Sherels' Mother Inspires Never-Quit Mentality in Marcus & Michael

Linda Lager watched her son, Marcus Sherels, poised at the 20-yard line. He fielded the punt, darted toward the sideline, angled back in and ran the ball 79 yards for a touchdown against the Texans.

As she celebrated at her seat in U.S. Bank Stadium, Linda couldn’t help but picture Marcus in the yellow youth jersey he wore long before Vikings purple.

Linda remembers his first touchdown like it was yesterday.

Marcus was in fourth grade, day one of tackle football. He was small, but quick, tabbed as a running back early on by coaches.

“He went on the outside, like he [often] does,” Linda said, the smile clear in her voice. “He just outran everyone, just zipped around them and flew into the other…