On Nov. 22, 2022, South Dakota State football got the Twitter graphic announcement treatment from some players. But these ones were positive.
All-American offensive linemen Mason McCormick and Garret Greenfield, both fifth-year seniors, announced their decision to return in 2023 and utilize their COVID extra year of eligibility.
It was massive news for SDSU before the 2022 FCS playoffs began. The Jackrabbits went on to win their first FCS national title. Moments after the championship win, stud wide receivers Jaxon and Jadon Janke also announced they decided to return for their sixth seasons.
It was almost as if the rest of the FCS threw their hands up and said, “Welp, SDSU is going to repeat in 2023.”
In the transfer-heavy age, to not only avoid losing any standouts last offseason to the portal but to also have four All-Conference and All-American-level players decide to return for an extra year, it all led to SDSU being a juggernaut squad in 2023. And indeed the Jackrabbits were. They finished 15-0 en route to another title, winning playoff games 41-0, 23-12, 59-0, and 23-3.
Mission No. 1 for the sixth-year seniors was to make it back-to-back national titles.
Mission accomplished.
Related Articles
- FCS Biggest Winners At The 2024 NFL Combine
- The FCS Success In Sending Offensive Linemen To The NFL
- C.J. Hanson, Jalen Coker Eye More History-Making Moments For Holy Cross
Mission No. 2 was to improve their draft stock.
McCormick, in his Twitter graphic announcing his return, said: “Being from South Dakota, playing for the Jacks is a dream come true. It has always been a goal of mine to play in the NFL. I believe returning for another year will put me in the best possible situation for next year’s draft.”
Greenfield had a similar message in his graphic: “Being a part of this team has been a dream come true. It is also a dream of mine to play in the NFL. After a lot of thought and talks with my family and coaches, I have decided to take advantage of my extra year of eligibility and return for my final season at South Dakota State in 2023 to try and achieve that dream.”
Mission accomplished.
McCormick and Greenfield have seen their draft stocks soar over the last year, especially during the predraft process.
Last year, they both were in the late rounds to undrafted free agent projections. Projections look quite a bit different in 2024.
In an NFL.com mock draft, McCormick is getting drafted in the second round while Greenfield is a fifth-rounder. An ESPN mock draft also has McCormick as a second-rounder with Greenfield going in the fourth round.
This boost is exactly what McCormick envisioned.
“I just wanted to be able to start being a professional in college,” McCormick told HERO Sports at the 2024 NFL Combine about his decision to return for a sixth year. “I wanted to get myself set up into a place to where I could execute at a super high level. And I’m confident South Dakota State has prepared me really, really well.”
At 6-foot-4 and 309 pounds, McCormick ran a 5.08-second 40-yard dash to rank 18th among offensive linemen at the 2024 combine. His 35.5-inch vertical was 4th, 9’9’’ broad jump ranked 1st, 7.59-second 3-cone drill ranked 14th, and 4.45-second 20-yard shuttle was 4th. McCormick’s athleticism score ranked 1st among offensive guards at this year’s combine. His Relative Athletic Score of 9.96 out of a possible 10.00 ranked 7th out of 1,445 offensive guards at the combine from 1987 to 2024. Oh, and he later did 32 reps on the bench press at SDSU’s pro day, which would have tied for the third most among all players at the 2024 NFL Combine.
Greenfield also showed off his athleticism at the combine. His athleticism score among offensive tackles in Indianapolis ranked 7th. His 38.5-inch vertical jump at 6-foot-6 and 311 pounds broke the combine record for an offensive lineman.
“[I feel] way more prepared,” Greenfield told HERO Sports at the combine. “That whole extra year, going through another spring ball, another summer, and obviously another season, just getting that many more snaps under my belt. Learning how to play the game more and learning more about it. And then we had such a special season, I wouldn’t have traded that for anything.”
McCormick and Greenfield developed their play with another year of college ball, they earned another national championship ring, and they improved their draft stock by multiple rounds. An estimated total value for a second-round 4-year rookie contract is around $7 million with an estimated signing bonus of around $2 million. For a fourth-rounder, it’s about $4.5 million with an estimated signing bonus of around $500,000. For a seventh-rounder, it’s roughly $3.9 million with an estimated signing bonus of about $100,000.
Their decision to play one more year has quite literally paid off.
