BROOKINGS — For as long as South Dakota State has been a Division I football team, strength at middle linebacker — 'The Mike' — has been a hallmark of the program.
You could argue it started with Jimmy Rogers, the man who coaches the Jackrabbits today. Rogers was an undersized overachiever from Arizona who'd never heard of South Dakota State when they first recruited him, but he left a four-year starter, all-conference selection and die-hard Jackrabbit.
That seemed to establish a standard in Brookings.
From Rogers to Mike Lien, RC Kilgore, TJ Lally, Christian Rozeboom, and now, Adam Bock, the Jacks have always been able to count on their Mike serving as a reliable quarterback of the defense, a sure-handed tackler who sets the tone in practice and ensures the defense executes with efficiency on Saturdays.
Bock, now a senior, has been as good as any of them. A five-year starter and three-year captain, the Solon, Iowa native was recently named to his third All-Missouri Valley Football Conference first team, and heads into Saturday's playoff opener against Montana hoping to lead the Jacks to a third straight national championship.
Bock has battled injuries for much of his career, but when healthy he's been nothing short of the total package. The 6-foot-1, 225-pounder is one of the fastest linebackers in the Valley, is built like a Mr. Olympia competitor, plays with an intimidating, hard-hitting style and yet with all his physical tools, is revered among coaches and teammates as much for his cerebral approach to the game. Bock is almost never caught in the wrong place, rarely misses an assignment and excels at making sure the players are where Rogers and defensive coordinator Jesse Bobbit want them to be.
"Obviously, physically, he's a great player," said outside linebacker Graham Spalding. "But mentally, I mean, people take for granted how much it takes mentally each week to go up against a high-level opponent and run the defense like he does. He knows everything he needs to. I see it every week and it motivates the other guys. That's what takes him to another level."
Bock grew up in the shadow of Kinnick Stadium in Solon, where he was an all-timer of an athlete. He excelled at running back and linebacker for the Spartans (taking handoffs from North Dakota State quarterback Cam Miller), while also playing baseball and basketball, running track and wrestling, but none of it was enough to get an offer from the Hawkeyes.
So Bock came to Brookings, where he played in four games as a redshirt in 2019 and then took over as the starting middle linebacker in the spring season of 2020, replacing the departed Christian Rozeboom, the Jacks' all-time leading tackler and himself a four-year starter.
Rozeboom is currently one of the leading tacklers in the NFL for the LA Rams, but Bock has pretty much filled those shoes from the moment he stepped into the lineup.
That's how good he's been.
Bock made 74 tackles as a rookie in that spring season, helping the Jacks reach Frisco for the first time. He came back that fall and put together an MVP-caliber season, recording 125 tackles, 2.5 sacks, two interceptions, eight passes defensed, a blocked kick, two forced fumbles and a touchdown.
Having established himself as a bona fide star, the next step for Bock was getting the Jacks back to Frisco and finishing the job. They did it in 2022 and again last year, and while Bock was a major factor both years, he missed significant time with injuries.
Both times he made it back in time for the playoffs, and both times he made his presence felt, especially in last year's 23-3 win over Montana, in which his goalline tackle of Griz running back Eli Gillman prevented a touchdown and served as the turning point in the Jacks' win.
Bock already had awards and a ring, but that tackle made him a legend.
"He's up there with the best we've had," Rogers said. "He's one of the most consistent workers I've ever been around, regardless of position. He's one of the best defensive players that's ever played here, and he's lived every part of his life outside the walls of football the right way, which is a big part of why he has success. He's been a blessing to coach."
Bock's emergence, rise and development from freshman to where he is today has coincided with that of Mark Gronowski, the SDSU quarterback, as the two have served similar roles to their side of the ball for the last half-decade. Everyone sees what Bock brings to the Jacks defense on Saturday, but Gronowski credits Bock for making him a better quarterback, too.
"He brings a different competitiveness," the reigning Walter Payton Award winner said. "All summer and all spring me and him are going head to head competing in every single thing we do, whether it's 20-yard dashes or 1-on-1s. We're always trying to bring the best out of each other, and he's always doing the little things right, which keeps me on my toes, and me and him can always come together to talk about what's going on with the team, too. He's been a rock to have next to me."
Bock entered this year with the primary goal of staying healthy, and he's done that, not missing a game and notching 75 tackles to go with three sacks and an interception. He enters the playoffs with 419 career tackles and 13.5 sacks. A look from the NFL is likely, but beating the Griz on Saturday and getting back to Frisco come first. Ask Bock about his own play this year and he mostly demurs, crediting the play of the unit as a whole (which is holding FCS opponents to fewer than 10 points per game for the second year in a row) over his individual contributions.
"I'm just proud of how we've played as a collective group on defense," Bock said. "Control what I can control and play my best every week and do my small part to bring our defense where it needs to go."
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