What makes a great punt returner? We called Marcus Sherels to find out

The praise that rookie punt returner Myles Price has been garnering in the aftermath of his NFL debut is very much deserved Let s just say he certainly looked the part After signing with the Vikings an undrafted free agent this spring Price slowly started to separate himself from selected of his peers this summer He solidified his spot on the roster by winning the competition to be the punt returner I knew at specific point I was going to get my opportunity Price disclosed As soon as I got it I stated Don t give it back That seemed to be Price s mentality on Monday night at Soldier Field as he did his part to help the Vikings earn a - win over the Chicago Bears He was able to make a guy miss at the point of attack and get to the second level where his blockers were special teams coordinator Matt Daniels commented We stole a lot of the hidden yardage in that encounter In the end Price finished with four punt returns for yards showing a combination of shiftiness and explosiveness in space That number is not insignificant when considering journeyman receiver Brandon Powell served as the punt returner last season and logged yards total There s an argument to be made that Price is already the best participant the Vikings have had in that role since longtime punt returner Marcus Sherels What makes a great punt returner To figure out the answer to that question the Pioneer Press tracked down Sherels who still owns a bunch of franchise records including greater part punt return touchdowns in a career among others It s a position that not a lot of guys want to play Sherels commented with a laugh There s a lot of pressure being out there on an island If anybody would know it s Sherels who did it for the better part of a decade A defensive back at Minnesota his journey with the Vikings started in after he was invited to rookie minicamp on a tryout He remembers arriving at Winter Park and seeing his last name was misspelled on the depth chart After garnering scarce reps on defense at his first practice Sherels approached former special teams coordinator Brian Murphy and reported him he sought to join the competition at punt returner He was like Sure Whatever Sherels revealed He didn t even really know who I was at the time I ended up doing it and I was catching them fine He kind of liked what he saw and they signed me Never mind that Sherels went on to become the GOAT punt returner for the Vikings He admitted there was a feeling-out process despite finishing with punt return yards I would be back there like Please don t drop it Please don t drop it Please don t drop it Sherels explained My mindset kind of changed as I got more and more settled I required those opportunities I went in knowing I could change the meeting Required how he perfected his craft Sherels credited the countless hours he spent with former special teams coordinator Mike Priefer They would stay late after practice to get extra reps in They would also watch tons of film to learn tendencies of opposing punters He really presumed in me so we put a lot of time in it Sherels disclosed That s what it takes to be great at it Though a willingness to work is extremely significant to success at the highest level Sherels stated the key to having staying power as a punt returner is consistently being able to make the initial defender miss I think where I kind of stood out was with my quickness he disclosed I was pretty good at making people miss and then I could use my vision to read where to go once I had the ball in my hands There s also specific fearlessness required You ve also got to be able to take a hit and get back up no matter what Sherels commented There were a bunch of times I didn t make the right decision with the fair catch and I got blown up because of it As he was sitting at home this week watching the Vikings play the Chicago Bears Sherels exposed himself glued to the screen whenever a ball was booted skyward That s still my favorite play to watch he reported It brings me back What did he think of Price in his NFL debut He looked good Sherels stated He had chosen juice I m excited to watch him I think he s going to keep getting better and better Minnesota cornerback Marcus Sherels makes New Orleans defensive end George Johnson miss during a punt return in the first quarter of an NFC playoff championship at U S Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday Jan Pioneer Press John Autey Related Articles J J McCarthy misses Vikings practice to be at birth of his son Vikings place Blake Cashman and Ty Chandler on injured reserve Vikings safety Harrison Smith gives update on his personal healthcare issue J J McCarthy named NFC Offensive Athlete of the Week The Loop Fantasy Football Statement Week First week waiver frenzy ahead