LeCaptain Grows Into Role with Gophers
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In his fourth season at the University of Minnesota, Derik LeCaptain is chasing his dream.
He arrived at Minnesota as a walk-on linebacker after starring as a standout running back and linebacker at Southern Door High School, from which he graduated in 2019 as one of the most-decorated athletes in school history. LeCaptain’s talent and tireless work ethic earned him a scholarship in 2021.
“It really meant a lot to me that [University of Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck] and the entire staff really believed in me when they placed me on scholarship,” he said. “I’m just forever grateful.”
LeCaptain said he is on track to graduate next spring with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, but his playing days are far from over. Because he redshirted his first season in 2019 and the NCAA granted college football players in 2020 another year of eligibility because of the COVID-19 pandemic, LeCaptain will have two more years of eligibility after this season, and he plans to pursue a master’s degree in education.
“[I’m] just trying to finish up my undergrad [degree] now, and I’ll know more about the master’s [degree] in the future,” he said. “I anticipate I’ll be in the master’s program until my playing days here are done.”
LeCaptain said his No. 1 goal is playing football for as long as he can, hopefully in the NFL.
“I think when I’m done playing football, whatever level that may be at, I’ve always wanted to go back home to Door County,” he said. “I think the biggest thing for me would be [being] able to coach, because coaches in my life have just been some of my greatest mentors. I want to be a person who, when I’m done playing, is able to give back to the game what the game was able to give to me.”
Southern Door’s list of football players who made it to the NFL includes Jim Flanigan and cousins Al and Ben Johnson.
A Walk-on Mindset
On Minnesota’s football team, LeCaptain said “you can’t tell the difference [between] somebody who’s on full scholarship and someone who’s a walk-on.”
“I don’t think that work ethic and that mentality ever leaves you, even when you’re put on scholarship,” he said. “You carry that work ethic and that crack on your shoulder with you every time you go out for practice, every time you’re in a meeting and every time you play in a game.”
Though he is listed as a linebacker for the Gophers, LeCaptain has also seen time at running back and on special teams. He said he’s considered to be a “quad team member” by starting this season on all four aspects of special teams – punts, punt returns, kickoffs and kick returns – and has also seen occasional playing time on offense and defense. He recorded a rushing touchdown last season against Big Ten rival Northwestern.
“Last year it was unfortunate we had a lot of great [running] backs go down with injuries, and I was kind of put into that position to help out the offense,” he said.
LeCaptain said he’s been informed by Fleck that he could also see playing time on offense this season.
“[I’m] just accepting my role, knowing that I’m going to do whatever the team needs me to do, whether that’s on offense or that’s on defense or that’s on [special] teams,” he said.
Focus on Football
In high school, LeCaptain played football, basketball and baseball and earned All-Packerland Conference first-team honors in all three. He was also named the 2019 Wisconsin High School Male Athlete of the Year.
His football accomplishments in high school included 5,199 career rushing yards and 100 touchdowns. On defense, he recorded more than 400 career tackles and tallied 10 interceptions.
At the college level, LeCaptain said his focus on sports is on football.
“Ever since I was in first grade, I knew I wanted to play college football,” he said. “Coming through high school, I [also] played basketball and baseball, but I never really thought about playing those sports in college. For me, I always knew it was just going to be football. That was my first love. That was my dad’s favorite sport.”
LeCaptain’s father, Mark, played football at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Though Minneapolis is a 300-plus-mile drive from Door County, during the years he has been at Minnesota, LeCaptain said there has been only a “handful of games” that his parents weren’t able to attend in person, with some of those absences being because of attendance restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Being 300 miles away, it’s a little bit of a hike, but I’m just grateful that everybody back home is so supportive of me and everything, and they come out to watch me and my teammates play,” he said. “It’s really been awesome.”
Gophers off to Fast Start
After four games this season, LeCaptain and the Gophers are undefeated at 4-0 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten.
He has played in all four games, recording three tackles twice in nonconference games against Western Illinois and Colorado.
He said he’s also glad to see Southern Door’s football team remaining undefeated so far this season.
The Eagles’ starting quarterback, sophomore Drew Daoust, is a younger brother of Kyle Daoust, who was one of LeCaptain’s best friends in high school.
“Every time I go home, I think Drew is probably the person I hang out with the most,” LeCaptain said. “Just seeing the success he’s having this year as a starting quarterback as a sophomore is awesome, and then Taylor Schaefer and Jack Peterson – I babysat those guys when they were little kids, and I’ve known them forever.
“When I get to come home for a few weeks in summer and a few weeks in spring, I work out with those guys by Bryan Beachler at BBeach Fit in Sturgeon Bay. It’s awesome to be able to train with those guys a little bit in the offseason and then see the success they’re having.”
LeCaptain said his advice for those who want to play college sports is, “If you have a dream, chase it.”
“For me, my dream was always to play Division I football and play in the Big Ten,” he said. “Find that dream, and go to work. If you want to achieve your goals, you’ve got to work hard, both in your sport and in the classroom – be a good person, be a good person in the community, be a good person at school, be a positive influence.”
