Happy Hour with John Gaskins

We all know why Chase Mason is one of the most highly anticipated FCS players in the country to watch in 2026.
 
Physical specimen. Looks like a jacked superhero. Rocket arm. Runs like a deer. Just a stick of dynamite waiting to explode.
 
And this is it— His last chance to not just be the golden boy, but have a golden year. To win the Walter Payton Award. To bring the FCS National Championship Trophy back to Brookings. To get as high on that NFL Draft board as he possibly can.
 
There is zero reason to believe he won't be in the running for both achievements. That the Jacks offense won't be more explosive than their 9-5 campaign last year, when they were 8-1 and averaged 37 points with Mason at quarterback and 1-4 while averaging fewer than 20 points without him. 
 
First, look at him and watch his career highlights.
 
Then, there's the stats. Perhaps you've memorized them, but in case you haven't:
 
6'4, 240 lb. At a recent practice, he reportedly ran at 22 miles per hour, which equates to roughly a 4.4 in the 40.
 
The game stats: Last year, in nine games, he threw 15 touchdown passes and ran for six more while averaging 223 passing yards per game and nine yards per attempt. That's two yards more per attempt than the NFL average, meaning he completes passes downfield at a high level.
 
Mason completed 65 percent of his passes, one percent higher than the NFL average. 
 
These stats weren't racked up against nothing but tomato cans. He was efficient and brilliant and clutch at Montana State, the eventual national champion. He won a shootout with the Walter Payton winner Beau Brungard at Youngstown. There was the nuking of New Hampshire in the playoffs. He had not played in six weeks after a foot injury that left him in a walking boot, and he was nearly perfect— 16 of 20 for 230, 3 TDs, 0 picks, just firing lasers in the snow. He threw for over 370 yards at Montana, the final No. 3 team, in the playoffs.
 
Yet, to the Happy Hour host, none of those numbers as important as the one stat of Mason's that was glaringly low, yet needs to be lower for him to take home both individual and team national hardware in his last hurrah.

 
The Happy Hour host reveals that one stat while second year SDSU coach Dan Jackson describes Mason's development during fall camp ahead of Saturday's game.
 
Jackson also details:
 
* Why some of SDSU's best veteran players sat out multiple August practices and what their status is for Saturday
 
* Who is emerging to be the starting running back and backup quarterback
 
* What is in place to prevent a collapse in what Jackson has stated to be a strong culture and chemistry in the program among players and coaches
 
* What message legend John Stiegelmeier sent while speaking to the team recently
 
* What about Stetson, the lowest-rated team in the FCS last year and a 47-point underdog Saturday, concerns the coaching staff
 
After Jackson, Sioux Falls Jefferson coach Eric Struck—also in his second year at the helm— previews his Cavaliers, who finished as the No. 3 ranked team in South Dakota's largest high school class last year and is the preseason No.3 in the first media poll.
 
Why does Struck prefer playing with two quarterbacks instead of one, and why will he handle the two-pronged attack differently this season?
 
How much of a force will Lincoln transfer Devonte Wilson be at running back as the Cavs replace the JHS all-time leading rusher, Daeveon Simsonsen, and what can we expect of the usually blitz-happy defense of Ed Whiting?

Sioux Falls Jefferson coach Eric Struck—in his second year at the helm— previews his Cavaliers, who finished as the No. 3 ranked team in South Dakota's largest high school class last year and is the preseason No.3 in the first media poll.
 
Why does Struck prefer playing with two quarterbacks instead of one, and why will he handle the two-pronged attack differently this season?
 
How much of a force will Lincoln transfer Devonte Wilson be at running back as the Cavs replace the JHS all-time leading rusher, Daeveon Simsonsen, and what can we expect of the usually blitz-happy defense of Ed Whiting?

We all know why Chase Mason is one of the most highly anticipated FCS players in the country to watch in 2026.
 
Physical specimen. Looks like a jacked superhero. Rocket arm. Runs like a deer. Just a stick of dynamite waiting to explode.
 
And this is it— His last chance to not just be the golden boy, but have a golden year. To win the Walter Payton Award. To bring the FCS National Championship Trophy back to Brookings. To get as high on that NFL Draft board as he possibly can.
 
There is zero reason to believe he won't be in the running for both achievements. That the Jacks offense won't be more explosive than their 9-5 campaign last year, when they were 8-1 and averaged 37 points with Mason at quarterback and 1-4 while averaging fewer than 20 points without him. 
 
First, look at him and watch his career highlights.
 
Then, there's the stats. Perhaps you've memorized them, but in case you haven't:
 
6'4, 240 lb. At a recent practice, he reportedly ran at 22 miles per hour, which equates to roughly a 4.4 in the 40.
 
The game stats: Last year, in nine games, he threw 15 touchdown passes and ran for six more while averaging 223 passing yards per game and nine yards per attempt. That's two yards more per attempt than the NFL average, meaning he completes passes downfield at a high level.
 
Mason completed 65 percent of his passes, one percent higher than the NFL average. 
 
These stats weren't racked up against nothing but tomato cans. He was efficient and brilliant and clutch at Montana State, the eventual national champion. He won a shootout with the Walter Payton winner Beau Brungard at Youngstown. There was the nuking of New Hampshire in the playoffs. He had not played in six weeks after a foot injury that left him in a walking boot, and he was nearly perfect— 16 of 20 for 230, 3 TDs, 0 picks, just firing lasers in the snow. He threw for over 370 yards at Montana, the final No. 3 team, in the playoffs.
 
Yet, to the Happy Hour host, none of those numbers as important as the one stat of Mason's that was glaringly low, yet needs to be lower for him to take home both individual and team national hardware in his last hurrah.

SDSU coach Dan Jackson describes Mason's development during fall camp ahead of Saturday's game.
 
Jackson also details:
 
* Why some of SDSU's best veteran players sat out multiple August practices and what their status is for Saturday
 
* Who is emerging to be the starting running back and backup quarterback
 
* What is in place to prevent a collapse in what Jackson has stated to be a strong culture and chemistry in the program among players and coaches
 
* What message legend John Stiegelmeier sent while speaking to the team recently
 
* What about Stetson, the lowest-rated team in the FCS last year and a 47-point underdog Saturday, concerns the coaching staff

Every Friday, "South Dakota Sports Lounge" displays some of the most captivating and entertaining conversations from daily sports talk shows in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Fargo. Plus, Midwest Sports+ reporter Zach Borg provides a compelling feature story to send Dakotas sports fans into the weekend with a smile.
 
Here are this week's segments:

 
Happy Hour with John Gaskins (Sioux Falls): The host and Sioux Falls Live sports editor break down the differing quarterback situations at SDSU and USD. While the Jackrabbits know exactly the potent talent they have in Chase Mason, the Coyotes are still holding auditions for the signal caller who will try to fill the gargantuan shoes of three-year starter and USD FCS records holder Aidan Bouman.
 
Hot Mic with Dom Izzo (Fargo): 1-on-1 interview with NDSU head football coach Tim Polasek during his final media availability for Bison fall camp. He updates Izoo on injuries and the final scrimmage ahead of their first week of preparation for the first FBS season. 
 
The Nate Brown Show (Rapid City): Doug Gottlieb, Wisconsin-Green Bay men's head basketball coach and former nationally syndicated media personality, talks with Nate the day it was announced his team will play SDSU in Sioux Falls at the Pentagon on December 21st. They also discuss Gottlieb's first two seasons at the helm and what the strides he expects the Phoenix to make in his third campaign.
 
Zach Borg Feature (MS+):  From SDSU Media Day, Jackrabbit football players utter 'Dan Jackson-isms,' phrases often used by their second-year head coach.