USD football found an unlikely anchor at center in redshirt freshman Lucas Feldkamp

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Oct. 8—VERMILLION, S.D. — There are plenty of responsibilities that come with being the center of a college football offense.

There are the physical traits, of course. The snaps have to be clean. Blocks have to be made. Defensive linemen have to be moved. But at the University of South Dakota this season, redshirt freshman Lucas Feldkamp has taken on the responsibility as the man in the middle of the Coyotes' retooled offensive line.

For a player who had never taken a collegiate snap entering the 2026 season, Feldkamp has quickly become the voice of the Coyotes' front five, identifying defensive fronts, communicating calls and helping get the entire offensive line and offense on the same page.

It is a tall task for a young offensive lineman. Feldkamp, though, has embraced it.

"I am so thankful to be playing at such a young age and I did not think I was going to be playing already," Feldkamp said. "But I still have a lot to learn. I just switched to center a couple months ago full time, so it's still a little new to me and I still need to improve. It has definitely been a challenge at times to get everyone on the same page, because now it's not just my job anymore. I have to worry about getting everyone on the offense on the same page, and I'm getting better at it as I go along."

That last part may be the most important piece for Feldkamp. The Coyotes knew they were going to have to rebuild their offensive line entering 2026 after four starters from last year's playoff team moved on. Five new starters ultimately emerged up front to start the year, putting a big responsibility on first-year offensive line coach James Bain and the group he took over.

Feldkamp has become the anchor. Through six games, he has started every game at center, making him the starting point of every offensive snap. With Caden Ellingson at right guard and Nick Herzog at left guard alongside him, Brock Woolf returning to the starting lineup at right tackle over the last two weeks after starting there a year ago and Brendon Crispe manning left tackle, the Coyotes have found an unlikely source of stability in a group that entered the season with so many questions.

And the results have followed. USD is tied for third in the Missouri Valley Football Conference in sacks allowed, giving up just seven through six games. That protection has helped first-year starting quarterback Austyn Modrzewski settle into the offense while allowing him to consistently attack downfield.

USD is averaging 14.61 yards per completion, eighth-best in the FCS, while scoring 39 points per game, which ranks sixth nationally. The Coyotes' rushing attack is also averaging 196.3 yards per game, good for 15th in the FCS. USD has scored at least 35 points in four of its first six games, including three 40-point performances, all coming inside the DakotaDome. The Coyotes had just five 35-point games in all of 2025 in 15 games.

At the center of that transformation is a player who was not even sure where he would fit on the offensive line when the year began. Feldkamp spent much of the spring competing for a tackle spot, while also getting work at guard and center. He was essentially a piece the coaching staff could move around wherever it needed him.

USD coach Matt Vitzthum said that flexibility was part of the reason the staff did not immediately settle on center for Feldkamp.

"Your first reaction a lot of times isn't to put a freshman at center, because we want to try and take some of those things off his plate," Vitzthum said. "So, we didn't have Lucas there a ton throughout spring ball, but about halfway through came we made a decision to test him there and I loved it. He's a very intelligent young man and has just been a natural fit for us there."

The more Feldkamp played center, the more obvious the fit became. His football IQ allowed the coaching staff to trust him with the responsibilities that come with the position, and the experience he gained as a redshirt last season in his first year at USD was huge, too.

"The strength staff did a great job for me in my first year, and learning the offense on the scout team last year was critical for me to be ready this year," Feldkamp said. "And throughout the spring I was competing at nearly every spot, but I really found myself being at my best at center. So, I was just studying the playbook constantly to be ready wherever they decided was best for the team."

Now, the job is his. And it is a job that extends well beyond the snap. Feldkamp is responsible for helping communicate the calls across the offensive line, particularly with the two players directly beside him. Ellingson, a sixth-year player, and Herzog, a fifth-year transfer from Northwestern, bring more experience to the interior, giving the young center a pair of trusted voices when things break down.

"The interior guys right next to me with Caden and Nick are who I am talking to the most and they have played a lot of football so that has helped me a ton," Feldkamp said. "Their experience within the game of football is phenomenal. But our entire group has been awesome to work with, and our offense has really been humming this year."

Feldkamp's path to Vermillion also makes his emergence a little more fitting. He is, in every sense, a South Dakota product. A Brandon Valley High School graduate, Feldkamp grew up in Sioux Falls and originally committed to Augustana because he wanted to remain home and play college football in Sioux Falls.

Then USD came calling. Former Coyotes offensive line coach Jeff Nady recruited Feldkamp late in the process before eventually leaving Vermillion to join the staff at Vanderbilt. When Nady departed, James Bain stepped in, bringing with him two seasons of experience as an assistant offensive line coach at Minnesota.

For Feldkamp, the transition has been an easy one. He has loved working with Bain and what the new offensive line coach has brought to the group, particularly his knowledge of the position and the game as a whole.

And now Feldkamp is getting the chance to live out what he wanted all along: playing Division I football without leaving the state he calls home.

"I am just so thankful to play Division I football, and I am a big South Dakota guy," Feldkamp said. "I have lived here my whole life. I was not going to leave the state. It didn't matter. I didn't have a ton of Division I offers, but I wanted to play in the state of South Dakota. I like being here. It's my state. I don't plan on leaving anytime soon."

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