Football
Evan Maldonado, USD Sports Information
South Dakota seniors Dalton Godfrey duck Alex Jensen along with junior Brock Mogensen were selected to the 2022 FCS preseason all-American list by HERO Sports announced by the site on Thursday. Godfrey and Jensen were named to the second team while Mogensen earned third team honours.
Godfrey appears on the HERO Sports preseason list for the second consecutive season. This is also the third preseason honor for the Cedar Falls, Iowa, native this year after being named to the STATS Perform and Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason teams. He is in his sixth season in the red and white and returns as a key piece for a punting unit that ranked 10th nationally in net punting last season.
Like Godfrey, the HERO Sports preseason all-American honor is the third thus far for Jensen. The 6-7 left tackle enters his fourth season at the position after helping an offense that ranked 32nd nationally with 170 rushing yards per game. He led an offensive run game that mauled Cal Poly with a 353-yard rushing effort and dominated the second half against Western Illinois with 220 yards rushing after the break. Jensen is one of four returning starters to the offensive line.
Mogensen returns for his fifth season at South Dakota. The Farmington, Minnesota, native started all 12 games for USD at the linebacker position and recorded 86 tackles during the 2021 season. Mogensen ranked eighth in the Valley in tackles per game and had a season-high 11 stops against Southern Illinois. He added a sack and six tackles-for-loss to his 2021 season and forced a fumble that led to a Coyote score in a win at Western Illinois. This is the second preseason honor for Mogensen this year after being selected to the all-MVFC preseason team.
South Dakota is less than a month from its season opener on the road at Kansas State. The game in Manhattan, Kansas, is scheduled for a 6:00 pm kick on September 3.