MN Daily: Mitch Leidner reflects on various football experiences

BleedGopher

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per the Daily:

A dream started with an opportunity to play quarterback for his hometown university, which eventually led to taking snaps at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Former Gophers quarterback Mitch Leidner has done it all.

He recently participated in The Spring League, a league designed to develop skills and give players the opportunity to play in front of professional teams.

“I enjoyed it... There were a lot of really talented quarterbacks and it was fun to compete with those guys and learn from them,” Leidner said.

Despite the great opportunity he had with The Spring League, Leidner said nothing beats the time he spent with the Minnesota Vikings. “It was probably the best couple of weeks of my life,” he said.

The Lakeville native was not drafted in the annual NFL Draft. The 2017 draft was held in late April, leaving Leidner a free agent.

He was then invited to the Baltimore Ravens’ rookie mini-camp, but he left camp without a contract.

In late August, Leidner had another chance in the NFL when the Vikings signed him as their third-string quarterback in the preseason. He did not see time in the Vikings' third preseason game, but Leidner said his favorite moment with the team was learning he would go in during the fourth preseason game against the Miami Dolphins.

“I remember being in the locker room and them giving me the nod. I remember the guys from Adam Theilen, to Stefon Diggs, Xavier Rhodes, Sam Bradford, and Case [Keenum]; all of those guys were rallying around me and pumping me up,” Leidner said. “It was a pretty unbelievable moment that whole time from half-time to the second half. I had a lot of fun with it.”

Leidner completed 14 of 19 passes for 129 yards, with a quarterback rating of 91.8.

Leidner was released by the Vikings after his appearance against the Dolphins, the Vikings' final preseason game, but said he still appreciates the organization.

“It is truly a top-notch organization and the way they run things. I have nothing but good things to say about my time there,” Leidner said.

Since leaving The Spring League, Leidner decided to move from football to construction.

http://www.mndaily.com/article/2018...back-reflects-on-various-football-experiences

Go Gophers!!
 

"Leidner completed 14 of 19 passes for 129 yards, with a quarterback rating of 91.8."

That means for his Vikings career he completed 74% of his passes. That's gotta put him somewhere near the top of the list.
 

Dude was a warrior. He player through a litany of injuries. Never complained publicly. Definitely reflected the personality of that era of teams.
 




"Leidner completed 14 of 19 passes for 129 yards, with a quarterback rating of 91.8."

That means for his Vikings career he completed 74% of his passes. That's gotta put him somewhere near the top of the list.

A QB has a much better chance of success when throwing the ball is a balanced part of the offense, instead of only getting to throw when it is 3rd and 21.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

A QB has a much better chance of success when throwing the ball is a balanced part of the offense, instead of only getting to throw when it is 3rd and 21.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Among other things but yep Mitch was put in some difficult spots. I always thought they never gave him a chance to get in a rhythm or trusted the guys to make plays which was infectious in a negative way. It’s like putting a pitcher in without warming up. He probably could have been better but let’s face it he had some shortcomings as a QB.
 

I'll never understand those who either liked Mitch or defended him....


Look at his pro career...there wasn't one! He was a bad college QB who should've never been allowed to start for 3 years.


The fact that Streveler is now starting in the CFL shows you how off Jerry/Limey were with QB management.
 

Thumbs up for Mitch

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I'll never understand those who either liked Mitch or defended him....


Look at his pro career...there wasn't one! He was a bad college QB who should've never been allowed to start for 3 years.


The fact that Streveler is now starting in the CFL shows you how off Jerry/Limey were with QB management.

why blame the player? he did what he was told.
 


I'll never understand those who either liked Mitch or defended him....


Look at his pro career...there wasn't one! He was a bad college QB who should've never been allowed to start for 3 years.


The fact that Streveler is now starting in the CFL shows you how off Jerry/Limey were with QB management.

No kidding. I mean what's to like about a guy who was barely recruited by anyone, most thought would be a depth QB or TE at most, played hurt a lot, represented the U and program well, was a very hard worker and just did the best he could? So unlikeable.
 

I'll never understand those who either liked Mitch or defended him....


Look at his pro career...there wasn't one! He was a bad college QB who should've never been allowed to start for 3 years.


The fact that Streveler is now starting in the CFL shows you how off Jerry/Limey were with QB management.

Jebus man get some perspective in life or something...
 



No kidding. I mean what's to like about a guy who was barely recruited by anyone, most thought would be a depth QB or TE at most, played hurt a lot, represented the U and program well, was a very hard worker and just did the best he could? So unlikeable.

Not to mention being a local kid, who never got into trouble off the field, and was academic All Big Ten, but still got ripped to shreds by fans online. Helped me realize that the whole notion of “we love local kids who work hard, stay out of trouble, and want to represent their state” is a load of crap. You’ll still get spat on if you don’t make the winning play, probably more so as a QB where knee jerk casual fans will lay the blame for every loss at your feet.
 

Not to mention being a local kid, who never got into trouble off the field, and was academic All Big Ten, but still got ripped to shreds by fans online. Helped me realize that the whole notion of “we love local kids who work hard, stay out of trouble, and want to represent their state” is a load of crap. You’ll still get spat on if you don’t make the winning play, probably more so as a QB where knee jerk casual fans will lay the blame for every loss at your feet.

Also (and I know this was more than just him), didn't he win more games than any other QB in school history?
 

Dude was a warrior. He player through a litany of injuries. Never complained publicly. Definitely reflected the personality of that era of teams.

Well, except for the huge, nationally known public complaint at the end. But I know that's different and I don't blame him for that. I always liked him and admired how he dealt with a lot of crap and kept his head up. And when you total it all up, he was one of the great winners we've had at QB.
 

Well, except for the huge, nationally known public complaint at the end. But I know that's different and I don't blame him for that. I always liked him and admired how he dealt with a lot of crap and kept his head up. And when you total it all up, he was one of the great winners we've had at QB.

He wasn't wrong. It was a self-inflicted wound.
 

Much respect to Mitch for the hard fought wins he led the team to. He was close to breaking through a couple of times.
 


No kidding. I mean what's to like about a guy who was barely recruited by anyone, most thought would be a depth QB or TE at most, played hurt a lot, represented the U and program well, was a very hard worker and just did the best he could? So unlikeable.


Agreed.
 


I'll never understand those who either liked Mitch or defended him....


Look at his pro career...there wasn't one! He was a bad college QB who should've never been allowed to start for 3 years.


The fact that Streveler is now starting in the CFL shows you how off Jerry/Limey were with QB management.

As likely the only Blue Bomber fan on this board, I will point out that Streveler is a great story but e is only starting tonight because the starter is hurt and the 2nd string qb retired abruptly right before training camp. He beat out a QB with 12 total CFL attempts for the start.

FWIW, it looks like he will be playing in a rainstorm tonight. Actually a positive I think. CFL QBs are almost always terrible in their first few games as they have trouble adjusting to a very different game.
 


Construction...? Is that a family business or networking ties?
 

A QB has a much better chance of success when throwing the ball is a balanced part of the offense, instead of only getting to throw when it is 3rd and 21.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hard to have a balanced offense when your QB can't throw the ball on target
 


I am not going to dig up historical gopher qb stats for the 100th time, but Mitch's stats are pretty in line with most of the all time best gopher QBs. Not sure where all the Mitch hate comes from but no one spends time ripping all those other gopher QBs with similar or worse stats.
Hard to have a balanced offense when your QB can't throw the ball on target

Sent from my RS988 using Tapatalk
 


I am not going to dig up historical gopher qb stats for the 100th time, but Mitch's stats are pretty in line with most of the all time best gopher QBs. Not sure where all the Mitch hate comes from but no one spends time ripping all those other gopher QBs with similar or worse stats.

Sent from my RS988 using Tapatalk

Mitch was the first QB at Minnesota in quite a while that had a chance to be part of something really special. There were some really tough losses under his watch, it certainly wasn't all his fault but he also left some opportunities that could have cemented him as a legend. Unfortunately, he was just very inconsistent.
 

We never had good wide receivers or a very good line. He wasn't great but he didn't have much to work with. But he was tough as nails and you have to respect how he competed and carried himself.
 




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