Colony’s Jack Nash commits to play football for South Dakota State, reigning FCS national champions

PALMER, Alaska (KTUU) - Colony senior Jack Nash returned from Kodiak Island Monday after harvesting a 9-foot brown bear, which could be considered his second trophy behind his 2022 State Championship.

The next day, he announced his commitment to South Dakota State University — who won their own trophy last year as the reigning FCS National Champions.

”When I went there for my visit right when I got there I had 10, 12 coaches come down and greet me. That’s never happened before when I went on other visits so that really stood out to me,” Nash said via Zoom from his home in Palmer.

He’s excited to join a program with strong local support, just like here in Alaska.

”What I really loved there was the culture with everybody,” Nash said. “They really support their football team, in South Dakota there is not a professional sports team so all the locals treat the program like their own.”

Nash put together a remarkable season with Colony High School in 2022, racking up more than 2,600 yards and 34 total touchdowns as the team’s starting quarterback. He scored the game-winning touchdown with 17 seconds left in the championship game to lead Colony to the school’s first Division I State title in history.

On defense, Nash tallied 103 tackles and led the entire state with 12 interceptions, returning three of them for touchdowns and was named the 2022 Gatorade Player of the Year and MaxPreps Player of the Year.

The Jackrabbits plan to use the 6-foot-2 athlete as a hybrid linebacker-safety in their defense.

“I’m playing like a nickel linebacker. I’ll still be in coverage, but I am going to be playing down low, be a little bit more on the physical side,” Nash said, who plans to be playing at 190 lbs.

Nash was banged up for much of his senior season, playing on five games where he still amassed over 1,000 yards and 12 total touchdowns with 21 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery on defense. He now turns his attention towards completing his senior year and graduating in May.

”A new door has finally opened. My dad likes to call it ‘we’re not chasing dreams anymore, it’s thegoals.’” Nash added.

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