Isaac Fruechte (born March 7, 1991) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach and former

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. He is the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

and

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

s coach for the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

, positions he has held since 2024. Fruechte played college football at

Rochester Community and Technical College Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC) is a public community college in Rochester, Minnesota. It serves more than 8,000 students annually. The college was founded in 1915 on a motion by Charles Mayo to the Rochester School Board and is ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

as well as high school in-state at Caledonia.

Early life

Fruechte is a graduate of

Caledonia High School Caledonia High School (CHS) is a public high school located in Caledonia, Minnesota, United States, that serves Caledonia as well as the surrounding communities of Brownsville, Eitzen, Freeburg, and Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the north ...

Caledonia, Minnesota Caledonia is a city and the county seat of Houston County, Minnesota, United States and is part of the La Crosse, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,847 at the 2020 census. History Caledonia was platted in 1854 ...

. Under the guidance of his father Carl, who is a legendary football and basketball coach at Caledonia, Isaac played as a

and

safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...

and helped lead the Warriors to two consecutive state championships (2007, 2008), three section championships and two 3 Rivers Conference titles. He was a two-time Associated Press Honorable Mention All-State selection and a three-time All-3 Rivers conference selection. Following his senior season, he was named to the ''

St. Paul Pioneer Press The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington countie ...

'' All-State team. In addition to football, Fruechte was also a standout

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete at Caledonia, earning four straight berths at the state championships. He had a personal-best time of 10.82 seconds in the

100-meter dash The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and was timed under 4.4 seconds in the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

College career

RCTC

Fruechte had been asked to walk on at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

out of high school, but due to Minnesota's strict admission standards, Isaac's math score in high school wasn't good enough, therefore he opted to enroll at

in the fall of 2010 instead. Listed at 6-foot-3, 200-pound, Fruechte played his freshman season in 2010 with the Yellowjackets, catching 30 passes for 805 yards and nine

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

, helping the team finish with a 10–2 record, beating Central Lakes 34–31 in the state championship game before falling to Iowa Central 32–7 in the North Star Bowl. For his efforts, he was named second-team All-

Minnesota College Athletic Conference The Minnesota College Athletic Conference (MCAC), formerly the Minnesota Community College Conference (MCCC), is a junior college collegiate athletic conference in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA). The 23 member institutio ...

. After graduating from Rochester in December, Fruechte enrolled at Minnesota for the spring semester.

Minnesota

In his first season with the Gophers, Isaac started 9 out of 12 games. He recorded 19 receptions for 256 yards and 2 touchdowns for the run-heavy Minnesota offense. The Gophers improved their record to 6-7 and went to the

Texas Bowl The Texas Bowl is an annual postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game first held in 2006 in Houston, Texas. Each edition of the bowl has been played at NRG Stadium, previously known as Reliant Stadium. The bowl replace ...

, their first bowl game in years. Fruechte was named Minnesota's Wide Receiver of the Year at the Gophers annual football banquet. As a sophomore in 2013, Fruechte started 6 out of 13 games. He recorded 13 receptions for 154 yards in a year where the passing game struggled and the running game flourished. The Gophers improved their record to 8–5, and went back to the Texas Bowl for the second year in a row. During his senior year, Fruechte played in all 13 games and set career-highs in receptions with 18 and receiving yards with 292 yards. As the year went on, his role on the team expanded. He had 3 receptions for 46 yards against Northwestern in Week 6, and a 45-yard catch against

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

the following week. On October 25 against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, he had a career-game with 3 receptions for 105 yards, including his lone touchdown of the season on a 52-yard pass from quarterback

Mitch Leidner Mitchell Leidner (born January 17, 1994) is an American former college football player who was a quarterback for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. He was signed by the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free age ...

. The Gophers went 8-5 again, beating Michigan, Iowa, and Nebraska, to earn a New Years Day bowl game in the

Citrus Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Pop-Tarts Bowl and Florida Classic. The g ...

Statistics

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Fruechte was signed by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

after going undrafted in the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

. On September 3, 2016, he was released by the Vikings as part of final roster cuts.

Detroit Lions

On September 5, 2016, Fruechte was signed to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

practice squad. He was released by the team on September 21, 2016.

Minnesota Vikings (second stint)

On September 27, 2016, Fruechte was signed to the Vikings' practice squad. With the Vikings set to take on the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

for their last game of the regular season, the Vikings promoted Fruechte to the active roster on December 31 due to injury issues at the wide receiver position. On September 2, 2017, Fruechte was waived by the Vikings.

Coaching career

In spring 2018, Fruechte was hired as the

s coach for Wisconsin–La Crosse. Prior to the season starting he was promoted to co-

and

s coach. In 2019, Fruechte was hired as the wide receivers coach for

Northern Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

. In 2020, Fruechte was hired as the offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and wide receivers coach for Northern State. In 2022, Fruechte was hired as the associate

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

, offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and wide receivers coach for Winona State. In 2024, Fruechte was hired as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

. On December 1, 2024, Fruechte was named the interim head coach for the University of North Dakota after previous head coach Bubba Schweigert stepped down.

References

External links

North Dakota profile

Winona State profile

Northern State profile

Wisconsin–La Crosse profile

Northern Iowa profile

Minnesota Vikings bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fruechte, Isaac Living people 1991 births American football wide receivers Detroit Lions players Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Minnesota Vikings players North Dakota Fighting Hawks football coaches Northern Iowa Panthers football coaches Northern State Wolves football coaches Rochester C&T Yellowjackets football players Winona State Warriors football coaches Wisconsin–La Crosse Eagles football coaches Coaches of American football from Minnesota People from Caledonia, Minnesota Players of American football from Minnesota American male sprinters 21st-century American sportsmen