David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Big Apple Will Be No Retreat for QB J.J. McCarthy

Posted on September 28, 2026September 28, 2026 by David Shama

If quarterback J.J. McCarthy felt the impact of outside criticism during his tenure with the Vikings, he should know he is diving into the deep end of the pool in New York City.

Gotham is now home for the 23-year-old as of today when the Vikings sent him to the Giants for a 2027 fifth round draft choice. McCarthy, Minnesota’s first round draft choice in 2024, never did establish himself as the team’s long-term answer as the starter at the most important position on the field.

This despite head coach Kevin O’Connell declaring his protégé “the franchise quarterback” prior to the beginning of the 2025 season. McCarthy couldn’t achieve enough consistency to prompt a commitment from O’Connell who brought in veteran Kyler Murray to be the “man” during the past off season.

McCarthy’s subpar mechanics have been a repetitive topic of conversation in the northland and amateur psychologists have debated his level of confidence. While, of course, McCarthy didn’t acknowledge self-doubts, his mental outlook understandably could have been at least side-swiped by booing fans, media jabs and digital digs.

There’s no pretention here to know what’s inside McCarthy’s head but he is a long-time practitioner of meditation and mindfulness. And it will be no yoga camp or mental health retreat in New York where media and fans are capable of eating quarterbacks for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

If McCarthy wants a tutorial, he’s probably got the phone numbers of former quarterback teammates Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones on speed dial. They could tell stories about the raucous and often disapproving culture of the big city from their times with the Jets and Giants respectively. Darnold got an earful for not being the franchise savior and Jones was even booed on draft night.

J.J. McCarthy, Vikings QB, image by David Shama — J.J. McCarthy

This is a change, however, that McCarthy and his inner circle apparently wanted. He could have a shot at the starting job later this season, replacing 32-year-old journeyman Jameis Winston. Starter Jaxson Dart is injured and out for the season.

McCarthy will start out with the confidence of head coach John Harbaugh who almost certainly spoke with brother Jim Harbaugh prior to the trade. The latter was McCarthy’s head coach at Michigan in 2023 when the Wolverines won the national championship. There’s no reason to believe Jim gave his brother anything less than a positive endorsement about McCarthy.

The Giants get a quarterback friendly deal with McCarthy. He’s under team control through 2027, with a team option for 2028.

The Vikings apparently lost patience with McCarthy’s development. Why else would you move on so quickly from a No. 1 draft choice and the possibility of still becoming your starter in a quarterback cluster where neither Carson Wentz nor Murray have come close to dazzling and may not.

The view here is McCarthy didn’t cause problems internally for the Vikings. He was a solid teammate and could be among the first to congratulate another Viking on making a big play.

If the Giants finish around .500 or worse in the standings after this season, the fifth round draft choice could yield a top 150 or so player in the draft. This year the Vikings took Max Bredeson in the fifth round and the fullback projects as a valued part of the team for years to come. BTW, the best of modern day NFL fifth rounders include stars Tyreek Hill, George Kittle and Puka Nacua.

Don’t think the Vikings didn’t try to do better than a fifth round pick. That’s apparently the market value right now for McCarthy who in his 10 NFL career games has thrown 12 interceptions and 11 touchdown passes.

The Giants had a firsthand look at McCarthy in the preseason. He completed four of seven passes for 34, with no interceptions. He had moments when he looked hurried and produced no points of what would be a 13-10 preseason opening win over the Giants in New Jersey.

If McCarthy turns out to be an NFL bust, the deal will look like a good one for the Vikings. If he becomes a star in the Big Apple or elsewhere, and the Vikings are still on their marathon search for a franchise quarterback, well, let’s just say the jackals will be howling like never before.

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State of Iowa Tops Minn. in NFL Players; Hawks Outdo U

Posted on September 25, 2026September 25, 2026 by David Shama

There were 21 NFL players who are alumni of Minnesota high schools on opening day rosters earlier this month and six of them are former Golden Gophers. The NFL released extensive data earlier this month about the origins of its players and Sports Headliners identified the following players with high school ties to the state:

Joe Alt, Totino-Grace and Notre Dame; Kayode Awosika, Maple Grove and Buffalo; Yahya Black, Marshall and Iowa; Elijah Campbell, St. Paul Central, and Iowa Western Community College, Northern Illinois and Northern Iowa; Blake Cashman, Eden Prairie and Gophers; Amani Hooker, Park Center and Iowa; Bobby Jamison-Travis, Iowa Western Community College and Auburn; Emmett Johnson, Holy Angles and Nebraska; Jermaine Johnson, Eden Prairie and Georgia and Florida State;

Nick Kallerup, Wayzata and Gophers; Byrce Lance, Marshall and North Dakota State; Trey Lance, Marshall and North Dakota State; Cody Lindenberg, Anoka and Gophers; Boye Mafe, Hopkins and Gophers; Namdi Obiazor, Eden Prairie and Iowa Western Community College and TCU; Ty Okada, East Ridge and Montana State; Trey Pipkins, Apple Valley and Sioux Falls; Brevyn Spann-Ford, St. Cloud Technical and Gophers; Danny Striggow, Orono and Gophers; Jalen Travis, DeLaSalle and Princeton and Iowa State; Treyton Welch, Buffalo and Wyoming.

NFL starters among players who didn’t play at Minnesota are Alt, Black, Hooker, Jermaine Johnson and Travis. Ex-Gophers starting are Cashman and Mafe.

Six of the 21 players listed above played for Minnesota, or about 28 percent. What to make of that?

College football recruiting is a nationwide endeavor for Power Four programs like Minnesota. The Gophers annual recruiting classes consist of players from around a dozen different states that supplement the Minnesotans in the group.

An analysis of many other states likely would show a large number of players from their high schools who didn’t play for the hometown Division I program. Many prep players want to go out of state for college and there is intense competition to land elite local players no matter what part of the nation they’re from.

It’s interesting to note, however, that many of those Minnesotans who are in the NFL weren’t highly recruited or pursued by Power Four programs including the Gophers. Reasonable to suggest the Gophers, led by head coach P.J. Fleck, could bolster roster talent by recruiting more Minnesota natives, knowing many would need development.

That fits with Fleck’s ongoing operating philosophy of running a developmental program. One that puts emphasis on still recruiting high school players rather than purging the roster and bringing to town transfers from other universities.

Fair or not, there’s been a perception for decades that University of Minnesota football coaches could be more thorough in evaluation and willingness to bring state high school players to Dinkytown.

That opinion may gain credibility when the comparison is to the state of Iowa and the Hawkeyes. The Big Ten and neighboring rival Hawks are 8-1 in games against Fleck and are a poster program for identifying and developing talent within their state. The Hawkeyes consistently outdo the Gophers in national rankings and better bowl games.

There were 26 players who were alums of Iowa high schools on NFL opening day rosters. And 12 of them played collegiately for the Hawks, or 46 percent.

That’s even more impressive given that the Hawkeyes have another Power Four program in the state, Iowa State, to compete against for talent, while the Gophers have no such rival.

Although Iowa has a smaller population (about 3.2 million) than any Big Ten state except for Nebraska, it ranks eighth per capita for most players in the NFL.

A relevant note, though, to the Gophers and Hawkeyes comparison is that hockey is an obsession in Minnesota and more of a whisper in Iowa. High school athletes who play hockey in Minnesota may not even participate in football. Or if they do, they choose college hockey careers rather than football.

BTW North Dakota State has won national championships for years with a recruiting pillar of Minnesota high school talent, sometimes players unwanted or under recruited by the Gophers and other Big Ten programs.

Other news from the NFL’s deep dive into its rosters includes:

Texas (192), Florida (185) and California (159) were the leading states in number of players on NFL rosters. Bradenton, Florida, with 22 alums, topped the list of cities producing the most players. Miami was second at 21.

There are now 778 colleges and universities with football programs. There are 17 schools across all NCAA divisions, the NAIA and independents that are launching programs in 2026 or announcing plans for coming years. Since 1978, the number of schools playing NCAA football has increased by 194, growing from 484 to 678.

The NFL report gives pause to the perception pre-college participation in football is declining.

Eleven-player football has 1,043,716 participants and is by far the most popular high school sport for boys or girls. There has been a 7.1 percent since the first survey after the pandemic in 2021-22.

Football is the most popular high school sport for fans. There are approximately 7,000 high school football games on an average Friday night, with about 7-10 million fans in attendance on a weekly basis.

Youth tackle football participation continued to grow in 2025, with more than 3.47 million youth playing. For those playing 26 or more times during the year, there was an increase of 3.9%, reaching more than 2.2 million participants in 2025. The increase was strongest among teens ages 13–17, with participation growing 7.3% year-over-year to more than 1.46 million.

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Vikings Now Face Potential Quarterback Controversy

Posted on September 22, 2026September 22, 2026 by David Shama

Kyler Murray has cleared concussion protocol and will be the Vikings starting quarterback on Sunday in Tampa against the 0-2 Bucs.

Murray has missed almost two whole games as the Vikings have started 2-0 on the season. He suffered a concussion in the opening minutes of the first game and Carson Wentz replaced him. Efficient game managing by the 33-year-old veteran Wentz has helped the Vikings to wins over the Packers at home and the Bears on the road.

Since the 29-year-old Murray was head coach Kevin O’Connell’s choice to the No. 1 quarterback in the weeks leading up to the season, it’s no surprise the diminutive and potentially explosive passer-runner has been reinstalled as the starter.

But if Murray and the Vikings encounter “head winds” near the Gulf of Mexico Sunday and falter after that, too, look for a quarterback controversy to surface. If the Vikings are losing and Murray is even mediocre, the fan base (and media) will be restless.

Listed at 5-foot, 10-inches and 207 pounds, Murray has a high velocity throwing arm, quickness of foot and running ability that can bedevil opponents. His potential dazzles and we have yet to see what kind of offensive plays O’Connell has created to take advantage of his potential playmaker.

The Cardinals gave up on Murray, now in his eighth NFL year, after last season. His career profile has included persistent injuries and periods of inconsistency. His resume and profile instill optimism, though, among those who want to feel it. In 2019 he was the Pro Football Offensive Rookie of the Year. Twice in his career he was a Pro Bowler.

If things go south for the Vikings, O’Connell knows what he’s got in Wentz who he praised yesterday. “I think Carson is just so steady. He knows exactly, and we talk a lot about what’s going to be required to win, and his role over these last, whatever it is, maybe 106 snaps.

“You think about it, we have no turnovers during that time, and I think we had maybe one procedural penalty where the left side of our O-line lined up too deep yesterday (Sunday). But outside of that, he’s running the show. …”

With either Murray or Wentz running the offense, fans hope the Vikings can not only qualify for the playoffs but win their first postseason game of the O’Connell era that started in 2023. It’s been a quarterback carousel dating back to that year, with nine different starters.

Leading the offense (at least for two games) have been Max Brosmer, Kirk Cousins, Sam Darnold, Joshua Dobbs, Jaren Hall, J.J. McCarthy, Nick Mullens, Murray and Wentz.

Cousins, the 38-year-old who left the Vikings in free agency for the Falcons after the 2023 season, is tied with the most touchdown passes in the NFL after two games. His six have helped the Raiders to a 2-0 start.

Worth Noting

Wide receiver Jordan Addison has only two receptions in the first two games but O’Connell liked his blocking on Sunday. He praised it as well timed with wide receiver Jauan Jennings, a quality blocker, not playing in the game for personal reasons.

O’Connell also said on Monday defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins has a hip injury and the coach considers him “day-to day.” Punter Brett Thorson has a hamstring injury that will be evaluated during the week.

Brian O’Neill told Sports Headliners the knee issue that made him listed as questionable for last Sunday’s game isn’t going to be an ongoing problem. He played in the Bears game and doesn’t expect the knee issue (details not disclosed) to trouble him in the future, including at the Bucs on Sunday.

Who is the only Golden Gophers football player ever to be the coverboy for Sports Illustrated? The answer is quarterback Bobby Cox who played for Minnesota in 1956 and 1957 after transferring from Washington.

He was labeled the nation’s top quarterback on the November 4, 1957, cover. Interestingly, the 1957 Gophers defeated Cox’s old school 46-7 that year. Also of note, Cox was of Hispanic background, and this is National Hispanic Heritage month.

The Gophers play at Washington Saturday night with a 10 p.m. kickoff on Fox Network. It’s the first game between the two programs since 1977.

Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch is in his third season in Seattle. He was 32 years old in 2009 when Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster hired him to be offensive coordinator.

Colts quarterback Peyton Manning knew of Fisch and wanted him to be his quarterbacks coach in Indianapolis, but Fisch chose the Gophers where he coached for one season. Then Fisch left to become quarterbacks coach for the NFL Seahawks.

Joel Maturi, the former University of Minnesota athletics director, attended the 60^th reunion of the 1966 national champion Notre Dame football team in South Bend earlier this month. The Minnesota native was a student trainer on the undefeated team that included former Vikings legend Alan Page.

Maturi, 81, stays active walking a total of eight miles a day.

Former Gopher quarterback Tanner Morgan, who did the color analysis on the Big Ten Network coverage of last Saturday’s Minnesota-Akron game and still lives in the Twin Cities area, runs QBMotion Midwest where he uses science-based mechanics to tutor teen quarterbacks.

Throne Spud, the digital creator and vlogger, posted the 10 most liberal and conservative FBS schools on Instagram. The Big Ten landed six in the top 10 most liberal including Oregon No. 1, Minnesota No. 6 and Wisconsin No. 10. No Big Ten schools on the conservative list with Liberty No. 1, followed by a top five of BYU, Baylor, Mississippi State and TCU.

Sports scorer Stew Thornley — Stew Thornley

Stew Thornley, 71, is finishing his 20^th year as an official scorer for the Twins. A highlight this summer was working as official scorer for the Twins-Phillies Field of Dreams game in Dyersville, Iowa.

The Minneapolis-born Thornley estimates he’s done 750 games as a scorer for the Twins, including 2018 when he worked two games in Puerto Rico. He has also worked the 2017 World Baseball Classic games in Mexico which he referenced as a “wild scene.”

Thornley, also known to Minnesotans for authoring sports books, is an official scorer for Gophers and Timberwolves basketball games, penalty timekeeper for Gopher hockey and sometimes scoreboard operator for Gopher football. And wait, not done yet: official scorer for Gopher baseball and sometimes public address announcer.

Thornley estimates his roles have him out of the house over 100 days and nights per year. Asked tongue in cheek if wife Brenda was happy to have him gone, he said: “Yeah, she is.”

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