Moon Township, Pa. – Due to his body type,
Robert Morris University sophomore
Dante Satcher was known as the "Thin Man" while growing up in Clearwater, Fla. But as he added size and strength, the "h" was removed and he became the "Tin Man."
"My dad gave me those nicknames," Satcher said, laughing. "But nobody around here really knows about them. They just know me as 'Satch.'"
They also know him as the most dangerous kick returner in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS).
Satcher's 43.1-yard average on nine returns leads the nation. Ditto for his two touchdowns. His totals include a 99-yard score on the season-opening kick against Alderson Broaddus and a 100-yard touchdown this past Saturday versus Saint Francis U.
"To be a good returner you have to have vision and desire," Satcher said. "When I say desire, what I mean is, you might be able to make some people miss, but do you have the desire to keep going and take it the distance. It's a mindset. Some people don't like special teams and don't want to be out there. Not me. I love it. I love having that ball in my hands."
The Saint Francis U game underscores the point. Satcher's four returns netted a school-record 173 yards. That was enough to get him named the Northeast Conference Special Teams Player of the Week. More honors could come, given his thirst for the end zone.
The way Satcher sees it, once he breaks into the open field, nobody's going to catch him.
"Hasn't happened yet," said Satcher, a former track star at Countryside High who's been timed at 4.45 seconds in the 40-yard dash. "That's something that I can't let happen. Nope, cannot get caught."
Having returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown last season, Satcher is easily the school's all-time leader with three. No player has scored more than once on a kickoff return in the 23-year history of the program.
Also the team's leading rusher with 225 yards on 63 carries, Satcher said a long return can cripple the morale of the opposition. Which, coincidentally, is exactly what he set out to do last Saturday after the Colonials fell behind to NEC rival St. Francis, 24-3, in the fourth quarter.
"Needed a spark," he said.
After coach
John Banaszak designed a return on the sideline, Satcher's teammates implored him to turn the game around.
"They said, 'Satch, you got this. We're going to make our blocks and you're going to make a play,'" Satcher said. "They said they believe in me."
The "Tin Man" took their words to heart.
He started up the middle, then sprinted right. After deftly setting up several blocks, he found a crease and raced to the longest return in RMU history. The touchdown, which cut the deficit to 14 with 11:25 remaining, ignited the crowed at Joe Walton Stadium in what became a 24-10 loss.
Drawing comparisons to Florida native and all-time NFL return great Devin Hester, Satcher said he set a goal for himself to take three kicks back for scores this season. With five regular-season games remaining for the Colonials, that is hardly out of the question.
"Every time I get the ball back there, I'm thinking touchdown," Satcher said. "You have to have that mentality. Otherwise, you might as well not be back there."
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