Bill I did some research they are retaining 18-20 guys I guess that could have left? They want a 3 peat . Another thing The rabbits didn’t have a NIL. They just started a collective recently.
Yes but they lose a lot of 6th year seniors
They will have 34 Seniors next year
But 16 seniors currently plan to return to be 2024 super seniors. Add in 18 juniors this season, and that’s 34 seniors for the 2024 squad.
However, the next opponent comes Monday.
The transfer portal closed in early January for non-grad transfers, but SDSU and Montana players get an extended 5-day window starting Monday due to playing in this game.
A question among SDSU fans this weekend was “Is Gronowski coming back?”
The junior has two more years of eligibility left. Gronowski already has two championship wins and is 37-2 as a full-game starter, 36-1 vs. FCS opponents. His offensive coordinator Zach Lujan is reportedly going to be the next OC for Big Ten member Northwestern, which is near Gronowski’s hometown. And we know how much money standout QBs can make from NIL collectives.
A day after Gronowski won the Walter Payton Award as the best FCS offensive player, he was awarded his second straight Most Outstanding Player trophy for the championship game. As he got the trophy, SDSU fans started to chant “One more year.”
The quarterback is the centerpiece of a team. With or without Gronowski, SDSU has plenty of other key pieces back next fall and will have a veteran roster. As far as we currently know for standout players returning outside the QB position: RB Amar Johnson and WR Griffin Wilde look to be the next All-American-level talent, Gus Miller will anchor the o-line after winning the 2023 Rimington Award as the best FCS center, All-American LB Adam Bock said he’s returning, All-Conference CB Dalys Beanum is coming back, as is All-Conference safety Tucker Large. Other starters and rotational guys will also be back.
SDSU is still going to be pretty dang good next season, and it has shown the ability to reload when it loses senior talent.
The current age of college football sees plenty of roster overhaul. Some years the transfer portal will hit you hard. In other years you won’t lose anyone and the portal benefits you with some nice additions.
SDSU’s 2023 team is a prime example of what happens when the stars stick together.
The Jacks were special for many reasons this season. Whether it was the overall talent level, the defense, the dominating wins, or the playoff performances. Perhaps most special was the roster staying mostly intact to accomplish something great.
Maybe they’ll be the last team like this in the portal era. Or maybe they’ll set a precedent. Hey, SDSU doesn’t have to look far up Interstate 29 to see NDSU’s star players sticking together for a 2024 run.
SDSU was an elite team in 2023. A mark of an elite program is reloading when you lose a historic senior class. And this year’s Jackrabbit senior class will be remembered as one of the better ones in FCS history.