Former Blue Hen Thrift looking to make a difference with Hornets

DOVER — Shane Thrift can tell you everything about the last real play he made on a football field.

And why not? There were 108,000 people in the stands at Penn State at the time.

“Dante Cephas ran like an out route,” recalled Thrift, the former Delaware cornerback. “I thought it was going to be a pick but I broke it up. It’s a special memory.”

Eleven months later, Thrift is ready to make some more football memories, only now for Delaware State.

The 6-foot, 162-pounder transferred to DSU after spending the last three seasons at Delaware as a reserve.

A native of Pittsburgh, the move makes Thrift one of only of handful of players to play for both the Hornets and Blue Hens.

Thrift is also one of 13 transfers that DelState has brought in — most from Division I programs — as it tries to bounce back from a 1-10 season.

Second-year coach Lee Hull expects that group of newcomers to make an immediate impact.

“That’s why we brought them here,” he said. “They’re here to play, to give us some depth. They’re very important for our success for the season.

“Some of them were here for the summer so they’ve already started diving into playbooks. Hopefully, now when we put pads on, that translates and they’re playing physical and they’re doing the things we need to see them do.”

By position, the transfers include three defensive linemen, three defensive backs, three offensive linemen, two linebackers and two receivers.

A year ago, linebacker Charles Brown, Jr. was a transfer himself. He understands what the new players are going through.

Some of them were just arriving in Dover this week.

“I think the biggest thing is just getting them up to speed,” said Brown. “Not just on the field with football stuff but I think it’s bigger spending time with the guys off the field and making them feel like family. It’s easier to learn when you feel more comfortable.

“Everybody is here to compete but we still need everybody, The biggest thing last year was depth. We needed more guys at certain positions.”

Such a relatively big group of transfers should also bring some new energy to the Hornets. With seven high school recruits also coming in, DSU has added 20 new players to its roster.

“I’m excited,” said Brown. “I’ve been waiting for it. Watching their film from what they did before, just talking to them. They’re excited, we’re excited. Seeing how those guys can help and how they fit in with us is big.”

As a 22-year-old who has already been in a college football program for three years, Thrift thinks he can bring some leadership to DelState’s younger players. He was a two-time member of the CAA Football Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll at UD.

“I’m an older guy in the group so I’m trying to build the younger guys up,” said Thrift, who has two seasons of eligibility remaining. “I feel like I’m going to make plays and I’m going to do everything to help the team win. Anything.

“We’re just taking one thing at a time right now. The main focus is getting with the guys and building relationships with the coaches and new players. We’re trying to build a new culture basically.”

Thrift said it was difficult not being part of a football team. In the spring, he went back to Pittsburgh and worked out with a trainer.

“I missed it a lot,” he said. “Just not being around the game of football, it took something from my heart.”

In 2022, Thrift was playing against the Hornets. He recorded a quarterback sack in the Hens’ victory that day.

He said it’s really just coincidence that he ended up playing for both of the First State’s two football programs. Thrift knows that he might get to play against Delaware when the two teams meet again in 2025.

“It just worked out like that,” he said about playing for both the Hornets and Hens. “I put everything in God’s hands and He put me where I’m at right now.

“I was joking around with the guys about it,” Thrift said about his sack in the game against DSU. “But I’m with these guys now.”