McDonogh Safety Dante Trader Explains Pivotal Offseason Development
Junior year gave McDonogh (Md.) safety Dante Trader Jr. a chance to showcase his raw ability as the 5-foot-10, 166-pound athlete transitioned into a two-sport athlete. After leading the team with 462 receiving yards on 21 receptions while adding seven total touchdowns, Trader is turning that pure athleticism into focus through his offseason of development.
“Lately I’ve been working on a lot of (defensive back) technique because you have to have instincts, eyes, hips, technique, being able to cover ground. I have a lot of those aspects but it’s the technique that I could’ve made a better play or gotten more picks and came up differently,” Trader told All Terrapins. “So technique, being a better and secure tackler so I want to be an all-around free safety, strong safety. Being able to read uncovered linemen for pass and run, I feel like I was already a smart safety but going past that helps you so much more, makes you to be able to make plays.”
Already committed to Maryland for lacrosse, his dedication to his craft is driven by his own motivation technique. “I always just find something to drive me. It’s a weird way of doing something to motivate myself, like not winning a championship, being slept on when I came into the MIAA, just little things to keep my drive and push me to give it all this season.”
He’s looking to step into College Park to provide more athleticism to defensive coordinator and safeties coach Jon Hoke as the two stay connected with lacrosse head coach John Tillman developing a tight-knit relationship. “Me and coach Tillman talk a lot, me and coach Hoke still talk. Offers have come in, but not much has really changed.”
Trader still remembers being the second commitment in the Terps’ 2021 cycle as he and Archbishop Spalding (Md.) nickel cornerback Jayon Venerable became the first two in the fold. But as Trader steps into year two at McDonogh following his transfer from Delmar (DE), the added local flavor to Maryland’s class has given him a chance to connect more with his future teammates. "
“I was one of the first two to go in so I didn’t know too much about what he meant. I talked to coach Locks a couple times and then he started saying, ‘I’m trying to flip this thing.’ When I went up to the Penn State game the coaches were talking about it but I didn’t think about it. Then we started getting these local kids and I see four-star, five-star and I saw that these kids are big-time. So it was just one after the other, really. It’s just crazy how it all shaped up. We can do damage by sophomore, junior year when we all get there,” Trader said. “We all have a group chat and we text in it. Those first couple months before we move onto campus I’m sure we’ll be talking all the time.”
The Delaware native admitted he’s leaving the recruiting efforts to others, though. “To be real, it’s Chop and Tai doing the recruiting. They’re the big ones.” As he leaves the other locals to continue the recruiting efforts, Maryland will look to hit the local ranks hard in the 2022 cycle as three of Traders’ teammates already hold offers—quarterback Preston Howard, defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton and defensive tackle Kwan Williams. He added what he’s looking to see out of Maryland this fall.
“Just win some big games in conference, beat teams people don’t expect them. That helps with our class and the younger guys, too—2022, 2023. They need to see that.”
