Minnesota Vikings WR Issac Fruechte: Kids should ‘break the mold’

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Isaac Fruechte took time out of a trip home to talk to kids about following their dreams and working hard to achieve them.

When talking about young, talented players on the Minnesota Vikings roster, sometimes Isaac Fruechte gets lost in the shuffle. However, that doesn’t mean that he’s a forgotten man for the team, as he’s worked his way to becoming a regular part of the franchise’s practice squad since becoming an undrafted free agent in 2015.

The former University of Minnesota standout returned to his high school in Caledonia, Minnesota recently to talk to some of the students about working hard to succeed and achieve their dreams. Fruechte knows that in that community, many of the young people have family professions ready for them or they settle for jobs instead of going after careers.

Here is what Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Isaac Fruechte said according to an article on the ESPN website:

"“We all know what the usual is around here. I think it’s important that we kind of break out of that norm,” Fruechte said. “I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that, but I just think you need to have kids with dreams and aspirations, and not be all about doing that. Go out and try some things. Go out and put effort into something, and if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen. You come back, you go to work, whatever. But I think it’s important that kids go out and try and achieve something. It’s a dream in their eyes, but it very well could be reality.”"

Fruechte’s story is that of an underdog tale, but it also proves that with hard work and determination, anything can be possible. He found his inspiration by watching another player from his hometown, Karl Klug of the Tennessee Titans, become a professional football player and he knew that it was possible to succeed himself.

"“I had a good guy to model myself after, and a lot of my friends were into that, as well,” Fruechte said. “Whether it’s playing sports, or being an actor or something like that, whatever you want to say, I think these small communities in Minnesota — and I’m sure they’re all over the country — they really need to focus on kind of getting out of that norm. It’s nobody’s fault, but I just think it’s something to focus on. We have a lot of kids here that don’t compete — they just come out to work out. We had kids do it when I was here. I don’t really understand it — why you would go through all that work but not compete — but we’re trying to break the mold.”"

Next: 5 WR options for the Vikings in the 2016 NFL Draft

Best of luck to Isaac Fruechte during the 2016 NFL season and huge thanks go out to him for taking the time to help motivate the youth of his community to work hard, focus, and try to achieve their dreams rather than go through the motions. If he can inspire just one kid to follow his dreams, it will all be worthwhile.