Eric Decker
From NCAA College Football Information & Resource
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Eric Decker (born on March 15, 1987) is a wide receiver for the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers in the NCAA college football tournament. A versatile multi-sport athlete, Decker found his calling in collegiate football where he has emerged to become Minnesota's primary offensive target. By the end of his sophomore season, Decker has already enlisted himself in the company of the elites among the Gophers' all-time receivers after turning out a record breaking 2007 season where he set the school record for single-season receptions and will enter his junior year ranked in the top 15 in four Gopher career receiving categories.
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[edit] Personal Life
Eric is the son of Tom Decker and Sue Meyer. His cousin Dan Moore also suited up for Minnesota as a linebacker and part of the special teams. He hails from Cold Spring, Minn. (about an hour northwest of the Twin Cities) and grew up in a small town where baseball was the main sporting attraction. Playing baseball was his dream since he was five and he got to play the sport through high school and college. Decker, who returned to playing baseball in 2008 after a three-year hiatus (last played during his senior year of high school), was actually drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 39th round of the 2008 major league draft but told the team that he had no intention of signing. He however did not permanently rule out the possibility of playing pro baseball in the future, but intends to finish college first before deciding on whether to pursue a career in either the National Football League or the Major League Baseball.
Eric and quarterback teammate Adam Weber actually first crossed paths in high school when they went to the same camp at Minnesota and played on a 7-on-7 game for the same Razzle Dazzle team. Since then, he, Adam, and a common friend named Travis Busch (who also plays basketball for the Gophers) have bonded off the field.
Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster compared Eric to former Stanford All-American receiver Ed McCaffrey, whom he idolized and looked up to while growing up. Baseball-wise, his style is often compared to former Michigan State All-American Kirk Gibson.
[edit] High School
Decker was a three-sport athlete at Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minnesota, playing football, basketball, and baseball. He also earned honors on all three fields, claiming all-conference, all-section and all-area honors in both basketball and baseball and was also a two-time all-state, all-conference, all-area and all-section pick in football while playing under head coach Rick Theisen. As a junior, he recorded 60 receptions for 895 yards and 12 touchdowns to earn an All-Area selection from the St. Cloud Times as well as the team's MVP award. During his senior year, he was able to catch 62 passes for 1,017 yards and 15 touchdowns to help the Spartans to a 5-1 record in Central Lakes play and an 8-2 overall record. That year, he was named as a first-team selection on the 2004 Minnesota Associated Press All-State Football Team and was once again named as Rocori’s team MVP. He concluded his career with 2,156 receiving yards and 28 touchdowns. Despite his success on the field, Decker also did pretty well off of it after being honored as a member of the National Honor Society and the all-state academic team.
[edit] College
Prior to his senior year, Decker gave his verbal commitment to the University of Minnesota after attending the Gopher football camp, becoming the fourth in-state player to pledge to the team. Decker, a two-star prospect according to Scout.com, was also named by SuperPrep to its Midwest Team and was listed as its 14th-best receiver while Prepstar also included him on its All-Midwest Region Team.
[edit] 2005
Redshirted.
[edit] 2006
In his collegiate debut, Decker made an immediate impact as he hooked up with Bryan Cupito for a 39-yard touchdown connection, the first score of the game and the first career reception and TD catch for Decker as the Golden Gophers went on to shut-out Kent State, 44-0. He only caught a 5-yard pass in the 17-42 loss at No.22 California, then was limited to only a carry for his first rushing gain of 5 yards in his first career start in Minnesota's 62-0 shut-out victory over Temple. At Purdue, he caught three passes for 46 yards while also completing his first career passing attempt on a 22-yard pass to Amir Pinnix as U of M lost a 21-27 decision to the Boilermakers. After not tallying a stat in the two TD-loss to Michigan, he came back and recorded 4 receptions for a season high 66 receiving yards and a spectacular scoring catch in overtime in the 27-28 heartbreaking setback to Penn State. In the Battle for the Axe at Wisconsin, Decker tallied three catches for 26 yards in the 12-48 setback, then contributed two receptions for 23 yards in the 1-point win over North Dakota State. He also contributed three catches for 31 yards in the shut-out loss to top-ranked Ohio State then came up big in the lopsided homecoming win over Indiana, where he caught a season high five passes for 65 yards and the opening touchdown of the game. He failed to register a catch at Michigan State, then ended the season with two receptions each in the 10-point win over Iowa (for 36 yards) and in the 3-point loss to Texas Tech at the Insight Bowl (for 41 yards).
Decker concluded his initial campaign as the Golden Gophers' 4th leading receiver with 26 catches for 378 yards and three touchdowns in 13 appearances and three starts, while participating in 480 plays. Among his recognitions that year include an academic All-Big Ten selection and a scholar-athlete award.
[edit] 2007
With the departure of the team's leading receiver, Logan Payne, newly hired head coach Brewster put Decker and Ernie Wheelwright at the forefront of the Gophers' passing attack. During the spring game, he caught 4 passes for 80 yards and scored on a 48-yard pass from Tony Mortensen. In his first game as a full-time starter, Decker caught four passes for 49 yards as The U came up short with a heartbreaking 31-32 overtime loss to Bowling Green. Against Miami (Ohio), he recorded some personal feats when he tallied his first career 100-yard receiving game with seven catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns including a season-long 59 yard touchdown reception as the Golden Gophers defeated the Redhawks, 41-35, for their first and only win of the season. At Florida Atlantic, he made it a back-to-back 100-yard effort after tallying season highs in receptions (12) and receiving yards (165) with a 23-yard touchdown catch as Minnesota lost a 39-42 thriller. In the Big Ten opener, he grabbed a scoring catch for the third straight game when he caught a 15-yard TD pass before finishing the game with 7 receptions for 79 yards in the 2-TD loss to the Boilermakers. Against No.8 Ohio State, he caught six passes for 65 yards as the Gophers lost, 7-30. At Indiana, he hauled in eight passess for 74 yards with a three-yard TD in the 20-40 loss, then finished with five receptions for 44 yards and a 20-yard touchdown catch in the slim 1-point win at Northwestern. He also made his PR debut against the Wildcats, returning three punts for 25 yards with an 8.33 yards per return average. Against NDSU, he hauled in four passes for 47 yards and connected on a 20-yard touchdown pass to Ralph Spry in the 21-27 defeat. At No.19 Michigan, he had three catches for 40 yards in the 10-34 loss then added 3 grabs for 65 yards and rushed thrice for 22 yards in the lopsided 17-44 homecoming loss to Illinois. At Iowa, he returned a punt but was limited to a season low two receptions for 28 yards with a 22-yard TD catch in the 16-21 defeat.
In the Border Battle, Decker caught six passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns (of 22 and four yards) as the Gophers lost by a touchdown, 34-41. In the second quarter of that game, Decker was called out when he was said to have delivered a low-blow to Badger defensive back Jack Ikegwuonu. In his defense, Decker said that Ikegwuonu gave him some shots to the face mask and was trying to push his helmet into the ground adding that the hit was unintentional. By the end of his sophomore year, Decker emerged as the team's leading receiver with 67 receptions (school single-season record), 909 receiving yards (5th most in school history), nine touchdowns (tied for 3rd in a season in school history), with an average of 5.58 receptions per game (6th in the Big Ten) and 75.8 yards per game (4th in the Big Ten) in 12 games, all starts. In the 12 appearances, he was able to catch atleast two passes in each game and scored atleast a TD in seven games. His exceptional effort that season netted him the Bruce Smith Award as the team’s outstanding offensive player while earning his second straight Academic All-Big Ten selection and scholar-athlete award.
[edit] 2008
During the spring, Decker was named one of the team captains for the season along with linebacker Steve Davis, defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg, and Weber. He also earned second team All-Big Ten selection from Phil Steele in its College Football Preview.
[edit] Career Stats
| Receiving | Rushing | |||||||||
| Year | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD |
| 2006 | 26 | 378 | 14.5 | 39 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2007 | 67 | 909 | 13.6 | 59 | 9 | 3 | 22 | 7.3 | 12 | 0 |
[edit] Highlights
| Eric Decker's 20-yard touchdown pass against North Dakota State (2007). |
[edit] Achievements
[edit] 2008
- CollegeFootballNews.com Preseason All-Big Ten Second Team
- Phil Steele Preseason All-Big Ten Second Team
- The Sporting News' No.5 Wide Receiver in the Big Ten
[edit] 2007
- Academic All-Big Ten
- GoldenSports.net/Outback Steakhouse's Gopher Offensive Player of the Week (x2)
- Minnesota's Bruce Smith Award (outstanding offensive player)
- Phil Steele All-Big Ten Second Team
[edit] 2006
- Academic All-Big Ten
