Captain Cochrane or Mr. 300, Jack has been a special player for USD

When No. 17 South Dakota plays No. 7 South Dakota State at the DakotaDome on Saturday, Coyote linebacker Jack Cochrane will be playing in his 44th college football game. 

Since he got his redshirt lifted for the seventh game of the 2017 season – this was back before the new rules took some of the drama out of the redshirt business – he’s been out there on the field getting things accomplished. 

Game-by-game since then he has established a legacy as a defensive player at USD, accumulating 298 career tackles. He can become the seventh player in USD history to reach the 300 mark against SDSU. 

Along the way, in addition to stopping people carrying the football, he has done just about every other thing the Coyotes could reasonably expect him to do.

The 6-3, 230-pound senior, a four-sport athlete at Mount Vernon High School (Iowa), has become a perennial all-Missouri Valley Football Conference performer. He has also established himself as an excellent student and unquestioned leader within the football program. 

In short, as special teams coordinator and inside linebackers coach Rob Aurich put it: “We need to find some more Jack Cochranes.”

There will be a day when Cochrane is not out there. Neither he nor the Coyote coaching staff will be looking forward to that. 

“What has helped me the most is the amount of snaps I’ve seen,” Cochrane said. “Ultimately the more football you’ve been exposed to, the more it’s going to help you in the future. I’ve seen a lot of offenses, I’ve seen a lot of plays. I think that helps me process things pretty quickly out on the field.”

Cochrane was in his first year with the Coyotes in 2017 when midway through a season that included two playoff games, the team was suddenly short of linebackers. This was before the NCAA changed the redshirt rules that now grant players the opportunity to play four games without surrendering a year of eligibility in the process. 

In Cochrane’s case, if he stepped on the field it meant he’d have three years left. 

The Coyotes, led by quarterback Chris Streveler, went on to play in seven games after Cochrane was activated so he ended up getting a pretty solid taste of college football anyway. 

“At the time he talked about staying ready so he didn’t have to get ready,” Aurich said. “It’s a quote we pass along to our freshmen every year now and it’s something we preach to our linebackers: You never know when your number will be called so you better stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.”

Cochran has stayed ready. Since he was a kid, in fact, growing up in an athletic family. His dad, John, is a former commissioner of the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and also a former athletic director at Cornell College. His sisters were also heavily involved in sports. 

“I was very fortunate to grow up in a close family,” Cochrane said. “I was always around sports growing up. Whether it was watching my older sister or just being around competition, being in that environment really drove me to love it.”

As a Missouri Valley player who moves well and has great instincts, Cochrane can expect to receive significant interest from NFL organizations. It’s all written in pencil at this point, but it’s gone beyond the dreaming part to actual conversations. That’s the first step. 

“He’s got a lot of traits that I think NFL teams will want to see,” Aurich said. “He’s able to process information extremely efficiently and he has a lot of physical tools. If an NFL team gets him into camp, they’re going to see someone who is going to be able to compete with everyone at his position.”

Being a smart kid with good manners is an accurate part of the Cochrane narrative. But so too is the intensity and competitiveness that Aurich says has been distinctive this season. 

“Maybe it’s because it’s his last year, I can’t say for sure, but Jack is playing with a little more of a mean streak,” Aurich said. “When you are coaching someone that physically and intellectually gifted – and has an edge to him – you usually have yourself a pretty good ballplayer.”

With SDSU coming to town, Cochrane has more to think about this week, but it’s definitely something he’d like to pursue. Law school is also in his plans, but there’s no doubt he’d like an opportunity at the next level. 

“Scouts come to practice and you hear different things from different people but I’d like to play more football,” he said. “We have a lot to focus on this season, so it can wait. It’s in the back of your mind, though. I think anybody in this situation who says differently is probably lying to you.”

If Cochrane does get a chance to move on to more football, he’ll do so with a keen appreciation for the people who put him in position to do so. When asked to touch on favorite memories of those 43 games – and counting – he thought for a moment and then talked about head coach Bob Nielson. 

“Coach Nielson is a pretty emotional dude,” Cochrane said. “A lot of times when we get a really good win you’ll see Coach Nielson start to tear up a little. When you see that it makes you feel pretty fortunate to be part of this program. A lot of guys I’m close to on this team feel the same way.”

With playoff ramifications clearly a part of Saturday’s game with SDSU, it’s difficult to separate and rank all the factors involved. The traditional clichés about facing the state rival apply, yes, but in this case it comes with a significant competitive context for the 2021 season. 

The big picture is bigger than just one game, however, for a senior captain with a well-developed sense of proportion. 

“When I look back 20 years from now I probably won’t remember the wins and losses as much as I remember the people,” he said. “I’m going to think about how lucky I’ve been to be around such great people. Every day you look around and see guys who make it all worth it. We play for the guy next to us in this program. We all care for each other – I think that gives us an extra kick in the way we compete.”