Multiple players with South Dakota ties heard their names called this weekend during the 2019 National Football League draft. Trey Pipkins of the University of Sioux Falls was selected at No. 91 overall to the Los Angeles Chargers on Friday night.
Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco said Pipkins is a gifted athlete, and that selecting him in the third round was an easy decision.
"Trey has a lot of traits we look for as an offensive tackle, both left and right. Tall, long arms, very athletic, very smart, very aware. Obviously we know he’s coming from division two football, so it’s going to take some work," explained Telesco. "Trey at his level was a dominating player, but then he went to an all-star game against other division one players, he was one of the better players there as well. Just a lot of things that we can work with at that position, and his work ethic and smarts are going to help him with that too."
In his final two seasons playing for the USF Cougars, Pipkins only allowed one sack.
South Dakota State University cornerback Jordan Brown was also drafted, although he wasn’t selected until the seventh round on Saturday afternoon. Brown was chosen at No. 223 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Brown’s teammate in college, Jackrabbits quarterback Taryn Christion, was not selected, but instead was picked up as an undrafted free agent after the draft by the Seattle Seahawks.
The Miami Dolphins selected defensive end Andrew Van Ginkel from the University of Wisconsin in the fifth round as well. Van Ginkel began his collegiate career playing for the University of South Dakota where he was named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Freshman of the Year in 2015.