Why top FCS rusher Jaden Shirden stayed at Monmouth and out of transfer portal

WEST LONG BRANCH – It was the greatest show on FCS turf, with weekly episodes playing out last fall on a Colonial Athletic Association field near you. And the star was Monmouth’s sophomore speedster Jaden Shirden, whose electrifying highlight reel included a best-in-the-country 1,722 yards and 156.5 yards-per-game, while his 8.36 yards-per-carry was a full yard better than anyone else in the country.

Then again, in the era of the transfer portal, those kind of dazzling numbers can end up being a bad thing. Monmouth lost All-American quarterback Tony Muskett to Virginia during the offseason.

But Shirden remained loyalty to the program that gave him his opportunity.

“It was never in my heart.  No decision to make. During the season, or after the season,” Shirden said. “Of course you hear things, people say what they want to say, but leaving was never a factor for me.”

A finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which goes to the FCS’ top offensive player, Shirden had four runs of 75 yards or more.

“We were worried, but it says a lot about him, as a person and who he is,” Monmouth coach Kevin Callahan said. “We had that conversation, Jaden and I did, and he said ‘I can what I do here or wherever I go. What difference does it make?’ And that’s his attitude.

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”He’s all about Monmouth football right now and that is all we could ask for.”

With two years of eligibility remaining, Shirden remains the centerpiece of the Hawks’ high-flying offense, which finished ninth nationally in total offense at 461.7 yards-per-game, and 12th in rushing offense at 228.2 yards.

Part of the offseason focus for Shirden has been adding size and improving his pass blocking, having already gone from 182 to 187 pounds, with a hope of playing at around 190 pounds next season.

“There’s no question he needed to improve that the most,” Callahan said. “By adding the muscle and size he’s going to help himself in that area. Last year, I don’t want to say he was too small, but too light in some cases. He’s bigger now and he’s more confident in his ability to block and pass protect.”

With the departure of Owen Wright, who became a short yardage specialist but was capable of being a feature back, and Juwon Farri, who lost his starting job to Shirden and transferred to Eastern Illinois, Monmouth must fill a void in the depth chart. They are expecting Harvard running back Sone Ntoh, a 5-11, 230-pound graduate transfer who carried the ball 63 times last season. But he won’t join the team until summer practice.

“We have to capitalize on what we did last year and trying to be more explosive, be more feared,” Shirden added.

Passing on knowledge

As Thursday’s practice was winding down, sophomore linebacker Charlie Sasso from Wall, who played sparingly as a freshman, was on the field alongside Jake Brown, the graduate transfer linebacker from Harvard who was an honorable mention All-Ivy League selection last fall.

It’s all part of the plan to bring along some of Monmouth’s younger players, as they look to revive a defensive unit that struggled badly last season.

“What we’re trying to do in a lot of areas on the field try to mix and match older guys with younger guys,” Callahan said. “You learn by doing it but if you’re not sure the guy next to you can say ‘hey, we’re doing this on this play.” It elevates your sense of confidence, whereas if you have two young guys out there and neither one of them is really sure, they’re both wondering what should be doing here.

“So I think Jake’s influence is going to help Sasso and all of the younger kids. So we’ll have Ryan Moran with young linebacker, and Remi Johnson with a younger linebacker.”

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth football: Why top FCS rusher stayed at Monmouth