SDSU lands highly regarded tackle Reid Steger over regional rivals

South Dakota State’s edge as an FCS power starts up front, and the Jackrabbits added another piece to that machine when Reid Steger picked Brookings over a crowded group of regional and national suitors. The 6-foot-5, 310-pound tackle from Kuemper Catholic in Carroll, Iowa, chose SDSU over Northern Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Army and Navy, a strong pull for a program that keeps winning the kind of line prospects that usually end up spread across the Missouri Valley and service academies.

That is the real story here. South Dakota State does not just recruit linemen, it recruits the kind of linemen that let championship seasons keep going. Steger fits that profile as a versatile blocker who has worked both tackle spots, with recruiting outlets describing him as athletic, explosive and physical enough to project inside at the next level. For a team that has built its identity around playing November football with a full tank, that kind of body and flexibility matters.

Steger’s connection to SDSU started last summer, when he attended a prospect camp in Brookings on June 20, 2025 and earned his offer after talking with offensive line coach Mike Bangtson and head coach Dan Jackson. He came back for a game against North Dakota State in October 2025 and returned again for Junior Day on January 17, 2026, visits that clearly tightened the fit. Steger said the coaches and staff stood out to him, and he pointed to the trust he has in the program and the way the staff believed in him through the process. He also said Jackson felt different from many head coaches he has met, because the staff made him feel valued and supported.

Bangtson’s presence is part of the appeal. South Dakota State hired him in January 2025 after he coached Sam Houston State’s line in 2024, when the Bearkats averaged 179.8 rushing yards per game and finished 10-3 with a New Orleans Bowl win. SDSU believed Bangtson’s Iowa roots and relationship-building would play in recruiting, and Steger is another example of that pitch landing in a nearby state.

The commitment also adds to the backdrop of what SDSU has become. The Jackrabbits won the 2024 FCS national title by beating Montana 23-3, stretching their winning streak to 29 games at the time, and they had already gone 14-1 in Jackson’s first championship season. Kuemper Catholic brings a little more weight to the commitment too, after winning the Iowa Class 2A state championship in November 2025 with a 28-7 victory over Van Meter. Steger posted that he was “extremely excited” to announce the decision and thanked the coaches and staff for the opportunity, and South Dakota State once again showed it can recruit like the team everyone else is chasing.