10 Gophers Make the Final NFL Roster

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GO4INLALALAND

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A nice article from gophersports.com listing the gopher players who have made an NFL roster and those that were cut. Pretty long list of gopher players getting NFL interest. Good to see.

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The University of Minnesota football season is already underway, yet for 10 former Gophers the countdown is now on for the start of the NFL season.

With final cuts for NFL teams due by 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 20 Minnesota alumni in professional training camps, the countdown was on to see who would remain on active rosters. When the dust settled, the following former Gophers came out with spots on NFL squads:

Barber, Marion - RB - Dallas Cowboys
Decker, Eric - WR - Denver Broncos
Barber, Dominique - S - Houston Texans
Brown, Garrett - DL - Kansas City Chiefs
Laurence Maroney - RB - New England Patriots
Spaeth, Matt - TE - Pittsburg Steelers
Simmons, Traye - CB - San Diego Chargers
Hamilton, Ben - G - Seattle Seahawks
White, Stylez G. - DE - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Carter, Tyrone - S - Washington Redskins

Center Mark Setterstrom was placed on the injured/reserve list of the St. Louis Rams.

Of course not making a final roster does not mean the end of the road for the nine former Gophers as the opportunity still exists to get picked up by other NFL teams, or continue their career on a practice squad. These are players who were cut during over the last week:

Marcus Sherels - Minnesota Vikings
Rhys Lloyd - Minnesota Vikings
Logan Payne - Minnesota Vikings
Nate Triplett - Minnesota Vikings
Lee Campbell - Detroit Lions
Darrell Reid - Denver Broncos
William VanDeSteeg - Baltimore Ravens
Simoni Lawrence - Philadelphia Eagles
Tow-Arnett, Nick - Seattle Seahawks

Although locally the NFL gets a vast majority of the professional football attention, the Canadian Football League also boasts several former Gophers:

Thelwell, Ryan - WR - Calgary Stampeders
Bruce III, Arland - WR - Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Middlebrooks, Willie - CB - Toronto Argonauts
-Athletic Communications Assistant Keith Beise
 

Marcus Sherels and Logan Payne are both on the Practice squad of the Vikings fwiw
 



Willie Middlebrooks, that's a blast from the past. Great to hear he still is playing corner.
 


station19 said:
Any others Gophers make an NFL practice squad?
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As far as the players up there Marcus and Logan are the only ones to make a practice squad. Hopefully a couple others make it, I am personally surprised Nate isnt on a team as a specials team player.
 



I think Garrett Brown moved to the KC practice squad after the Chiefs claimed Anthony Toribio on waivers from the Packers. I still think Brown will make a 53-man roster and contribute in the future.
 



That 10 is a good group. No superstars, but MB3 is on the cusp.

What's the latest on Darrell Reid, Anthony Mongomery, and Gary Russell? Anybody know?
 

Gopher Bandanna Guy said:
That 10 is a good group. No superstars, but MB3 is on the cusp.

What's the latest on Darrell Reid, Anthony Mongomery, and Gary Russell? Anybody know?
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Anthony Montgomery was released by the Redskins in May after their first mini-camp. I don't know if he ended up on another team.

Darrell Reid was cut by the Broncos last week as a cost saving measure. He had his knee operated on last February and hadn't yet recovered.

Gary Russell was released by the Raiders and I don't know if he's been picked up by anyone.
 


I am behind the times I guess. I thought Ben Utecht was still with the Bengals.
 




Ben Utecht

Sumtimegophs said:
I am behind the times I guess. I thought Ben Utecht was still with the Bengals.
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Ben Utecht retired due to injuries. He has a promising christian music career that he is focusing on now.
 

Heber said:
Ben Utecht retired due to injuries. He has a promising christian music career that he is focusing on now.
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He has a very nice website devoted to his new music career. I did not realize that he had retired from the Bengals until recently. It makes you realize how fast a guy's career can end in the NFL. As you said, in Ben's case, it looks like he has something else he can fall back on. Unfortunately, there are a lot of guys who don't.
 

The United Football League starts up on the 18th. I realize it's a big step down from the NFL or the CFL and won't pay nearly as well, but it might keep someone fresh while they try to sign with an NFL team. I wonder if any of these that didnt make NFL teams might sign with a UFL team?

There's always the Arena League as well. There are a number of indoor leagues at a level below the Arena League, but the players might choose to hang it up and try a different line of work if it came to that. Then there is semi-pro ball, most of the players there are playing just because they love the game, not because they are expecting to get another shot in the NFL.

If any Gopher continues to play even at a level below the NFL or the CFL, I'd be interested in hearing about that too.
 

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