BROOKINGS — South Dakota State football has hosted some pretty big Pro Days in recent years.
When Dallas Goedert established himself as one of the top tight ends in all of college football in 2017, every NFL team sent scouts to the SJAC to watch him test and perform.
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Cornerback Jordan Brown, quarterback Taryn Christion, running back Pierre Strong and tight end Tucker Kraft are others who came later and had scouts' full attention as they tried to improve their draft stock on their home turf.
Friday's Pro Day for the 2025 class of Jackrabbits was not so star-studded. Of the 11 Jacks who competed, none are likely to get drafted. The best prospect in attendance Friday may have been former SDSU running back Angel Johnson, the Viborg-Hurley standout who played at Washington State last year.
But while SDSU has produced several stars in recent years who heard their names called on draft day, they've also seen a handful of others go unpicked in the draft only to get an invite to an NFL training camp and work their way onto the roster the hard way.
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Nate Adams runs the 40-yard dash at SDSU Pro Day on March 27, 2026 at the SJAC in Brookings.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
If anyone in attendance Friday is going to get to the league, that's likely going to be their path, and Pro Day was the first step.
"It's a commitment," said offensive lineman Nate Adams. "Your college football career is over, but you're not done. And that's what you have to realize — that there's so much more work that you have to put in from December, January, whenever the season ends, until your pro day. And in some sense, it's more work than you've ever put in before. I think if you approach it excited for it, and you're passionate about it, and on top of that, you have guys that will push you, that you train with, I think that's all it takes. But you have to have that drive every day to be the same person."
Competing for the Jacks were defensive backs Aydan Dautermann, Koby Bretz and Jayden Oliver, running back Julius Loughridge, receivers Alex Bullock, Isaiah Garcia-Castaneda and Elijah Irvin, Adams and tackle Sam Hagen, kicker Eli Stader, long snapper Kaydon Olivia and Johnson from Washington State.
Johnson struggled in his one year for the Cougars, rushing for 250 yards and averaging 3.3 yards per carry, but he showed off impressive skills on Friday, running the 40-yard dash in, unofficially, 4.37 seconds and looking sharp in the other drills.
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He wasn't the only one.
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SDSU cornerback Aydan Dautermann competes in an agility drill during Pro Day on Friday, March 27, 2026 at the SJAC in Brookings.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
Dautermann, who was a part-time starter for most of his time at SDSU, ran his 40-time just under 4.4 (again, unofficially), a time that is especially impressive on his 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame.
Dautermann knows he faces long odds, but he's confident, and the impressive scores he put up at Pro Day will certainly put his name on teams' lists of cornerbacks to be aware of. Brown, Don Gardner, DyShawn Gales and Dalys Beanum are all recent SDSU corners who got a shot in the league.
"I'm ready. I'm ready to compete," Dautermann said. "I'm gonna go in there with the same mindset that I'm the first pick of the whole draft. I'm not gonna shy away. But at the same time I know I'm an underdog. That's kind of how I've been, I feel like, my whole life just playing football, so I'm keeping that mentality."
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Cornerback Jayden Oliver prepares to catch a pass at SDSU Pro Day on March 27, 2026 at the SJAC in Brookings.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
Oliver isn't as fast as Dautermann, but at 6-4 he's got uncommon size that will surely be intriguing. He also has FBS experience having played at Buffalo.
Oliver's 40-time was in the 4.6-range, which he said was disappointing, but he liked the way he competed in everything else.
"I feel like God blessed me with some height and I got a lot of talent," Oliver said. "And whoever takes a chance on me, they're going to get an all-around player, a great teammate and a great leader."
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Loughridge, has three 1,000-yard seasons under his belt, including last year for SDSU. His speed has been questioned but he ran a respectable 4.57 in the 40 on Friday. He's a physical runner at 6-0, 215, and it certainly helps his case that the last three SDSU backs to eclipse 1,000 yards are all in the NFL right now.
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SDSU running back Julius Loughridge participates in a running back drill during Pro Day on March 27, 2026 at the SJAC in Brookings.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
Another productive one-year transfer, wideout Alex Bullock, also has a lot going for him. The 6-2, 205-pounder began his career at Nebraska and saw significant action in the Big Ten before coming to SDSU, where he led the Jacks with 71 catches for 944 yards last year. His brother, John, is a linebacker for the Colts, and Alex hopes he showed scouts on Friday that he has a similar pedigree.
"I just wanted to come out of here showing my explosiveness and my jumping, which I think I did, and run some good routes, which I think I did too," Bullock said. "So overall, very pleased with my performance."
John Bullock made the league as an undrafted free agent, which is likely the same path Alex will face, and his older brother has helped him understand what it takes, like the importance of special teams.
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Wide receiver Alex Bullock runs a pass route at SDSU Pro Day on March 27 2026 at the SJAC in Brookings.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls live
"I cannot overstate how much he's helped me," Alex said. "And it's awesome that it was just like a year ago, so it's like fresh in his mind. He's kind of reminding me about, like, going through each step. So I know what to expect and how Pro Day goes, rookie mini camp, OTAs, camp, all that stuff. So it's been very helpful."
Hagen and Adams were put through the ringer in offensive line drills, as the scouts were clearly testing their endurance and conditioning. Hagen, who at 6-6, 320 pounds showed off a 30-inch vertical leap on Friday, is coming off a strong season at tackle for SDSU but has some teams interested in him as an interior lineman, while Adams has already played all over the line and believes that versatility, plus his 6-7, 330-pound frame, will help him get a look.
"I dropped some weight since the season, and I felt like proving my athleticism, change of direction, just overall speed was something that I believed I could do today," Adams said. "But the position (versatility) is really the big thing for me, I think. My ability to be put in a position and learn it and be able to go right into it, right into game time scenarios, is something I'm blessed for, that I was put in that situation. It definitely wasn't my choice at first, but I came around to it. And I think that that's something that sets me apart, is my ability to do that."
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SDSU tackle Sam Hagen runs an agility drill at Pro Day on March 27 2026 at the SJAC in Brookings.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
One other Jackrabbit to turn heads was quarterback Chase Mason. He'll be SDSU's starting quarterback again this fall, but the Jacks decided to bring him to Pro Day to be the designated quarterback for the receiving drills.
That was not a coincidence.
Coach Dan Jackson admits he wanted to put Mason's cannon-arm on display for the scouts ahead of his QB1's senior season, and Mason did not disappoint, showing off his arm strength and velocity and ability to throw on the move. If Mason, who went 8-1 as a starter last year, can stay healthy through another productive season, he could be an early-round draft pick in 2027.
The NFL Draft is set for April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. Undrafted rookie free agents generally start receiving calls from interested teams before the seventh and final round is even over, so the SDSU hopefuls will all have their phones by their side that Saturday evening.
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Chase Mason throws a pass at SDSU Pro Day on March 27, 2026 at the SJAC in Brookings.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
In the meantime, the Jacks hopefuls were planning a get-together Friday night before they all go back to their respective training sites to stay in shape for another month.
Jackson may not see them again for awhile after that, which made Friday special for him.
"Being a part of this environment as the head coach, getting to watch these guys who really gave it their all this season for you, it's just a moment where you're really proud," Jackson said. "And I love seeing those guys compete. I love seeing them back together. You realize how close you are with somebody and the relationships you build and you don't see them for a few months, and it's really cool to see them walk the hallways again. The majority of them are gonna be at practice tonight. And how excited they are to see the team and ask questions about how the guys are doing in the program. This group especially is really proud of the foundation that they laid this year. And they're energized by being able to watch the momentum that we're building as a program."