By Frank Rajkowski, SJU Writer/Video Producer

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. - When Saint John's University senior quarterback Jackson Erdmann (Rosemount, Minn.) made the decision to transfer from Penn State to SJU following the 2015 season, his father Jeff passed along some sage advice concerning his choice of jersey number.

"He told me No. 2 was pretty big up here," Erdmann said, recalling the words of the man who also was his head coach at Rosemount (Minn.) High School.

"They had a pretty famous guy who wore that number before me."



That guy was wide receiver Blake Elliott '03. And though their playing careers with the Johnnies are separated by more than a decade, the two share quite a bit more in common than just their jerseys.

To begin with, both boast historical statistical numbers at their positions.

Elliott – the dynamic playmaker from Melrose, Minn. – still holds most of the Johnnies' career receiving records and a number of special-team marks as well. His 47 straight games with a reception was an NCAA all-divisions record until 2008.

Elliott was a three-time All-MIAC and All-America selection who spent time with the Minnesota Vikings before an injury brought his playing days to an end. He has been a nominee for the College Football Hall of Fame the last seven years.

Erdmann, meanwhile, has started at quarterback for SJU since arriving on campus in the fall of 2016, earning All-MIAC honors the past two seasons and All-America honors a year ago. He has already passed for 6,559 yards and 92 touchdowns, ranking him fourth and second, respectively, in program history. He enters this season only eight touchdown passes behind Alex Kofoed's school and conference record of 100.

"I was blessed to play with some really great quarterbacks who were such a key part of our team's success," Elliott said.

"But Jackson is just such an amazingly skilled player. It's really fun watching him out there. And the thing I like most is that he's getting better and better. He came to Saint John's at a high level, but he's gotten more and more effective with each passing season."

Elliott and Erdmann are also two of just four Saint John's players to have won the Gagliardi Trophy, named after legendary longtime Johnnie head coach John Gagliardi and awarded annually to the most outstanding player at the Division III level by Jostens and the SJU J-Club.

Elliott won the award after leading the Johnnies to the Division III national championship in 2003. Erdmann won it last season when he threw for 3,450 yards and 47 touchdowns to lead the Johnnies back to the national quarterfinals for the first time since 2006.

The Gagliardi Trophy – also won by wide receiver Chris Palmer in 1996 and linebacker Carter Hanson in 2016 – honors more than a player's contributions on the field.

It factors in what goes on off it as well, including service to the community. That's another area in which Erdmann and Elliott have much in common.

Elliott is co-owner and Director of Operations for BRIDGES MN, a company that has built foster care systems for adults with special needs. 

The company, which he founded with friends and teammates at SJU, was inspired by the experience Elliott and his family went through with his younger brother Adam, who suffered a serious brain injury in a car accident prior to Elliott's senior season at SJU.

He is also principal co-founder of Northstar Behavioral Health MN, an organization that assists those battling opioid addiction. And he volunteers extensively, including with Feed My Starving Children.

That's in addition to having served as President of the SJU J-Club for four years and serving on the school's Alumni Association Board.

Erdmann, meanwhile, has worked with those impacted by sex trafficking in both the Twin Cities and on an 18-day trip to Thailand in January 2018. He's tutored students learning English and has also volunteered with Feed My Starving Children. Erdmann was named to the 2018 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and earned a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) award, which will enable him to teach English in Malaysia starting in January 2020.

"I did a few things when I was there, but Jackson has blown me away. He's done some really amazing things in the community. And that's part of what you get at a place like Saint John's. You have the opportunity to balance football with other things you're passionate about," Elliott said.

"That's part of what we stress here," Erdmann added. "Coach (Gary) Fasching always says he wants us to be successful in the classroom, in the community and on the football field – in that order.

"A guy like Blake is an example of someone we can look to and see how to balance all those things successfully. Just to be mentioned in the same company as someone like him is a pretty special feeling."

Of course, the one thing Elliott has that Erdmann doesn't is a national championship. He hopes to change that this fall.

The Johnnies – who began practice for the 2019 campaign today (Aug. 15) – are ranked No. 3 in the nation in D3football.com's Division III preseason top 25.

"That's what we're focused on right now," Erdmann said. "We're going to take it one game at a time. But we want that national championship."

Elliott, meanwhile, said he will be watching and rooting them on – happy to be a link in the chain that makes up the program's successful tradition.

"The most special thing about SJU from my perspective is the intergenerational aspect if it all," he said. "I have mentors and friends … great people … who graduated in the '70s, the '80s, the '90s and the early 2000s. And I've formed bonds with lots of guys who graduated in the last 10 years as well. 

"We all share that common bond."