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Timber Lake's Tucker Kraft 'can't say enough good things about the place I came from' on NFL Network
Timber Lake native and Green Bay Packer tight end Tucker Kraft made an appearance on NFL Network on Friday.
(Evan Siegle / Green Bay Packers)

Timber Lake's Tucker Kraft 'can't say enough good things about the place I came from' on NFL Network

Oct 25, 2024
  

By Ryan Deal 

605 Sports

Tucker Kraft gave his hometown of Timber Lake, South Dakota, a shoutout on national television Friday. 

The Timber Lake High School graduate and Green Bay Packer tight end made an appearance on NFL Network’s Good Morning Football. The second-year tight end fielded a number of questions during the 11-minute interview, including growing up in tiny Timber Lake (population: 500). 

“The population is 500 from where you grew up, and now you are in the NFL on the biggest of stages,” Good Morning Football co-host Peter Schrager asked Kraft. “That is a massive leap. Can you take us into Timber Lake, South Dakota, and tell us what it’s like in that town and give your hometown some love and what really contributed to helping you become the man you are today.”

“I can’t say enough good things about the place I came from,” Kraft answered. “How all those roots are still instilled in me. I come from a small town, and tragedy struck me and my family when I was young — my dad passed away. But I had so many people from the community — like the positive things about being from a small town is I had so many great men and women, everyone coming together to help support me and my family through what we were going through.”

Kraft went on to say how the support continued during his high school, college and now NFL careers. 

“That support never stopped,” Kraft continued. “I continued to grow into the athlete that I am today, and I have people constantly reaching out from my hometown or people just being extremely supportive and asking nothing from me. Because they just want to be along on the ride. I hope throughout my career I can continue to give love back to my hometown.”

Kraft recently made headlines for displaying a Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe tribal flag sticker on his helmet. Kraft is an honorary member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, which is the fourth-largest Indian reservation in the United States and has an estimated tribal enrollment of more than 16,000 people. 

“That’s why I was honored to become a member of the tribe that I grew up on, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and I wear that patch on my helmet,” Kraft continued. “Just as a beacon of thanks toward all the people that I have got to interact with and all the people that have shown me support along the way. I am just very blessed.” 

Kraft currently leads the NFL in yards after catch (9.9 average), leading notable players like teammate Jayden Reed, San Francisco 49er wide receiver Deebo Samuel and Cincinnati Bengal wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. 

Kraft said his YAC ability also stems from his small-town roots. 

“It kind of goes back to the high school days playing running back amongst nine-on-nine football in South Dakota,” Kraft said. “As soon as I catch the ball I just consider myself a running back and I see run lanes and probabilities and I can use my off hand as a weapon. That’s something I really pride myself on too is the yards after catch.”

Former NFL linebacker Manti Te'o also asked Kraft about playing for the Packers, who selected him in the third round (78th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft.

“Packer fans are great,” Kraft said. “Just the traditions that are rooted in Lambeau Field and how historic of a place it is with the Lombardi Trophy. It’s just a pleasure 1. To be able to play in the league. But 2. To start my career and hopefully play the rest of my career in Green Bay as a Packer. This place is special.” 


Kraft also talked about the Packers’ 5-2 start, the upcoming National Tight Ends Day and meeting some NFL players for the first time at Tight End University in Nashville, Tennessee. 

That includes Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. 

“He’s one of the greats,” Kraft said. “I got to celebrate in Nashville with a lot of the greats, Dallas Clark, Greg Olsen, George (Kittle) was there. I got to meet Gronk (Rob Gronkowski).”

Green Bay will play at Jacksonville on Sunday. 

“Have an amazing week this week,” Schrager ended the interview, “but also keep going all season and keep making your hometown proud.” 

Kraft graduated from Timber Lake High School in 2019, where he starred in football, basketball and track and field for the Panthers. On the football field, the all-state running back rushed for 3,130 yards and 50 touchdowns in his career. 

Kraft was an FCS All-American tight end at South Dakota State University, where he helped the Jackrabbits win the 2022 national championship. He finished his collegiate career with 99 receptions for 1,218 yards and nine touchdowns. 

A 6-foot-5, 260-pound tight end, Kraft currently has 21 receptions for 264 yards and four touchdowns. 

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