Think you’re good at college football trivia? Try this one: there have been two native Minnesotans who have won the Biletnikoff Award, given annually to the nation’s best receiver.
Neither of the Minnesotans played for the Gophers but that will change if wide receiver Eric Decker can win the award this season or next. The junior from Cold Spring, Minnesota leads the nation in receptions with 59 and also yards, 782. He has five of the team’s nine touchdown receptions and has accounted for almost 50 percent of the Gophers’ passing yardage.
Gopher coach Tim Brewster has been saying for awhile now that the 6-foot-2 Decker, who runs precise runs, physically battles defenders and has outstanding hands, is one of America’s premier receivers. “I can’t imagine that there’s anyone who does more for his team,” Brewster told Sports Headliners.
Although Decker was outstanding last season, making 67 receptions to set a single season school record, he wasn’t on the 25 player 2008 pre-season Biletnikoff watch list. Playing for a 1-11 team isn’t the kind of stuff that makes for strong resume building.
But now Decker seems like he’s better than ever and the Gophers are 6-1 on the season, 2-1 in the Big Ten Conference. The weekly polls are showing interest in including Minnesota among the nation’s top 25 teams. That will help the Decker cause, even though his candidacy has a late start.
And what about those other Minnesotans? Larry Fitzgerald, who attended Holy Angels High School, won the Biletnikoff playing at Pittsburgh in 2003. Marcus Harris, a Brooklyn Center High School player, won the award in 1995 while starring for Wyoming.
Decker may write a little history of his own.