It’s Homecoming Week at the University of Minnesota where events lead up to Saturday night’s football game against Purdue. Inside Huntington Bank Stadium the names of five all-time great Minnesota players are prominently displayed for alums and other fans to see.
The more knowledgeable patrons know the famous five have their numbers and jerseys retired—Bobby Bell, Paul Giel, Bronko Nagurski, Bruce Smith and Sandy Stephens. All are deceased except for Bell who plans to attend the Homecoming game and participate in recognition of the 65th anniversary of the 1960 national championship team.
Bell’s last season at Minnesota was 1962 when he was the Outland Trophy winner and was named an All-American tackle for a second consecutive season. Giel’s last season was 1953, Nagurski’s 1929, Smith’s 1941 and Stephens 1961.
With its rich football history, the athletic department has an opportunity to soon add to the recognition of the greatest ever football Gophers. Greg Eslinger, the superlative 2004 and 2005 All-American center who blocked for some of the best running attacks in school history, will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December and is deserving of a spot at the Bank.
Glen Mason, Eslinger’s coach, said it’s overdue to retire the number and jersey of the 2005 Outland Trophy and Rimington Trophy winner. Mason told Sports Headliners “I can’t understand” why Eslinger isn’t keeping company with Bell, Giel, Nagurski, Smith and Stephens.
Mason describes Eslinger’s absence as a “pet peeve.”
Eslinger’s resume is eye-popping and includes being the 2005 Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year (only Gopher ever honored). He was named All-Big Ten three times in his career, and he was awarded the 2006 Big Ten Medal of Honor (the conference’s oldest and most prestigious award). He was also a two-time Academic All-American.
Two other players who Mason coached deserve consideration for having their numbers and jerseys retired. Tyrone Carter won the 1999 Jim Thorpe Award and was a two-time All-American safety. Matt Spaeth won the 2006 John Mackey Award as an All-American tight end that year.
“Why those guys’ names (Eslinger, Carter and Spaeth) wouldn’t be up there is mind boggling to me,” Mason said. “You know, the players’ names that were there up were great players but none better than these guys…and these (five) guys are ancient. Nobody knows who they are. It’s stupidity.”
Mason added “another thorn in my side” is that Spaeth isn’t in the M Club Hall of Fame for Gopher athletes. Spaeth, a two-time All-Big Ten selection who holds the school career record for tight ends of 1,293 receiving yards, was a four-year starter for Mason.
“Outrageous, because I could name a few guys that you could say, what are they doing in there? He’s not in there, it’s embarrassing,” Mason said.
Asked about plans to expand the number of retired numbers and jerseys, an athletic department spokesman said via text “we are continually engaged in conversations about how best to recognize and honor the contributions former football players have made to the program.”
The department will honor Eslinger at the home Nebraska game on October 17. The Gophers also plan to have representation at Eslinger’s induction into the Hall of Fame in Las Vegas in December.
The National Football Foundation sponsors the Hall of Fame which is located in Atlanta. Tickets are available at https://NFF2025.givesmart.com.
Eslinger will join 32 other former Gophers players and coaches in the Hall of Fame, including Bell, Giel, Nagurski, Smith and Stephens. Here are brief capsules on the five and what made them so special.
Bell could have been a great player at multiple positions, perhaps even quarterback. He settled for terrorizing opposing offenses as a defensive tackle on national title and Rose Bowl teams that went 22-6-1 from 1960-1962. To this day, there are Gopher historians who maintain the superbly athletic and instinctual Bell is the greatest football player ever at Minnesota.
Giel was an elusive single-wing tailback who was an All-American in 1952 and 1953. Despite playing on mediocre teams, he finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting in 1952 and second in 1953 when he lost in a controversial vote to Notre Dame’s Johnny Lattner. United Press International, though, named him College Player of the Year. He twice won the Chicago Tribune’s Silver Football Award as the Big Ten’s Most Valuable Player.
Nagurski is one of the most famous names in college football lore. In the late 1920s he played tackle, fullback, defensive and offensive end, linebacker and even quarterback. A beast whose strength was way ahead of his day, he was named a consensus All-American in 1929 at two positions, tackle and fullback. Sports Illustrated named him college football’s best player of the first half of the 20th century.
Smith, also a great tailback in the single-wing, was a back-to-back All-American on Minnesota’s 1940 and 1941 national championship teams. Those teams were undefeated and in the 1940 season he scored three game winning touchdowns. He is also Minnesota’s only Heisman Trophy winner, being honored in 1941. And, oh yeah, Hollywood made a move about him: “Smith of Minnesota.” He was one of the stars, of course.
Stephens finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy balloting after his senior season of 1961. Quite a feat for an African American who was a pioneer at the position. He was the starter on the 1960 national championship team, but his play went to another level in 1961when he made numerous first team All-American teams and was named the Chicago Tribune’s Silver Football Award winner as the Big Ten’s Most Valuable Player. He led the Gophers to a 21-3 win over UCLA in the 1962 Rose Bowl.