Isaac Fruechte in line for more playing time with Vikings

Both coach Mike Zimmer and offensive coordinator Pat Shumur have mentioned former Gophers receiver and current Vikings wideout Isaac Fruechte could play a much bigger role on offense and special teams in the future.

Fruechte spent most of 2015 and 2016 on the practice squad before finally getting to play in the final regular-season game last year against the Bears.

"I still like Isaac Fruechte," Zimmer said recently. "… I think he has a chance to help us."

With the departure of Charles Johnson (to the Panthers) and Cordarrelle Patterson (to the Raiders), Fruechte could get more playing time. He played five offensive snaps and 11 special-teams snaps against the Bears.

"I was fortunate enough to make some good plays [against the Bears]," Fruechte said. "Hopefully I can fulfill what [Zimmer] is talking about and really be a good player for them this upcoming year."

He also talked about how being on the practice squad prepares players for regular-­season play.

"I think you gain a lot," Fruechte said. "You're running all the special teams, which obviously is extremely critical to the game, and then you're going up against the [starters] in practice," Fruechte said. "I get the privilege to go up against [cornerback] Xavier Rhodes every day and Terence Newman and Captain Munnerlyn, when he was there. Those are three of the best in the business. It does nothing but make you get better and make you grow as a player."

Shumur said this week that he, too, thinks Fruechte has something to offer.

"I think he's fast, I think he's smart, we're looking forward to him having a good offseason here," Shurmur said. "What I saw from him a year ago was a guy who could get down the field and make a play. We'll see how he builds on it."

Fruechte talked about how he has two great role models for making the leap from undrafted to becoming a steady pro — teammates Adam Thielen, the wide receiver who went undrafted out of MSU Mankato and recently signed a four-year, $19.2 million deal, and former Gophers defensive back/kick returner Marcus Sherels, who hung on the roster for several years as a special-teams standout before getting his two-year, $4 million deal last season.

Fruechte grew up playing football in Caledonia, Minn., where his father, Carl, has been the head coach since 1997, winning seven state titles since 2007 and posting a career 124-22 record. Isaac actually started his career as a linebacker and fullback before making the transition to receiver.

His dad talked about the early days coaching his son, and making the big decision to move him from linebacker to wide receiver.

"It was a blast, we won two state championships and he was just fun to coach," Carl said. "… Actually in '07, he played outside linebacker for us and had a real good state tournament, had a lot of picks for us. In '08 he had a couple touchdowns [at receiver]."

Isaac talked about how those high school games and practices shaped his playing career.

"My dad is still the head coach down there, and yeah, I used to play linebacker and fullback for my dad," Fruechte said. "I tried to do anything I could to get better, be a better football player, make myself well-rounded to get ready for hopefully the next level."

Fruechte said that having your dad as your football coach meant the game was always on his mind.

"It's something you couldn't really ever get away from," he said. "You'd go home and think, 'I can relax and not think about something,' but at any point in time, we're working on plays or physically working to try and get better in the weight room, or speed, whatever you're trying to work on.

"I wouldn't really have it any other way. He really affected me in a great way."

Caledonia is a Class 2A school with a high school enrollment around 218, meaning about 55 people per class. Fruechte said most of the players play two ways. He wasn't recruited much coming out of high school, and some of that had to do with academics.

Fruechte eventually landed at Rochester Community and Technical College, which is where then-Gophers football coach Jerry Kill took notice of him. Fruechte played one year at RCTC, catching 30 passes for 805 yards and nine touchdowns. He was part of Kill's first Gophers recruiting class in 2011.

"Coach Kill is a great man. Still is, obviously, but I wish he was still here in Minnesota," Fruechte said. "He did a lot for me. He taught me to have confidence, play for the people that you love, play for yourself, play for your teammates. Just work hard and be a great person."

In Fruechte's three years with the Gophers, he totaled 50 receptions for 702 yards and three scores.

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Sid Hartman can be heard Mondays and Fridays on 830-AM at 8:40 a.m. and on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. shartman@startribune.com