Monmouth University Athletics

Sam Dorsett joined the Monmouth football coaching staff prior to the 2013 season and begins his 13th year on the sidelines for the Hawks in 2025 as the program's running backs coach. Since his arrival in West Long Branch, Dorsett has mentored five All-Conference running backs, each of whom have earned multiple all-league honors. Sone Ntoh, Jaden Shirden, Juwon Farri and Pete Guerriero each garnered national recognition under Dorsett's tutelage. Three Monmouth backs have gone on to sign NFL contracts, Shirden, Guerriero and Owen Wright. 

Monmouth’s rushing attack was powered by the dominant play of Sone Ntoh and Rodney Nelson, who formed a formidable backfield duo in 2024. Ntoh was a touchdown machine, leading the entire FCS in scoring (13.0 ppg), total touchdowns (26), and rushing touchdowns (25) on his way to First Team All-CAA honors and an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America selection. His physical running style made him nearly unstoppable in the red zone, helping Monmouth boast one of the top scoring offenses in the nation. Complementing Ntoh’s power, Rodney Nelson made a strong impact as a freshman, earning spots on the FCS Football Central and Phil Steele Freshman All-America teams.

Following an outstanding 2022 season, Shirden put together another impressive campaign during his final season in West Long Branch. Shirden finished third in the Walter Payton Award voting after leading the country in rushing for the second consecutive season (134.4 ypg) and was recognized again as the CAA Offensive Player of the Year. Following the year, Shirden was honored as a consensus First Team All-American, finished third in the Walter Payton Award voting, played in the East-West Shrine Bowl and signed a free agent contract with the Carolina Panthers. In addition to Shirden's success, Ntoh claimed Second Team All-CAA honors after scoring 14 rushing touchdowns in 2023. 

Shirden joined Guerriero as the second consensus offensive All-American in program history following a breakout sophomore season in 2022. The speedster led the entire country in rushing at the end of the regular season, including FBS running backs, with 1,722 yards. His 8.4 yards per carry and 156.5 rushing yards per game were both tops in the FCS, earning him Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year honors. Shirden averaged an impressive 52.8 yards on 13 touchdown runs, including eight 50+ yard touchdown runs. Wright followed his Monmouth career with an appearance in the NFLPA Bowl and signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens.

Farri burst onto the scene in 2018 with a 1,024-yard season that propelled him to First Team and Big South Freshman of the Year honors. Farri's performance put him fifth in the Jerry Rice Award voting and he secured Hero Sports and Phil Steele national freshman nods. In the shorted 2021 Spring campaign Farri grabbed four national awards, finished eighth in the Walter Payton Award voting, hauled in Big South Offensive Player of the Year honors and First Team All-Big South accolades. Farri followed up his standout spring with a First Team All-Big South selection after running for a team-high 705 yards and eight touchdowns in the 2021 campaign. 

Guerriero collected all-conference honors in all three of his seasons, including first team honors in 2017 and 2019. In 2017, Guerriero was named Big South Freshman of the Year, an AFCA Second Team All-American and a Hero Sports First Team Freshman All-American. Guerriero closed his career as the second all-time leading rusher at Monmouth with 3,974 yards following a 1,995 yard and 18-touchdown season in 2019. He became Monmouth's second First Team Associated Press All-American and pulled in five different national honors en route to finishing third in the Walter Payton Award voting. 

Lavon Chaney was a two-time All-Big South Second Team selection in consecutive seasons, 2014 and 2015, and graduated as Monmouth's third-leading rusher with 2,449 career rushing yards.

Dorsett also had a hand in the success of Monmouth's special teams, a unit he mentored from 2013 through 2022. Eight Hawks earned all-conference recognition under Dorsett, including punter Ryan Mohr (2014), punt returner Kamau Dumas (2017), kick returner Pete Guerriero (2017), punt returner Vinnny Grasso (2018), kicker Matt Mosquera (2018 and 2019), punt returner Eddie Morales III (2019 and 2021), long snapper Kent Vines (2019 and Spring 2021) and punter Ryan Kost (Spring 2021, 2021 and 2022). 

His first season at Monmouth was 2013 where Monmouth played as an independent and had a strong rushing attack. Both Julian Hayes (1,111) and KB Asante (1,080) went over 1,000 rushing yards on the season under Dorsett's tutelage. 

Dorsett, who left Robert Morris as the school’s all-time leading rusher, coached at his alma mater for five seasons before spending 2012 year as a member of Chris Villarrial’s staff at Saint Francis University.

In his only season with the Red Flash, Dorsett mentored a rushing unit that ranked 12^th in the Football Championship Subdivision as four different Saint Francis backs amassed 2,590 yards on 505 attempts. He mentored a talented and deep backfield, including freshman Anthony Abeid who was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year. While with the Red Flash Dorsett recruited Florida and Eastern Pennsylvania, landing a number of recruits from each area.

During his five seasons coaching the running backs at Robert Morris, Dorsett coached and recruited NEC Offensive Player of the Year Myles Russ, who ended up breaking Dorsett’s all-time rushing and all-purpose yardage school records. In 2010 he was instrumental in Robert Morris’ first FCS playoff berth and was one of 25 minority coaches from across the country to take part in the annual NCAA Football Coaches Academy. While a member of legendary Coach Joe Walton’s staff, Dorsett recruited Florida, Maryland, Washington D.C. and Virginia for the Colonials.

Dorsett was enshrined in the Robert Morris Hall of Fame in 2009 after a celebrated career which had him amass 3,847 rushing yards. The three-time All-Northeast Conference selection still holds the Colonial record for rushing touchdowns (29), and 100-yard rushing games (19). Robert Morris posted a 17-2 record when Dorsett ran for 100 yards or more in a contest and he led the Colonials to back to back NEC Titles and Mid-Major National Championships in 1999 and 2000. In 2001 he earned All-America honors from The Sports Network.

A 2003 graduate of RMU with a Bachelor of Science degree in management, Dorsett earned a Master of Science degree in communications and information systems in 2009 after spending two seasons a graduate assistant with the Colonials.