CLEVELAND – A trio of South Dakota State football standouts earned recognition on the 2019 FCS All-America Team selected by Phil Steele Publications.First-team honors went to senior linebacker Christian Rozeboom, who was named to his sixth different All-America squad. A native of Sioux Center, Iowa, Rozeboom posted his fourth consecutive 100-tackle season in 2019 with a team-high 111 stops, including six tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. He also recorded two interceptions, forced three fumbles and recovered two fumbles.Rozeboom notched double figures in tackles six times during the 2019 campaign en route to becoming the Jackrabbits’ career tackles leader with 475.SDSU’s two other honorees came from the offensive side of the ball as wide receiver Cade Johnson received second-team honors and running back Pierre Strong, Jr. was a third-team selection.Johnson, a junior from Papillion, Nebraska, led the Missouri Valley Football Conference with 72 receptions for 1,222 yards (17.0 ypr) and eight touchdowns during the 2019 season. He topped the century mark for receiving yards four times and averaged 120.5 all-purpose yards per game.Strong was limited to 11 games, but managed to hit the 1,000-yard mark for the second consecutive year with 1,018. A sophomore from Little Rock, Arkansas, Strong averaged 7.1 yards per carry and scored a team-best nine touchdown – eight rushing and one receiving.South Dakota State made its eighth consecutive appearance in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, finishing the 2019 season with an 8-5 overall record.
