VERMILLION, S.D.—South Dakota junior defensive tackle Nick Gaes has been named FedEx Ground FCS National Defensive Player of the Week by Stats Perform for his performance in Saturday's 24-0 win against St. Thomas inside the DakotaDome. Gaes also earned his first MVFC Defensive Player of the Week honor.
 
Gaes fueled South Dakota's first shutout since 2019 by posting seven tackles including five for 25 yards in losses and three sacks. He also had two quarterback hurries and forced a fumble that teammate Micah Roane recovered to set up the Coyotes' final score of the game.
 
Gaes is the first FCS player to record five tackles-for-loss in a game this season and the second Coyote since 2001 to do so (Darin Greenfield, 5.5 TFL in 2017). Gaes is the third Coyote at the Division I level to record three sacks in a game, joining Greenfield and Tyler Starr. Just five FCS players have notched three sacks in a game this season.
 
South Dakota handed St. Thomas its first shutout in nearly 12 years. The Coyote defense limited the Tommies to 166 yards of total offense.
 
The Coyotes next host Lamar at 1 p.m. Saturday inside the DakotaDome.