produce, rushing for 840 yards on 178 carries. Pierre Jr. stepped up and flashed his ability as a redshirt freshman when the running back room was depleted by injuries. On Dec. 2 Pierre Jr. rushed for a season-best 123 yards against Sacramento State.
Jones was one of eight true freshmen who played for South Dakota. He played in 11 of 13 games, earning three starts. Nielson said he’s someone who could have an even bigger role on this year's team after Jones came back 10 pounds bigger and a different level of physicality.
South Dakota will face Northern State at home on Thursday, Aug. 29.
Jonathan Fernandez covers high school and college sports for the Argus Leader. Contact him at jfernandez1@argusleader.com . Follow him on Twitter at @JFERN31
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: 5 South Dakota football takeaways from Missouri Valley Football Conference Media Days
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