South Dakota State sees Bullock, Hagen join NFL as Jackrabbits pipeline grows

Jacksonville and Houston both reached into South Dakota State’s talent pool after the draft, with the Jaguars agreeing to terms with Alex Bullock and the Texans bringing in Sam Hagen. The double hit reinforced what the Jackrabbits have built under the national radar, a program that keeps sending pro-ready players into NFL camps and onto rosters.

Bullock’s case was easy for scouts to see on film. He finished the 2025 season with 49 catches for 634 yards and three touchdowns, production that made him one of South Dakota State’s receiving leaders. He also earned Missouri Valley Football Conference Newcomer of the Week honors after the Jackrabbits’ 35-30 win at Youngstown State on Oct. 4, 2025, a game that helped push him from productive transfer to legitimate pro prospect. Jacksonville listed Bullock on its official roster page, and the Jaguars’ decision to add 18 undrafted free agents, alongside 10 draft picks, gave the team 28 rookies entering the offseason program. That is a crowded room, but it also means Bullock is in a real competition with a defined runway.

Hagen’s path is different, but the profile is familiar for South Dakota State. The offensive lineman from Fordville, North Dakota, also earned Missouri Valley Football Conference Commissioner’s Academic Excellence Awards, and South Dakota State listed him among 10 Jackrabbits who received Hampshire Honor Society recognition on April 8. That combination of classroom achievement and program discipline fits the kind of player NFL teams tend to trust when they start sorting through depth and developmental pieces in camp. Houston did not just add a body to the offseason roster. It added another Jackrabbit who spent four years in a program that asks linemen to be dependable before they are celebrated.

The wider picture is the real story. South Dakota State’s football archives already show a steady NFL run, including Mason McCormick in 2024 and Tucker Kraft in 2023, and the latest post-draft wave again put Jackrabbits in the league conversation. When a school can send a receiver to Jacksonville, an offensive lineman to Houston, and still keep producing names for Kansas City and Chicago in the same tracker cycle, it is no longer a surprise. It is a pipeline, and South Dakota State has made that pipeline one of the clearest signs of how far FCS football can reach.