Minnesota Golden Gophers 2018 Football Preview

Minnesota Golden Gophers 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: Expectations were sky high when Minnesota fired Tracy Claeys and replaced him with former Western Michigan coach PJ Fleck. Some folks, myself included, thought that he could take what was on that roster and make it work well enough to push for a second place finish in the Big 10 West last fall, an assumption that would backfire early on. What was not surmised was how much of a culture change that Fleck would have to install to make things workable in Minneapolis after an era under Claeys and Jerry Kill that had the tail wagging the dog, where personal accountability did not exist on the roster and within the staff, and where discipline was just simply non-existent. Fleck is in the middle of that culture change, and after a season that saw Minnesota fall to 5-7, thing may not be much different this season.

Breakdown Offense: The Gophers have not had what I would call a game changing QB in years, maybe decades, and they are trying to find a QB who fits what Fleck wants to do even now. RS freshmanTanner Morgan has the edge as we head into the fall, but JC transfer Vic Viramontes (Riverside CC, CA) brings a skill set that could fit well into the system. Viramontes is a dual threat QB who rolled up a bunch of passing and rushing yardage in the JC circuit, but this is big boy football, and he has to prove that he can replicate his success on a larger stage. Whichever QB wins the job will have to work on improving a passing offense that finished 121st in the nation last season, and will have to drive a scoring offense that finished 109th nationally.

Minnesota has no such issues running the football, and they have a back who could start for any of the more elevated programs in the conference in Rodney Smith. Smith averaged 81.42 yards per game last fall, and had to work for every inch of that, as he averaged just 4.27 yards per carry. If the passing attack opens up this fall, he becomes much more dangerous in the open field. The problem at RB is going to be depth. Kobe McCrary is gone, and Shannon Brooks, who was slated to move up to that role, will miss the season. Mohamed Ibrahim had a solid spring, while big things are hoped for out of freshman Bryce Williams.

Tyler Johnson led the team with 35 receptions last fall, and returns to start, but nobody else on the roster caught more than 17 passes last fall, and that was Smith out of the backfield. This unit has some talent, but experience and depth could be a major issue. Expect Demetrius Douglas and Chris Autman-Ball to come in and start, with Phillip Howard coming off the bench as the 4th receiver. He caught 11 passes last season, while Douglas caught 11 as well. Douglas and Autman-Ball were injured much, or all of last season. Clay Geary, a sophomore, is looking for reps as well.

The Gophers lose their top 2 TEs from a year ago, leaving the job in the hands of inexperienced Colton Beebe, a junior.

The Gophers are in decent shape up front, as 4 starters from the end of last season return. Donnell Greene (LT), Jared Weyler (C), Conner Olson (RG), and Sam Schlueter (RT) will all be back, with Greene being the star of the unit. Freshman Blaise Andries has the edge to start at LG, so keep an eye on that spot. Quinn Oseland, a junior, could be looking to push him in fall camp, while Bronson Dovich looks to create a competition at RG with Olson.

Breakdown Defense: Minnesota did a solid job when it came to containing points against and passin defense, but there needs to be some work done on the rush defense side of things, which is where the front seven comes into play. The line looks for 3 new starters this fall, with only DE Carter Coughlin returning from the end of last season. He led the team with 11.5 TFLs last season on 37 total tackles, and he also led the team with 6.5 sacks. Sam Renner, a junior, is slated to take on the open DE job, as he has the edge heading into fall camp.

Both DT jobs are open for battle as we head into the summer. OJ Smith, an Alabama transfer, looks to battle freshman Elijah Teague at one spot, while Gary Moore, a senior, has the edge at the other. Malcolm Robinson, a RS freshman, is also in the mix. Winston DeLattiboudere figures in as depth at both DT and DE this fall, and finished with 3.5 TFLs last fall. Sophomore Nate Umlor could also figure in to push Renner at DE.

The Gophers are in decent shape at LB, as Thomas Barber and Kamal Martin both return, with Blake Cashman taking up the 3rd spot in the starting unit. Barber led the team with 115 tackles, and is one of the best in the Big 10. He added 10.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, 3 PBUs, and 3 forced fumbles. Martin added 42 tackles last season, and more will be asked of him this fall. Cashman finished with 30 tackles last season. The major issue at LB will be finding depth behind this group, as any one injury here could decimate the unit.

The CBs are all set with Kiondre Thomas and Antonio Shenault both returning. Shenault finished with 4 PBUs last season. Justus Harris is the 3rd CB. Jacob Huff returns at S this fall, and could be the best of the secondary. He finished with 4 PBUs, led the team with 3 INTs, and totaled 65 tackles. Antonio Winfield, Jr. starts at the other S spot as a sophomore this fall, and will learn from the others. He totaled 20 tackles as a freshman last season. Calvin Swenson returns as the 3rd Safety.

Breakdown Special Teams: Emmit Carpenter is back at PK this fall, but he needs to show more consistency, as he connected on just 14/20 FG attempts (70%0 last fall.

Jacob Herbers takes over as the full time Punter this fall, as Ryan Santoso moves on after averaging 43 yards per punt.

Rodney Smith is one of the most dangerous KR men in the nation, and averaged 25.73 yards per return last fall.

Anotnio Shenault has the edge at the PR job heading into fall camp, but did not blow anyone away last fall in limited action. A replacement could be found in camp.

Final Analysis: Fleck was an excellent hire, much as Campbell was at Iowa State. The culture around this program was a flat out mess under Kill and Claeys, and some very bad things were happening. The players felt like they were in control, and that is never a good thing. Fleck will change that, but it could take another year to fully implement his style and some discipline into a program that largely had none. Fleck first must find a QB, and that is his first priority on the field this fall. Once he can get that taken care of, you will start to see his total stamp on the program. This could be one more season where just getting to a bowl should be the hope, and then we can start looking for more in 2019. In the meantime, I must preach patience.