With college football season over, local standouts look ahead to NFL Draft –

SIOUX FALLS — The college football season has ended, and it was a wildly successful one in South Dakota. As such, there are a number of players from in-state programs who should be candidates to play professionally, and they’re already training for a potential opportunity.

South Dakota State and USD will each host a Pro Day for NFL scouts on March 25, and with almost 20 players between the two Division I schools being on the draft radar, virtually every NFL team is expected to make the trip. As of now, the plan is for SDSU to host their Pro Day in the morning and USD stage theirs in the afternoon so scouts can attend both.

Who will be there? The list is as long as it’s ever been.

SDSU
The Jackrabbits’ decorated senior class features nearly a dozen players whom NFL scouts monitored throughout the 2023 season.

Running back Isaiah Davis is the top prospect. The 6-foot-1, 220-pounder still has the extra COVID year of eligibility available, but will enter the draft after four spectacular seasons. He rushed for 4,548 yards and 50 touchdowns, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. He ran for over 3,000 yards in the last two seasons.

Guard Mason McCormick and cornerback DyShawn Gales have also garnered the attention of scouts, and Davis, Gales and McCormick all stayed in Frisco after SDSU’s national championship win to continue training there. Offensive tackle Garret Greenfield is working out in Fort Worth.

Those four will all compete at Pro Day, along with 6-7 tight end Zach Heins, who will hope to join Dallas Goedert and Tucker Kraft to give SDSU a trio of NFL tight ends. Also set to appear at Pro Day are linebackers Jason Freeman and Isaiah Stalbird and wide receivers Jaxon and Jadon Janke. Offensive tackle John O’Brian and defensive end Cade Terveer may participate as well.

Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live

Stalbird played in the Hula Bowl last week and notched five tackles in the game. McCormick, Greenfield and Heins will play in the East-West Shrine Bowl on Feb. 1 in Frisco, and Davis will play in the Senior Bowl on Feb. 3 in Mobile, Ala.

USD
Coming off a 10-win season, the Coyotes have several players who hope to catch on in the league.

Cornerback Myles Harden is the top draw — he’s the only player from South Dakota to have received an invite to the NFL Scouting Combine….