ST. LOUIS – Ten South Dakota State University players, including a league-best nine first-team selections, were named Monday to the 2017 Missouri Valley Football Conference Preseason Team.
Seven of the Jackrabbits' selections came on the offensive side of the ball, highlighted by returning MVFC Offensive Player of the Year Taryn Christion. A junior quarterback from Sioux Falls, Christion set a school record with 3,714 passing yards and tied a program mark with 30 touchdown passes in 2016. He also ran for 335 yards and six touchdowns.
Two of Christion's primary targets from a year ago and fellow first-team all-MVFC honors, senior tight end Dallas Goedert and senior wide receiver Jake Wieneke, also return. A Britton native, Goedert established a new Jackrabbit single-season record with 92 receptions, while tallying 1,293 receiving yards and 11 scores in 2016 en route to being named a unanimous All-America selection.
Wieneke earned All-America honors for the third season in a row after catching 78 passes for 1,316 yards and matching his own school record with 16 touchdowns in 2016.
Another leader from the Jackrabbits' potent offensive attack, senior running back Brady Mengarelli, also was named to the MVFC Preseason Team. Mengarelli has led the team in rushing each of the past two seasons, including 754 yards in 2016. He also contributed 34 receptions for 333 yards last season.
Completing the Jackrabbits selections on offense were fullback Kane Louscher, center Jacob Ohnesorge and tackle Charlie Harmon. Ohnesorge was a first-team all-conference selection in 2016 and later received All-America recognition from HERO Sports.
The defensive contingent for the Jackrabbits is comprised of senior defensive tackle Kellen Soulek and sophomore linebacker Christian Rozeboom. A Yankton native, Soulek led the team in 2016 with 10 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks en route to second-team all-MVFC honors.
Rozeboom, a native of Sioux Center, Iowa, was named MVFC Freshman of the Year in 2016 and finished second in the voting for the STATS FCS Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in the Football Championship Subdivision after racking up a team-best 132 tackles and adding three sacks and a pair of interceptions.
Rounding out the Jackrabbits' preseason all-MVFC selections was junior punter Brady Hale, who earned honorable mention recognition. Hale averaged 42.6 yards per attempt on 47 punts a season ago.
The MVFC preseason poll will be announced Tuesday morning.
