Author: David Shama

Fans will attend the Gophers’ annual spring football game on Saturday focused on the competition for the starting quarterback job, but don’t expect a commitment from coach Tim Brewster over the weekend.

“I will announce the starting quarterback probably within two weeks after the spring game, and (also) the captains,” Brewster told Sports Headliners.

The Gophers end spring practices with Saturday’s game at TCF Bank Stadium (1:30 p.m. start).  Brewster said his staff has “charted every throw and charted every decision” of quarterback candidates Adam Weber, MarQueis Gray and Moses Alipate.

The decision of who will be No. 1 going into August practices and presumably be the starter on September 2 at Middle Tennessee State will “sort itself out,” according to Brewster who gave no hint whether his guy will be Weber, Gray or Alipate.  The guess here is that it will be Weber, mostly because of his considerable advantage in experience and leadership (he was a captain last season as a junior).

Weber has been a three year starter (52 career touchdown passes) and a smart quarterback.  Gray, now a sophomore, didn’t dazzle last year with his knowledge of the offense and is still playing catch up.  Alipate was a redshirt freshman last year and unlike Weber and Gray doesn’t have Big Ten game experience.

Watch Weber on Saturday to see if he’s still short arming passes into the ground.  That was a problem last fall as he stumbled through the worst passing season of his college career, throwing more interceptions (15) than touchdown passes (13).  Offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch reportedly wanted different throwing mechanics from Weber.  That didn’t seem to help Weber’s performance, and for sure he sometimes looked bad throwing the ball because of pass receivers who didn’t run correct routes and his offensive line offered phantom protection.

Much was asked of Weber in the Gophers offense during the last three seasons but Brewster is setting some guidelines about expectations for his starter in 2010.  “We don’t want our quarterback to have to carry the load,” Brewster said. “The basic premise we want to live off is we have to run the football.”

Under new offensive coordinator Jeff Horton the Gophers will use a pro style offense.  Sometimes there will be two backs in the backfield, other times one.  But Brewster said despite the emphasis on developing a rushing game, the Gophers will probably be in the shotgun formation 40 percent of the time next season.

The quarterback job will likely go to either Weber or Gray, and both have running ability.  Brewster expects his quarterback to create opportunities including with his “feet.”   But the Gophers won’t rely on option plays for the quarterback and Brewster emphasizes that the mission of his offense is to become a “physical” attack, often featuring multiple tight ends and frequently running behind the blocking of fullback Jon Hoese who Brewster describes as a “really good football player.”

The Gophers offense, Brewster said, will be “tailback oriented.”  That means one of three incoming freshmen, or returnees Duane Bennett or DeLeon Eskridge, will be the starter.  Brewster has high hopes for freshmen Lamonte Edwards, Donnell Kirkwood and Devon Wright.

The coach sees improvement this spring from Bennett and Eskridge, both juniors.  Neither ran for 400 yards last season on a Gophers offense that ranked last in rushing for Big Ten Conference games, 97.1 yards per Saturday.  “They’re both bigger, stronger, (and) both seem to be a step quicker,” Brewster said.

Don’t be too quick to judge the quarterbacks, running backs or others in the spring game.  Competing against your teammates doesn’t guarantee future results.  Review last spring’s game when Gray looked like a Terrelle Pryor clone and wide receiver/runner/kick returner Troy Stoudermire did a terrific Percy Harvin impersonation.  During the 2009 season neither Gray nor Stoudermire, now a junior, were high impact players.

Maybe they will be in 2010, though.  They’re two of the Gophers best potential playmakers, fast and gifted, able to run and catch the football.  If Gray isn’t the starting quarterback (and don’t discount the possibility) he probably will become a utility player, seeing time at receiver and spot duty at quarterback.

For now Brewster isn’t making a final judgment on Weber, Gray and Alipate but that doesn’t lessen his optimism.  “I feel very comfortable.  I’ve got a great feeling about the fact we have one older and two younger quarterbacks,” Brewster said. “We’re going to be in good shape.”

Star Tribune baseball writer La Velle E. Neal III wrote a controversial column for his Sunday Insider this week.  The column addressed the declining number of African-Americans playing major league baseball and included this quote from Twins African-American second baseman and South Carolina native Orlando Hudson: “I know back home, they say that ain’t nothing but a white man’s game you’re playing,” Hudson said. “It’s all a bunch of white guys. They say you should be playing in the NBA or the NFL.”  https://www.startribune.com/sports/91054289.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUo8cyaiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

That column generated a couple of comments from readers on the Star Tribune’s Website about reverse racism.  One reader wondered what the reaction of black political leaders would be if a white pro basketball player said there aren’t enough Caucasians in the NBA.

The quote from Hudson about his fans back home can be perceived as saying there’s something wrong with a sport where the majority of participants are white.  That’s not fair unless there is a conscious effort and policy to exclude others.

Major League Baseball isn’t trying to discourage participation by African-Americans, who according to Neal’s article made up 9.5 percent of opening day rosters.  Just the opposite is true about MLB, but critics must recognize that African-Americans and others are free to make choices.  For more than 20 years many young African-American males have preferred basketball and football.

This isn’t the first time the Star Tribune and others have fretted about the decline of African-Americans in the majors.  It’s a legitimate topic but baseball has African-American heroes to celebrate, and also heroes who are white and of African descent from the Caribbean.  And, honestly, at least some readers are probably thinking that some of this fixation on baseball’s ethnic makeup is energy better applied to improving the academic performances of young students regardless of race, particularly in the nation’s inner cities where they aren’t making the most of their educational opportunities.

Sports Illustrated likes the Twins on the links and the diamond.  The March 29 issue of the magazine listed the best major league golfers at each position and included three Twins players, more than any other franchise.  Making the team were catcher Joe Mauer, relief pitcher Joe Nathan and shortstop Nick Punto.  Their respective handicaps, according to the magazine, are seven, 10 and 0.5.

The Twins are 10-4 after last night’s win over Cleveland.  They didn’t win their 10^th game last season until April 28, game No. 21 on the schedule.

Mauer was 0-4 last night and didn’t reach base for the first time since September 10 of last year.

Twins vice president of marketing Patrick Klinger said that last week when temps were in the 50’s ticket holders who belong to the Champion’s Club received blankets to keep them warm.  Club members hold 400 seats behind home plate and pay either $175 or $275 per game.  Some of the seats are closer to the plate than the pitcher’s mound.

The Wild, who will be celebrating their 10^th year in the NHL next season, will hold three voting contests for fans on www.wild.com. The first contest is the greatest games in team history and voting takes place through May 2.  The second contest is the top 10 moments in franchise history (May 3-16) and the third contest selects the 10^th anniversary team (May 17-30).

Although he spent last season on the Vikings practice squad and has never played in an NFL game, Ian Johnson considers himself a candidate to win the backup running back job this summer.

The 23-year-old is among candidates the Vikings will consider for the role to replace veteran Chester Taylor who used free agency this off season to join the Bears.  Taylor’s pass catching, blocking, running and leadership leaves a void behind Adrian Peterson, a runner for the ages but one who sometimes yielded to Taylor in passing situations and took a seat on the bench.

It’s presumed the Vikings will consider a few candidates to replace the 30-year-old Taylor including Albert Young, a third year back from Iowa who was on the roster last season and might be the favorite for the job.  Young was a practice squad player his first season with the Vikings, just like Johnson was last fall.

Johnson finds irony in the situation of possibly replacing Taylor.  “He’s probably one of the sole reasons I am still here because he took me under his wing (and) taught me as much as he possibly could,” Johnson said after practice last week.  “I’ve learned so much from that guy.  I almost lose an asset in (not) having him here but I gain an opportunity to play more and more often.”

Johnson described the Vikings’ offensive scheme as “elaborate” and said last year was a learning process.  At times he was unsure of what he was supposed to do, but not any more and that comfort level provides confidence while competing for the starting job.

He feels comfortable with his pass receiving skills and is enthusiastic about his blocking. “That’s something I lived on, being able to block at Boise State,” he said.

It was at Boise State that Johnson made a national name for himself.  He rushed for a school record 58 touchdowns, but he also made news when he proposed on national TV to Boise State cheerleader Chrissy Popadics following the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

The two are married and for awhile she worked in a store at the Mall of America.  She stopped, though, because a stalker was following her and making telephone calls.  “She was doing it (working retail) for fun and it’s not fun when someone is kind of stalking,” Johnson said.

The family income will receive a nice increase if Johnson can make the team.  Practice squad players earn less than $100,000 and Johnson said his salary will go up about seven times if he makes the Vikings’ 53-man roster.