Gophers' Decker remembers shootings he can never forget

Five years ago today, Eric Decker was at Rocori High School in Cold Spring, Minn. He was eating lunch with his friend, Jesse Bartell.

Suddenly, a code red. Teachers were herding students into a room, telling them to lock the doors. Decker remembers thinking,
"What's going on?"

"It's one of those things where you're confused, and you're scared," Decker said. "Afterward, it was life-changing."

Five years ago today, 15-year-old Jason McLaughlin pulled a gun at the high school and shot two classmates, Aaron Rollins and Seth Bartell, Jesse's younger brother. Rollins died that day. Bartell died a couple weeks later.

Decker, now a junior wide receiver for the Gophers, is preparing for his team's biggest football game of the season, the Big Ten opener at Ohio State. As always, he is focused, locked in, ready. But at some point today, he will pause and say a prayer.

"Time has gone by so fast," Decker said. "I knew both of them. Seth, I was friends with his brother. And I played baseball with Aaron. Shoot, it's hard to talk about, because it's pretty emotional. It's a touchy subject."

But, occasionally, Decker takes time to remember. Maybe he'll call David Sauer over at St. Thomas. The two grew up neighbors and Sauer, now a quarterback with the Tommies, was his QB in high school.

"There was a heavy cloud over the community for about a year or so," Decker said. "People were sad for the families; everybody knew them. Every once in a while we'll talk about it. But, to be honest, it's something you don't want to remember. You want to learn from it."

Decker appears to have learned a lot, most importantly how important it is to respect other people's feelings.

"I always thought I had good values growing up," he said. "But that was a reminder that you have to respect other people. You have to treat them the way you want to be treated."

Decker also said he emerged from that experience a little tougher. When you've lived through an event like that, it becomes easier to weather the lumps a game like football can dish out.

"Big time," he said. "It's life experiences. ... That school shooting, that was a tough time. It puts things in perspective. You're out to win, but in reality [football is just] a game."

It's a game Decker has learned to focus on without distraction. Ask Gophers coach Tim Brewster and he'll tell you the biggest reason Decker is one of the best wide receivers in the country is because he's so mentally tough.

"I think he epitomizes what Minnesota is all about: hard-working, doesn't say a whole lot, just goes about his business," Brewster said. "He will not back down. He's a kid who accepts the challenge."

As such, he has become a leader on a talented but young offense.

"Lots of people are gifted," quarterback Adam Weber said. "But he's got the right combination of drive and desire to go with it. He has the head on his shoulders to go as far as he wants to go."

And he wants to go far.

Last season Decker set a school record with 67 catches. Through four games this season, he has caught 32 passes for 454 yards and four TDs. He is third in NCAA Division I in catches, fourth in receiving yards and tied for 11th in TD catches.

Sunday, the day after the Gophers ended their nonconference schedule 4-0 with a 37-3 victory over Florida Atlantic, Brewster was in his office. When the subject of Decker came up, he jumped out of his chair to show a play he felt caught Decker's essence. Brewster pushed a few keys and the play jumped onto the big screen.

Decker was lined up in the middle of three receivers on the left side. As the play began -- a run to the other side -- Decker sprinted downfield and, 30 yards away from the play, hit an Owls defensive back so hard that he flew five yards before landing on his back.

Brewster picked that block to epitomize a player who catches so many passes, but Decker liked it.

"That's the best side I show, the physical side," Decker said. "Because I'm not faster than most people. I won't outquick people. I play physical. I try to grind the defensive backs down so, at the end of the game, I have that advantage, I have that edge."

Decker already has that edge. The key to success, he said, is not letting mistakes distract you, such as a dropped pass or a missed assignment. You have to let it go and keep playing.

Decker learned how to work through adversity along with his friends and classmates five years ago. Today, many of those friends dot the rosters of local college teams. At some point today a lot of people will remember that day five years ago and say a prayer.