ALL-AMERICANS Ranek redshirted in 1996, then was slated to start in 1997 but an early season injury ended the season. He was granted injury hardship status, making him a third-year freshman in 1998. He set an SDSU single-game record with 291 yards versus St. Cloud State in 1999. In 1999, as a sophomore, he became the SDSU career leader in rushing and scoring, earned first-team All-America (Daktronics, Football Gazette) and finished fourth overall in the voting for the Harlon Hill Award as the Division II Player of the Year. After a tryout with the Dallas Cowboys, he signed with the Ottawa Renegades of the Canadian Football League, where he started as a rookie. • MATT BERRY, center, 1999 With an All-America running back putting up record-setting numbers, there had to be someone getting the job done up front. That’s where center Matt Berry fit in. Berry started three straight seasons, 199799, earning honorable mention all-North Central Conference as a junior. As a senior, in 1999, the Spearfish native finished his career by being named first-team all-conference and earning recognition on the Daktronics, Football Gazette, and Associated Press Little All-America teams. With Berry leading the way, the Jackrabbits averaged 229.4 yards rushing per game during the 1999 season. • SCOTT CONNOT, safety, 2003 Connot earned first-team all-North Central Conference and secondteam All-America honors from Football Gazette during his senior season in 2003. He also was an academic All-American and received an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship. A native of Spencer, Neb., Connot played in 34 games at SDSU, starting all 11 as a senior, when he led the team in tackles with 94. He finished his collegiate career with 234 tackles (142 solos), eight interceptions, 19 passes defended, seven forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries. After signing with Kansas City as a free agent, he played in two games in 2004, then was assigned by the Chiefs to NFL Europe, where he earned all-league honors for the champion Amsterdam Admirals during the summer of 2005. • CHRIS COAUETTE, linebacker, 2004 Coauette became the first Jackrabbit to earn All-America recognition at the NCAA Division I-AA level, when he received second-team honors from Football Gazette during SDSU’s inaugural season in I-AA. A first-team all-Great West Football Conference selection, Coauette led the Jacks in tackles, recording 60 solos and 55 assists for 115 total. Ten of his tackles were for losses including 3.5 sacks. He also led the team with five pass interceptions, had one fumble recovery and one blocked kick. In addition, the Crookston, Minn., native earned academic all-GWFC and was league defensive player of the week following SDSU’s season-ending victory at Northern Colorado. A four-year letterman, Coauette played in 38 games during his career
and had 313 career tackles (185 solo), including 25.5 for loss, with 10 career interceptions. • PARKER DOUGLASS, kicker, 2005 Douglass rewrote the Jackrabbit record book for place-kicking during his sophomore season in 2005, en route to earning third-team All-America honors from The Sports Network and Football Gazette. A native of Columbus, Neb., Douglass set an SDSU single-season record for a kicker with 99 points. His 19 field goals made in 26 attempts also set Jackrabbit single-season marks, and his average of 1.9 field goals per game would have led Division I-AA if the Jackrabbits had been eligible for postseason consideration. Honored as the Great West Football Conference Special Teams Player of the Year, Douglass extended his school-record streak of 52 consecutive PATs come to an end during the 2005 season. However, he did establish other Jackrabbit records with a 54-yard field goal and nine PATs in one game, against Valparaiso (Ind.). In all, Douglass set 19 single-game, single-season and career records during his four-year career from 2004-07, including most career field goals (62) and points by a kicker (321). • MITCH ERICKSON, offensive lineman, 2006 and 2007 The anchor of the Jackrabbit offensive line, Mitch Erickson earned a spot on The Associated Press Division I-AA All-America Third Team in 2006. During his senior season, Erickson was nearly a consensus All-American, earning firstteam honors from the American Football Coaches Associaiton, The Associated Press, College Sporting News and College Sports Report.com. He also was an honorable mention pick by the Sports Network after helping lead the Jackrabbits to the Great West Football Conference title — the program’s first league title in 44 years. Erickson, who started every game in his Jackrabbit career, split time between guard and tackle, earning all-GWFC honors three consecutive years (2005, 2006, 2007). • TYLER KOCH, cornerback, 2007 Koch was a third-team All-America selection by both The Associated Press and Sports Network during a stellar senior season. A native of White Lake, Koch led the team and Great West Football Conference with seven interceptions, three of which he returned for touchdowns. His 99-yard interception return for touchdown Nov. 10 against Southern Utah set an SDSU record for the longest interception return in school history. A two-time GWFC Defensive Player of the Week, Koch recorded three interceptions in a game at Central Arkansas. He ranked seventh on the team with 64 tackles in earning first-team all-GWFC honors.
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