NAIA transfer Jason Freeman steps up for South Dakota State football
After establishing himself as one of the best players in all of NAIA football while playing at Olivet Nazarene, a private school 50 miles outside of Chicago, linebacker Jason Freeman decided it was time to test himself at a higher level.
This summer, just a week into practice with his new team, the South Dakota State Jackrabbits, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Jimmy Rogers was raving about his newest pupil. Freeman’s speed and athleticism were impressive, his sure-handedness as a tackler was there, and, most importantly to Rogers, Freeman proved to be a quick learner, picking up on the nuances of the SDSU defense much sooner than expected.
At that point an observer asked Rogers if Freeman’s size – he’s 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds – was a concern, especially considering this was a player coming from a lower level, needing to prove himself.
“I don’t give a (expletive) how tall he is,” Rogers spit. “He can play.”
Considering Rogers himself was an undersized playmaker at linebacker for SDSU more than a decade earlier, perhaps the guest at that days’ practice should’ve known better than to bring it up. And after all, Rogers was right.
Freeman has been a key contributor on what’s been the No. 1 defense in the Missouri Valley Football Conference on the No. 1 team in the FCS, emerging first as a valuable member of the rotation, and then, after injuries decimated the Jacks’ linebacker room, the weakside starter and the defense’s most consistent tackler since star middle backer Adam Bock went down with an injury. Named to the Valley All-Newcomer team earlier this week, Freeman will lead SDSU back into action this Saturday when the Jackrabbits host Delaware in second-round FCS playoff action, their first game in three weeks after consecutive bye weeks.
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Freeman has played in all 11 games for SDSU, starting eight. His 37 solo tackles lead the team (he has 56 total stops) and he’s added three sacks and a pair of pass breakups. Those numbers are good, but where Freeman’s real value has come is in covering for the loss of Bock, one of the best linebackers in the FCS. When Bock went down it had the potential to derail the success the Jacks were having on defense. Freeman made sure there was little to no drop-off.
“He’s been awesome,” Rogers said. “It’s one thing to be talented, and he’s got gifts. It’s another to be able to mentally take in the information, and he’s done it in such a short amount of time. That’s been the most impressive thing. He’s just consistently grown and grown and grown. That’s been huge for us, especially with the lack of depth we’ve had due to injuries. He went from backup depth guy to a true starter in this league.”
Jason Freeman jumped to Division I from NAIA
Freeman was a monster at the NAIA level, named an All-American and the Mid-States Football Association defensive player of the year in 2020 and 2021, after having been honorable mention all-conference as a freshman in 2019. In just 10 games last season, Freeman registered 160 tackles, three interceptions and two sacks.
Meanwhile, Freeman’s cousin, DyShawn Gales, had established himself as one of the Jacks’ best defensive backs, helping SDSU to the 2021 spring national championship game and going to the playoffs every year of his career. Freeman wanted to test himself at the next level, and the Jackrabbits looked like an enjoyable destination. Gales knew his cousin could contribute at the D1 level, and after he entered his name in the transfer portal, Rogers liked what he saw on film.
To Brookings, Freeman headed.
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“Honestly it was a blessing,” Freeman said of landing at SDSU. “You never know what’s going to happen when you transfer but I got put into a good situation.”
But he didn’t arrive until May. He missed spring ball, and had about eight weeks to give himself a crash course in the Jacks’ defensive schemes before practice started.
It helped, though, that his new teammates readily accepted him from the jump. Freeman said even the players who knew he was there to potentially take reps away from them were supportive, mentoring him in the playbook and team culture. When he made mistakes, which Freeman said he did often when he first arrived, they corrected him.
His physical tools stood out immediately, but teammates were also impressed with how Freeman diligently went to work. He didn’t have any doubts about his ability to play at the Division I level, but he knew he might have to prove it to teammates.
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“He just put his head down and grinded,” said cornerback Dalys Beanum. “You don’t have to say too much to him. He’s always working; he’s got maybe the best work ethic on the team. He proved right away he could play, it was just a matter of how long it would take him to catch on. He did pretty quickly, and now you see him playing at a really high level.”
Freeman has been SDSU defense's top tackler down the stretch
Freeman made his Jackrabbit debut against Iowa, in front of 70,000 Kinnick Stadium fans. It was a far cry from the last time he had played college football, on an NAIA field, but he was no deer-in-the-headlights. Freeman had four tackles as SDSU held the Hawkeyes to 166 yards of offense. He had five tackles in a win over Western Illinois, then seven tackles and a sack in a rout of USD.
“He’s very instinctual,” Rogers said. “He has really good feel in the box. You can teach things all you want, but when a kid has it ingrained in him from a younger age – I think that’s what enables him to process information as quickly as he does. He’s really strong, he’s good at the point of contact, he doesn’t miss tackles and his overall speed is really a gift.”
Freeman got hurt in SDSU’s win at North Dakota State, but was back in the lineup the next week at North Dakota, and would close the regular season with four straight tremendous performances: eight tackles at UND, 10 tackles a week later against Indiana State, six stops and a sack in a win at Northern Iowa, and seven tackles and a sack in the finale against Illinois State.
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By this time, Freeman was no longer the undersized NAIA transfer who did a nice job filling in. He was now one of the best linebackers in the Valley.
“Being a smaller guy I’ve always had to have faith in myself,” said Freeman, who has another year of eligibility after this. “I’ve had to prove myself since I got into college, even at the NAIA level. A lot of the work you put in goes unnoticed, but I’ve prepared myself to be in situations where I can have success at the highest levels. I put in a lot of work to be able to stay healthy and produce.”
Head coach John Stiegelmeier said this week that Bock is close to returning to man the middle at Mike linebacker, and when he does, the Jacks will be happy to have the quarterback of their No. 1 defense back in uniform. But Freeman’s presence has allowed the Jacks to be patient while Bock is out, and it means they’ll be all the strong when he’s back, because Freeman won’t be getting pushed back to the bench.
“There’s so many things I love about Jason Freeman,” Stiegelmeier said. “His focus, his passion for the game of football, and most importantly that he’s on our team. We brought him in thinking he was going to be an insurance policy and he’s one of the best players on our defense. It’s been fun to watch, because he put in the work to earn it.”
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: NAIA transfer Jason Freeman steps up for South Dakota State football
