The University of South Dakota football program knew it was getting a smart player with good instincts when the Coyotes landed a commitment from inside linebacker Brock Mogensen in the winter of 2017.
 
He's a coach's kid with all the accompanying positives that can come with that. Things like knowing the game and understanding his role within the defense were what USD expected and what they got.
 
Inside linebacker/special teams coach Rob Aurich, by his own admission, did not figure Mogensen, a Farmington, Minn., native, was a lock to become an all-conference player when he showed up on campus, however.
 
The sophomore has since delivered on what the coaching staff thought they were getting. Except for this: He's better than they thought. Missing on recruiting expectations is much better when that's how you surprise the coaches.
 
"The winter going into my redshirt freshman year was a big step," Mogensen said. "I improved my power and speed. Then, coming out in spring ball, it sorta took off for me."
 
With strength and conditioning coach Clete McLoed and his staff, in addition to teammates who continue to challenge him, Mogensen has become a playmaking linebacker who represents the interior core of the Coyote defense along with fellow all-conference inside linebacker Jack Cochrane. 
 
While there is still a lot of football to be played this year, perhaps the main point after a 17-14 loss at Kansas and a resounding 34-7 win over Northern Arizona in the home opener is that the Coyotes have asserted themselves defensively to a greater degree than they have in the recent past.
 
In the middle of it within defensive coordinator Travis Johansen's sometimes distinctive schemes are Mogensen and Cochrane. Between the two of them, they had 16 tackles against Northern Arizona with Mogensen accounting for eight tackles, including a sack and a tackle for loss.  
 
"Each week our coaches are pushing us at practice," Mogensen said. "We have very intense practices focused on knowing our schemes. That can mean repeating a play three or four times – they're definitely making sure we know this is the scheme we're going to roll with."
 
Mogensen's career at USD got started the way many college football careers began. He got knocked around that first year in practice and didn't play at all his first year in the program. Then he went to work. 
 
Listed at 6-2, 230-pounds, he said he fit those same general dimensions back in 2018. The difference is that he moves that weight around a lot faster than he once did.
 
"When he got here, he needed a lot of development," Aurich said. "As a credit to Brock and our strength and conditioning staff, he's turned himself into a kid who looks like a Division I linebacker. To have his ability to run and change directions and tackle – then add his increased speed and strength – that's what has led to him being successful."
 
During last spring's COVID-scarred four-game schedule, Mogensen asserted himself as the kind of standout defender a college program is always looking for. He led the Coyotes in tackles and was second in the league in average tackles per game, earning second-team All-MVFC in the process. 
 
Though it's essentially meaningless, Mogensen was recently named to the MVFC preseason All-Conference team. It's a sign that the word is getting around that he's got the goods. Recognition on that count began earlier within the Coyote program, however. He was showing signs of being on an all-conference track back in 2019, Aurich said. It was apparent early on that second year in the program that he'd made a significant step forward.
 
"We had to get him ready to play that year," Aurich said. "It was a game against Youngstown State – he'd been solid up to that point – but in that game, all of a sudden you saw No. 49 getting off blocks and chasing the ball carrier down from sideline to sideline and it was like 'Oh, we got something here.'"
 
That's the kind of player he's been since then, establishing himself as a positive presence as a leader while also making everyone aware at USD and around the league that he's an excellent linebacker. 
 
"I really enjoy getting to know the new guys coming into the program," Mogensen said. "You get to know where they're from – break the guys out of their shells. A lot of them come in and they're kind of shy but we're a tight-knit team. Everybody knows everybody around here."
 
The Coyotes talk about measuring their time together in terms of positives and negatives. How can we greet sometimes trying circumstances as a positive influence? It's a great way to look at things but it demands that leaders on the team answer the call. 
 
"His ability to be positive and always be up in the moment wears off on his teammates," Aurich said. "We nominate a captain every week who is not one of the captains for the season and Brock was our guy the first week. It's a testament to what he means to the program."
 
Mogensen's father, Glenn, is an assistant coach for the Farmington football team who was an NAIA All-American linebacker at Southwest Minnesota State. His mother, Julie, set the all-time basketball scoring record in high school at Farmington before playing at SMSU. 
 
She held that record until 2019 when Molly Mogensen, Brock's sister, broke her mother's scoring record. Molly is now playing at Creighton, a few hours south of Vermillion. 
 
Brock also has a younger sister who plays basketball and a younger brother who plays basketball and football at Farmington. 
 
"Molly comes up here to see us play and I go down there to see her play," Brock said. "I think it's pretty cool that we both ended up in the same area. Our family has always been based around a lot of sports. At home we're always on the go."
 
It's a sports-crazy family that set Brock on his way. That includes understanding the nuances of defensive football and embracing what goes into being a good teammate. 
 
"We tell Brock he's the worst athlete in his family," Aurich said, laughing. "And we might not even be lying. The Mogensens definitely raised their kids right."