Gophers Football – Page 257 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Price Increase Coming for U Football?

Posted on February 26, 2014February 27, 2014 by David Shama

Gophers notes:

It doesn’t require an advanced degree in marketing to foresee a likely increase in 2014 Gophers football ticket prices.

A Gophers spokesman didn’t confirm an increase will soon be announced but said, “We haven’t raised ticket prices since TCF (Bank Stadium) opened in 2009. But I don’t know right now if we’re going to be raising them this year.”

That’s five seasons with not even inflationary increases on ticket prices, and obviously operating costs are rising including for coaches’ salaries. Head football coach Jerry Kill’s new contract boosts his annual pay by $900,000 and the athletic department is committed to keeping the compensation for assistant coaches competitive with the better paying programs in the Big Ten Conference.

The Gophers had losing seasons from 2009-2012 but last fall Minnesota was 8-5 overall, 4-4 in Big Ten games. The eight wins were the most by the program since 2003 and the league record was the best since 2005.

The team’s on-field results and the stability of prices for five seasons makes a price increase in 2014 more acceptable to ticket buyers than in the past. Because season ticket renewals must be sent out within three weeks the Athletic Department will have to decide soon about pricing, assuming a decision hasn’t already been made.

Kill continues to be impressed with the leadership and commitment to excellence of University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler. Kill said Kaler “doesn’t want to be in the middle of the road on anything” and he trusts him.

Kill has also been impressed with the leadership of quarterback Mitch Leidner in off-season workouts. Spring practice begins next Tuesday with the Spring Game scheduled April 12 at TCF Bank Stadium.

The biggest challenge Kill may have in replacing linebackers coach Bill Miller is finding another staffer as adept at recruiting in the state of Florida. Miller has resigned to join the Florida State staff.

Epilepsy occurrences prevented Kill from driving last fall and earlier this winter but he said on Monday he’s behind the wheel again.

Athletic director Norwood Teague said a feasibility study is being done regarding how to fundraise the $190 million project to upgrade facilities. A fundraising committee headed by former Gophers hockey player Lou Nanne has been formed and results of the study will bring focus to the project.

The Gophers basketball team, surprise 95-89 winners last night over Iowa, are 7-9 now in the Big Ten. If Minnesota can win one of its two remaining Big Ten games the Gophers can equal last year’s 8-10 league record, even though that was a more talented team.

The Hawkeyes have eight Iowans on their roster. The Gophers have one Minnesota native, sophomore power forward Joey King.

King has replaced Oto Osenieks as a starter in recent games. Osenieks, who has an injured knee, didn’t play last night. His totals in the previous three games have been 6, 10 and seven minutes.

Reserve redshirt freshman forward Charles Buggs, who had scored only five points all season, had 13 last night. Gophers coach Richard Pitino said Buggs has the “best potential” of anyone on the team.

Gophers junior guard and leading scorer Andre Hollins has been dating Gophers women’s junior guard and leading scorer Rachel Banham for 10 months. “She watches all my games. I watch all hers,” Hollins said last night, acknowledging they give each other advice.

Will the two marry? “Who knows,” Hollins answered.

Worth Noting

Rookie swingman Shabazz Muhammad, who was the Timberwolves key player in a road win over the Suns last night scoring a career high 20 points, was in high school two years ago and considered by many observers to be the best prep in the country. If he continues to play at a high level the Wolves could become a playoff team this season, and probably for sure next year.

Kennys Vargas, the Twins minor league prospect who has impressed with his power in spring training, hit 19 home runs in 125 games last year for Fort Myers. Vargas, a first baseman, had an impressive on-base plus slugging percentage of .813.

Vargas, 6-foot-5, has struggled with his weight and is now at 275. “I am not saying 275 isn’t okay,” Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners. “He’s a big man. He can carry that. We don’t want him to be more than that.”

St. Peter said about 6,000 tickets are still available for the team’s home opener with the Athletics on April 7. By opening day St. Peter expects the club to have the “equivalent” of more than 17,000 full season tickets, down approximately 2,000 from last year’s total.

The Twins have sold about 100,000 tickets for their 16 home spring training games in Fort Myers. St. Peter expects seven or eight games to sell out and total attendance to reach 120,000 or more, placing the Twins in the “upper echelon” among MLB clubs for total home spring attendance.

The Big Ten has named Edina native Matt Hopfner Freshman of the Week in baseball. Last week the Northwestern outfielder had four multi-hit games and a .500 on-base percentage.

KARE 11 executives have to be delighted with viewership during the Winter Olympics that ended on Sunday. The station had the highest viewing of any American TV market for the Olympics, according to a KARE news release. KARE’s average household rating over 17 days of prime time Olympic telecasts was a 19.1 rating with a 36 share, besting second place Salt Lake City.

The station’s late news following Olympics programming was also highest in the country by a wide margin averaging an 8.5 rating/27 share for adults 25-54.

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Mpls. Super Bowl Final Bid Due in May

Posted on February 7, 2014February 7, 2014 by David Shama

Vikings executive Lester Bagley returned from Sunday’s Super Bowl in the New York area optimistic the 2018 game will be awarded to Minneapolis. “I think we have a very strong chance,” Bagley told Sports Headliners.

Bagley is on a five-member Minnesota Super Bowl steering committee that includes Meet Minneapolis president Melvin Tennant and Timberwolves CEO Rob Moor. The steering committee is part of a larger Minnesota Super Bowl group led by local business leaders including Doug Baker, Richard Davis and Marilyn Carlson Nelson.

“We’re going to hire an executive director to run the bid process for the next four months because we all have aggressive day jobs,” Bagley said.

The Vikings open their new indoor stadium in 2016 and last fall Minneapolis was named a finalist for the 2018 Super Bowl along with Indianapolis and New Orleans. Preliminary bids are due April 1 and then negotiations lead up to a final May 7 deadline for offers to be submitted. Those bids will be discussed at the NFL owners meetings May 18-21.

The NFL has awarded Super Bowls to northern cities in the past, sometimes a few years after their domed stadiums opened. Detroit hosted the 2006 Super Bowl at Ford Field. Indianapolis was the site of the 2012 Super Bowl at Lucas Oil Stadium. Minneapolis hosted the 1992 Super Bowl at the Metrodome.

Both prestige and economic benefit result from hosting the game that has grown into a week full of related activities. “The Super Bowl is like the world’s grandest event,” Bagley said.

Last Sunday’s Super Bowl was the most watched U.S. TV program ever, drawing an audience of 111.5 million. The game was played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and Cynopsis Sports calculated in its Monday newsletter MetLife received “$32.4 million in exposure as a result of its naming rights deal.”

Asked about the anticipated economic benefit to this community, Bagley said a study from the Indianapolis Super Bowl calculated a figure of $324 million. By comparison the Twins have estimated the economic impact of MLB’s 2014 All-Star game in Minneapolis at about $85 million.

Bagley said the local Super Bowl committee will “regroup” if they are turned down for 2018 but he is optimistic. “We think 2018 is the year.”

Worth Noting

Alan Roach, who attended high school in Brainerd, was the public address voice for eight Super Bowls until last Sunday’s game. Roach is also the public address announcer for Broncos home games and that caused a potential conflict of interest with being assigned to Sunday’s Super Bowl.

Roach was invited to a party where the Minneapolis group pitched the 2018 Super Bowl to NFL decision makers.

Hall of Fame coach Bud Grant will speak at the March 13 CORES luncheon at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Bloomington. Grant had 11 championship teams with the Vikings and coached Minnesota to four Super Bowls. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans. Reservations (by March 10) for the lunch and program can be made by contacting dotsethj@comcast.net.

The Vikings new coaching staff includes head coach Mike Zimmer and three coordinators—George Edwards, defensive coordinator; Mike Priefer, special teams coordinator; and Norv Turner, offensive coordinator. Other assistants: Robb Akey, assistant defensive line; Jeff Davidson, offensive line; Ryan Ficken, assistant special teams; Jonathan Gannon, assistant defensive backs/quality control; Jerry Gray, defensive backs; Jeff Howard, defensive assistant; Klint Kubiak, assistant wide receivers/quality control; Andre Patterson, defensive Line; Drew Petzing, coaching assistant; Kevin Stefanski, tight ends; George Stewart, wide receivers; Scott Turner, quarterbacks; Kirby Wilson, running backs; Adam Zimmer, linebackers.

Willie Schneider, the senior fullback on the Tommies football team last fall, is the nephew of Seahawks general manager John Schneider who is receiving so much credit for personnel decisions that helped Seattle win the Super Bowl.

Gerry DiNardo, analyzing Big Ten Conference recruiting on the Big Ten Network Wednesday, raved about Connor Mayes, the center from Van Alstyne, Texas who signed a National Letter of Intent with the Gophers. “I think this guy has the potential to be one of the best freshmen in the entire Big Ten class this year,” DiNardo said.

Jeff Jones, the Washburn running back who also committed to the Gophers on Wednesday, said whether coaches care about him determines motivation. “…That gives me the fire and the will to be able to go out and play my heart out for that staff,” he told Sports Headliners.

Asked if he would have a special meal to celebrate Signing Day on Wednesday, Jones said no but he often enjoys “a cold bowl of cereal” with Reese’s Puffs a favorite.

Gophers fans might be upset Minnesota high school offensive linemen J.C. Hassenauer and Frank Ragnow chose Alabama and Arkansas for their college careers but Hawkeyes fans are probably even more troubled about Ross Pierschbacher from Cedar Falls going to Alabama. He is a first team Parade magazine All-America offensive lineman.

Philip Nelson, the former Gophers quarterback, isn’t the only name Minnesotans will recognize if they follow Rutgers football. Ex-Gophers offensive coordinator Mitch Browning is the offensive line coach and former Gopher Norries Wilson is the running backs coach. Nelson will be eligible to play for Rutgers in 2015.

Former Gophers, Badgers and Vikings assistant Phil Hueber is on the University of Pittsburgh staff as offensive line coach.

Gophers football coach Jerry Kill and Eden Prairie High School coach Mike Grant are on a panel for the “Breakfast with the Champions” program February 19 at Target Field’s Metropolitan Club. The program is a project of the Positive Coaching Alliance Minnesota and the purpose is to help develop team leaders. Coaches and others who are interested in more details can contact Deborah_edwards@positivecoach.org.

The Minnesota Minute Men announced the 10 finalists (only seniors are eligible) for the 30th Annual Mr. Hockey Award: Philip Beaulieu (Duluth East), Tyler Cline (Blaine), Spencer Naas (Benilde St. Margaret’s), Tyler Nanne (Edina), Avery Peterson (Grand Rapids), Mitch Slattery (Hill Murray), Steven Spinner (Eden Prairie), Luc Snuggerud (Eden Prairie), Nick Wolff (Eagan) and Zach Yon (Roseau).

The Minute Men also announced Maclean Berglove (Elk River) and Hunter Shepard (Grand Rapids) are the finalists for The Frank Brimsek Award recognizing the state’s top senior goaltender. The Mr. Hockey Awards Banquet will be held on March 9 at RiverCentre.

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Coach Likens Jeff Jones Style to A.P.

Posted on February 5, 2014February 6, 2014 by David Shama

Jeff Jones, the Washburn High School running back who is the state’s top prospect, officially committed to the Gophers today on national Signing Day but he will have to improve academically before he can fulfill “the sky’s the limit” potential predicted by his prep coach Giovan Jenkins.

Jones has to improve either his GPA or ACT score before the Gophers open their preseason camp next summer to be eligible for playing time. Jenkins told Sports Headliners he is confident Jones will do the necessary work. “He will do that between now and the end of the school year,” Jenkins said.

Jones told Sports Headliners he needs to raise his ACT score to a 19, two points better than his best right now. He is determined to become eligible and has no thoughts about attending junior college.

Jones decided over the weekend to choose the Gophers over Iowa State. The relationship he built during the recruiting process with the Gophers staff including head coach Jerry Kill was a deciding factor in selecting Minnesota. “I don’t want to pick a school where a coach is happy now and he loves the way I play now, but when I get there he’s a totally different person,” Jones said. “I didn’t see that in coach Kill at all.”

As a Minneapolis native, Jones is aware of the post graduation opportunities that attending college in his hometown can provide. He said only “one percent” of football players go on to a career in the NFL.

Why did he wait until this morning to announce his decision in front of an audience including media at Washburn High School? He wanted to add a little theater to the process and “keep Minnesota fans on their toes.”

Jones is the only Rivals.com four-star prospect in the Gophers 2014 recruiting class. He’s also the biggest name among Minnesota prep players that Kill has signed since taking over as Gophers coach in December of 2010.

Jenkins compares his all-state, Mr. Football award winner to a runner Minnesota sports fans know all about. “His running style is similar to Adrian Peterson. He’s big and strong and fast. I think he may have a little bit better vision. He might have a better first step in terms of his explosion.

“His top-end speed might not be quite as good as Adrian Peterson but in terms of just being dominating and people not wanting to stand in his way and tackle him, he reminds me most of Adrian Peterson with his running style.”

Jenkins said Jones loves competition. Even at football camps Jones will identify the better defenders and want to compete against them in drills. And although the Gophers have a returning starter in David Cobb, who rushed for 1,202 yards last season, Jones will push for playing time. “That’s just going to make him come in and work harder,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins believes Jones could also challenge for playing time as a slot receiver. At Washburn, Jones was a valuable pass receiver because of his running ability and exceptional hands. “He can catch the ball with the best of them,” Jenkins said.

Jones could also make big plays for the Gophers returning kickoffs like he did in high school. Will he be used in that role at Minnesota? “I sure hope so because every time he has the ball in his hands he has the possibility of taking it to the house,” Jenkins said.

At Washburn, the 6-foot, 200-pound Jones scored 44 touchdowns his senior season including 34 rushing and eight receiving, according to MaxPreps.com. He averaged 9.13 yards per carry rushing and helped the Millers to a fifth straight Minneapolis City Conference title under Jenkins.

Jones was a last minute invite to the prestigious Under Armour All-America Game in Florida last month but he made a big impression, gaining 72 yards and being named Team Nitro MVP. Jenkins attended the prep all-star game and observers couldn’t believe Jones came to the event as a reserve.

Jenkins said the Washburn coaches have held Jones accountable for his behavior, wanting to make sure he carried himself with the right attitude. “It would be easy for a young man with his athletic ability to be, let’s just say, pretty cocky and that’s not the case with him,” Jenkins said.

The Gophers have been recruiting Jones for a couple of years and offered him a scholarship after his sophomore season. Becoming involved early with Minnesota led to a verbal commitment by Jones about a year ago. Then later Jones opened up the recruiting process, exploring other schools but the Gophers didn’t waver in their commitment to him.

Jones is aware of Kill’s reputation for taking care of his players, looking out for their best interests. Loyalty is important to Jones who could have left Washburn and not finished his football career there. Instead of choosing a state power program, he stayed with Jenkins and Washburn, a program that doesn’t have the roster depth of long ago when the Millers could play with any team in Minnesota.

Jones admired Kenith Pope, the former Iowa State running backs coach no longer with the program. Pope’s departure may have hurt the Cyclones’ chances of getting him.

“Jeff Jones is a relationship kid,” Jenkins said.

The Gophers found that out today.

Worth Noting

The Gophers basketball team can enhance their chances of making the NCAA Tournament next month with a win tonight at Purdue where they have lost six consecutive games. The Gophers, 4-5 in the Big Ten and 15-7 overall, have lost two straight after upset wins at home against Ohio State and Wisconsin last month.

Minnesota has won only one Big Ten road game so far. The most recent road defeat came in Lincoln against a mediocre Nebraska team. “We’re struggling on the road right now so we gotta get a big road win,” said Gophers point guard DeAndre Mathieu.

Mathieu was a hero in the Wisconsin victory, frequently driving the lane to score and finishing the game with 18 points. Since then defenses have paid more attention, often having two defenders ready for him in the lane. Mathieu said the strategy stops him from driving all the way to the basket but he can adjust. “I just gotta get better at finding guys (passing to teammates) and shooting pull-up jump shots.”

The Gophers were able to win the Wisconsin game without leading scorer Andre Hollins after he was injured in the opening minute. However, their drive for the NCAA Tournament likely will be determined by how soon he plays again after missing two games since, losses to Nebraska and Northwestern. Hollins, averaging 15.4 points per game, might play this week—if not tonight then on Saturday at home against Indiana.

Austin Hollins’ dad, Lionel Hollins, coached the NBA’s Grizzlies last season before being replaced by Staples, Minnesota native Dave Joerger. Hollins said his dad, 60, is taking “it easy” but hopes to coach again.

Brainerd High School coach Ron Stolski is proud of Logan McElfresh who will walk-on with the Gophers as a punter. Stolski e-mailed that McElfresh, 6-2, 205, punted, kicked off, played tight end, quarterback and running back for last year’s 12-1 Warriors team.

“Averaged around 38 yards per punt with outstanding hang time,” Stolski wrote. “Highly rated punter by several kicking ‘experts.’ Attended a number of kicking camps in off-season and performed very well. Gophers plan to try him as punter only. Will need to develop consistency. Could be a real find!”

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame will have seven inductees at a banquet on March 29 at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park. Being honored are: Jon Bakken, Waterville-Elysian-Morristown; Dave Fritze, Eagan; Mike Grant, Forest Lake and Eden Prairie; Tom Idstrom, Anoka and Irondale; Dave Nelson, Blaine and Minnetonka; Larry Thompson, Lakeville and Lakeville South; Marc Trestman, St. Louis Park and Chicago Bears. Tickets are $35 each and available at MFCA.com (click on advertisement on this page).

Cretin-Derham Hall alum and former Viking center Matt Birk will be the headline speaker at the MFCA Clinic March 28 at the DoubleTree Hotel. The full clinic will take place March 27-29. The Gophers and Vikings will partner with the MFCA on the clinic.

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