Marcus Sherels Trying To Remain Opportunistic

Written by Sam Ekstrom

There’s rarely a sense of security for a player like Marcus Sherels, the undrafted, undersized Vikings cornerback. And even after signing a two-year contract that guarantees him at least half a million dollars, the Rochester, Minn., native is still battling for every rep.

Sherels is involved in a three-way competition to win back the punt returner job and will clash with several others to be the team’s third corner.

But Sherels is used to this type of struggle.

The former Minnesota Golden Gopher – who played one college season at TCF Bank Stadium – had to fight just to earn a spot on the Vikings’ practice squad in 2010. From there, he impressed new coach Leslie Frazier and special teams coordinator Mike Priefer with his special teams prowess and earned a spot on the 2011 active roster. Since then, he’s returned 87 punts and 32 kickoffs, scored two return touchdowns and started six games at cornerback.

The diminutive 5-foot-10 Sherels has learned to brush off the nay-sayers.

“You kind of have to wash [the doubters] out because if you start worrying about that, it gets all jumbled up and you start thinking too much,” said Sherels on Thursday. “You just have to focus on football, and the rest will take care of itself.”

One underrated facet of Sherels’ success is his durability. He has not missed a game since making the squad in 2011, which has given him plenty of in-game chances to prove himself as a corner. The Vikings have struggled to stay healthy at that position in recent years with key injuries to Antoine Winfield in 2011, Chris Cook in 2012 and Xavier Rhodes last season.

Perhaps Sherels knows that a player who lives life on the fringe can’t afford to get hurt – all he has to do is look at Mike Zimmer’s frustration with the ailing Josh Robinson. Sherels has taken fate into his own hands by showing up to work every day for the past three seasons and playing like his job depends on it.

Priefer sees this quality displayed in his punt returner.

“As far as I’m concerned, every day is a competition, and I think that’s what’s made Marcus such a good player, that which makes all players great players,” said Priefer during training camp. “We make them accountable for their job day-in and day-out. That’s the way Marcus approaches it, and that’s why a guy that’s supposedly undersized and wasn’t supposed to be in the NFL this long has done a great job, and that’s why I’m proud of him.”

Sherels now has the benefit of playing with Captain Munnerlyn, who stands two inches shorter but has 20 pounds on Sherels. Both players are 26, with Sherels being a few months older than Munnerlyn, and both have experience in the return game. The former Carolina Panther, however, enters this season as the more established cornerback of the two. Sherels says that Munnerlyn has been a great mentor.

“Captain has a lot of experience,” Sherels said. “He’s been through it all. He’s been inside, outside, punt return, he’s done all the special teams, so we talk a lot about schemes and really learning and reading and learning the playbook.”

Sherels flew largely under the radar with the Vikings until his punt returning prowess turned some heads last season. Sherels returned a punt for a touchdown on Monday Night Football against the New York Giants and finished the season with the second-highest punt return average in the NFL at just over 15 yards per return. The local Minnesota boy is no longer a well-kept secret.

“He’s not going to surprise anybody this year,” said Priefer on Thursday. “He’s gotten better. We’re going to be a little more aggressive with him this year. He’s a very sound, disciplined returner. I don’t want to say we’re going to take chances, but we’re going to be a little more aggressive in what we’re doing in the return game.”

Sherels called for 27 fair catches last season – the highest mark in the NFL. But his 15-yard return average indicates to Priefer that he might be able to loosen the reins a bit and let Sherels run. The former Gopher got two opportunities against the Arizona Cardinals in last Saturday’s preseason game and took one 32 yards on his old TCF Bank Stadium turf.

He also led the team with nine tackles. Coach Zimmer has been working with Sherels on getting more physical and improving his press coverage, which involves jamming the receiver at the line of scrimmage to slow their route.

“He’s always with the DBs,” Sherels said of Zimmer. “Most of the time in meetings and the individual period he’s always with us. That’s good. He’s coaching us up really well, and we’re learning.”

Sherels’ ability to continually learn and adjust has served him well. He’s now with his third different coaching staff and projects to make the Week 1 roster for the fourth consecutive season with his home state’s team. Though his battle with Adam Thielen and Jerick McKinnon to be punt returner is not officially won, and his cornerback reps are threatened by Josh Robinson and Jabari Price, Sherels enjoys the competitive aspect.

“We’ve got a lot of competition out there, so we’re all getting better every day,” said Sherels. “Competition makes us all better.”