Minnesota’s All-NFL Team Offense
Another article I’ve been meaning to crank out for a little bit since this past April when I got to see Tyler Johnson, Carter Coughlin, and Kamal Martin all get drafted into the NFL, this PrepRedzoneMN feature on Minnesota’s All-NFL Offensive Team…
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Continue ReadingAnother article I’ve been meaning to crank out for a little bit since this past April when I got to see Tyler Johnson, Carter Coughlin, and Kamal Martin all get drafted into the NFL, this PrepRedzoneMN feature on Minnesota’s All-NFL Offensive Team will bring to you some of the best NFL players from the Land of 10,000 Lakes including some throwback NFL studs before my time, some newer entrants into the NFL, and a ton from my time growing up. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of professional football players from MN I found through some research, and not as surprisingly there was a great showing of Minnesotans in the offensive line and tight-end positions. Not much more I can say, these guys are some of the best to ever do it from MN and it’ll be fun to see what we can learn about their prep, college, and NFL careers.
Quarterbacks
First Team: Steve Walsh (Cretin-Derham Hall) QB. 6’3, 215 lbs. I really was reintroduced to Walsh in ESPN’s 30 for 30 about the University of Miami and their national championship runs in the 1980’s. His story was cool – as he said that the Minnesota Gophers weren’t interested in him, and so other schools thought “why should we recruit this guy if the home state school isn’t interested?” and so Walsh went to the University of Miami and ended up backing up Heisman Trophy winner Vinny Testaverde, and then went 23-1 as a starter and won the national championship in 1987. As a CDH Raider he played football and basketball and passed for over 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns as a senior QB and he received USA Today prep Academic All-America honors and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro football POY honors. He played for the Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans Saints, Chicago Bears, St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Indianapolis Colts in his professional career.
Second Team: Jack Ross “Jacky” Lee (Minneapolis) 6’1, 190. QB. Was born in Minneapolis but played his prep ball in Ohio in the late 1950’s. Played his college ball at the University of Cincinnati and then played for the Houston Oilers, Denver Broncos, and Kansas City Chiefs. He was also one of only twenty men who played in each of the ten years of the AFL’s existence.
Running-Backs
First Team: Marion Barber III (Wayzata) RB. 5’11, 220 lbs. The Barber’s are one of the strongest football families in MN state history, and Marion was the only RB of the trio, and man he was a good one. At Wayzata High School Barber III played three sports (football, baseball, track and field) and was a standout athlete in all three. On the gridiron he was voted a PrepStar All-Midwest pick as well as a consensus All-State honoree as both a RB and a DB. As a senior he recorded 1,778 yards, 18 TDs, and also posted 10 interceptions – three of which were thrown by Joe Mauer. He was an All-Conference HM center fielder on the baseball diamond, and in his first and only track season he qualified for the 2001 Minnesota State Class AA Championships in the 100 meter dash and finished the season with a 100m time of 10.9 seconds. He then signed with the Golden Gophers an was apart of the best Gopher backfield of all-time alongside Laurence Maroney. Barber III now ranks fourth on the school’s all-time rushing list with 3,276 yards, second with 4,495 all-purpose yards and second in rushing TDs with 35, one better than his father, Marion Barber Jr. He played in seven NFL seasons with the Cowboys and Bears.
C.J. Ham (Duluth Denfeld) RB/FB. 5’11, 240 lbs. A 2011 graduate of Duluth Denfeld who started for two years on the Hunters and recorded 1,873 total yards and 24 TDs between his junior and senior seasons. On defense, he also recorded 109 tackles. He was an All-Conference, All-Section and All-State HM pick as a senior. He then went to play at Augustana University (SD) – a DII school in the NSIC – and rushed for 2,662 yards and 29 touchdowns in his Augie career, and also had 949 yards receiving and six TDs. He also was a thrower on the T&F team and was a 2x All-NSIC pick and still holds throwing records in the indoor weight throw and outdoor hammer. In 2016 he made the Minnesota Vikings 90-man roster, ended up getting cut, then got signed to the practice squad and was called up the active roster in December of 2016. Since then he’s been the Vikings full-time FB, and it’s been more than fun watching him play on Sunday’s. Augustana Highlights
Second Team: John Crockett (Totino-Grace) RB. 6’0, 215 lbs. Crockett had a crazy productive prep career that resulted in him rushing 180 times for 1,802 yards and 34 TDs as a senior as well as catching 26 passes for 495 and five TDs and returning eight KOs for a 44.8 yard average per return as well as two TDs. This netted him AP First Team All-State honors, Conference MVP, Kare11 All-Metro, All-Conference, and a finalist for Mr. Football. In his career Totino-Grace compiled a 35-3 record including winning State 4A championships in 2007 and 2009. He was also Minnesota Vikings All-State, a 6x StarTribune Player of the Week, 5x St.PaulPioneerPress Player of the Week and in his career he rushed for 2,849 yards and 60 TDs on 363 attempts during career, also caught 36 passes for 627 yards and 6 TDs. He was also a 3x All-Conference basketball player and a state qualifier for the state meet in high jump and holds school record in that event. He played for the Packers, Raiders, Ravens, and most recently the Arizona Hotshots of the AAF. NDSU
Zach Zenner (Eagan) RB. 5’11, 225 lbs. As an Eagan Wildcat senior in 2009 Zenner rushed for 1,181 yards, 122 receiving yards, 8.9 YPC, and 17 total TDs that helped him become a finalist for Mr. Football, All-Metro, and Academic All-State. Additionally he was a member of the state tournament qualifying Eagan baseball team in 2009. In 2010, Zenner led the team in batting average, posting a batting average of .537. He led the team in stolen bases as well. He then went to South Dakota State – his only D1 scholarship offer – and rushed for at least 2,000 yards in the 2012, 2013, and 2014 seasons in college and broke out onto NFL scout’s radars after he broke a 99-yard TD run against Kansas in 2012. He went undrafted out of college but was picked up by the Detroit Lions, played their for four seasons, and bounced from the Saints, Cardinals, and Dolphins in 2019. He is currently a free agent. His younger brother is running track for the Jackrabbits as well.
Wide-Receivers
First Team: Larry Fitzgerald (Holy Angels) WR. 6’3, 220 lbs. My vote for the best player from MN on this list, and I believe that means EVER, Larry Fitzgerald has been an excellent representation of Minnesotan’s and Minnesota athletics for a long time, and is still continuing a pro career that has seen him selected to the Pro Bowl eleven times, three All-Pro selections, and as of September 29, 2019, he is second in the NFL in career receiving yards, second in career receptions, and sixth in receiving TDs. Fitzgerald transferred from Minnehaha Academy to Holy Angels after his freshman year and then went onto become a 2x First Team All-State selection but didn’t meet NCAA requirements out of high school and spent a year at a prep school: Valley Forge Military Academy, before he enrolled at Pittsburgh. At Pitt he posted career totals of 161 receptions for 2,677 yards and 34 TDs. Shouldn’t have to say more about Fitz!
Adam Thielen (Detroit Lakes) WR. 6’2, 205 lbs. Thielen is steady coming for Larry Fitz’s #1 spot as MN’s best pro, and I shouldn’t have to reacquaint everyone with the Detroit Lakes product who went to DII, signed undrafted to the Vikings, and worked his way up from the practice squad to one of the best wideout’s in the NFL. As a senior for the Lakers he helped DL go 9-1 and won All-Conference and All-State honors as a senior. He also helped win a MN State Golf championship that year for Detroit Lakes. He famously signed for a $500 scholarship to become a Mankato State Maverick, and became the best player in school history and in four years (46 games) posted stats of 198 catches, 2,802 yards, and 20 TDs along with a kick return TD and a punt return TD. He is now a Pro Bowl WR and holds multiple NFL records.
Eric Decker (Rocori) WR. 6’3, 215 lbs. A three-sport All-Conference pick at Rocori, Decker was an All-Conference, All-Area, and All-Section pick on the gridiron who was named the team’s MVP twice and totaled 2,156 receiving yards and 28 TDs in his prep career. He signed with the Minnesota Golden Gophers and was one of – if not the best – WR in school history before Tyler Johnson showed up. In four seasons in the Maroon and Gold he totaled 227 catches for 3,119 yards and 24 TDs, and played eight seasons in the NFL with the Broncos, Jets, and Tennessee Titans before hanging up the cleats in 2017.
Second Team: Michael Floyd (Cretin-Derham Hall) WR. 6’3, 220 lbs. It was reported that in-order to afford CDH’s scholarship Floyd has to work part time with the custodial staff before school started in the mornings. With that work ethic, it was no surprise that Floyd caught 63 passes for 1,240 yards and 16 touchdowns as a junior. And as a senior he posted 59 receptions for 1,247 yards (21.1 avg.) and 17 TDs + 497 rushing yards, 373 punt return yards, and four additional TDs. He was named Minnesota’s Player of the Year twice by the AP and Gatorade, and was a USAToday All-American in 2017. He also totaled 1,380 points as a basketball player. He was also a 5-star recruit, and began a Cretin-Derham Hall to Notre Dame pipeline that proved to be more than productive for the Fighting Irish. In four years at Notre Dame he caught 271 passes for 3,686 yards and 37 TDs. He then played eight NFL seasons with Arizona, New England, Minnesota, and Washington.
Brandon Zylstra (New London-Spicer) WR. 6’2, 220 lbs. My freshman year at St. Olaf College in 2013 I was fortunate enough to play against Zylstra and I think got to tackle him/try to tackle him on kickoffs that year. Either way we got smoked by Concordia College-Moorhead, and Zylstra took an end-around like 70-yards to the crib and hurdled our senior SS into the end zone to cap the play off, so it’s safe to say I was impressed and kept a close eye on Zylstra’s career post MIAC. The New London Spicer grad signed with DII Augustana University (SD) out of high school, but transferred to DIII Concordia-Moorhead after a year and was a tremendous MIAC player who finished his college career with 1,932 receiving yards and 18 touchdowns in 29 games with the Cobbers. After he graduated he played in the CFL and tore it up with the Edmonton Eskimos enough to get a shot with the Minnesota Vikings. He made the squad a couple of years, recorded a catch and some tackles, and is now with the Carolina Panthers. I will never stop rooting for Zylstra, MIAC bred baby! CCM Highlights
Isaac Fruechte (Caledonia) WR. 6’3, 205 lbs. Fruechte was coached by his father at Caledonia and helped the Warriors win two straight state championships in 2007 and 2008. He was a 2x All-State HM pick and 3x All-Conference selection as well. After his senior year he was named St.PaulPioneerPress All-State as well. He also was a great track athlete and recorded a 10.82 100 M dash time. He signed with Rochester Community and Technical College, played a year of JUCO ball at RCTC, then signed with the Minnesota Golden Gophers and in three seasons totaled 50 catches for 702 yards and three TDs. He played three seasons in the NFL with the Vikings and Lions.
Tight Ends
First Team:
Matt Spaeth (St. Michael-Albertville) TE. 6’7, 262 lbs. I actually attended one of Spaeth’s football camps as a little guy and got his autograph, Spaeth was a standout football and basketball player for the Knights and signed with the Minnesota Golden Gophers out of high school. He was a one-time All-Big Ten First Team pick and was also selected All-Big Ten HM, and as a senior was a First Team All-American who also won the Gophers team MVP as a senior. He was drafted in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft and played nine NFL seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears and scored 10 TDs in the NFL.
Maxx Williams (Waconia) TE. 6’4, 255 lbs. Williams played QB at Waconia and earned a scholarship to the University of Minnesota where he finished as a John Mackey Award Finalist as the best TE in the nation. He was also a First Team All-Big Ten pick and a Second Team All-American honoree as a RS sophomore. An incredibly exciting player, Williams was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens and is coming up on his sixth NFL season after signing a contract extension with the Arizona Cardinals last season in 2019.
Second Team: Ben Utecht (Hastings) TE. 6’6, 250 lbs. Helped lead the Raiders to three-straight state semi-final or final appearances. Went onto start 35 of the possible 44 games in his collegiate career at the University of Minnesota and played in the Music City Bowl with the Gophers. He played four or five seasons in the NFL with the Colts and Bengals, but had to retire due to an insane amount of concussions. He now is a professional speaker and motivator after recording music professionally, as his brain injuries are so traumatic he fears he may not remember his wife and kid’s name someday.
Jesper Horsted (Roseville) TE/WR. 6’3, 240 lbs. An All-State WR as a senior who had the future Mr. Football Jacques Perra throwing to him, Horsted was a huge WR who signed with Princeton and finished his collegiate career as the schools all-time leader with 196 receptions and 28 receiving touchdowns and second with 2,703 receiving yards. He was a 2x All-Ivy League pick and also played baseball for the Tigers and batted .312 in his collegiate baseball career. He signed with the Chicago Bears in 2019 as an UDFA and scored a TD on Thanksgiving this past season. Although he is in a loaded Bears TE room, he looked like a legit pro TE and i’m excited to see where he NFL career takes him. High School Highlights
Third Team: Dominique Byrd (Breck) TE. 6’3, 255 lbs. A 2002 graduate of Breck High School who played on 2002 U.S. Army All-America Bowl and signed with the University of Southern California where he was an All-PAC10 HM pick and was drafted in the third round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played five seasons in the NFL with the Rams, Cardinals, Seahawks, and Redskins and caught a TD in his pro career.
Brian Leonhardt (Spring Lake Park) TE. 6’5, 255 lbs. A three-sport star at Spring Lake Park who was a beast on the gridiron, wrestling mat, and track, Leonhardt signed with Bemidji State and was a Daktronics All-America Second Team pick, Super Region First Team pick, and All-NSIC First Team mention. He also was D2Football.com All-America Honorable Mention following his senior season as well. He signed with the Oakland Raiders as an UDFA in 2013 and played 3ish seasons with Oakland, Cleveland, San Francisco, Minnesota, Detroit, and Arizona.
Ross Travis (Chaska) TE. 6’7, 250 lbs. A basketball player by trade who played college basketball at Penn State and started 98 career games for the Nittany Lions basketball team. He went undrafted but was picked up as an UDFA by the Kansas City Chiefs and is on his sixth season in the NFL and was listed with the Chiefs last season.
Dave Casper (Bemidji) TE. Born in Bemidji but played his prep ball in Illinois and Wisconsin, Casper played college ball at Notre Dame before being drafted in the Second Round of the 1974 NFL Draft and went onto become a Super Bowl Champion, 5x Pro Bowl pick, and 4x All-Pro selection with the Oakland Raiders.
Offensive Line
First Team: Matt Birk (Cretin-Derham Hall) OL. 6’4, 310 lbs. I grew up absolutely loving Matt Birk watching my beloved Minnesota Vikings, so it’s really cool to write about him now. He was a 1994 graduate of CDH and was an All-Conference and All-State pick in both football and basketball as a prep. Signed with Harvard and majored in economics while attaining All-Ivy League awards and other distinctions. Drafted by the Vikings in the sixth round of the 1998 NFL Draft and played from 1998-2012 with the Vikings and Ravens while winning six Pro Bowl nods, two All-Pro selections, a Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, a Super Bowl, and the Minnesota Vikings Man of the Year Award six times.
Chase Roullier (Burnsville) OL. 6’4, 315 lbs. Won A.P. All-State First Team honors on the OL and All-State HM honors as a senior DLineman, as well as a boatload of other awards including a Mr. Football nomination, First Team StarTribune All-Metro, Conference Lineman of the Year, and an Academic All-State pick. He started for three years on the football team, was a two-year football captain, and also lettered in basketball three years. Signed with Wyoming at the FBS level and started nearly 40 games for the Cowboys and was honored thrice by the Mountain West including an HM, Second Team, and First Team honor. Was a sixth round draft pick in 2017 by the Redskins and has been the Redskins most consistent Center since. Will definitely get a second contract.
Frank Ragnow (Chanhassen) OL. 6’5, 311 lbs. A two-way monster at Chanhassen who won All-State honors and held a ton of offers after a great career with the Storm that led to offers from Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, Minnesota, Ohio State, and Florida State and a rating as the #3 prospect in the state and #24 OT in the nation. He was a First Team All-SEC pick, Second Team All-SEC pick, and Fourth Team All-American pick at Arkansas and was selected in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft to the Detroit Lions. He’s started every game since! Senior Year
Joe Haeg (Brainerd) OL. 6’6, 300 lbs. A 2010 All-State, All-Section (x2) and All-Conference selection who was a member of 2010 and 2009 state semifinal teams with the Warriors who signed to North Dakota State and won First Team All-Everything Missouri Valley and All-American that led to him getting drafted in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts. He played every since then with the Colts and in 2020 signed a one-year deal with Tampa Bay.
Seantrel Henderson (Cretin-Derham Hall) OL. 6’7, 350 lbs. A 2010 graduate of CDH who is still probably the highest touted Minnesota recruit ever as he was rated as the #1 prospect in the nation for a while, Henderson is the only lineman to ever win the Associated Press’ Player of the Year in the state of MN and helped the Raiders win a 2009 state championship. He won many many other national awards but to make things short he had a whirlwind of a recruiting process that ended up in his committing to USC but rescinding his LOI from Lane Kiffin and instead going to the University of Miami. Michigan was also a favorite for a while. He started more than 25 games at the real U and won some All-ACC distinction as well. He was drafted in the 7th round by the Buffalo Bills in the 2014 NFL Draft and had a sneaky good career in Buffalo but has now been hampered by a back injury. Still a stud.
Second Team: Billy Turner (Mounds View) OL. An All-State lineman as a senior who won three All-Conference awards and helped the Mustangs go 26-8 in his career and eventually committed to North Dakota State University. He was a 2x All-American and 2x All-MVFC pick and won three national championships with the Bison. He also played in the 2014 Senior Bowl and was drafted in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins and has had a great career with Miami, Baltimore, Denver, and Green Bay which led to him signing a second contract with the Packers in 2019.
Paul Cornick (Orono) OL. 6’6, 310 lbs. A Third Team All-metro pick and All-State HM honoree as a senior who also signed with NDSU, he went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft and signed with the New York Jets. He ended up playing with the Jets, Broncos, and Bears and his career ended in 2015.
Tyler Marz (Springfield) OL. 6’7, 315 lbs. Played at Wisconsin and was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an UDFA and made the practice squad in 2016. He bounced around from the Titans to the Chargers then back to the Titans and signed a reserve deal with the Carolina Panthers in 2019.
Tom Compton (Rosemount) OL. 6’5, 315 lbs. A two-year starter for the Irish who helped Rosemount win a bunch of games and appear in the state semifinals. He then signed with the University of South Dakota and won All-Great West Conference honors thrice and was a FCS All-American. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins and has since played in 99 NFL games with the Redskins, Falcons, Bears, Vikings, Jets, and is now with the San Fransisco 49ers and is on a one-year contract.
Dave Dalby (Alexandria) OC. 6’3, 250 lbs. Born in Alexandria but played his prep ball in California, Dalby went to UCLA and then played with the LA/Oakland Raiders from 1972 to 1985, won three Super Bowls, and played in 205 career games.
Matt Herkenhoff (Melrose) OL. Born in Melrose, the home to many MN studs, and was drafted in the fourth round of the 1974 NFL Draft and played in 125 career NFL games.
Milton John Sunde (Bloomington) OG. 6’2, 250 lbs. Born in Minneapolis but played at Bloomington High School. Signed with the University of Minnesota and then played for the Vikings. Appeared in a Super Bowl with the Vikings and was selected to the 1966 Pro Bowl.