CHICAGO — For the record, Dakota Reid's first name has nothing to do with him choosing to attend North Dakota State University for academics and football.
"I get that question asked all the time," he said, laughing. "But I do think it's kind of a cool irony."
The Morgan Park High School graduate and Washington Heights native is a redshirt freshman and backup cornerback and special teams player for the 12-time national champion Bison (11-2), who host Richmond (10-3) in an FCS semifinal matchup Friday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Reid's first name came after an argument between his parents. His mom, Necole, wanted to name him Cody; his dad, Terrence, thought that name wasn't tough enough. They settled on Dakota after Necole looked through a lengthy list of baby names.
"And I still got to shorten it to Cody for a nickname," Necole said.
Terrence has an older child from a previous relationship, Katrina, 27, a counselor at Percy Julian High School, but all of his and Necole's kids are named after a state or city. The girls are Montana — a 17-year-old senior at Morgan Park High School; and Dallas, a 16-year-old junior at South Shore International College Prep. Dakota, 19, is joined by brothers Colorado, a 14-year-old freshman at Julian; Houston, a 10-year-old fifth-grader at Medgar Evers Elementary; and 5-year-old Denver.
"Originally states and cities were not in play, but it just worked out that way," Necole said.
Her sons certainly would appear to have names perfect for the gridiron. Dakota was a three-year starter at Morgan Park and chose North Dakota State over Western Illinois. He has played in seven of the Bison's 13 games, with five tackles. Four came in a start against Missouri State.
"Dakota is an extremely hard worker who's come a long way. He's a tough kid who is starting to begin to understand the finer points of playing that position," North Dakota State defensive backs coach Joe Klanderman said. "He's showed us that the stage is not too big for him. He has a very bright future and is going to continue to get better every day."
Dakota said he's gotten used to the brutal Dakota winters of Fargo, where he said "sometimes it hurts to go outside." He's also adapted to the quicker speed of college football and said playing in the Public League with and against elite athletes helped him prepare for the next level.
Dakota, who wants to join the FBI after graduation, also enjoys the challenge of the cornerback position.
"I just like the competition and coming out on top," he said. "When you make a great play, that's a great feeling."
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