Did this year's Bachelorette fall for South Dakota's Dale Moss?

A South Dakota man is rumored to have won the heart of the star of the upcoming season of The Bachelorette, giving one of the nation's most-watched franchises its most dramatic plot twist yet, multiple entertainment outlets are reporting. 

Clare Crawley, 39, is rumored to have quit the ABC show after falling for Dale Moss, a 31-year-old originally from Brandon, outlets such as People, US Weekly, Entertainment Tonight, Cosmopolitan and other entertainment outlets have reported. 

Moss, who played football for South Dakota State University and eventually went on to a brief stint in the NFL, was listed as one of the men to be in season 16 of The Bachelorette, according to the Bachelorette's official Facebook page. Even after COVID-19 threw a wrench in production, Moss was in the franchise's lineup. Those photo galleries have since been removed from the show's Facebook page. 

The entertainment outlets are reporting that Crawley wanted to quit the show after finding love, presumably with Moss, who is now a model, philanthropist and global ambassador for Special Olympics. 

Reality Steve, a blogger known for accurately predicting Bachelor franchise spoilers, has reported that Moss received Crawley's first impression rose, a token to mark the leading lady's piqued interest.

Reality Steve later tweeted that Crawley has backed out of the show and will be replaced by Tayshia Adams, a 29-year-old who was a contestant in former NFL player Colton Underwood's season. 

Previously:South Dakota native to be on next season of 'The Bachelorette'

ABC has not made an official statement regarding the rumors, and neither Crawley nor Moss have addressed the rumors. Multiple frequent Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants have made congratulatory social media posts to Adams for her new role. 

The Bachelorette has twice posted to its Facebook page short promo videos in the last two days that appear to still feature Crawley. 

Moss, who now lives in New York City, spent a good portion of the last few months in South Dakota because of the COVID-19 pandemic. His first Instagram post tagged in Sioux Falls was early March. Moss's social media has been private since the announcement of the show, which is common for the contestants. 

Moss lettered in basketball, football and track and field at Brandon Valley High School, according to his bio from SDSU. He earned all-state honors in football and was named to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader Elite 45 in his senior season after nabbing 45 catches and eight touchdowns.

He played basketball at SDSU for four years and made the transition to the football field his senior year. 

He spent time as an NFL wide receiver with the Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Chicago Bears. 

The Bachelorette is expected to premiere "soon" on Tuesdays, ABC said in social media posts.

Email reporter Danielle Ferguson at dbferguson@argusleader.com, or follow on Twitter at @DaniFergs.