VERMILLION, S.D. — Sitting down with new cornerbacks coach Eric Finney, a deep dive into the South Dakota cornerbacks room heading into the 2025 season. Four of the five guys in the position group are sophomore or younger from the eligibility standpoint with a chance for the younger guys to make a name for themselves in spring ball, led by senior leader Shahid Barros.
 
2025 CORNERBACKS

• Shahid Barros (6-1, 195, R-Sr., New Bedford, Mass.)
• Tyler Green (6-0, 170, R-So., Atlanta, Ga.)
• Mikey Munn (6-1, 185, So., Windsor, Colo.)
• RJ Stewart (6-0, 175, R-Fr., Accokeek, Md.)
• Jaheim Williams (5-10, 175, R-Fr., Miramar, Fla.)

Spring Ball Report
"Getting to know the guys was a pretty fast process. We left for spring break and then came back and no off and running with spring ball," commented Finney on his transition to South Dakota. "The group was open arm and assisted me with the Yote culture."
 
"They've been awesome to work with, they compete. They have attention to detail and are actively learning and trying to understand how we all do things, making it one vision."
 
The focus this spring
"The focus this spring has been a lot of reps with a lot of young guys in the group. How can we help them learn the system and get ready for this fall. All this comes down to fundamentals: technique and discipline."
 
Heading into the 2025 Season
"All the young guys were on the team last year and saw that example set (Mike Reid, Shahid Barros), they understand the standard and what's needed to be successful. It's now their opportunity to get out there and match that or succeed that production."
 
"Yote fans can expect the cornerback group this year to be one that's highly competitive, highly dependable, and a group that has attention to detail out there on the field. This group wants to be a group that is able to put a stop to explosive plays that you see around college football."
 
Shahid Barros, senior
Barros has made 24 starts in his Coyote career, by far the leader of the cornerback room entering spring ball. He's made double-digit starts the last two seasons: 12 in 2023 and 11 in 2024.
 
"Shahid has great size and is a veteran of the game, he's produced at a high level during his time in Vermillion. The one word that comes to mind when I think about Shahid is poise: he's a veteran and he's hungry. He has big goals for both the program this upcoming season and for his future.
 
Missing the first three games due to injury, Barros immediately became a mainstay upon his return to the lineup. He recorded 44 tackles with one for loss, being a sack. He disrupted the opponent passing game with three pass break-ups and his lone interception of the season coming in the FCS Second Round against Tarleton State.
 
"Shahid has been awesome on the field and off the field. He's working on building (his leadership) but he has the natural traits to be a great leader. He's now the oldest guy in the room and everything he puts on the field, there's younger guys watching him.
 
RJ Stewart, redshirt freshman
Stewart is one of the young redshirt freshman guys on the team heading into the new season. You might remember Stewart, not from his time on the football field (redshirted in '24) but his throwdown dunks at halftime of a men's basketball game.
 

Plenty of big dunks from our guys at the @SDCoyotesMBB game last night, but RJ Stewart came out on top! 👑#GoYotes x #WeAreSouthDakota pic.twitter.com/czk8H7Ziue

— South Dakota Football (@SDCoyotesFB) February 20, 2025

 
"First thing you notice about this guy, you see him throw that dunk and say, 'this guy can play basketball! He was a high school basketball player, or so he says – we checked the tape," joked Finney.
 
"RJ is a really good athlete; he processes the game well. He has all the intangibles and traits you need and now it's all about getting those reps and becoming consistent with his play."
 
Mikey Munn, sophomore
One of the few true freshmen last season who saw time on the field, Munn made a name for himself and delivered big plays in the special teams game. As the season progressed, you saw him make the rotation play late in the season at cornerback.
 
"Mikey plays hard, he's fast, and he's physical," said Finney. "And he has high expectations for himself and the team."
 
Heading into the 2025 season, Munn is set to transition from safety (his position group in '24) to corner full-time this year. He began making the switch mid-to-late 2024 season, on top of his game reps in specials teams.
 
"The cornerback position is relatively new to him. You get a lot of "firsts" out there, 'that's the first time I've seen it like that," noted Finney. "But he makes up for that with his intangibles. He's really at the floor of his game right now, he's going to continue to build and build over the next few years."
 
Tyler Green, sophomore
"Considering the youth of the group, he's one of the older ones. He understands the scheme really well and he understands the expectations."
 
"On the field, he's really quick and a really fast learner," noted Finney. "You combine that with the fact he plays really hard, Tyler has been a joy to be around and we continue to expect him to compete."
 
Jahiem Williams, redshirt freshman
"Jahiem is another younger guy in the group. He's super physical and has played a lot of good football. He came from a great high school down in Florida, so's he's been around some really good high-quality football."
 
"He's really trying to take the things he did in high school, match the things he did during his redshirt season of development (2024) and really put all those things together here this spring. This is a good opportunity to get some really good reps out there."
 
Note: roster notes and comments are of spring ball rosters and, in no way, are indicative of depth chart positioning. Rosters can fluctuate between the time of posting spotlight and the start of the 2025 season.