Eric Decker: "I'll always be a proud Golden Gopher."

[BleedGopher]

per FSN on Decker's return to TCF Bank Stadium this weekend:

"I think it's more exciting than anything just to come back to campus," Decker said. "I don't get back too often so it'd be nice to see some familiar faces and talking to the football coaching staff. Friends, family, everybody's coming to the games. It's always fun to go somewhere where you know a lot of people and I haven't been for a while. So it will be an exciting time for me."

But Decker knows he wouldn't be catching NFL passes if it wasn't for his time with the University of Minnesota.

"Happy Glen Mason gave me the scholarship, because I don't think I'd be sitting in the position I am if it wasn't for him and playing for the Gophers," Decker said. "I probably would've been playing for St. John's, a Division III school, and who knows where I would be? But I love the University of Minnesota. I'll always be a proud Golden Gopher. Really excited about what Jerry Kill is doing with the squad and the year they've had this year, and Minnesota will always have a piece of my heart."

http://www.foxsports.com/north/stor...cker-returns-home-with-struggling-jets-120314

Go Gophers!!

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

I'm guessing he and Ernie Wheelright didn't hang out together.

 

[DougMN]

Was there a better Gopher WR? I can't think of one...

 

[Governor Sibley]

Tough as nails.

Still remember the play when he got hurt. Sigh.

 

[UpnorthGo4]

Was there a better Gopher WR? I can't think of one...

The correct answer is No. Not ever. And that would include Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald if they had gone to the U.

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

The correct answer is No. Not ever. And that would include Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald if they had gone to the U.

With Floyd you can make an arguement. Fitzgerald on the other hand?

 

[MNfootballfan]

The correct answer is No. Not ever. And that would include Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald if they had gone to the U.

Fitzgerald's two years at Pitt includes 2nd in the Heisman and Walter Camp Player of the Year
Freshman year: 62 catches, 1005 yards, 12 TD
Sophomore Year: 92 catches, 1672 yards, 22 TD
2 year totals 161 catches, 2677 yards, 34 TD

Decker's best season: 84 catches, 1074 yards, 7 TD
Decker's four years: 227 catches, 3119 yards, 24 TD
Best WR in Gopher history? Yes, but Larry Fitzgerald was one of the best WR in college football history.

With that being said, Decker is still one of my favorite Gophers ever. The kid could play the game and was as tough as nails.

 

[UpnorthGo4]

Fitzgerald's two years at Pitt includes 2nd in the Heisman and Walter Camp Player of the Year
Freshman year: 62 catches, 1005 yards, 12 TD
Sophomore Year: 92 catches, 1672 yards, 22 TD
2 year totals 161 catches, 2677 yards, 34 TD

Decker's best season: 84 catches, 1074 yards, 7 TD
Decker's four years: 227 catches, 3119 yards, 24 TD
Best WR in Gopher history? Yes, but Larry Fitzgerald was one of the best WR in college football history.

With that being said, Decker is still one of my favorite Gophers ever. The kid could play the game and was as tough as nails.

You need to consider the relative merits of Decker's and Fitzgerald's college teams. Is there any doubt that if Decker had played for Pittsburgh during the Fitzgerald years his stats would have been significantly better than his stats with the Gophers?

 

[gopherdudepart2]

With the training camp he holds can we claim Larry Fitzgerald as an honorary Gopher?

You need to consider the relative merits of Decker's and Fitzgerald's college teams. Is there any doubt that if Decker had played for Pittsburgh during the Fitzgerald years his stats would have been significantly better than his stats with the Gophers?

Larry seems supportive of coach Kill and I think he rents the facility for the training camp he hosts every summer. Does that mean we get to claim his as an honorary Gophers even though he went to Pittsburgh. Keep in mind because of what happened with Clem that Larry's dad was never ever going to let him consider going to the University of Minnesota.

 

[t-docious]

You need to consider the relative merits of Decker's and Fitzgerald's college teams. Is there any doubt that if Decker had played for Pittsburgh during the Fitzgerald years his stats would have been significantly better than his stats with the Gophers?

Now youre just trying to manipulate time.

 

[EliteOpinionGuy]

The correct answer is No. Not ever. And that would include Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald if they had gone to the U.

You argue that Decker on Pitt's team would have gotten better numbers than he did with the Gophers (I and most here would fully agree with that broad blanket statement)... Easy to say due to a simple assumption that Pitt had a better team at that time than the Gophers during Decker's career. But the idiocy is in FULL FORCE for you to correlate "Significantly better numbers" to arguably the best college football season by a WR. Larry Fitzgerald likely would have put up those numbers ANYWHERE due to the D's inability to cover him, PERIOD. That made him ELITE in college football. The toughness and grit showed by Decker was pretty much that. Nothing says toughness makes you uncoverable. So though almost anyone would agree that Decker could have gotten better numbers as a member of a better offense, but how in the world could you then turn and say that he could have flirted with one of the best seasons in college football by a receiver (also one of the best in college football history)....

So slow down next time and proof-read your post without you GOPHERGOGGLES to remain in the land of objectivity/reality. Just my two cents, though if I was you I would wait until a future date to cash them in (...how my bank account is set up,.....)

 

[Sparlimb]

Fitzgerald's two years at Pitt includes 2nd in the Heisman and Walter Camp Player of the Year
Freshman year: 62 catches, 1005 yards, 12 TD
Sophomore Year: 92 catches, 1672 yards, 22 TD
2 year totals 161 catches, 2677 yards, 34 TD

Decker's best season: 84 catches, 1074 yards, 7 TD
Decker's four years: 227 catches, 3119 yards, 24 TD
Best WR in Gopher history? Yes, but Larry Fitzgerald was one of the best WR in college football history.

With that being said, Decker is still one of my favorite Gophers ever. The kid could play the game and was as tough as nails.

I agree Fitzgerald was a better college player and for sure has been a better pro (and Decker is and was very good at both as well). That said, you need to factor in the Adam Weber factor. I watched Decker catch a lot of flying dirt in his days here as passes skipped 5 yards short.

 

[cncmin]

You need to consider the relative merits of Decker's and Fitzgerald's college teams. Is there any doubt that if Decker had played for Pittsburgh during the Fitzgerald years his stats would have been significantly better than his stats with the Gophers?

Yes, lots of doubt. A couple of years there, he was the prime offensive target used to move the football. Not sure if he could have been any more often targeted if he had gone somewhere else. It's not even clear that, given his "credentials", he'd have ever ended up getting a shot somewhere else. There is a huge bias given to higher-end recruits. Decker may have had more talent than a lot of them, but would he have ever ended up on the field as early and often as he did at the U? Doubtful.

Also recall that he was the only WR that Weber could hit. They were on the same page. If Weber could hit anyone else, Brewster might still be the Gopher's coach (not being entirely serious). It always amazed me that Weber could hit Decker on a deep out pattern, and then miss the wide-open guy 8 yards away by 10 feet on the next play.

 

[hungan1]

Ich bin ein Gopher.