Patrick Reusse: Kleinsasser was once more than just a blocker

North Dakota was playing North Dakota State in the annual battle for the Nickel Trophy on Oct. 17, 1998. The nation's best Division II conference, the North Central, had not yet been destroyed. There was a sellout crowd of 19,006 packed into the Fargodome.

Randy Hedberg was North Dakota's offensive coordinator.

"I was in the press box calling plays," he said. "And it was so loud in there that I couldn't hear on the headset what they were trying to say to me from the sideline."

The Sioux built a 22-3 halftime lead, and then NDSU exploded for three third-period touchdowns to take a 25-22 lead. A North Dakota field goal put the score at 25-25 entering the fourth period.

"We were down in our end and flexed out Jimmy as a wide receiver," Hedberg said. "Then, we ran a little screen look and sent Jimmy on a slant. The quarterback [Sean Greenwaldt] hit him in stride."

Jimmy was Kleinsasser, the senior tight end from Carrington, N.D. And the play covered 77 yards for a touchdown that sent the Sioux to a 39-25 victory.

"He was maybe 260 [pounds] then, and he took that slant and just ran away from people," Hedberg said. "Everyone knows him as big and strong, but he was fast.

Kleinsasser caught eight passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns in his final game against the Bison. A decade later, the teams are in the fifth season of not playing one another after the falling-out over NDSU's ambition to join Division I-AA. The Sioux were dragged along and are in their first year at that level.

Asked about the North Dakota archrivals not playing, Kleinsasser shrugged and said: "It's kind of one of those things. NDSU is ahead of us in getting into Division I, and it's not time to start playing again. It's going to happen eventually, I would think."

Kleinsasser was standing in the Winter Park fieldhouse last week. Babych was right. That catch and run -- along with 260 pounds plus on a muscular 6-3 frame -- put Kleinsasser strongly into the draft's second round.

The Vikings, drafting very late, traded up to get Kleinsasser in the second round at No. 44 overall.

The days of rumbling past a secondary were left behind. He was switched from tight end to the blocking position of fullback early in his rookie season. That led to his number being changed from 85 to 40.

Hedberg, now the offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois, said: "Jimmy could've been productive as a pass-catching tight end, if the Vikings had gone that route. What happened is the Vikings found out Jimmy could lock up a defensive end better than almost anyone.

"He's big, strong and has the good feet to counter whatever move the end tries to make."

Those feet are an amazing sight inside a pair of football cleats.

"Size 17s," Kleinsasser said. "When I was kid, we would drive an hour to the Gun & Reel in Jamestown.

"I would go through the catalogues looking for shoes. I'd point to a pair and be told, 'They don't come in your size.' There was one ugly, clunky style of shoe that I would wind up with every time."

He had plantar fasciitis at North Dakota, and another bout with that painful affliction of the lower foot with the Vikings. And knee surgery. And an ankle problem.

"You get banged up over 10 years," Kleinsasser said. "You're sitting around on Saturday night thinking, 'This hurts. That doesn't feel good.'

"Then, you get to the stadium on Sunday morning and say, 'I'm OK. Let's win a game."'