Happy Hour with John Gaskins

The seventh-year Voice of the Coyotes has been around the program for nearly 15 seasons and has a broad perspective on what steadies a once-shaky program.   And, as someone who has inside-the-ropes access to the spring and August practices, Thayer details with the Happy Hour host what will make the Yotes tick in '26.

If you need a one-hour, one-stop shop to be absolutely armed with the information required for the Jackrabbits and Coyotes 2026 football seasons, this is it.   We'll make it fun for you, as well, with both big picture and deep dive conversations.   Since New Year's Day, Happy Hour has spent dozens of hours covering SDSU and USD football, conducting comprehensive and periodic interviews with head c...

If you need a one-hour, one-stop shop to be absolutely armed with the information required for the Jackrabbits and Coyotes 2026 football seasons, this is it.   We'll make it fun for you, as well, with both big picture and deep dive conversations.   Since New Year's Day, Happy Hour has spent dozens of hours covering SDSU and USD football, conducting comprehensive and periodic interviews with head c...

If you need a one-hour, one-stop shop to be absolutely armed with the information required for the Jackrabbits and Coyotes 2026 football seasons, this is it.   We'll make it fun for you, as well, with both big picture and deep dive conversations.   Since New Year's Day, Happy Hour has spent dozens of hours covering SDSU and USD football, conducting comprehensive and periodic interviews with head c...

In the last 50 years of USD football, only one three-year stretch rivals the success and buzz of the last three.   Scott Jones has been a major part of both runs.   The Coyotes' starting quarterback of the 1985 and '86 teams — both of which won at least 10 games and reached the semifinals — is also one of the most influential alumni and boosters in the USD stratosphere.    Born and raised in Sioux...

In the last 50 years of USD football, only one three-year stretch rivals the success and buzz of the last three.   Scott Jones has been a major part of both runs.   The Coyotes' starting quarterback of the 1985 and '86 teams — both of which won at least 10 games and reached the semifinals — is also one of the most influential alumni and boosters in the USD stratosphere.    Born and raised in Sioux...

The Happy Hour host updated the Yotes' current QB situation — the three-horse race appears to be far from done — explained why a lack of starters from the 2025 offensive line doesn't make for a shaky 2026 line, and walked through SDSU's national championship hopes, which he feels are aided by the high volume of walk-ons who will play key roles in 2026.

Each week, the South Dakota Sports Lounge gives you a look at some of the best sports talk across the state. This week, we focus on football as kickoff is just 2 weeks away.    Happy Hour with John Gaskins: Head coach of the Jackrabbits, Dan Jackson, joins Happy Hour from SDSU Media Day in Brookings. He talks about expectations for the coming season and how he believes depth will help with some of...

Eric Eidsness is in his  fourth  stint at SDSU and his second season as offensive coordinator under Jackson. When in the same role under Stiegelmeier, Eidsness led some of the most explosive offenses in Jacks history.   With uber-talented senior Chase Mason at quarterback and almost the entire offensive line and top receivers back, what does Eidsness foresee with a potentially lethal 2026 offense?...

So much is the same, yet so much is different.   That's how South Dakota State defensive coordinator Brian Bergstrom feels about his second stint at SDSU, with three years as Div. II Winona State's head coach in between.   Bergstrom coached for five years under John Stiegelmeier as safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator before leaving in 2022, before Stig's final season ended with a national...

SDSU Media Day, Vol. 2 "Coaches Show" starts with the coach of all football coaches in Brookings, John Stiegelmeier.   Now in his fourth season of retirement, what does he miss most about leading the Jacks? How did he approach August camp in developing a national championship-contending team? What are his observations of the talent and coaching he has seen lately by attending some practices?   Sti...

So much is the same, yet so much is different.   That's how South Dakota State defensive coordinator Brian Bergstrom feels about his second stint at SDSU, with three years as Div. II Winona State's head coach in between.   Bergstrom coached for five years under John Stiegelmeier as safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator before leaving in 2022, before Stig's final season ended with a national...

From SDSU Media Day, the head coach deep dives about how much smoother his operation is during August camp this season compared his first campaign in 2025 and how it should pay dividends in results.

From SDSU Media Day, the QB1 breaks down reasons why big things should be expected of him and the Jacks offense in 2026

The defensive end was lightly recruited out of Lincoln Christian High School, but after blowing up in D2 Wayne, the Jacks and other FBS schools came calling. How does he compared the competition level at D2 vs SDSU?

O'Groske exploded into an instant star last season in the Jacks' mammoth win over eventual national champion Montana State but was hurt two weeks later, then again a couple weeks after that. Also... what is it like to catch missiles from Chase Mason?

Kirschenmen describes the pain and anguish of last season's injury and how well put-together the '26 defense is. Johnson and Ripperda each had unique journeys to SDSU. Johnson was committed to hometown Colorado State before a coaching change while Ripperda — a local product from Larchwood — started college at FBS Northern Illinois before choosing to walk away from his scholarship and walk-on at SD...

While August is a time for college football teams to sharpen their skills, install plays, and determine starters in position battles, it is also what experienced media consider "Kool-Aid season."   Every team in the nation is undefeated and optimistic about how their season will unfold. Or, at least they sound optimistic when on the record.   By Mid-August, two weeks before the first game, they're...

Now, we're getting somewhere.   In the last few days, the Minnesota Vikings and South Dakota Coyotes signaled that the football season is close to actually happening.   Kyler Murray was (finally) named the Vikings starter on Tuesday, a few days after Sioux Falls Live sports editor Matt Zimmer reported  freshman Austin Moderzewski is the front runner to take the Coyotes' reins.   So, let's talk.  ...

South Dakota native and SDSU alumnus Adam Vinatieri sure packed a lot into his nearly 19-minute Pro Football Hall of Fame speech on Saturday:   * The common "thank you's" to people who helped get him there— parents, siblings, children, wife, NFL coaches and teammates   * Common Hall of Fame speech messages about character, humility, dedication, determination, character, teamwork, and never giving...

Two weeks from now will also mark the first game week of high school football season for the 11-man teams in the Sioux Falls metro area.   Is defending 11AAA champion Brandon Valley still the team to beat in the state's largest class? What about the Lincoln squad that returns dazzling quarterback Brody Schafer?    Zach Borg has covered prep pigskin in the Sioux Empire for nearly 15 years and joins...

South Dakota native and SDSU alumnus Adam Vinatieri sure packed a lot into his nearly 19-minute Pro Football Hall of Fame speech on Saturday:   * The common "thank you's" to people who helped get him there— parents, siblings, children, wife, NFL coaches and teammates   * Common Hall of Fame speech messages about character, humility, dedication, determination, character, teamwork, and never giving...

The FCS season's opening game week for SDSU and USD is just two weeks away. The Jackrabbits are picked to win the Missouri Valley Football Conference and are rated No. 3 in the STATS Preseason Top 25 FCS poll.   USD is picked fifth in the MVFC and ranked No. 12 in the STATS poll.   The team that knocked both the Jacks and Yotes out of the playoffs is slotted at No. 2 in the nation. That'd be Monta...

Every week, "South Dakota Sports Lounge" displays some of the most captivating and entertaining conversations from daily sports talk shows in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Fargo.   Here are this week's segments:   Happy Hour with John Gaskins (Sioux Falls) : The hosts of the budding Jackrabbit Illustrated podcasts dive into the rivalry void left by North Dakota State's exit to the FBS and how much...

How do the "JI guys" feel about bitter football rival North Dakota State no longer being in the FCS and on SDSU's schedule? And how close can "the school down south" in Vermillion come to matching the intensity of the "Dakota Marker Game" and game week?   How have NIL and the transfer portal — and therefore, more often than not, the departure of some of SDSU's best football and men's basketball pl...