Travis Johansen on transfer portal, USD's big comeback year, Bouman's last hurrah, closing gap toward national title

To say agents and FBS coaches are like vultures circling upon top-end players from top-end FCS schools like North Dakota State is a "massive understatement," Bison coach Tim Polasek said last week in a Fargo sports talk interview.   Polasek called the days after a season ends "gut-wrenching" because of the re-recruiting he feels he needs to do with some of his best players in hopes they won't be allured by the NIL money and prestige that could come from transferring up to the next level.   South Dakota State coach Dan Jackson told Sioux Falls Live's Matt Zimmer these postseason exit interviews can be "tiring and draining," particluarly with players he is trying to talk out of entering the transfer portal, which officially opens Jan. 2 and lasts through Jan. 16. (It is understood and openly discussed that coaches and agents illegally reach out to players throughout the calendar year).    Some meetings get so intense, "there would be guys that I would not let out of my office," Jackson said. "The door would get locked."   USD's Travis Johansen has been going through one-on-one postseason player interviews this week — one week after the Jacks' exit from the FCS playoffs and two weeks after the Bison were finished.   If there is anything "gut-wrenching" or "tiring and draining" about convincing players to stay in Vermillion, Johansen didn't express it in his weekly half-hour chat on "Happy Hour with John Gaskins."   "I don't think any of those adjectives hit what I feel," Johansen said. "In the last calendar year, when those things happened, we were able to rebound."   Several players from USD's 2024 FCS semifinal squad took six-figure NIL deals at FBS schools, including Missouri Valley Football Conference defensive player of the year Mi'Quise Humphrey-Grace (Kentucky), leading tackler Gary Bryant (Syracuse) and a pair of Power Four offensive linemen including Joe Cotton, who was named All-Big 12 at Cincinnati.    All the Coyotes did was finish 10-5, good for second place in the rugged MVFC behind NDSU, and become the only FCS team to reach the quarterfinals for the third consecutive season in 2025.    After Johansen mentioned that USD was "the best place" for USD players to return in 2026, Cotton's story of FBS success was presented.   "The unfortunate part of that is it is an exception to the rule these days," Johansen said, noting he follows players who leave the MVFC for the FBS and tracks reps played, Pro Football Focus grades, and other factors to determine this conclusion.   The top receiver in the FCS, Trey Lance, stayed at North Dakota State this past season and is currently projected as a third or fourth round NFL Draft pick by one prospect by NFLDraftBuzz.com. On Monday, SDSU quarterback Chase Mason announced on Happy Hour he would be staying in Brookings for his senior season despite Power Four schools previously offering him over $1 million (according to coach Dan Jackson).    Mason said NFL scouts have told him it will serve him just fine to continue playing against FCS compeition, that his 6'4, 230 lb. bodybuilding frame, cannon arm, and impressive open field speed will be no less attractive to NFL teams if he stays at SDSU.      Asked if the examples of Lance and Mason can or will be used as a tool to keep some of the Coyotes' best players them at USD, Johansen brought up his own quarterback, Aidan Bouman, turning down multiple FBS offers to come back and lead the Yotes to a third straight deep playoff run and cap off one of the most prolific quarterback careers ever at the school.   "The guys that were in our building were secure with our mentality and what we're doing, and there's enough people that love this place and want to be a part of it," Johansen said. "Our entire locker room does."   Does "entire locker room" include USD's two breakout All-American offensive weapons — running back L.J. Phillips and wideout Larenzo Fenner, each with two years of eligibility?   Which other underclassmen is Johansen particularly excited to see return to the Yotes in 2026?   What did he learn the most in his first year as a head coach?    What will it take for the Coyotes to close the gap on national title contenders like Montana and Montana State, the teams have eliminated USD from the playoffs the last two years?   Johansen tackles all those questions with thoughtfulness and candor in the 35-minute chat.