Greg Eslinger, Hall of Fame-bound former Gophers center, savors his ‘huge honor’

Twenty years ago, Greg Eslinger had a season for the ages for the Gophers football team. A senior at the time, Eslinger won both the Outland Trophy as college football’s top interior lineman and the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s best center.

Friday night, he was honored during the Gophers game against Nebraska at Huntington Bank Stadium, with the National Football Foundation saluting him for his January election into the College Football Hall of Fame. He’ll be inducted in a ceremony Dec. 9 in Las Vegas.

“It’s huge honor and a testament to everyone that was around me, from my family and my upbringing to all the coaches that I got to work with, to all the players I got to play with,” said Eslinger, the 20th Gophers player elected to the college hall. “I look at it like an offensive lineman. It takes a whole family. It’s not just an individual effort.”

The Bismarck, N.D., native who lives in Rockford, Minn., was a four-year starter for the Gophers and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in his final three seasons. Known for his agility and tenacity, Eslinger was key to an offense that twice led the Big Ten in rushing with 256.8 yards per game in 2004 and 273.1 in 2005. He was named Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year in 2005.

“Just keep working hard,” Eslinger said on his approach as a player. “When I came into Minnesota, I wasn’t a highly recruited prospect. I think I was probably zero stars, if not negative stars [in his recruiting ranking].”

Eslinger, 42, took advantage of football camp to get noticed by the Gophers, then proved himself right away.

“Growing up in North Dakota, I was in a little bit of a bubble, especially without social media and all that kind of stuff going on,” he said. “You grow up watching UND hockey and NDSU football. So, it was a really cool thing to get offered by [the Gophers] and just keep it going and take it to the next level.”

“Jim’s a few years older than I am, and I grew up watching him play for UND as a fellow North Dakotan,” Eslinger said. “And it’s really special because I don’t think that there’s very many North Dakotans in the College Football Hall of Fame.”

With all the changes in college football brought on by the transfer portal and name, image and likeness opportunities, Eslinger wonders how his football life might have been different under today’s rules.

“When I came in as a true freshman, they just graduated a bunch of offensive linemen, and so the opportunity was there for me to actually start as a true freshman,” he said. “I look at it now it’s like, ‘How different would my story have been?’ … I’m assuming they’d probably bring in someone from the transfer portal and give him a bunch of money and let the kid from North Dakota develop.