South Dakota Has Significant Presence in the National Football League

Stefan Logan Credit: Mike Fabus/Pittsburgh Steelers

The tradition of excellence that is South Dakota football, has transcended the North Central Conference to the National Football League. Several former Coyotes starters have made a name for themselves amongst the NFL elite.

Stefan Logan

The latest is Stefan Logan, USD’s all-time leading rusher who played for the Coyotes from 2003-06. Logan signed a two-year contract with the Super Bowl Champion Steelers in March 2009, and made a big impression in training camp. His impressive training camp earned him a spot on the Steelers’ roster as a kick and punt returner. Logan signed with the Steelers after being a valuable contributor for the BC Lions in 2008. Logan finished fourth in rushing (889 yards), sixth in yards from scrimmage (1,366) and eighth in the CFL in combined yards (1,770).

Logan is the latest in a string of USD players who’ve made impacts in the NFL. That includes Matt Chatham, who played with the New England Patriots and New York Jets in his eight seasons in the NFL; Josh Stamer, who spent five seasons with the Buffalo Bills before playing with Tennessee in 2008; Jamal White, who spent five seasons in the NFL as a running back; and A. J. Schable, who played with the Arizona Cardinals in 2006 and also was a member of the Philadelphia Eagles practice squad in 2007.

Matt Chatham in Action

Many of the top players in the world spend their entire lives trying to attain the goal of becoming a world champion. During his eight seasons in the pros, Chatham played for the New England Patriots for his first six years in the league and was a member of three Super Bowl Championship teams. In his career with New England and the New York Jets, the 1998 USD graduate has recorded 121 tackles, including 85 solo stops and 36 assisted stops and 2.5 quarterback sacks. The Sioux City, Iowa native recorded two tackles in the Patriots’ 24-21 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XXXIX and had two tackles in the Super Bowl XXXVII win over the Carolina Panthers. He also was a member of New England’s Super Bowl XXXVI win over St. Louis. In 2007, Chatham signed with the New York Jets and played in all 16 games and recorded 13 tackles.

White played for the Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League. White spent five seasons in the NFL, including four with the Cleveland Browns. He has also played with the Tampa Bay Bucs, Detroit Lions and the Baltimore Ravens. In the NFL, White rushed for 1,423 yards on 382 carries and scored nine TDs. Throughout this career, he returned 62 kickoffs for 1,264 yards while catching 172 passes for 1,294 yards and two TDs.

Stamer is entering his seventh season in the NFL. He spent his first five with the Buffalo Bills and in the 2008 offseason signed with the Tennessee Titans. In 2008, Stamer made his first career start at linebacker (12/28/08 at Indianapolis) and finished with 18 tackles and appeared in all 16 games for the Titans. .Stamer was one of the Bills most productive special teams players and played in 70 games during his career at Buffalo. Originally signed as a free agent in 2003, Stamer holds an undergraduate degree in business administration and a Master’s degree in professional accounting from USD.

Former USD All-American defensive end A.J. Schable signed a free agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals in 2006. During that season, Schable appeared in 11 games as a fullback and defensive end. Schable also made considerable contributions to the special teams. He finished the 2006 season with ten tackles (eight solo) and one fumble recovery. Schable also had one rushing attempt for five yards. After suffering an injury, he was released from his contract to sign with the Philadelphia Eagles. Schable was a member of the Eagles practice squad in 2007 and during the 2008 offseason he signed with the New York Jets. Schable finished the 2005 season at USD with 60 tackles and 19 sacks. He left USD as the single season record holder for sacks in a season and tied Bill Gassen with 22 tackles for loss in a single season.

Coyotes in the NFL

Frank McCormick (1920, Akron Indians)
Gene Vidal (1925, New York Giants; Washington Redskins)
Ordell Braase (1957-68, drafted in 14th round by the Baltimore Colts, two-time All-Pro, NFL Players Association President), DL
Carl Johnson (1957, Detroit Lions; 1958, Kitchner, CFL), RB
John Kohler (3rd Round, 1969, Denver Broncos), OL
James Foster (1970, Washington Redskins), QB
Steve Pelot (New England, 1970), RB
Tony Glass (1971, Minnesota Vikings), OL
Gary Kipling (Atlanta Falcons, 1973), OT
Gene Macken (St. Louis Cardinals, 1973), OT
Johnny Vann (10th round, Washington, 1973-74), DB
Gregg Erickson (1974, Chicago Bears), RB
Dwight Duncombe (1974, Atlanta Falcons), WR
John Sanders (1974-76, New England; 1977-79, Philadelphia Eagles), DB
Clyde McCormick (1978, Buffalo Bills; 1979, Oakland Raiders), DB
Mike Maguire (1978, Winnipeg, CFL), RB
Bill Moats (1979, Green Bay), DB
Dave Schwab (1980, Green Bay Packers), DT
Ben Long (10th round, 1980, Miami Dolphins), LB
Craig Austin (10th round, 1982, Seattle Seahawks; 1983, LA Express), LB
Brian Barnes (1980, Houston Oilers), RB
Jeff Davis (1984, Denver Broncos; 1985, San Diego Chargers), DB
Duke Schamel (1985, Los Angeles Rams), LB
Mike Slaton (1986, 9th Round, Minnesota Vikings; 1987, New York Jets), DB
Chul Schwanke (11th Round, 1986, Los Angeles Rams), RB
Rod Tweet (1986, Atlanta Falcons; 1987, Cincinnati Bengals), WR
Eric Maxson (1986, St. Louis Cardinals), OT
Tim McFarland (1987, St. Louis Cardinals), OL
Jerry Gilinsky (1987, Miami Dolphins), OL
Robb White (1987, New York Giants; Washington Redskins), DL
Dave Elle (1987, St. Louis Cardinals), TE
Kaseem McCullough (1993, CFL), CB
Jamel White (1999, Indianapolis Colts; 1999, Cleveland Browns;2004, Tampa Bay Bucs; 2005 Detroit Lions), RB
Matt Chatham (1999, St. Louis Rams, New England Patriots, 2006, New York Jets), LB
Josh Stamer (2000, New York Giants; 2002, Buffalo Bills, 2008 Tennessee Titans), LB
Josh Burr (2002, Pittsburgh Steelers), OL
Filip Filipovic (2002, Dallas Cowboys; 2003, San Francisco 49ers, 2004, Minnesota Vikings; 2005 Philadelphia Eagles, 2006, Houston Texans; 2007 Chicago Bears), P
A.J. Schable (2006, Arizona Cardinals), DE
Nick Hagemann (2006, Pittsburgh Steelers), OL
Stefan Logan (2007, Miami Dolphins; 2008 BC Lions,CFL; 2009, Pittsburgh Steelers), RB
Amos Allen (BC Lions, CFL, 2009), RB

Note: If not noted by round, player signed as free agent