Who says you can't go to your second home again?

Vince Benedetto is a Chicagoland native, but he feels back at home in Brookings, where his South Dakota football journey has come full circle. 

As a South Dakota State tight end from 2010-13 and graduate assistant in 2014-15, Benedetto helped the Jackrabbits grow into a consistent Top 20 FCS program before starting a decade-long high school coaching run that included working under prep legends Craig Clayberg and Kim Nelson, then building a brand new program at Sioux Falls Jefferson into a state champion in the school's second year of existence in 2022.

After the sixth season in what was trending as a long and successful high school head coaching career, Benedetto took up new coach Dan Jackson's offer to coach the position he played at his alma mater.

Benedetto describes the whirlwind of the last four months, which included an immediate, fast break recruiting blitz to salvage a roster ravaged by departures — mostly with former coach Jimmy Rogers to Washington State — and travels all over the Rushmore State.

The stories flow — his recruiting trip to SDSU as a player, Kalen DeBoer's recruiting pitch to Benedetto at USF, a front row seat to the Zach Zenner show, Clayberg and Nelson, taking over powerhouse West Central as his first head gig, and moving on up to Jefferson.