Marcus Sherels

Marcus Sherels

refer to caption Sherels in the 2015 NFL season.
No. 35 Minnesota Vikings
Position:	Cornerback / Return specialist
Personal information
Date of birth:	(1987-09-30) September 30, 1987
Place of birth:	Rochester, Minnesota
Height:
Weight:
Career information
High school:	Rochester (MN) John Marshall
College:	Minnesota
Undrafted:	2010
Career history
Minnesota Vikings (2010–present)
Roster status:	Active
Career highlights and awards
NFL NFC Special Teams Player of the Week (2015, Week 8)
Career NFL statistics as of Week 15, 2015
Total tackles: 97 Sacks: 1.0 Forced fumbles: 2 Interceptions: 1 Total return yards: 2,495 Total touchdowns: 3 Player stats at NFL.com

Marcus John Sherels (born September 30, 1987) is an American football cornerback and return specialist for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota. He was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2010.

Early years

Sherels attended John Marshall High School in Rochester, Minnesota. In football, he was used on both sides of the ball because of his playmaking ability, playing running back and wide receiver on offense and defensive back on defense. In 2004, he led his team to the state tournament. He was named honorable mention Associated Press (AP) All-State as a junior as he led the Rockets to a section title and 9-2 mark. As a senior, he rushed for over 1,000 yards and rushed for 100 or more yards in seven of nine games for the Rockets. They finished their 5-4 with a 32-8 loss to Farmington in the first round of the Section 1, Class 5A playoffs, where he was held to just 36 yards on 16 carries. For his season efforts, he earned an honorable mention All-State at running back. He also excelled on the basketball team, earning all-conference honors after leading his team to the sectional semifinals, where they lost to Hastings.

College career

Sherels played for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, earning a scholarship after initially joining the football program as a walk-on. He recorded four career interceptions with the Gophers and returned a fumble 88 yards for a touchdown during the 2009-2010 season.

Professional career

Pre-draft

Pre-draft measurables

Ht	Wt	40-yd dash	10-yd split	20-yd split	20-ss	3-cone	Vert	Broad	BP
5 ft 9 in	175 lb	4.37 s	1.41 s	2.52 s	4.07 s	6.97 s	40 in	10 ft 1 in	12 reps
All values from Minnesota's Pro Day.

Sherels ran a 4.37 and 4.39-second in the 40-yard dash and recorded a 40-inch vertical jump at his Pro Day.

Minnesota Vikings

Signed as an undrafted free agent in the 2010 preseason, Sherels spent 15 weeks on the Vikings’ practice squad and was activated for the final game of the 2010-11 season. He was waived by the Vikings on September 4, 2010 and signed to the practice squad on September 6. On September 28 Sherels was released to make room on the practice squad for tight end John Nalbone. As of October 13, Sherels was re-signed to the Vikings practice squad and Nalbone released. This move, along with the signing of Frank Walker to the active squad, was made due to the season-ending injury sustained by cornerback Cedric Griffin who was placed on injured reserve the same day. On January 1, 2011, Sherels was elevated to the active 53-man squad after safety Madieu Williams was placed on injured reserve.

On September 30, 2012 (Sherels' 25th birthday), in an away game at the Detroit Lions, Sherels recorded his first career touchdown on a 77-yard punt return. Sherels gave the Vikings a 14-point lead in a 20-13 win.

In a 2013 preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, Sherels recorded a 109-yard kickoff return score and an interception of Titans' QB Rusty Smith.

For the 2013 season Sherels lead the NFC with a 13.6 yard average on punt returns and lead the league in fair catches with 26. On December 8 Sherels got his first career interception, on Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. On March 7, 2014, the Vikings resigned Sherels for 2 years.

Sherels was named the 2014 PFF All-NFC North Returner of the Year

On November 4, 2015, Sherels was named the NFC Special-Teams Player of the week, in regards to his Week 9 65-yard punt-return for a TD against the Chicago Bears.

Minnesota Vikings franchise records

• Longest punt return for a touchdown by a Viking: 86 yards (2013)
• Vikings Single-Season Punt Return Average: 15.2 (2013)
• Most punt return yards in a game: 119,(October 21, 2013)
• Most punt return touchdowns in a career: 3

Personal life

Sherels was a former Gopher teammate with New York Jets wide receiver Eric Decker. Sherels is the younger brother of Minnesota Golden Gophers linebacker and linebackers coach Mike Sherels.