FRISCO, Texas — One of the few position groups that faced question marks heading into the 2023 South Dakota State football season was the defensive line. The Jackrabbits lost a lot of production from last year and after a bit of a slow start the “chain gang” has turned it on when it has mattered most.

SDSU lost its two best players on the defensive line last season in Reece Winkleman and Caleb Sanders. The two combined for 75 tackles, 25 tackles for a loss, 14.5 sacks and two forced fumbles.

The Jackrabbit defensive line got off to a slow start this season as they had no sacks in the first three games. Since then SDSU has 24 sacks and 67 tackles for a loss.

SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers never lost faith in the big guys up front on defense. He said the stats may have not backed it up but the Jacks have been getting after the quarterback the whole season.

“I think if you looked at last year too, you would see the same thing. I think if you watched us on film you’d think, I have to get the ball off and get the ball out of my hands quickly. … The world made a big deal about us not having sacks early. I never said one thing about us not having sacks because I had already experienced the same thing a year prior. Sacks come. Quarterback hurries are just as good and so are tackles for loss. Impacting the quarterback and moving him off of a path has an impact in the game. Just because the first three games didn’t lead to sacks, I didn’t think anything of it,” Rogers said.

The Jacks have nine seniors on the defensive line and many of them have played a big role in making sure there wasn’t a huge drop off after last season. One of those seniors is Ryan Van Marel and he said the seniors made it a point in fall camp to become better leaders and step up their game.

“We lost some good players last year, but we were a really deep d line last year as well. All of us older guys and everyone in the room decided that we needed to step up and push each other so that we could get better as a team,” Van Marel said.

Van Marel has 23 tackles, seven tackles for a loss and two sacks. There are two other senior standouts on the defensive line in Quinton Hicks and Cade Terveer. Terveer has 20 tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss and six sacks.

Hicks has 26 tackles, six tackles for a loss and four sacks. He has specifically performed well as of late with 6.5 tackles, three tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks in his past two games. Van Marel said Hicks’ motor is what makes him such a force on defense.

“He’s a really good player and a great guy as well. He’s got a high motor on defense. He works with his hands really well. He’s been a really great player this year,” Van Marel said.

SDSU rotates players on the defensive line throughout the game. It has allowed the Jackrabbits to have fresh legs throughout the game and senior linebacker Adam Bock said it makes a big difference because it wears down the opposing offensive line.

“For them, when they’re rotating every couple snaps, it just keeps them fresh and keeps their motor going. It’s huge when you can bring in a fresh d lineman against an offensive lineman who has maybe been out there for the whole series. They can really cause some havoc in the backfield,” Bock said.

The Jacks have the top defense in the FCS as they are giving up 257.1 yards per game. SDSU is second in rush defense, giving up 92.6 yards per game on the ground. The defensive line has helped SDSU also be the seventh best pass defense as the Jacks allow 164.4 yards per game through the air.

Cornerback Dalys Beanum said SDSU’s “chain gang” helps the Jackrabbit secondary because they make sure they don’t have to cover receivers for very long.

“It helps out a lot [when they’re getting after the quarterback]. We love when the d line goes crazy. We hype them up. We love when they get after the quarterback. Whenever it’s hard on the quarterback, it’s easier on the back end, so we always love when they have a big day and we love their success just as much as ours,” Beanum said. 

SDSU will face another tough task on Sunday as the Jackrabbits look to win their second straight national title. They’ll be going up against Montana who has a senior laden offensive line. Rogers said the hard work that the “chain gang” has put in throughout the season should pay off on Sunday.

“I know what this defensive line is capable of. I’m well aware of the depth of this defensive line, I watch it every day. I watch them compete and they’re one of the hardest working position groups on the team. There’s a lot of them and we’re blessed to have all of them,” Rogers said.