Marcus Sherels

Marcus John Sherels (born September 30, 1987) is a former American football cornerback and return specialist.

In 2004, he led his team to the state tournament.

He was named honorable mention Associated Press (AP) All-State as a junior as he led the Rockets to a section title and 9–2 mark.

As a senior, he rushed for over 1,000 yards and rushed for 100 or more yards in seven of nine games for the Rockets.

They finished their 5–4 season with a 32–8 loss to Farmington in the first round of the Section 1, Class 5A playoffs, where he was held to just 36 yards on 16 carries.

For his season efforts, he earned an honorable mention All-State at running back.

He also excelled on the basketball team, earning all-conference honors after leading his team to the sectional semifinals, where they lost to Hastings.

Sherels played for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, earning a scholarship after initially joining the football program as a walk-on.

He recorded four career interceptions with the Gophers and returned a fumble 88 yards for a touchdown during the 2009–2010 season.

Sherels ran a 4.37 and 4.39-second in the 40-yard dash and recorded a 40-inch vertical jump at his Pro Day.

He played college football at Minnesota, and was signed by the Vikings as an undrafted free agent in 2010.

Primarily known as a return specialist, Sherels is tied for first in Vikings franchise history with a 10.4 yard career punt return average (208 for 2,171 yards) and holds the franchise record with 5 career punt return touchdowns.

He has also been a member of the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins.

Sherels went to Franklin Elementary School, then John Marshall High School in Rochester, Minnesota.

In football, he was used on both sides of the ball because of his playmaking ability, playing running back and wide receiver on offense and defensive back on defense.

Sherels was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Minnesota Vikings in the 2010 preseason after a strong performance in the Vikings rookie camp, where he participated on a tryout basis.

Sherels holds the Vikings record with 5 career punt return touchdowns after he passed career marks of 2 previously held by Mewelde Moore and David Palmer.

Sherels was waived by the Vikings on September 4, 2010, and then signed to the practice squad on September 6.

On September 28, Sherels was released in order to make room on the practice squad for tight end John Nalbone.

On October 13, Sherels was re-signed to the Vikings practice squad and Nalbone released.

This move, along with the signing of Frank Walker to the active squad, was made due to the season-ending injury sustained by starting cornerback Cedric Griffin, who was placed on injured reserve the same day.

Sherels spent 15 weeks on the Vikings’ practice squad and was activated for the final game of the season against the Detroit Lions.

On January 1, 2011, Sherels was elevated to the active 53-man squad after safety Madieu Williams was placed on injured reserve.

Sherels was moved from his habitual special teams role to start 3 games as a nickel cornerback as injuries took their toll on the Vikings secondary, but he still handled all punt return duties and was tied for second on the team with 16 kickoff returns, only behind Percy Harvin.

He started the first game of his career against Arizona on October 9, a game which the Vikings won for the first win of the season.

He recorded the Vikings' longest punt return of season with a 53-yarder in Week 3 against the Lions and the third-longest kickoff return with a 78-yarder against the Panthers in Week 8.

In the Vikings' Week 10 loss against the Green Bay Packers he posted his first career sack against Aaron Rodgers.

Sherels finished the season with 27 combined tackles, a sack and three passes defended on defense, while also returning 16 kicks for 445 yards (27.8 avg.) and 33 punts for 277 yards (8.4 avg.).

He also ranks second in the league from 2012 to 2015 with 1,230 punt return yards and is tied for second in that same 4-year span with 3 punt return scores.

In 2012, he became the 10th player in Vikings history to return a punt for a touchdown with a 77-yard return for a score against the Detroit Lions, the 7th-longest punt return in team history.

In 2012, Sherels handled all punt return duties and tied for the team-lead again with Percy Harvin in kickoff returns with 16.

He ranked seventh in the NFC in punt return average at 9.0 yards per return.

On September 30, 2012 (Sherels' 25th birthday) in an away game at the Detroit Lions, Sherels recorded his first career touchdown on a 77-yard punt return that gave the Vikings a 14-point lead in their 20–13 win.

The touchdown helped match a Vikings record with a punt return touchdown and kickoff return touchdown in the same game as Percy Harvin also scored on a 105-yarder.

Sherels finished the season with 9 total tackles and one pass defended as a cornerback, and 16 kick returns for 422 yards (26.4 avg.) and 32 punt returns for 287 yards (9.0 avg.).

In a preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, Sherels recorded a 109-yard kickoff return score and an interception of Titans' quarterback Rusty Smith.

In 2013, he started a career-high 4 games at cornerback and set the Vikings' single-season record with a 15.2 punt return average, breaking the previous mark of 13.2 set by running back David Palmer during the 1995 season.

He also holds the team record with 5 career punt returns of more than 50 yards.

On October 21, 2013, he notched the third-longest punt return touchdown in club history with an 86-yarder against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football that helped him set the Vikings single game record with 119 punt return yards.

In the 2013 preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, he set a Vikings preseason record with a 109-yard kickoff return touchdown.