Beschorner hits tenth year as Coyotes’ coach

It was a Thursday night practice for the Coyote football team, and in less than 48 hours they would be travelling to Cedar Falls to take on the No. 18 team in the country, Northern Iowa. Based off of the team’s mood, it would’ve been hard to tell.

Music blared from the speakers in the DakotaDome as players went through the motions of a padless practice. Players jumped around and had fun between plays, as they sang along to different songs that streamed throughout the practice. The Coyotes are keeping things light this year, as they’ve been winning games and having fun doing it.

One of the men responsible for the Coyotes recent turnaround is associate head coach and offensive coordinator Wesley Beschorner. Beschorner is in his tenth season of coaching for the Coyotes, but has been around since 2001 when he came to USD as a player.

Beschorner grew up in Lohrville, Iowa, and came to Vermillion for opportunity.

“I didn’t have a lot of options and this was one school that offered me a chance to play quarterback and that was something I wanted to do in college,” Beschorner said. “That’s the reason I came to USD, to get a chance to play quarterback. I think that’s the biggest position you can have an impact on the program from.”

And have an impact he did. In 2005, as a senior, Beschorner led the Coyotes to a NCC championship and was a first-team All-American as well as a national player of the year finalist. In his senior year Beschorner set new USD records for passing yards and touchdowns, and accounted for 33 new records by the time his playing career ended.

After his senior season, Beschorner joined the coaching staff as a graduate assistant. He wanted to stick around and keep helping the team.

“I came here for a reason and played here for a reason and stayed for those same things,” he said. “I wanted to do whatever I could to help this program and help this school.”

Beschorner has helped lead the team through the transition to Division I and has seen some of the biggest wins in program history. In 2010, USD traveled to Minneapolis and took down Minnesota and the next year they knocked off defending champions Eastern Washington.  This year the Coyotes added another game to that list when they defeated North Dakota State in Fargo.

This year, however, the Coyotes aren’t looking back and are focused on the present.

“It’s a game and you’ve got to keep it light. At the same if you’re focused on the here and now like coach (Joe)Glenn says, you’re willing to do what you can for that six to ten seconds of every snap, then you can kind of relax your mind for a little bit,” Beschorner said.

Beschorner wants to help instill that confidence. Throughout practice he likes to switch it up.

He spends a lot of time with his quarterbacks, but makes sure to let the whole team know he’s got their backs. After catching some of the quarterback’s passes and showing he’s still got it on the throws back, Beschorner walks up and down the sideline stopping to talk to each group of players.

This isn’t your normal coach talk, though. He’s all smiles while he chats with his offense and checks in to see how things are going.

As guys run off the field while he’s calling plays, he gives the a fist bump and a “good work” while he jogs out to go over the play book with the offense. Beschorner likes to be out there with his players and enjoys talking with them.

“If you can relate to them at that level and get out and play catch with anybody it’s amazing what you can learn about someone by playing catch with them or just talking to them while their mind is on something else whether it’s catching a football or blocking,” he said.  “I do wish that college football went all year round so I could be around the guys all year.”

The coaches love to get to know their players and spend a lot of time recruiting the right fits for USD.

“At South Dakota you’ve got to find the right type of person. Probably everyone says that at every program, but you have to find the type of guy that can adapt and be productive in Vermillion, a small town, Midwest area,” Beschorner said. “I think there are a lot of guys on the team that embrace the community, embrace the culture and embrace where we are at. Whether they come from ten hours or ten minutes away.”

It’s guys like this that this Coyotes team is built on. As the Coyotes have shown improvement this year, Beschorner is optimistic about the future and the hard work the coaches have put in is starting to show off.

“Onward and upward, obviously, is one of our mottos at USD. Just the investment and process in the football program is vital,” Beschorner said. “The more that we can invest in our football team, the better off I think the whole community and school can be. I know we’re doing that and it’s never easy but the guys that we have right now have really bought in and that’s an exciting thing.”

As the team’s future looks bright, no one knows what Beschorner’s may hold.

“I would love to be the head coach of the Coyotes,” he said. “But our head coach is Joe Glenn right now. If that opportunity ever comes up, I’ll be the first guy in line.”