Vikings guard Michael Jurgens reflects on debut, talks his first start
Last Sunday night, Michael Jurgens was thrust into action with the first offensive snaps of his NFL career.
"It was cool," he said this week after practice. "It was kinda nice not to have any time to think about it. Kinda just going out there. It was a really cool moment."
Before that moment, the Vikings' seventh-round pick had only played briefly on special teams, last year as a rookie. His debut last week was overshadowed by an overall awful O-line performance. Now, Jurgens is about to get his first start.
"I think we just have to work on all 11 being ready every snap," he said. "Being perfect every snap and really dialing in on those details."
Jurgens is familiar with perfection. His high school team back in Maryland went 42-0 in his three years on varsity.
"It was pretty awesome," Jurgens said. "Actually, this coming weekend, my high school coach is getting inducted into the high school hall of fame... A tradition of winning there. They've carried that on after I've left, too. It's been cool."
Jurgens also played lacrosse in high school, which he says helped him get a college football scholarship.
Now, he's readying for the biggest moment of his professional career. The talent is there and it's time to see if the preparation will pay off. That starts with belief.
"I think that's what you have to tell yourself," said Jurgens. "It's kind of a surreal thing. You grow up your whole life thinking people in the NFL are these Greek gods. You think everybody is Aaron Donald, when the reality of it is a lot of people can compete in this league. I think that's half the battle. The mental gymnastics of convincing yourself that you're a starter in this league. That's something I've been working on and something that I'm ready to live out this week."