CHICAGO — Four members of the South Dakota State University football team were honored Monday on the Stats Perform FCS Preseason All-America Team.
Leading the Jackrabbit contingent were first-team selections Logan Backhaus at linebacker and offensive lineman Garret Greenfield.
A senior from Spirit Lake, Iowa, Backhaus led SDSU with 9.5 tackles for loss, while ranking second on the squad with 72 total tackles during an abbreviated 2020-21 season. He posted double figures in tackles three times, including a career-best 14 in a Football Championship Subdivision playoff quarterfinal game against Southern Illinois.
Greenfield, a sophomore from Rock Valley, Iowa, was a consensus All-America pick at right tackle after helping pave the way for the Jackrabbits to rush for a Division I-era best 231.7 yards per game this past spring.
Jackrabbit running backs Pierre Strong, Jr. and Isaiah Davis also were honored on the preseason squad. Strong, a junior from Little Rock, Arkansas, was a second-team selection, while Davis earned third-team recognition as an all-purpose back.
During the 2020-21 season, Strong gained 707 yards in nine games and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. He also ranked third on the team with 20 receptions for 178 yards and scored a total of four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving).
Davis, a returning from Joplin, Missouri, finished the 2020-21 campaign as the team’s leading rusher with 818 yards while adding a team-high 10 touchdowns. He averaged a team-best 115.3 all-purpose yards per game, adding seven receptions for 107 yards and returning seven kickoffs for 228 yards (32.6 ypr). Davis came on strong in the Jackrabbits’ run to the FCS title game, tallying 663 all-purpose yards in four playoff games, including 305 in the championship tilt against Sam Houston.
South Dakota State completed the 2020-21 spring season with an 8-2 overall mark in making its ninth consecutive postseason appearance. The Jackrabbits are slated to open the 2021 campaign Sept. 3 at Colorado State.
