BROOKINGS — When Jaxon and Jadon Janke visited the South Dakota State campus for the first time, SDSU head coach Jimmy Rogers could see the potential.

A pair of identical twins standing at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, Rogers believed the Jankes could make a major impact for the Jackrabbits and one day lead them to a national title. But Rogers’s vision wasn’t at receiver. It was at linebacker where Rogers, who was a defensive coordinator at the time, believed their athleticism could help SDSU form a dominant defense.

“They didn’t want to play linebacker, but I still joke with them about it today,” Rogers recalled. “I would take them all over again at linebacker just because of who they are and how they compete.”

The Jankes may have been able to lead the Jacks to a national title on defense, but fans are grateful they chose to stick at receiver. Their time at SDSU has been filled with plenty of big moments but their resilience behind the scenes and their selfless attitudes have made Jaxon and Jadon one of the most prolific receiving duos in school history.

The Jankes’ story began less than an hour from Brookings as they grew up in Madison. While they went to a few games as kids, they didn’t follow sports until they realized how far football could take them.

“We didn’t really follow any sports professionally or at the college level,” Jadon Janke said. “It was always running around on the farm, playing sports with our dad and our older siblings but the dreams and aspirations of playing college football didn’t come until late middle school or high school.”

The calling came during their high school careers as Jadon and Jaxon led the Madison Bulldogs to three straight Class 11A football titles from 2015-17. With Jadon playing running back, slot receiver and linebacker and Jaxon playing outside receiver, linebacker and safety the two built a dynamic skill set while establishing themselves as college prospects.

“We just spent a lot of time on both sides of the ball, which I think helped us become just overall great athletes,” Jaxon Janke said. “It prepared us physically, mentally and our overall conditioning was high because we played so many snaps in high school.”

After Jaxon and Jadon were co-captains on the Sioux Falls Argus Leader’s Elite 45 squad during their senior year, they headed up the road to Brookings when Jaxon became homesick during fall camp.

One day after practice, Jaxon discussed quitting the team during a conversation in the parking lot, but Jadon convinced him to stick with it heading into his freshman year.

“We promised each other that we would never quit,” Jaxon Janke recalled. “That was one of the better decisions that we collectively made together and we’ve been enjoying the ride ever since.”

While the Jankes were happy with their decision, so were the Jacks who watched the twins ascend over the next six years.

Jaxon and Jadon redshirted during their freshman season in 2018 but still made an impact as Jadon scooped up a blocked punt and scored during his collegiate debut at Southern Illinois and Jaxon appeared in five games on special teams.

Jaxon started to see more offensive snaps while catching 29 passes for 353 yards and four touchdowns in 2019 while Jadon played in all 13 games, blocking a punt against Southern Utah and joining the kickoff return team late in the year.

After Jaxon and Jadon combined for 53 catches, 778 yards and 11 touchdowns during the 2021 spring season, their breakout came during the 2021 fall season when Jaxon caught 72 passes for 1,176 yards and five touchdowns and Jadon caught 41 passes for 655 yards with nine touchdowns.

Jaxon caught 60 passes for 857 yards and nine touchdowns and Jadon caught 46 passes for 740 yards and eight touchdowns to help lead the Jacks to the national championship in 2022 but there was still a decision to be made on coming back for a sixth and final season.

Although they had accomplished their initial goal of winning a national title, they decided to come back not only to enhance their draft stock for a potential career in the NFL but to lead SDSU to back-to-back national championships.

“There were a lot of factors going into it,” Jaxon Janke said of the decision. “...But I think as you get another year to develop and another year in the same offense…I want things to only get better. …Being able to win national championships back-to-back is one of the toughest things that you can do as a team and it would feel really good to win another one.”

The Jackrabbits have marched to their fourth straight appearance in the FCS semifinals but their 13-0 record doesn’t show the adversity the Jankes have faced along the way. Both Jaxon and Jadon have missed time due to injury but have also been able to contribute with 91 catches, 1,470 yards and 13 touchdowns between them.

With a stellar final season, the Jankes have their name all over the SDSU record books with Jaxon ranking second in receptions (238) and third in receiving yards (3,589) and touchdowns (29). While Jadon ranks fourth in receiving touchdowns (28), sixth in receiving yards (2,594) and seventh in receptions (159), both Jankes believe that their presence help each other to be a better player and person every day.

“We’ve grown up being each other’s biggest fans but also each other’s biggest enemies,” Jaxon Janke said. “We’ve competed every single day of our lives and now to be able to do that at the Division-I level for so many years to be the top two receivers on the No. 1 team in the nation, lined up out there together, it’s been a blessing.”

Despite their stats, Rogers believes that what they do without the ball in the running game has also set them apart.

“What we do in the run game highlights them because their ability to block is some of the best in college football,” Rogers said. “I think the one part of their game that’s not spoken about enough is their ability to climb to the next level, block safeties and corners and stay engaged on blocks. They very rarely lose a one-on-one matchup and when you can run the ball and sustain success, you create those one-on-one matchups.”

Quarterback Mark Gronowski also credits the Jankes’ athleticism and ability to gain yards after the catch as a key reason for their success.

“Those kids are special athletes,” Gronowski said of the Jankes. “I feel like I could throw the ball anywhere and they’re going to be able to get it. …They’re going to go out there and make plays and especially after they catch the ball, they have such a great ability to get yards after the catch and not get tackled. It takes two, three or four people to take them down and you can see that every time they have the ball in their hands.”

Perhaps it’s that physical ability that made Rogers believe that the Jankes could have thrived at linebacker when they first arrived in Brookings. But while Rogers still occasionally pitches a position switch, the Jankes believe they made the right decision.

“We always joke with Jimmy about how he told us we were going to lead the team to a national championship playing linebacker,” Jadon Janke said. “It’s kind of funny how it’s worked out playing receiver because we’ve been able to do the same thing.”