Chapman signs with South Dakota State

Creston senior Max Chapman is going from one impressive team to another as he signed with the undefeated South Dakota State University Wednesday as a defensive lineman.

The Division I team is playing for an NCAA FCS national championship next month.

Voted unanimous first team all district, first team all state, team captain and team defensive MVP, Chapman had a stellar senior season.

He was also selected to participate in the 2024 Shrine Bowl at the UNI-Dome in late July.

He led Class 3A in tackles for loss with 26.5 and was a vocal leader on the team.

Creston head football coach Brian Morrison said Chapman’s work ethic will be a benefit to the team.

“He’s just a great teammate and he loves football,” Morrison added. “If you don’t love the game of football, you’re not going to be very successful. It’s tough to balance college with sports and academics. He’s going to bring a lot athletically.”

Since looking at the Jackrabbits program in November, Chapman said it’s been pretty straight forward.

“It wasn’t too big of a decision,” he said. “South Dakota State is a phenomenal program. There’s not much competing with that. I knew it was the place for me.”

Having attended two games this season, Chapman is impressed with the caliber of the team.

“The first one was pretty good, they put on a show,” he said. “I went to the semi-finals last week. They beat Albany by about 60 points. That’s impressive to do at any level in the semifinals let alone the Division I level. I think that speaks to the success of the program I’ll be joining next year.”

Coach Morrison said the last Creston football player to play at a Division I school was Trevor Downing, a starting center at Iowa State University.