Marcus Sherels excited about move to cornerback
Rochester’s Marcus Sherels of the University of Minnesota football team is excited about his move to cornerback.
Sherels is a walk-on who will be a junior next fall with the Gophers. The 5-foot-10 1/2, 170-pounder spent his first two seasons as a wide receiver, seeing limited action. Last season Sherels saw action in seven games as a receiver. He caught three passes, including one for a touchdown against Northwestern.
Now Sherels will be trying to prevent touchdowns.
"It’s good," Sherels said of the move. "I played corner in high school so it’s not that much of a change. It’s a natural adjustment."
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He worked at cornerback during recently concluded spring practice and was a starter in the annual spring game.
"Practice has been going good," Sherels said. "I’ve been getting the coverages down well."
Sherels has been playing "field" cornerback, which means he lines up on the wide side of the field. That gives him a bigger coverage area.
"I think I’m really quick," Sherels said. "I get in and out of my breaks really well."
He also possesses a vertical jump of 38 inches. He said he has not been officially timed in the 40-yard dash since high school. He is a 2006 John Marshall graduate.
Sherels has high hopes of holding onto the starting cornerback job for the Gophers in the 2008 season.
"I’m just going to keep on working hard," he said. "But the freshman will be coming in."
Gophers coach Tim Brewster has also recruited several junior college players in an effort to improve the team’s woeful defense.
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Sherels’ older brother, Mike, completed his career at linebacker for the Gophers following the 2007 season. Mike Sherels was not drafted, but he was a free-agent invitee to the Minnesota Vikings rookie mini-camp, which opens on Friday.
"He’s pretty excited about that," Marcus said.
Marcus also said that Mike was a big booster in him switching to cornerback.
"He’s been waiting for me to move since I got here," Marcus Sherels said.
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Neither Nate Safe of Cannon Falls or Tim Schneider of Southland were selected in the NFL draft. Both are offensive lineman. As of Monday there was no word on either of them signing as a free agent with a team. Rochester’s Tyler Sherden, a running back at Luther College, is also hoping to sign as a free agent.
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The Century baseball team is holding a golfing fundraiser to honor the program’s 10th year. A four-person best shot event will be held on Sunday at Oak Summit Golf Course followed by a banquet dinner to be held at the Rochester International Event Center near the airport. The golf tournament will begin with a 10 a.m. shotgun start, and the banquet will begin with registration at 5 p.m. Dinner is being served at 6 p.m. A raffle is also being held.
The event is open to the public, and coach Keith Kangas is especially hoping to hear from former Century players. For more information on the event, contact Kangas at 250-0822.
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The Rochester Honkers have signed Jesse Meaux, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound freshman right-handed pitcher from the University of California-Santa Barbara for the 2008 season. Meaux is currently 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA. He is from Glendale, Calif.
Guy N. Limbeck’s local sports notebooks regularly run on Tuesdays and Saturdays. He can be reached at glimbeck@postbulletin.com.
