Jimmy Carter Kleinsasser (; born January 31, 1977) is a former
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 with ...
player who played
fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to:
Sports
* A position in various kinds of football, including:
** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position
** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...
tight end
The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...
for 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 expansion ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
. He played college football at
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
and played for the Vikings his entire career since being drafted in 1999.
Football career
High school
Jimmy Kleinsasser attended Carrington High School in
Carrington, North Dakota
Carrington is a city in Foster County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Foster County. The population was 2,080 at the 2020 census. Carrington was founded in 1883.
Carrington is home to Dakota Growers Pasta Company, Inc.
H ...
and was a
letterman
Letterman may refer to:
* Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States
People
* David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host
** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...
and a standout in
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
, and
track & 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 events ...
. In football, he was a two time All-Region honoree and All-State honoree, and was twice named the
Gatorade
Gatorade is an American brand of sports-themed beverage and food products, built around its signature line of sports drinks. Gatorade is currently manufactured by PepsiCo and is distributed in over 80 countries. The beverage was first develop ...
Circle of Champions North Dakota Player of the Year. At Carrington High School, Kleinsasser was a starter on the 1995 Class B State Championship basketball team. In track, he has the N.D. Class B State T&F Meet records for
shot put
The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
(62 ft, 2 in) and
discus throw
The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disk (mathematics), disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an classical antiqui ...
(183 ft, 11 in).
College
Kleinsasser attended the
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...
and played for the North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team from 1995 to 1998 before being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in 1999. North Dakota was a Division II school at the time. At North Dakota, Kleinsasser was a four-time first-team All-
North Central Conference
The North Central Conference (NCC), also known as North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was a college athletic conference which operated in the north central United States. It participated in the NCAA's Division II.
History
The NCC ...
(NCC) pick and in 1998 was the only Division II football player selected as a
Gannett News Service
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. In 1998, Kleinsasser had 45 receptions for 710 yards and 86 rushing yards.
Minnesota Vikings
Kleinsasser was drafted as a tight end in the second round of the
1999 NFL Draft
The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at M ...
. He demonstrated remarkable durability throughout his career, playing in all 16 games up to 2010, except for missing 15 games because of an knee injury in 2004.
In 2007 and 2008 Kleinsasser was named to ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' All Joe Team honoring hard workers and under-recognized players. He continued his 13-year career with the Vikings in the 2011 season. He ranked 2nd in team history for starts made by a TE with 119, and ranked 4th in catches by a TE in Vikings history. His blocking skills also paved the way for 7 of the top 8 single-season rushing marks in Vikings history, including
Adrian Peterson
Adrian Lewis Peterson (born March 21, 1985) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest running backs in football history. He played college football at Oklahoma, where he set the ...
's then team record and NFL leading 1,760 yds in 2008. Kleinsasser retired at the end of the 2011 NFL season after 13 seasons with the Vikings.
In popular culture
In the movie ''
50 First Dates
''50 First Dates'' is a 2004 American romantic comedy drama film directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore with Rob Schneider, Sean Astin and Dan Aykroyd in supporting roles. It follows the story of Henry, a womanizing m ...
'', Kleinsasser is mentioned by
Sean Astin
Sean Patrick Astin (né Duke; February 25, 1971) is an American actor. His acting roles include Samwise Gamgee in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003), Mikey Walsh in ''The Goonies'' (1985), Daniel Ruettiger in ''Rudy'' (1993), Doug ...
's character briefly before Kleinsasser scores a touchdown on the TV.