Shorter breaking out for nationally ranked Yotes

University of South Dakota safety Dennis Shorter is coming off a memorable performance on Saturday that led to being named Missouri Valley Football Conference defensive player of the week.

It’s the first such honor for Shorter, a junior from Daytona Beach, Fla., who intercepted a pass in the second quarter and also picked off a two-point conversion attempt in the final minute of the Coyotes’ terrific 24-19 win over No. 2 North Dakota State in Fargo.

Given that he surrounded those two pivotal moments with 13 tackles in a USD victory that startled the FCS world, the deliberation process at MVFC headquarters was likely brief when it was time to decide who was going to earn this weekly honor.

There were many other Coyotes turning in huge contributions in a win that was remarkable in the comprehensive way USD maintained control in front of 18,000 at the Fargodome. Those efforts included MVFC offensive player of the week Carter Bell, who caught five passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns, and the offense’s epic 8-minute, 14-second drive in the fourth quarter that ended in a 37-yard Will Leyland field goal.

An early flashpoint that established how this was going to work out was Shorter picking off Bison quarterback Cam Miller in the second quarter. The interception broke up Miller’s school-record 23-pass completion streak and represented the Bison’s first turnover of the season. It also led to a three-score lead.

“I have to thank the front line and the linebackers,” Shorter said. “I have to thank them for the way they put me in position to make a play on the ball.”

You get the feeling with Shorter that this is not an act. Extra pushups and penalty laps would be preferable to saying anything to draw attention to himself that goes beyond what he does on the field.

“He’s a very cerebral player,” said defensive coordinator Travis Johansen. “He understands what we do at a very high level. It’s like he’s become a coach on the field. He sees things from a big-picture perspective and at the same time he’s very instinctual and he’s a good tackler. He gives you all the things you really need out of that position.”

When you’re coming off a week where you picked off two passes against the second-rated team in the nation, keeping a low profile can be more challenging. But so far, he’s not giving in.

“We all have to remain humble – we’re hungry and humble,” Shorter said. “We live by those words every day: ‘Hungry and humble’. We can’t let this win get to our heads because the next opponent coming in will be trying to do the same thing to us. We can’t take anyone lightly.”

After an excellent high school career at Flagler Palm Coast High School, he started his college career at Bethune-Cookman, located in his hometown of Daytona Beach. He didn’t play a down there, however, because the program, like so many others in 2020, was shut down with COVID that season.

After a year at the school he went looking for a new challenge. When offered a scholarship at USD, he took it, ignoring the inevitable uncertainties that can come with moving far from home.

“Coach (Travis) Johansen, Coach (Bob) Nielson and Coach (Miles) Taylor all took a chance on me,” Shorter said. “I haven’t looked back. I have never regretted it.”

While the opportunities on the football field and his initial impression of the Coyote coaching staff had a lot to do with the move from Florida to South Dakota, there was more to it than that.

“It was my opportunity to get away from home to better myself,” he said. “I wanted to try to make it on my own because I wanted to grow as a person. I wanted to challenge myself.”

Part of the challenge once he got here was getting to know people. Shorter admits to initial apprehensiveness about that but we’re talking about personal growth, right?

“I needed to start meeting new people,” he said. “When I first got here, I used to just walk around and not talk to anyone. I knew that wasn’t going to work, though, when you’re trying to accomplish what I was trying to accomplish.”

For Shorter’s first two days on campus he hardly left his room, he said. He has since then become one of the Coyotes’ most outgoing players.

“My teammates ended up coming to my room and making me come out,” Shorter said. “We went out and played basketball. Ever since then we have had a bond and we all stick together.”

Shorter would like to be a football coach someday. He will be able to draw on several members of the USD staff as examples of the way he would want to lead his players.

“My coaches are pretty straight forward,” he said. “You don’t want coaches who will just tell you anything to keep you happy. They’re going to tell you the truth because they want you to be the best player you can be.”

Along with several others in the Coyote secondary, Shorter has heeded the truth.

“This group in general is very focused and mature,” Johansen said. “A lot of the guys on defense have been here with us three or four years. They’ve been through some tough stuff – they’ve had to take their lumps while they developed on the field. Like the rest of them, Dennis has had to power his way through growing up in the program. They’ve seen the other side of the coin and worked their way to get in the position they’re in now. I think they’re ready to take advantage of that.”

The Coyotes head into their Dakota Days game with Murray State looking to prove last week’s win over NDSU was not an aberration. In the coming weeks they will get several additional opportunities to prove last week’s win wasn’t as surprising as some might be making it seem.

“We have a brotherhood working for us now,” Shorter said. “It’s not like we have anyone above anyone else. We’re all staying together as one.”