A Lasting Legacy - 2005 Senior Salute - University of Minnesota Athletics

The class of 2005 may very well be the most successful in recent Golden Gopher history, as it is the only group to qualify for four consecutive bowl games. These men are also largely responsible for returning the Little Brown Jug to its rightful home for the first time since 1986. When this group of student-athletes took the field for the first time four seasons ago, the Minnesota football program was one on the rise. These sixteen individuals have been instrumental in putting Golden Gopher football back on the map and gaining respect not only in the Big Ten, but across the nation. Heading into the final home game of their collegiate careers, the seniors recently reflected on their time here at the University of Minnesota and their experiences as Golden Gophers. What has it meant to play football for the Golden Gophers? Jared Ellerson: Having the opportunity to play Division I football and to play in the Big Ten Conference has been the experience of a lifetime. Kyle McKenzie: It’s meant a lot of things. I’ve had great opportunities, a chance to meet great friends and play with great teammates. Anthony Montgomery: It kind of changed my life. Having the opportunity to go to college, I was the first person in my family to be able to do that. Quentin White: It’s been a good experience. I still remember my freshman visit where a lot of people from Ohio just made it really easy to adapt. It was like I hit a gold-mine running into a bunch of people from Ohio, and just the fact that I had that foundation it was easy to make friends, and they’ve become a big part of my family. Mark Setterstrom: It’s everything I could’ve wished for. I grew up watching them and following them, and being from Minnesota it’s been a source of pride to play for the Gophers and play for the state. Greg Eslinger: It’s been an experience playing with great players and great teammates and playing against some of the greatest competition out there in the Big Ten Conference. It’s been an all-around great experience. What has been your greatest memory? Mark Losli: I think all of the bowl games themselves were a lot of fun, and not just to get to the bowl games, but to win those games. We beat some pretty good teams in Alabama, Oregon and Arkansas, so those have all been great memories. Montgomery: Beating Michigan and getting the Little Brown Jug back. Not getting it in so long, being a part of that is like being a part of history forever. This team is going to be known as the team who got the Jug back. John Pawielski: The feeling of running over and getting the trophies was really something special. You really don’t know how much it means until you’re there. It’s such a rush. Especially Rhys Lloyd running over and getting the Axe - that’s something I’ll always remember. Keith Lipka: When I scored my first touchdown recovering that fumble in the bowl game last year against Alabama, that kind of thing doesn’t happen often. Eslinger: To start as a freshman. That is something pretty special that I will look back on. I will look back on that with a lot of pride. On top of that, playing with great teammates and the camaraderie we have built has been special. Terrance Campbell: My interception at Penn State two years individually but making the close friends on the team has meant a lot to me. What does it mean to be part of the only class in Minnesota history to appear in four bowl games? Ellerson: Once we started going to bowl games and got that taste, it was like, ‘Who wants to go home for a month without playing football?’ So we just continued to work hard over the summers to get back. Losli: It feels good to think that we were a big part of the reason why we went to four bowl games the last four years, along with the rest of our team. McKenzie: It’s an honor. I feel that we as a senior class helped turn the program around a little bit. To do that is a great accomplishment. Jarod Posthumus: It’s exciting. It just shows that we’re a program on the rise and it is a tribute to all of the hard work we have put in over the last four or five years. Kevin Salmen: It’s exciting. When we came in it was definitely not something that happened on a regular basis. Jakari Wallace: It’s huge knowing that no one else has really done it. As a team we believe in each other, and that’s the main thing. I guess that’s what keeps us going. Lipka: It really says a lot about our guys, and how far we have come as a team over the last few years. We have had the chance to really be part of something special. How close are the guys in this class, and how has that helped you guys succeed on the field? Ellerson: We’re just like a big family. Five years together in one place will cause that to happen. Then it just carries over onto the football field. Junior Eugene: We’re really close simply because of what we’ve endured. Whether it’s the summer workouts or the loss of a teammate (Brandon Hall), we’ve hung in there. Jason Lamers: A lot of the guys do stuff off the field. I think the small little friendships - playing video games or maybe going fishing - doing the little things outside of football help us come together. Then when we get on the football field we know so much about each other that we’re able to just work and get stuff done. Losli: We’ve been through pretty much everything that you could possibly think of over the last four or five years. It’s kind of been a rollercoaster at times, but we’ve all stuck together and hung in there when it was tough, and I think that’s what’s important. Montgomery: We are real close, and it’s not a bunch of guys who have just been sitting around their whole career and not been playing. We’ve all been playing, so we all know what it takes to win. Pawielski: We do a lot of stuff off the field together, so a lot of us are good friends. That creates chemistry that we can use once we get on the field. Wallace: We’ve kind of grown up together the last four or five years, so we’re pretty close. Setterstrom: With the number of guys we have as seniors it really helps the team when it comes to a tough spot. This year we’ve went through some adversity and had some tough bounces. It’s great having guys that have been through those kinds of things before and know that you can’t just fold and give up. Did you think you would have so much success when you first arrived as freshmen? Losli: Going into every season I truly believed that we would have a shot at winning the Big Ten. Every year we’ve definitely had the confidence and the belief that we could do that, and hopefully one of these years they will get it done. Montgomery: I was never a part of a losing team, so I never really planned on coming here and being part of a losing team. I always expected to have a good team. Mike Nicholson: It was still a program on the rise, so to be a part of all that has happened in the past five years and helping the program take that next step is something special. How close is this program to being among the elite of the Big Ten? Lamers: A couple of snaps here and there and we’re right there this year. Losli: I think we’re there. I don’t think we get a lot of respect from around the country and from other schools, but we definitely feel we can play with the best of them. Pawielski: It’s a matter of a couple bounces here or there, or a couple of plays here or there. We’re close, we just have to make those plays, and that’s what the great teams do. Once we start making those plays we’ll build confidence and be able to beat those teams. Setterstrom: This year I really thought we could. This program is really close to breaking into that top tier. If an extra bounce goes our way this year we might be talking about that right now. Lipka: I think we are real close. We are going to four straight bowl games, and when you do that it attracts attention, hopefully it attracts better and better recruits which really helps the process. How do you want to be remembered? Ellerson: As a bunch of tough, hard-nosed players. We never worried about the fame, we just wanted to play football. Losli: I think our class will just be remembered as a solid group of guys who helped put this program back on the map. interviews by Tory Kukowski, athletic communications student assistant The class of 2005 may very well be the most successful in recent Golden Gopher history, as it is the only group to qualify for four consecutive bowl games. These men are also largely responsible for returning the Little Brown Jug to its rightful home for the first time since 1986. When this group of student-athletes took the field for the first time four seasons ago, the Minnesota football program was one on the rise. These sixteen individuals have been instrumental in putting Golden Gopher football back on the map and gaining respect not only in the Big Ten, but across the nation. Heading into the final home game of their collegiate careers, the seniors recently reflected on their time here at the University of Minnesota and their experiences as Golden Gophers. What has it meant to play football for the Golden Gophers? Jared Ellerson: Having the opportunity to play Division I football and to play in the Big Ten Conference has been the experience of a lifetime. Kyle McKenzie: It’s meant a lot of things. I’ve had great opportunities, a chance to meet great friends and play with great teammates. Anthony Montgomery: It kind of changed my life. Having the opportunity to go to college, I was the first person in my family to be able to do that. Quentin White: It’s been a good experience. I still remember my freshman visit where a lot of people from Ohio just made it really easy to adapt. It was like I hit a gold-mine running into a bunch of people from Ohio, and just the fact that I had that foundation it was easy to make friends, and they’ve become a big part of my family. Mark Setterstrom: It’s everything I could’ve wished for. I grew up watching them and following them, and being from Minnesota it’s been a source of pride to play for the Gophers and play for the state. Greg Eslinger: It’s been an experience playing with great players and great teammates and playing against some of the greatest competition out there in the Big Ten Conference. It’s been an all-around great experience. What has been your greatest memory? Mark Losli: I think all of the bowl games themselves were a lot of fun, and not just to get to the bowl games, but to win those games. We beat some pretty good teams in Alabama, Oregon and Arkansas, so those have all been great memories. Montgomery: Beating Michigan and getting the Little Brown Jug back. Not getting it in so long, being a part of that is like being a part of history forever. This team is going to be known as the team who got the Jug back. John Pawielski: The feeling of running over and getting the trophies was really something special. You really don’t know how much it means until you’re there. It’s such a rush. Especially Rhys Lloyd running over and getting the Axe - that’s something I’ll always remember. Keith Lipka: When I scored my first touchdown recovering that fumble in the bowl game last year against Alabama, that kind of thing doesn’t happen often. Eslinger: To start as a freshman. That is something pretty special that I will look back on. I will look back on that with a lot of pride. On top of that, playing with great teammates and the camaraderie we have built has been special. Terrance Campbell: My interception at Penn State two years individually but making the close friends on the team has meant a lot to me. What does it mean to be part of the only class in Minnesota history to appear in four bowl games? Ellerson: Once we started going to bowl games and got that taste, it was like, ‘Who wants to go home for a month without playing football?’ So we just continued to work hard over the summers to get back. Losli: It feels good to think that we were a big part of the reason why we went to four bowl games the last four years, along with the rest of our team. McKenzie: It’s an honor. I feel that we as a senior class helped turn the program around a little bit. To do that is a great accomplishment. Jarod Posthumus: It’s exciting. It just shows that we’re a program on the rise and it is a tribute to all of the hard work we have put in over the last four or five years. Kevin Salmen: It’s exciting. When we came in it was definitely not something that happened on a regular basis. Jakari Wallace: It’s huge knowing that no one else has really done it. As a team we believe in each other, and that’s the main thing. I guess that’s what keeps us going. Lipka: It really says a lot about our guys, and how far we have come as a team over the last few years. We have had the chance to really be part of something special. How close are the guys in this class, and how has that helped you guys succeed on the field? Ellerson: We’re just like a big family. Five years together in one place will cause that to happen. Then it just carries over onto the football field. Junior Eugene: We’re really close simply because of what we’ve endured. Whether it’s the summer workouts or the loss of a teammate (Brandon Hall), we’ve hung in there. Jason Lamers: A lot of the guys do stuff off the field. I think the small little friendships - playing video games or maybe going fishing - doing the little things outside of football help us come together. Then when we get on the football field we know so much about each other that we’re able to just work and get stuff done. Losli: We’ve been through pretty much everything that you could possibly think of over the last four or five years. It’s kind of been a rollercoaster at times, but we’ve all stuck together and hung in there when it was tough, and I think that’s what’s important. Montgomery: We are real close, and it’s not a bunch of guys who have just been sitting around their whole career and not been playing. We’ve all been playing, so we all know what it takes to win. Pawielski: We do a lot of stuff off the field together, so a lot of us are good friends. That creates chemistry that we can use once we get on the field. Wallace: We’ve kind of grown up together the last four or five years, so we’re pretty close. Setterstrom: With the number of guys we have as seniors it really helps the team when it comes to a tough spot. This year we’ve went through some adversity and had some tough bounces. It’s great having guys that have been through those kinds of things before and know that you can’t just fold and give up. Did you think you would have so much success when you first arrived as freshmen? Losli: Going into every season I truly believed that we would have a shot at winning the Big Ten. Every year we’ve definitely had the confidence and the belief that we could do that, and hopefully one of these years they will get it done. Montgomery: I was never a part of a losing team, so I never really planned on coming here and being part of a losing team. I always expected to have a good team. Mike Nicholson: It was still a program on the rise, so to be a part of all that has happened in the past five years and helping the program take that next step is something special. How close is this program to being among the elite of the Big Ten? Lamers: A couple of snaps here and there and we’re right there this year. Losli: I think we’re there. I don’t think we get a lot of respect from around the country and from other schools, but we definitely feel we can play with the best of them. Pawielski: It’s a matter of a couple bounces here or there, or a couple of plays here or there. We’re close, we just have to make those plays, and that’s what the great teams do. Once we start making those plays we’ll build confidence and be able to beat those teams. Setterstrom: This year I really thought we could. This program is really close to breaking into that top tier. If an extra bounce goes our way this year we might be talking about that right now. Lipka: I think we are real close. We are going to four straight bowl games, and when you do that it attracts attention, hopefully it attracts better and better recruits which really helps the process. How do you want to be remembered? Ellerson: As a bunch of tough, hard-nosed players. We never worried about the fame, we just wanted to play football. Losli: I think our class will just be remembered as a solid group of guys who helped put this program back on the map. interviews by Tory Kukowski, athletic communications student assistant

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A Lasting Legacy - 2005 Senior Salute

Players Mentioned

Terrance Campbell

Jared Ellerson

Greg Eslinger

Junior Eugene

Jason Lamers

Keith Lipka

Rhys Lloyd

Mark Losli

Kyle McKenzie

Anthony Montgomery

Mike Nicholson

John Pawielski

Jarod Posthumus

Kevin Salmen

Mark Setterstrom

Jakari Wallace

Quentin White

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University of Minnesota Athletics