ESKO, MN When Koi Perich was five years old, his parents gave him his first pair of football pads and a helmet for this new year. Little Koi was able to undertake some cross-training since his parents possessed a few pairs of boxing gloves that they used for exercises.
There, in the family living room, Koi invented a new activity that may be termed footbox with his 15-month-old brother Mason. They were throwing haymakers at each other and treating each other like tackling dummies while wearing full football uniforms and boxing gloves on their hands.
“They went full gladiator mode,” their father George, who was seated on the couch, observed. “I kind of liked it.”
Mother, too?
“It’s survival of the fittest in the Perich household,” Danielle said.
This background is essential to understanding the 18-year-old Koi, the incredibly athletic and fiercely competitive three-sport star from Esko High who gave the Gophers football team a thrilling boost when he recently made good on his promise to enroll in his home state school for the upcoming fall season.
One of the highest-rated recruits in the history of the Gophers in the modern period, Perich is ranked as the No. 3 safety overall and among the top 100 players in the country. Numerous elite programs aimed to recruit him, with Ohio State making a strong last-minute push among them.
On Nov. 20, 2021, at U.S. Bank Stadium, Esko’s Koi Perich (3) rushed the ball against Dassel-Cokato in the first half of a Class 3A semifinal football game.
Anthony Souffle
On Nov. 20, 2021, at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, during a Class 3A semifinal football game between Dassel-Cokato and Esko, Koi Perich (3) of Esko ran the ball.
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Share Eskos, Minnesota When Koi Perich was five years old, his parents gave him his first pair of football pads and a helmet for new year. Little Koi was able to undertake some cross-training since his parents possessed a few pairs of boxing gloves that they used for exercises.
There, in the family living room, were 15-month-old Mason and Koi.
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