Horseshoe Huddle

Can Minot State's Sebastian Gutierrez be the Next Chris Reed?

In today's prospect interview, I go in-depth with a small school player that hopes to become a major outlier from a small school.

Zach Hicks

There are over one million players across the United States that are currently playing high school football. Of that number, less than 75,000 will have the opportunity to play football at the college level. Of that 75,000 (or so), less than 2% will ever be drafted to play in the NFL.

It is exceedingly difficult for any college player to make it to the NFL, let alone a player from a Division II school. That is why Sebastian Gutierrez never thought the NFL could be a possibility as he entered college.

He enrolled at Minot State out of high school, a D-II college program that is located just south of the Canadian border in North Dakota. This small school isn't particularly known for being a hot spot of NFL talent, as they haven't sent a player to the league since 1977 with Randy Hedberg.

For Gutierrez, the NFL just wasn't a priority. He was simply there to play football and get an education.

That is until a Pro Scout from the Vikings timed him as running a 4.8 in the forty yard dash prior to his final season.

"He came down and timed my forty and I ran a 4.8. After I ran that number, he told me that he saw everything that he needed to see. He told me to mentally prepare myself because there were going to be a lot of scouts down here in the fall." Gutierrez explained. "There were about 20 teams that came down just to watch me that season."

This whirlwind of buzz and excitement is a great story in itself from a D-II player, but especially for a player like Gutierrez. See, he was never supposed to be in the position that he is in now.

How It All Started

Gutierrez was actually a wide receiver in high school, and was getting looks to play tight end at the college level. Minot State, in particular, wanted him to play tight end when they first recruited him.

"I had more offers to play basketball, actually. I knew I had to go the football route, though, because there wasn't much of a future in being a 6'5" center in basketball. I was looking around for a D-II offer and that's when Shane LeDage from Minot State called." said Gutierrez.

"I told them it was too far away for me and that was it, at first. A couple days before I signed, LaDage called again and said that they really needed me and asked what they needed to do to get me to sign. They essentially offered more money in the end, and I ended up choosing Minot State without even taking a visit."

Gutierrez's time as a tight end was very short lived, though, as he eventually made the switch over to offensive tackle. This was a pretty drastic change for him, as he is listed on Minot State's website as being a 230 pound freshman.

That number also may be a little bit exaggerated according to the source.

"I'll tell you one thing, I was far from 230 my first year." Gutierrez laughed. "I came in at 190 and put on a few pounds before the first year, but the 230 was a little bit of a stretch."

So how did a 190 pound high school receiver end up becoming an All-Star left tackle at Minot State? Well, it wasn't easy.

He was asked by OL Coach Nick Nissen to make the change after his redshirt freshman season. Nissen noticed that Gutierrez had the natural feet to play the position and that he was starting to gain some good weight to potentially make a transition.

After continually pressing the issue, Gutierrez finally made the decision to switch to the offensive line. His first year at the spot, in 2018, was a rough learning experience for the first year offensive lineman.

"They told me prior to my redshirt sophomore year that I was going to be the team's starting right tackle. I was playing around 265-270 during the season, which was light, very very light and raw at the position that year." said Gutierrez. "I wasn't grading out very well, gave up a few sacks, but I knew I could make something of myself at this spot."

When the exit meetings came around, Minot State's coaches held firm belief in Gutierrez's ability as a player. He continued to start and began to improve as a tackle over his last three seasons. He even locked down one of the nation's best D-II players, 2020 7th round pick Chris Garrett, in a match-up last season.

All that hard work finally paid off during his senior year, when he was named as an AFCA Second Team All-American.

How the NFL Came Knocking

The NFL rarely leaves a stone unturned in their search for players. After the 2020 season was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a scout from the Vikings called because they heard there was a left tackle with a good frame that made All-Conference the year before.

It was mostly a procedural check, but it eventually led to the Minot State left tackle getting real NFL buzz. For Gutierrez, he never thought this could even be a possibility.

"If you aren't a guy from Bama or something like that, the league is really never on your mind." he explained. "Just from being in the film room and comparing myself to big-time, FBS type guys, I never really thought I could compare to those guys."

Once the scouts started flooding into little Minot State to watch him, the feeling of potentially being a NFL player finally began to sink in.

"After that, I started asking my coaches (ones that are with the school and ones that had moved on) if they really thought this was a possibility for me. They all told me that they viewed me as a NFL guy, they just didn't always say it because they didn't want my head to get too big." he laughed.

Gutierrez put in the work to be the one of the best overall players at the D-II level during his final season, and is in prime position to fight for a spot in the league next year.

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His Journey Isn't All That Uncommon

If there is any position that can call this type of jump "normal" it is the offensive line. The NFL had 54 players that came from the D-II or D-III level last year, with nearly 15% of those players playing on the offensive line.

One player that immediately comes to mind is Indianapolis Colts' IOL Chris Reed. Reed is a former left tackle from Minnesota State University. He was undrafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, and proceeded to sign on with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While he has been a bit of a journeyman in his career, Reed has started 29 games in a league that he had virtually no shot of making. His story is one of many that inspire Gutierrez to keep going for his dream.

"I saw Adam Shaheen get drafted out of Ashland (back when I was a tight end) a few years ago and that is when I really told myself that I could do this." he said. "You see all these fairly unknown guys (Trey Pipkins, Quinn Meinerz, etc.) get drafted because you can play this position at any level."

Gutierrez is absolutely right with this analysis. It is never easy to make that transition, but it is becoming much more commonplace in today's NFL. For a position that is predicated more on leverage, athleticism, and power, offensive linemen are more equipped to make this jump than any other spot.

Does that mean that Gutierrez is a definite NFL player? Not at all, but it is entirely possible for him to make this improbably jump due to the groundwork that has been laid before him.

"I absolutely study these guys that have made this jump to see how I can do something similar. I know it is something that I am completely capable of doing."

Keep An Eye On This Guy

While I am not completely advocating for Gutierrez to be a top pick, or to even be picked at all, he has what it takes to make it in the league. He is a phenomenal athlete that began putting it all together late in his college career.

While he knows that he could easily get overlooked in this draft class, Gutierrez has a simple message for NFL teams:

"I possess the ability to play any position on the offensive line. I'm a selfless player that is ready to do whatever is needed to make it in the NFL."

Sebastian Gutierrez has everything that is needed to make it in the NFL, he just needs one team to take a shot. Maybe the Colts, the team with the most D-II and D-III players in the league, can be that team.

 Follow Zach on Twitter @ZachHicks2.

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Zach Hicks
ZACH HICKS

Zach Hicks is the Lead Analyst for HorseshoeHuddle.com. Zach has been on the NFL beat since 2017. His works have appeared on SBNation.com, the Locked On Podcast Network, BleacherReport.com, MSN.com, & Yardbarker.com. 

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