Former Minnesota Vikings tight end Jim Kleinsasser will be inducted into the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame this December. Kleinsasser was one of 22 inductees in this year’s class and is just the second player from the University of North Dakota history to be inducted joining linebacker Jim LeClair.
Kleinsasser played at North Dakota from 1995-98 and was voted a First Team All-American by three publications in 1998 and two publications in 1997.
He hauled in 88 catches for 1,309 yards and 10 receiving touchdowns in his career and helped the Fighting Sioux to a 32-10 record with two appearances in the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 1995 and 1998.
Jim Kleinsasser had 13 solid seasons with the Minnesota Vikings
While Kleinsasser had a stellar collegiate career, Vikings fans know him as a legendary road grater for Minnesota during the 2000s. Kleinsasser was the 44th overall pick in the 1999 NFL Draft and played for 13 seasons before his retirement in 1991.
Kleinsasser had just 192 catches for 1,688 yards and six touchdowns during his time in the NFL but he was best known as an elite run blocker, paving the way for seven of the top eight single-season rushing yardage totals in Vikings history including a 1,760-yard campaign for Adrian Peterson in 2008.
Kleinsasser was also part of two teams that went to the NFC Championship during his 13-year career in 2000 and 2009.
Kleinsasser, who was inducted into the North Dakota Hall of Fame in 2012 will be a part of a class that will be inducted with a class that includes notable names such as Michael Strahan, Michael Vick, Urban Meyer, and Nick Saban during the 67th NFF Annual Awards Dinner in Las Vegas on December 9. When the latest class is inducted, there will be 1,111 players and 237 coaches in the Hall of Fame.