Ryan Bozer:
The NFL draft was this past weekend and two South Dakotans got their call to go prime time. SDPB's Sports and Recreation reporter Nate Wek is back with me this morning to share about these athletes and bring your morning in play. Nate, thanks for joining us again, man.
Nate Wek:
Hey, how are you doing today, Ryan?
Ryan Bozer:
I'm doing well. So, I'll start with sort of a general question. How big of a deal is it for two South Dakotans to get called in the same year for the NFL draft?
Nate Wek:
Well, I think it's a big deal considering this is the first time we've had two names that have been drafted or two kids that have been drafted since 1972. There's obviously been other years, especially recently where we've heard local talent having their names called as part of the NFL draft. But we've had a lot of years too where we get nobody, right?
So I think to have two, it's just another example that what we have in the state is great. The kids that are growing up in the state competing in sports, they're competing at a high level and that competitive nature is extending past high school through the college ranks and sometimes it clicks at the professional level too.
So we've had this conversation a lot, Ryan. I do enjoy watching kids play in high school and seeing what's next. A lot of time what's next is just that college step. So when you get the opportunity to follow the local talent to that professional level, it's obviously a joy.
Ryan Bozer:
Oh, absolutely. It's sort of what we've talked about if there's different stages of playing. And what can you tell us about these two athletes?
Nate Wek:
Well, we could start first with Tip Reiman. He was drafted in the third round, so he heard his name called on Friday night. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals. Now, Tip Reiman went to the University of Illinois for college, but before that, his senior year of high school, he actually played in the 2019 11 Triple A State Championship game with the O'Gorman Knights team that won the state title that year.
We actually even pulled the clip. You can check it out on our SDPB Sports Facebook page. He had a 30 yard touchdown reception in that game and I believe he was 6.5 even at that time in high school. So a tall kid. Vertical kid. In the clip you can see him, he gets vertical, catches it, turns up field and runs into the end zone. So it's kind of a cool clip that we had of Tip Reiman.
Tip Reiman though actually grew up in Rapid City. Played three of his high school years at St. Thomas More under Wayne Sullivan, and then moved to Sioux Falls before his senior year of high school and played at O'Gorman there his senior year.
So he's a kid that has played on both West River and East River. So it's one of those fun names that I think you sometimes hear the interstate battle, West River, East River type of rivalry type of thing. So he's one of those players that I think both East River and West River will try to claim from that regard.
Ryan Bozer:
Hopefully it'll settle any West River, East River difficulties, right?
Nate Wek:
Right. You can do both, right?
Ryan Bozer:
You can do both. You can be from both and both can claim him, right? Everybody can claim him.
Nate Wek:
Absolutely. Yep.
Ryan Bozer:
So that's Tip and then who else got drafted?
Nate Wek:
Yep. So then Mason McCormick on Saturday, pretty early on Saturday, heard his name called in the fourth round, left guard out of South Dakota State. Grew up in Sioux Falls, played for Roosevelt under Kim Nelson. Mason McCormick, FCS, right?
So Tip Reiman, we talk about Illinois being an FBS school, bigger school type of thing, playing a little bit higher competition. Some people are going to look at Mason McCormick and say, "Well, left guard, but he was playing against FCS opponents."
I do want to reiterate here too, that Mason McCormick is playing in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, which is kind of that black and blue conference as far as FCS goes. It's the one that big defensive linemen, big offensive linemen, always battles up on that upper front.
So, Mason McCormick, very battle tested. Obviously a part of the two FCS National championship teams with SDSU has really been a staple up in Brookings for them. So for the Steelers to get him in the fourth round, I was a little jealous. I kind of wanted him to come to Minnesota Vikings because they've got some guard issues too, but I think Mason McCormick will fit in well there with the Steelers.
And it's just kind of mind boggling to think about last year he was helping block for Mark Gronowski in Brookings, and now he might have the potential this next season to be blocking for Russell Wilson with the Pittsburgh Steelers. So I think that's pretty cool. Obviously a fourth round pick. It's kind hard to know exactly where Mason will fall on that depth chart. They do have some veteran guards and stuff like that on that Pittsburgh Steelers front, but he's the guy that's going to come in right away in OTAs mini camp, training camp and compete right away.
So it's fun to see guys get drafted. It's even more fun when you start seeing them go in those mid rounds rather than some of the late rounds. So as far as the kids that were drafted, these were the two from South Dakota with deep South Dakota ties that heard their name called as part of the NFL draft.
We did have a couple other names as well with local ties that got drafted. Isaiah Davis out of SDSU running back was in the fifth round. And then Myles Harden from the University of South Dakota was drafted in the seventh round by the Cleveland Browns. So those were the ones that got drafted.
There's about 16 other names that got picked up and signed as undrafted rookie free agents. So that's also quite a list as well. So it's fun to see as these teams round out their rosters, trying to get to 90 players as they get ready to go into these off-season programs, they're rounding out their rosters using those undrafted rookie free agents. And to see 16 players with South Dakota ties on that list is pretty remarkable.
Ryan Bozer:
Absolutely, yeah. And again, it's off-season for them. Who knows what's going to happen as far as where they're going to be come start of the season, right.?
Nate Wek:
Absolutely. And I'm not going to go through this whole list of some of the undrafted rookie free agents, but one thing that did stand out that I thought was pretty cool was Jaxon and Jadon Janke, they're twins out of Madison.
Max Hodgin was their high school coach with the Madison Bulldogs. They were standout players there. Went to Brookings. Obviously followed the same path as Mason McCormick. Were part of both of those FCS National Championship teams there. Both of them got signed as undrafted rookie free agents by the Houston Texans.
So they were together in high school. They were together in college, and they get to stay together at the start of their professional career too with the Houston Texans as they go into the off-season program.
Ryan Bozer:
I mean, that's just a team recognizing, ah, there's a dynamic duo to take. We'll take both, right?
Nate Wek:
Absolutely. There's two of them. I think the toughest part is probably going to be that in Brookings and stuff like that they played together. Obviously they played together and complemented each other well in high school in Madison, but now they're going to be fighting for a roster spot against each other.
You go from 90 players at the start of training camp down to 53 by the time the regular season starts. I mean, every roster spot is a competition so it'll be really interesting as we progress into the summer and get close to the fall to see how that all rounds itself out.
Ryan Bozer:
Yeah, that takes sibling rivalry to a new level, I suppose.
Nate Wek:
Absolutely.
Ryan Bozer:
So other than football, what other sports stories you got on your mind this week, Nate?
Nate Wek:
Well, it did just break here this week as well, that Kayla Karius obviously was leaving the University of South Dakota women's basketball coaching job as she went back home to the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. South Dakota has found their replacement and it looks like it's going to be Carrie Eighmey out of, I believe she was just in Idaho. So that's a pretty good get for the University of South Dakota.
She was a successful division two coach. I believe she had three NCAA division two tournament appearances with a sweet 16 in there as well when she was at the University of Nebraska for Carnie. So a successful division two coach, and obviously a lot of room to grow. This is the next step in her career.
And it's the world we live in, right, with the portal, coaches leaving, stuff like that. You're always trying to find coaches that are looking to take that next step in your journey as if you're a mid-major school. And I think Carrie will fit in excellent in Vermilion. I think she can have a lot of success with Mike Jewett, assistant coach still there.
There's a lot of talent that's down in Vermilion, young talent. So I think she's going to have a lot of things to work with and it'll be exciting to see what she can do with the USD Women's Basketball Program.
Ryan Bozer:
Nice. So it sounds like a lot of wins, a lot of moving for players and coaches from and to South Dakota. Thank you again for joining us this morning, Nate, and helping give us some context to the sports happenings with South Dakota ties.
Nate Wek:
All right. Well, thanks, Ryan. I really appreciate it.
