Gophers Football – Page 249 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Kill Ranks U D-Backs with Big Ten’s Best

Posted on August 6, 2014August 6, 2014 by David Shama

Gophers football notes…

Jerry Kill has praise for his defensive secondary as the Gophers prepare for their 2014 season and opening game on August 28 against Eastern Illinois. “We’re deep in the secondary—secondary-wise we’ll be as good as anybody in the Big Ten,” the head coach said on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle program on Sunday. “We’re athletic.”

The secondary players aren’t drawing national attention but program insiders are impressed including Kill who said on the radio there is “tons of talent” available. However, Lindy’s Big Ten preview magazine, for example, isn’t on board and ranks the Gophers defensive backfield No. 13 in the 14-team Big Ten. And the Jim Thorpe award is given annually to the nation’s best defensive back and no Gophers are included among the 39 candidates on the 2014 watch list.

Gophers offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover sends passers and receivers against the secondary in practice and said on occasion “we’re not going to look good.” Senior safety Cedric Thompson, senior cornerback Derrick Wells, and junior cornerback Eric Murray are among the talented defensive backs. With plenty of talent and experience, the secondary can “get you frustrated,” Limegrover said.

Former Gophers offensive lineman Ed Olson, a senior on last year’s team, referred to the defensive backs as “studs.” “They will live up to the hype,” he told Sports Headliners. “They’re a great group of guys. They work hard and they’ll never give up.”

The collective skills of the secondary players should ultimately help make redshirt sophomore Mitch Leidner better in his first full season as the starting quarterback. Leidner only threw three touchdown passes last season but the defensive competition in pre-season camp this month figures to help him.

Olson describes Leidner as an outstanding leader and the “hardest worker” he’s known. “I remember when he came in as a freshman he was on my off-season workout team. Didn’t really know him. He’s probably the best pick I ever made. He came up to me and said, ‘You won’t regret this pick.’

“I’ll never forget that. He stepped up. We won like the off-season ‘Rose Bowl’ (competition) and everything. He’s a big reason for it. Great friends ever since.”

At practice this week Olson watched his brother Tommy Olson who is on the Rimington Award watch list for the nation’s top center. Tommy started the last four games of 2013 at center after being moved from guard prior to the season beginning. As a senior, this will be his last chance to have his best season. “He’s really into football this year and he’s loving it,” Ed said.

His brother also said Tommy has added about 10 pounds and weighs well over 300 but he has also emphasized flexibility in the off-season. “He’s gotten a lot stronger and faster,” Ed said. “He says he’s the fastest and strongest he’s ever been. He can’t wait for the start of the season.”

With no more football in his future, Ed has gone on a low carbohydrate diet and dropped about 90 pounds from his playing weight of 320. He wore jersey No. 58, the same number his father, Ed Sr., did playing for the Gophers in the early 1980s. Now Tommy will wear No. 58. “Really cool,” Ed Jr. said about Tommy continuing the tradition. “Couldn’t think of anyone else wearing it.”

Ed Jr. was recruited as part of coach Tim Brewster’s 2009 recruiting class. He was redshirted that year, and then played as a starting tackle in 2010 before Kill succeeded Brewster for the 2011 season.

Olson has watched the program go from a Big Ten punch line to a respected program. The Gophers won four league games last year for the first time since 2005 and went to a second consecutive bowl game. What about a New Year’s Day bowl game in 2015?

“I can’t make any predictions now but if they take it day-by-day and keep improving like they have been, the sky’s the limit for these guys,” Olson said.

Dan O’Brien, Gophers associate athletic director, has worked with Kill since the coach came here from Northern Illinois and sees him every day. He said Kill is driving a motor vehicle, an indication of being seizure free for a long while.

“I think he’s managing his schedule well,” O’Brien said. “He seems like he has great energy. I know he’s excited for the year. He thinks this will be our best year in his time here.”

Both the Gophers and Stillwater-based Creative Charters are sponsoring fan trips to Minnesota’s game in Fort Worth against Texas Christian on September 13. The trip is something new for the athletic department, while Creative Charters has been organizing football and basketball trips for many years.

O’Brien said the intent of the TCU trip is to allow fans to get “closer to the team.” Part of the fun will be having the Gophers Marching Band in Fort Worth. But other than the TCU travel package (a few openings remain) and a possible bowl game trip, the athletic department has no further plans for fan travel. “We have zero interest in doing it more than once a year,” O’Brien said.

Freshman walk-on quarterback Jacques Perra is a player to watch develop. At Roseville Area High School he played for former North Dakota State quarterback Chris Simdorn who led the Bison to NCAA Division II titles in 1989 and 1990. Perra was the 2013 Minnesota Gatorade Player of the Year and threw 35 touchdown passes and only four interceptions.

The Big Ten Network crew that stops at Big Ten schools previewing the football programs will be in Minneapolis to showcase the Gophers for a report airing August 16.

The Gophers and other Big Ten programs reduce their nonconference games from four to three and increase league games from eight to nine starting in 2016. Michigan State has arguably become the best program in the Big Ten but the Gophers don’t play the Spartans again until 2017.

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Iowa Safety Rogers to Visit Gophers

Posted on August 4, 2014August 4, 2014 by David Shama

Former Iowa State defensive back Charlie Rogers, now at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa, may become a Gopher, according to Scott Strohmeier.

Strohmeier, the Iowa Western head coach, told Sports Headliners his safety’s top two Division I college choices are Minnesota and Illinois. He also said Rogers is making plans to visit the University of Minnesota.

Rogers chose Iowa State over the Gophers as a high school player at Iowa City West where he was better known as a quarterback than defensive player. He was a Rivals.com three-star prospect and considered one of Iowa’s best prep recruits in the class of 2012.

As a redshirt freshman last year at Iowa State, Rogers was one of seven freshmen to play for the Cyclones. He participated in 12 games, starting two at cornerback and nickelback. He was second team All-Big 12 academic.

Rogers, 6-1, 195 pounds, wouldn’t be the first Iowa Western alum to play for the Gophers. Mike Henry, a senior fullback on last year’s Gophers, first attended Iowa Western after graduating from Mahtomedi High School. Linebacker Cody Poock, from Spirit Lake, Iowa, transferred to Minnesota after playing for Strohmeier last fall.

Strohmeier is from Watkins, Minnesota. He has been head coach of the Reivers since 2008 and won the 2012 National Junior College Athletic Association championship.

Strohmeier’s relationship with the Gophers is enhanced by his friendship with Gophers associate athletic director Dan O’Brien who oversees the U football program and is a former head coach at Concordia of St. Paul. “Dan gave me my first coaching job at Concordia,” Strohmeier said. “He got me in the profession.”

Iowa Western is a possible destination for former Washburn High School running back Jeff Jones, the Rivals.com four-star recruit who is trying to become NCAA eligible this summer so he can join the Gophers who started practice last Friday in preparation for their season opener on August 28 at home against Eastern Illinois. “I would love to have a guy like Jeff but he deserves to play Division I,” Strohmeier said. “We’re here if he needs to be.”

If Jones were to become a Reiver, he would play in the same backfield with Eden Prairie High School alum Anthony Anderson, a power back who will have major college recruiters watching him in Council Bluffs. Strohmeier lost his top two tailbacks from last year’s No. 2 nationally ranked team and he expects Anderson to help fill the void.

What would it be like to have a backfield with the elusive Jones and powerful Anderson? “I could sleep a lot better at night. I can tell you that much,” Strohmeier said.

Worth Noting

After reporting on Jones for months and following his story, I will be surprised if he isn’t admitted to the University of Minnesota soon, even if he isn’t NCAA eligible to play for the Gophers this season.

Among the Gophers’ best chances for a road upset this season could be September 27 at Michigan. The Gophers have only won twice in Ann Arbor since 1986 and have lost five consecutive games to Michigan, but the Wolverines have been faltering the last two years with a 15-11 record.

“It was a low energy program a year ago,” said Big Ten Network analyst Gerry DiNardo last Monday on BTN’s coverage of the conference’s Media Day.

The Wolverines’ problems include having lost five of their last six games against Michigan State. Spartans’ coach Mike Dantonio was asked at Media Day how MSU can keep up the intensity for the in-state rivalry. “I continue to live in (the state of) Michigan,” he answered. “That ought to do it.”

Eighteen attendees paid $2,000 each for the “Boys of Fall Elite Camp” that coincided with the opening of Gophers training camp last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Participants received an inside look at the Gophers program, attending team and position meetings and eating with players. The camp raised money for the football program.

Senior redshirt wide receiver Devon Wright is now on the Gophers’ 105-man roster, after replacing injured redshirt sophomore tight end Duke Anyanwu. Wright is a former Tim Brewster recruit as a running back from Florida. He played on special teams last year.

Former Gophers linebacker Jon Leverenz is teaching science at Bloomington Jefferson High School and is the head boys track coach. His 162 tackles in 1987 ranks second for a single Gophers season behind linebacker Bill Light’s 172 in 1970.

Former Gophers basketball captain Al Nuness will be part of the inaugural hall of fame class at his old Chicago area high school, Proviso East, on August 30.

It might be a matter of when—not whether—U.S. Bank is announced as the naming rights choice for the new Vikings stadium.

Wasn’t that Tom Lehman looking at the University of Minnesota Les Bolstad Golf Course last week with the possibility of helping with renovations?

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Kill Leaves No Doubt about No. 1 QB

Posted on July 28, 2014August 3, 2014 by David Shama

Jerry Kill indicated today the Gophers might have benefitted last season by settling on a quarterback but made it clear now that Mitch Leidner is his No. 1. “I told all of our players he’s the guy in charge,” the Gophers coach said this morning at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago which was televised by the Big Ten Network.

Leidner, a redshirt sophomore, split starting time last season with then sophomore Philip Nelson. Nelson had started seven games the year before but never completely established himself as the No. 1 quarterback in 2013.

Kill has been impressed with Leidner since the end of last season including this summer when the former Lakeville South High School star stepped forward as a team leader. Kill praised how Leidner and senior defensive back Cedric Thompson have emerged as leaders, even helping with discipline among players.

A quarterback, of course, is supposed to be a leader but not necessarily a defensive back like Thompson who approached Kill awhile back about leadership. “He came up after the season and said, ‘Hey, coach I want to be that guy. I want to have that pressure. It’s my time to lead.’

“To be honest with you, I thought he would be a good leader but I had no idea he was going to do the job what he’s done since he stepped up. …Both him and Mitch have been extended coaches.”

The Gophers won eight games last season after winning three and six during Kill’s first two seasons as coach. Minnesota minimized mistakes and played physical football on defense. The Gophers struggled on offense in some Big Ten games including with passing, and Minnesota ranked last in touchdown passes among conference schools with 12. Leidner had three touchdown passes.

“I think when you know you’re going to be the guy it’s a little bit different,” Kill said when talking about potential offense. “Mitch has spent a lot of time with the receivers. We know we gotta do a good job when you start seeing eight, nine people in the box. You gotta be able to throw the ball down the field and make some catches.”

But Big Ten Network analyst Gerry DiNardo said after Kill’s remarks that the Gophers need to remember who they are—a physical team that offensively focuses on running the ball—and play within their limitations. “You can really get distracted when people start saying we have to throw the ball better. Of course they want to throw the ball better but if they lose their identity they’ll win less games next year.”

Worth Noting

Kill said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” yesterday that “seven, eight or nine” offensive linemen will compete for playing time including former center Jon Christenson who is being moved to guard. Kill singled out defensive lineman Steven Richardson among incoming freshmen likely to play early in the season.

The Big Ten announced its Players to Watch list this morning as chosen by a media panel. No Gophers were included among the 10 players with the biggest names including Ohio State’s Braxton Miller and Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon.

In a poll of sportswriters by Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer, Ohio State is predicted to win the East Division and Wisconsin the West. The Gophers will finish fifth in the West Division, ahead of Illinois and Purdue, according to the July 25 story on Cleveland.com.

Congratulations to Minneapolis entrepreneur and Gophers sports loyalist Mark Sheffert who was inducted into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame last week. Sheffert and four others who also attended the University of Minnesota were recognized by Twin Cities Business Magazine at a dinner and program in Minneapolis. For Sheffert the honor came during the 25th anniversary year of Manchester Companies, a business he started in 1989 to assist troubled organizations.

Sheffert, who is part of the group working to raise $190 million for Gophers facilities, played football at Robbinsdale and Cooper high schools. He was a walk-on for the Gophers in 1965 but injured a knee that has twice undergone replacement surgery. At the initial practice of his second season he suffered three compressed fractures in the neck which ended his football career.

Sheffert’s goals had been to play in the Big Ten Conference and in the NFL for legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi. The end of his football career was a life lesson. “Your dreams can be wiped out in an instance by something you didn’t plan on,” he told Sports Headliners.

The Gophers head football coach in the 1960s was Murray Warmath. When Sheffert’s father passed away in 1967 the coach made time to attend the funeral. “My dad was my best friend, mentor and hero,” Sheffert said. “It was a tough time emotionally. To have the coach show up meant the world to me.”

Sports Illustrated pro football writer Peter King will visit Mankato to watch the Vikings on August 5. The July 28 issue makes that announcement while King asks: “Can anyone here play quarterback?”

Celebrities were among those attending the Edina funeral of Gophers football legend Bob McNamara on Saturday. Speakers included ex-Vikings coach Bud Grant who broke down while recalling his affection for McNamara who played for Grant with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

In new coach Richard Pitino’s first season the Gophers won 20 of 23 home games, with a supportive crowd helping to fuel upset wins in 2014. He wants sometimes raucous Williams Arena to become the most difficult place in the country for opponents to win. “We can generate unbelievable home crowds. Moving into year two, if you want to do what we all want to do (winning more), you can’t lose at home, and we lost three times at home. …It’s got to be the toughest place to play in the country, and hopefully we’ll continue to build that momentum.”

The Gophers return four experienced seniors from last year’s 25-13 team, guards Andre Hollins and DeAndre Mathieu, and centers Elliott Eliason and Maurice Walker. Pitino said that kind of experience is a “huge” asset but he won’t predict the Gophers are Big Ten championship contenders, deferring the assignment to media.

Wisconsin reached the Final Four last spring. Pitino described the Badgers as “phenomenal,” and there is no doubt they will be a consensus choice to win the Big Ten title. “They were playing their best basketball towards the end (of the year),” Pitino said. “They have everybody back except one guy so I would think they’ve got to be the favorite going into the season.”

The field for the 3M Championship that starts at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine this week is expected to include defending champion Tom Pernice, Jr. He won $262,500 last month after finishing first in the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines. He ranks 10th on the Champions Tour with earnings of $764,959 so far this year.

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