Author: David Shama

Trivia question: What team did the Vikings face in their first preseason game ever and where was the game played?  (See answer at bottom of column).

A Vikings’ win in the team’s last pre-season game tonight (Thursday) in Dallas against the Cowboys will result in a 2-2 preseason record.  In the past 47 years there have been 37 times when the Vikings have had a .500 or better preseason record. The team has gone on to play at .500 or better 30 times during the regular season.

The Vikings haven’t allowed an offensive touchdown during the last seven quarters of preseason.  In the last two games the Vikings have eight sacks.  Defensive ends Jared Allen and Otis Grigsby lead the team with two each.

Former Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson, 39, is still a backup with the Cowboys.  His brother-in-law is Mark Richt, head football coach of No. 1 ranked Georgia.

Another former Vikings quarterback, Wade Wilson, is the Cowboys’ quarterback coach.

The Gophers’ 22-man offensive and defensive depth charts released earlier this week had 11 players who are either true freshmen, or redshirt freshmen, plus three junior college transfers.

Gopher coach Tim Brewster on sophomore Adam Weber:  “I think he’s going to be one of the best quarterbacks in the Big Ten.”  Brewster also said the most important quarterback statistic is wins and losses.

Second team quarterback Tony Mortensen is also the backup long snapper to Ryan Coleman.  Brewster said former Eden Prairie quarterback Ryan Grant, now a freshman with the Gophers, has potential as a long snapper, too.

The Big Ten Conference plays a Charmin-soft nonconference schedule compared with the Pac 10 Conference.  Big Ten opponents this Saturday include Akron, Coastal Carolina, Maine, Western Kentucky and Youngstown State.  The Pac 10 has two conference games, Oregon State at Stanford tonight, and Washington at Oregon on Saturday, plus non-conference foes Michigan State, Oklahoma State, Tennessee and Virginia.

Former Gopher national championship coach Murray Warmath, 95, plans to attend every home Minnesota game including Saturday’s opener with Northern Illinois.  He hasn’t missed a home game in several years.

The Gophers have a new website devoted solely to TCF Bank Stadium. The website, www.tcfbankstadium.com, debuted this week and offers virtual tours of the facility that will open next year.

“Our major goal in creating a stadium specific website was to effectively help drive our sales, marketing and communications efforts for TCF Bank Stadium,” said Jason Lafrenz, the athletics department’s director of marketing and ticket operations. “Tcfbankstadium.com is a one-stop shop for anything and everything related to the stadium.”

Gopher basketball coach Tubby Smith is out of town working at Michael Jordan’s basketball camp.

MIAC football teams begin play next week.  Six of the nine MIAC teams will have rosters of over 100 players, according to an MIAC spokesman.

Trivia answer:  Dallas in a preseason game in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Note: after this column was posted Minnesota coach Tim Brewster announced in a statement that MarQueis Gray isn’t currently with the Gophers because of an “NCAA Eligibility Center issue.”

Whether he plays in 2008 Gopher games, or sits out the season as a redshirt, freshman quarterback MarQueis Gray will be talked about.  The 17-year-old from Indianapolis is probably the most anticipated quarterback recruit to arrive in Dinkytown in 50 years.  That was when Sandy Stephens, from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, said no to a long list of other schools, enrolled at Minnesota and eventually led the Gophers to two Rose Bowls while becoming the first black All-American quarterback at a major college.

Gray, rated by Rivals last year as the No. 3 dual threat quarterback in the country, arrives in the Big Ten Conference at the same time Terrelle Pryor begins his career at Ohio State.  Pryor was Rivals choice as the No. 1 dual threat quarterback and a player considered by many as the prize of high school football recruiting earlier this year.

Is Gray better?  Howard Griffith of the Big Ten Network said he prefers Gray to Pryor as a passer, according to Dave Revisne’s blog on the network’s Web site.

When Gopher coach Tim Brewster was an assistant at the University of Texas he recruited Vince Young who became one of college football’s best quarterbacks of this decade.  Young threw with a sidearm motion while Gray has a traditional over the top delivery.  “His (Gray’s) mechanics as a passer at this particular point are better than Vince’s were,” Brewster said.

Gray is listed on the Gopher roster at 6-4, 215. Young is about 6-5, 230.   Brewster sees many similarities between Gray and Young, describing their size, strong arms, running ability, love for football and willingness to prepare.

Brewster isn’t going to predict that Gray will be better than either Pryor or Young.  But he does say his future quarterback is a “remarkable athlete” and that one day he will be an “all-star caliber” player.

Young redshirted his freshman year at Texas.  With sophomore quarterback Adam Weber having two years of invaluable experience and coming off a season in which the Sporting News named him a third team freshman All-American, Gray seems likely to redshirt.  “He’s not opposed to redshirting and not for redshirting, he just wants to help the team in anyway he can,” Brewster said.

A serious injury to Weber making him unable to play will put Brewster on the spot.  If he believes senior backups Tony Mortensen or Mike Maciejowski can lead the Gophers “to victories,” than Gray seems certain to stay on the sidelines. “That to me is the huge wild card,” Brewster said.

“In a perfect world” Gray redshirts, according to Brewster.  He watches, listens and practices as though he will be the starting quarterback for the coming game.   Brewster expects nothing less than a sense of urgency in Gray’s preparations, even if he doesn’t play in a game all season.  Sooner or later he will play, and the comparisons will continue.  So far he’s in nice company.

Brewster said linebacker Sam Maresh, who recently had heart surgery and is unable to play this season, will lead the Gophers on the field in September of next year in the first game at TCF Bank Stadium.  Maresh will have that assignment regardless of whether he’s able to play or not.

Starting defensive tackle Eric Small, 6-1, 304 pounds, will be used as a ball carrier in short yardage situations near the goal line.  Brewster described Small as a “very athletic big man” and said it’s a Refrigerator Perry type move, referring to the Chicago Bears defensive lineman of the 1980s who often used his 380 pound bulk to carry the ball near the goal line.  Brewster also said Small has had “as good a camp as anybody” while the Gophers prepare for their season opener at home Saturday night against Northern Illinois.

Because of increased fuel prices, Stillwater based Creative Charters is advertising more motor coach travel this year to away Gopher football games than in the past.  Bus travel is being offered for trips to Ohio State, Illinois and Wisconsin.  Charters by air are available to Bowling Green and Purdue.  www.creativecharter.com

Roy Terwilliger, chairman of the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission, told Sports Headliners he doesn’t have a position on a possible public referendum for a new Vikings’ stadium.  He said it would be necessary to see the details of a potential referendum.

Vikings coach Brad Childress having fun last week talking about injured quarterback Tarvaris Jackson needing to learn a hook slide:  “Hook slide?  Yeah, I am sending him down to the sawdust with (Twins manager) Ron Gardenhire and they’re going to teach him how to, not run the bases, but slide into second.  The only problem is that we don’t have that little cut out of dirt around the base where he wants to slide.  We’ll teach him how to get that leg underneath him, tuck his cleats and give himself up.”

Timberwolves president Chris Wright told Sports Headliners the team will play on a new court at Target Center next season.  It won’t be a parquet floor like the old one and will feature the franchise’s new primary and secondary logos.