University of Minnesota Athletics
Football Profile: Junior LB Mike Sherels
10/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
As a four-sport standout athlete in high school, Mike Sherels frequented the weight room at Rochester John Marshall High School. Each day, as the hard-working Sherels hit the weights in high school, he walked past a Wall of Fame tribute to running back Darrell Thompson, a John Marshall and University of Minnesota alumnus.
“Coming to Minnesota, I had big shoes to fill,” Sherels said of his predecessor. “As a kid, it was cool to see him come back every summer to give back to the community where he grew up.”
Sherels, who leads this year’s Golden Gopher squad with 37 tackles, was recruited to the ‘U’ as a running back. Also a linebacker in high school, Sherels spent his redshirt season as a walk-on in the offensive backfield where former Gopher and current Philadelphia Eagle Thomas Tapeh took a young Sherels under his wing.
“Thomas was somebody that I really admired. He taught me a lot about being at the ‘U’ on and off the field. He helped me make the adjustment to campus and living on my own,” Sherels said. “I grew up a lot that year.”
His play at fullback also made an impression on the defensive coaching staff. “One thing you can say about Mike Sherels is that he is a tough kid,” defensive coordinator David Lockwood said. “He came into our program as a fullback and was playing on that side of the ball when I was coaching the secondary, and I had Eli Ward, who is known as a big hitter at defensive back. Every time Eli would have to go against Sherels he would come back from the play saying 'I don't want to do that again.' He is just one of those solid kids that makes his presence known when he hits you.”
During the following offseason, the coaching staff moved Sherels to his natural position of linebacker, hoping to take advantage of his tenacity, intelligence and athletic ability. It was a move that Sherels accepted with open arms.
“In high school, I liked playing linebacker much more [than fullback.] I may’ve been better suited to play fullback at the time, but I loved to hit people. When I was approached and they told me they wanted me to move, I was happy,” Sherels said of his 2004 position change.
The position shift also provided Sherels an opportunity to play in a linebacking corps than included his good friend and high school rival John Shevlin, who attended Eastview High School in Eagan, Minn.
“He was a good friend of mine and was already playing linebacker when I made the switch. The opportunity to play with someone I’d competed against in high school has been special,” Sherels said. Through five games in 2006, the two Minnesota products have parlayed that chemistry to combine for 67 tackles heading into today’s game with Penn State.
The 6-foot, 240-pound Sherels has proven his ability to learn from other players throughout his collegiate career and that has been a tribute to the success that he has had during the 2006 season. One of the former Gophers that Sherels learned the most from was another former walk-on, the hustling, hard-working Ben West.
“I admired the way that [West] approached the game mentally. He was definitely one of the smartest players I have ever seen. He was a student of the game. He seemed to know what the offense was trying to do before the ball was snapped,” Sherels said.
Although Sherels finds that he is not always the biggest, fastest or strongest on the field of play, Gopher fans have observed West’s legacy in Sherels’ play thus far in his career.
“I definitely try to use [West’s] mental approach in my own play. I’m not the most athletic player on the field most days. I feel like I can minimize the differences between me and the next guy if I’m smarter than him,” Sherels said.
Sherels is one of a select group of young defenders on the 2006 version of the Golden Gophers who are being asked to step into leadership roles. The junior middle linebacker leads a defense that includes only three senior starters. Normally a quiet, lead-by-example style player, Sherels has changed his role to one that is more assertive and vocal.
“Over the summer I realized that I had to make some adjustments in my approach and I totally dedicated myself to football,” Sherels said. “Once I did that, I think that my teammates took notice.”
The work ethic and passion for football that Sherels displayed over the summer has translated into a new leadership role thus far this fall.
“This year I have tried to step up and be more of a leader and to be that guy that gets people fired up,” Sherels added. “I came out in fall camp and tried to play as well as I could right away to try to gain [my teammates’] respect. After that, when I said things other people would listen; when I got fired up, other people would get fired up.”
Lockwood summed up Sherels’ contributions to the program best. “It really is a great story of a kid who came here as a walk-on playing offense and then got switched over to defense, ended up starting at linebacker and now he is our team captain. He has made a great commitment to us on and off the field.”
If Sherels keeps raising the bar for himself and his teammates, he might find himself inspiring Golden Gophers-to-be in the John Marshall weight room.
story by Doug Vose, athletic communications student assistant
