Isaac Fruechte (born March 7, 1991) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

wide receiver who is currently a free agent. 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 Dr. Charles Mayo to the Rochester School Board and ...

and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

as well as high school in-state at Caledonia.

Early years

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. Caledonia High School's mascot is ...

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 1854–18 ...

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

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition 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 There are two slightly di ...

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 counties, a ...

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

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

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 contest ...

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, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

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. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...

, 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 Minnesota College Athletic Conference (MCAC) - formerly the Minnesota Community College Conference - is a junior college collegiate athletic conference in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and they compete primarily at the ...

. 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 replac ...

, 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, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

the following week. On October 25 against

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

, 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 a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Minnesota, and was signed by the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted free agent. High School career Leidner attended Lakeville Sout ...

. 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 Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic. The ...

Statistics

Professional career

Minnesota Vikings

Fruechte was signed by the

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

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 football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previo ...

. 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) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine ...

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.

References

External links

Minnesota Vikings bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fruechte, Isaac Living people 1991 births American football wide receivers Minnesota Golden Gophers football players Minnesota Vikings players Detroit Lions players Rochester Yellowjackets (NJCAA) football players People from Caledonia, Minnesota