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Remember The Titans: Tyus Short

Former Mercer Defensive Standout Is Now A Teacher And Washington Football Coach

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Tyus Short played four seasons as a defensive lineman for the Titans, finishing with 279 career tackles.

Wesley Bird

Herald Staff
wesley@harrodsburgherald.com

A 2017 Mercer County Senior High School graduate, Tyus Short continued his football career with the Kentucky State Thoroughbreds and started his coaching career with the Washington County Commanders.

Short played for the Mercer football team for all four seasons of high school and threw for the track and field team for three seasons, winning two state championships in 2016 and 2017. As a Titan, Short spent most of his time on the defensive line while also playing tight end and fullback on offense. In his junior year he had 109 tackles. He did even better his senior year, finishing with 152 tackles and two fumble recoveries. Short finished his Titan football career (2013-2016) with 279 tackles and a 24-24 record.

A cornerstone for Mercer’s defense in Coach David Buchanan’s first two years with the program, Short was a leader on and off the field, never missing a game. His favorite memory from his time at Mercer is the 2016 overtime win, 31-30, over Rockcastle County to advance to the 4A regional championship. Short was named to the all-area team his junior and senior years and was selected to play in two all star games, Bluegrass All-star game and the Kentucky vs. Tennessee Border Bowl.

Short received a scholarship to play football for the Kentucky State Thoroughbreds. In his freshman year he dislocated his knee, which required season ending surgery. He came back halfway through his sophomore season and ended up sustaining another injury with a dislocated shoulder that cost him the rest of the season and the beginning of his junior season. Short was able to finish up the back half of his junior year, when the Thoroughbreds went 7-3 and defeated Jackson State University, 33-25, in the Circle City Classic. Kentucky State did not have a football season in 2020 due to COVID-19 which was Short’s senior year. Short, who made the Dean’s List twice as a Thoroughbred, graduated in 2021 with a degree in computer science.

After college, Short began his teaching and coaching career at Washington County High School, where he teaches computer science and coaches the defensive linemen on the football team and assist with the track and field.

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