Greatest college football player born in each state
Like several states on our list, South Dakota is a lightly populated state (it ranks No. 46 overall with roughly 850,000 people) without an FBS football program. Therefore, it is understandable that few relatively few South Dakotans have gone on to highly celebrated college football careers.
Known more for his pro career with the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys, in which he was a five-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro and a three-time Super Bowl champion, Martin, South Dakota native Jay Novacek was a College Football Hall of Famer as a tight end at the University of Wyoming.
Even though the Cowboys largely employed a run-heavy wishbone offense during his time in Laramie, Novacek was on the receiving end of 83 passes and recorded 1,536 career receiving yards and ten touchdowns. His first action came in 1982, when Novacek’s 18 catches went for 288 yards and three touchdowns. Novacek added three more TD catches and also scored on a touchdown run the following season, and accounted for 504 receiving yards on 34 receptions and 42 rushing yards on two carries.
In 1984, Novacek earned All-WAC and consensus All-American honors with 33 catches for 745 yards (a tight end-record 22.0 yards per catch) and four touchdowns, which placed him in the top five in the high-flying WAC in receiving yards.
A well-rounded athlete, Novacek was also an All-American for the Wyoming track team, winning the WAC decathlon and setting a school record in decathlon points and in the pole jump.
Other Notable College Football Players Born in South Dakota:
- John Dutton, DL, Nebraska
- Adam Vinatieri, K, South Dakota State
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