BleedGopher
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per Souhan:
The Gophers football team began the 2006 season with a trip to Kent, Ohio. On Aug. 31, the Gophers played Kent State, and freshman Eric Decker, who would become a star receiver in the NFL, made his first college catch.
Another future NFL star made an uncelebrated debut on that warm Thursday night. This one, an undersized high school quarterback from Woodside High in northern California, had failed to attract big-school scholarships and had played a season at the College of San Mateo.
Still short and skinny, the kid gave up on his dream of playing for a major-conference power and enrolled at Kent State for his final three seasons. He told the incumbent quarterback that he would be taking over immediately. And he did.
In his first game, against the Gophers, the kid completed seven of 13 passes for 150 yards and ran 14 times for 31 yards. He threw three interceptions and the Gophers won 44-0.
Sunday night, that skinny quarterback who got swamped by the Gophers was named the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl. Julian Edelman remembers every step that led to every catch.
“My first game was against Minnesota,” Edelman said late Sunday night. “And we lost.”
Did he foresee an NFL career as a receiver? “At that time, I didn’t,” he said. “I was just trying to go out and help Kent State win some ballgames.”
This is how the Patriots win Super Bowls. They find smart, tough, adaptable, overlooked athletes, and if they bend a rule, they don’t dwell on it.
“I’m getting to live out a dream, so it’s pretty surreal,” Edelman said. “I think everything happens for a reason. I was always taught as a young boy that you had to work hard, put in the extra time and we’ll see where it goes. Worry about what you’ve got on your plate at that time. That’s what I’ve tried to do.”
The Gophers didn’t know it on Aug. 31, 2006, but they were sharing Kent State’s modest stadium with a future Super Bowl MVP.
http://www.startribune.com/super-bo...es-what-the-patriots-are-all-about/505293382/
Go Gophers!!
The Gophers football team began the 2006 season with a trip to Kent, Ohio. On Aug. 31, the Gophers played Kent State, and freshman Eric Decker, who would become a star receiver in the NFL, made his first college catch.
Another future NFL star made an uncelebrated debut on that warm Thursday night. This one, an undersized high school quarterback from Woodside High in northern California, had failed to attract big-school scholarships and had played a season at the College of San Mateo.
Still short and skinny, the kid gave up on his dream of playing for a major-conference power and enrolled at Kent State for his final three seasons. He told the incumbent quarterback that he would be taking over immediately. And he did.
In his first game, against the Gophers, the kid completed seven of 13 passes for 150 yards and ran 14 times for 31 yards. He threw three interceptions and the Gophers won 44-0.
Sunday night, that skinny quarterback who got swamped by the Gophers was named the Most Valuable Player of the Super Bowl. Julian Edelman remembers every step that led to every catch.
“My first game was against Minnesota,” Edelman said late Sunday night. “And we lost.”
Did he foresee an NFL career as a receiver? “At that time, I didn’t,” he said. “I was just trying to go out and help Kent State win some ballgames.”
This is how the Patriots win Super Bowls. They find smart, tough, adaptable, overlooked athletes, and if they bend a rule, they don’t dwell on it.
“I’m getting to live out a dream, so it’s pretty surreal,” Edelman said. “I think everything happens for a reason. I was always taught as a young boy that you had to work hard, put in the extra time and we’ll see where it goes. Worry about what you’ve got on your plate at that time. That’s what I’ve tried to do.”
The Gophers didn’t know it on Aug. 31, 2006, but they were sharing Kent State’s modest stadium with a future Super Bowl MVP.
http://www.startribune.com/super-bo...es-what-the-patriots-are-all-about/505293382/
Go Gophers!!