Gophers Football – Page 38 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Timberwolves Will Create High Drama in Coming Offseason

Posted on May 31, 2024 by David Shama

The Timberwolves are finished in the playoffs after losing last night to the Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals. The Mavs won the series 4-1 and embarrassed Minnesota on its home court, jumping off to a big lead in the game and winning 124-103.

That thud last night and losing the series in five games doesn’t tarnish a special year. As time expired Thursday evening, fans chanted: “Let’s go Wolves!” The shout out was in appreciation for a 56-26 regular season, No. 3 seeding in the postseason and deep playoff run.

This team produced one of the best years in franchise history dating back to 1989-1990. That success has also set up an intriguing offseason. Among the drama will be the following:

Who is going to have majority ownership of the Wolves and WNBA Lynx? Arbitration and later a vote by the NBA’s owners will settle the issue. That vote will be very interesting not only because Glen Taylor has a long time relationships with the league’s other 29 owners that could favor him in the outcome. Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez are trying to close on a sales price of $1.5 billion for the Wolves and Lynx that was agreed to in 2021. With NBA franchises now valued at $3 billion and more, do the owners want to see a club sold for $1.5 billion? Prediction here: Taylor will emerge from the legal dispute with Lore and Rodriguez as the controlling owner.

President of basketball operations Tim Connelly, who took over as the front office basketball boss in 2022, reportedly has an opt out now in his contract. Will the architect who put the pieces together elevating the team from mediocre to championship contender want to leave? The push to bring Connelly to Minneapolis from Denver was led by Lore and Rodriquez but the opinion here is the valued decision maker will stay on working for Taylor and wanting to further build on his work.

How will ownership and Connelly approach an expensive player payroll that as constructed now will put them way over the NBA salary cap? Speculation is ownership will have to pay over $25 million in luxury tax to keep an expensive core together led by Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and others. Spotrac.com projects the payroll at over $190 million for next season, one of the highest figures in the league.

But if all the key players return the Wolves will be sitting on a box office and marketing bonanza with fans. Presumably they could generate revenues from varied sources to cover the luxury tax expense while driving up the value of the franchise if success duplicates or exceeds last season. Taylor, 83, has never seen his team win an NBA title and might have a “let’s go for the ring” approach this offseason.

How does this team get better? Significant improvement will come organically from a roster mostly of young players led by Anthony Edwards, 22, Jaden McDaniels, 23, and Naz Reid, 24. It requires experience to win championships and these players have big upsides on a roster that potentially has its top six guys returning.

New pieces? The Wolves need a plan that sooner or later will replace valued 36-year-old veteran point guard Mike Conley Jr. Other wants should be to add more consistent and clutching scoring, ideally from a big-time veteran or prospect (possible Towns trade?), and develop a deeper bench to go along with NBA Sixth Man of the Year Reid.

Those needs will go through Connelly’s mind in a rare NBA Draft where the Wolves haven’t mortgaged away their selections. Minnesota has the No. 27 and 37 picks in next month’s draft.

In some towns just the approaching draft, free agent signings and trades would provide the offseason focus but not here there is even more anticipation about what’s next.

Roles for U Frosh Koi Perich in 2024 Might Be Multiple

Koi Perich is the face of the 2024 Golden Gophers football recruiting class. Expectations by fans are considerable for the former Esko star and consensus four-star recruit ranked as the No. 1 prospect in Minnesota by On3, 247Sports and ESPN last year. On3 ranked him as the No. 3 safety in the nation and the No. 53 overall recruit in the country.

As a senior last fall Perich played defense, offense and special teams while leading Esko to a 10-1 record. He accounted for 27 touchdowns, including five on defense.

Perich showed he could perform not only against small town Minnesota competition but also on the national stage. Playing in the All-American Bowl against some of the better prep talent in the country last January, Perich was named MVP. He had an interception, broke up two passes, made a tackle for a loss, and blocked and recovered a punt.

Perich tantalizes fan enthusiasm beyond his talent because of his loyalty to the home state school. Ohio State, a favorite to win the 2024 national championship, put a December recruiting rush on the teenager with head coach Ryan Day visiting him. He could have not only become a Buckeye but chosen to any number of other marquee programs.

That kind of “he’s one of us” feeling fuels curiosity about Perich who also excelled in basketball at Esko and won the 2022 Class A state long jump championship. Among the questions is how soon will he play for the Gophers and where?

Ryan Burns, the recruiting authority from GopherIllustrated, predicts Perich isn’t likely to start right away. “It’s not a knock on Koi’s talent. It’s a knock on him getting here in June (summer school starts Monday). If he would have been here in January, I think the likelihood of him having a much bigger role this fall would have been exponentially higher.

“It’s just so tough for—in my eyes at least—for a true freshman that comes in in the summer to really make a giant impact in the fall. It’s not unheard of to see it happen. We’ve seen guys where it happened like Antoine Winfield Jr. . …”

As of late, there’s a developing tradition of great safeties at Minnesota. Winfield was named a unanimous All-American in 2019. Tyler Nubin was honored as a first and second team All-American in 2023.

Perich has a legacy to follow and although he may not be a starting safety in 2024, Burns sees potential roles on the field including the possibility of playing nickel on passing downs. That could have the hyped freshman on the field for 200 to 300 snaps next season.

Koi Perich photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

At Esko Perich returned three punts for touchdowns and one kickoff for a score last season. Given how prolific Perich was at returning punts and kickoffs in high school, Burns would “love to see” the fan favorite have a chance at those roles with the Gophers.

“As you know, my bar for (head coach) P.J. Fleck’s return game is incredibly low,” said Burns who noted the Gophers haven’t returned a kickoff for a TD since 2017, nor taken a punt back for a score since 2018. A poor kickoff return game last year, he said, resulted in consistent bad field position and added to problems for aa challenged offense.

So, nickel back, returning punts and kickoffs, and even time at safety could be on the table for Perich. The Gophers do have to replace their starting safeties from 2023 and sooner or later that could create an opening for you-know-who.

The conclusion? No one should be shocked if Perich contributes to Minnesota’s success in 2024 with probably bigger things coming in 2025.

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Improving U Pass Offense? Unknowns Still Lingering

Posted on May 20, 2024May 20, 2024 by David Shama

Spring practice has come and gone for the Golden Gophers football team and while there is reason for cautious optimism about the upcoming 12-game 2024 season, no personnel unit on offense and defense seems so uncertain as the roster of receivers.

Not since 2019 has Minnesota had an elite passing offense. Ryan Burns pointed out on his GopherIllustrated Website last week that “Minnesota hasn’t ranked nationally higher than 122^nd in pass attempts in the last three seasons, which is how the Gophers averaged a putrid 143 passing yards a game last year.”

Part of the blame was deservedly targeted last season at quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis who is now the presumed starter at Rutgers next fall. But Gophers receivers had their issues, too, including with route running and dropped passes. In 2024 Minnesota returns second team All-Big Ten receiver Daniel Jackson but that’s not enough to clear the murky outlook for the receiver room.

In an interview with Sports Headliners, Burns was asked if the receiver roster and production could be good in 2024. “I don’t think they’re going to have a really good room. I have a lot of questions about that room,” said Burns who has an extensive fan following because of his recruiting knowledge and analysis of the Gopher football program.

Jackson was third in the Big Ten in receiving yards with 831 yards and also in touchdowns for pass catchers with eight. “There’s just so much ambiguity behind Daniel Jackson I really don’t know what to expect,” Burns said. “I think it (the room) has the potential to be better than it has been the last few years, but I would say the bar for that isn’t exactly high considering the inconsistencies we’ve seen at receiver. …”

Burns made his point while talking about specific receivers including Eiljah Spencer, a promising transfer from Charlotte a year ago, who caught only nine passes for the Gophers in 2023 while starting five games. Spencer has struggled with dropped balls but is a potential starter along with Jackson and Lemeke Brockington who has considerable potential but missed most of last season with an injury.

Kenric Lanier is a former four-star recruit going into his 2024 redshirt freshman season after playing in just one game last season. His talent reputation is intriguing as is Georgia transfer Tyler Williams, a redshirt freshman who coming out of high school was considered among the elite prep receivers in the country.

Burns looks at Williams and talks about the Gophers polishing “his clay,” noting he believes the Florida native has different skills “than anything in that receiver room.” Williams played in two games for Georgia last season before deciding to enter the transfer portal, perhaps because of an ankle injury in the spring and prospects of not receiving as much playing time next fall as desired, per Burns.

Raising hopes about an improved passing game is the addition of Minnesota’s FCS transfer quarterback from New Hampshire. “With Max Brosmer, I think a lot of the national media is sleeping on Max Brosmer,” Ryan said about the graduate student who recently was included on the Senior Bowl watch list for quarterbacks.

In seven seasons at Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck has only once had a quarterback throw for more than 15 touchdown passes, Burns said. In 2019 Tanner Morgan threw 30 when he had All-Big Ten receivers Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman.

Burns is hoping for a “souped up Tanner Morgan” in Brosmer who was second team FCS All-American at New Hampshire last year. “Where you can be accurate, where you can be able to put the ball out on time, give your playmakers a chance to make a play, and just do that consistently. What that does for this Minnesota offense (in improvement).”

Brosmer is expected to throw more accurately than Kaliakmanis including on intermediate passes. He is also one of at least 14 anticipated new starting quarterbacks in the new 18-member Big Ten. Most of the league will be figuring out how their quarterbacks will settle in next fall, with Burns predicting if Brosmer can total 20 touchdown passes and be “under double digits in turnovers,” that will go a long way in Minnesota improving on last season’s 6-7 record including 3-6 in the Big Ten.

The anemic Minnesota passing offense produced just 16 touchdown passes in 13 games while accumulating 1,884 yards. The rush offense, usually the program’s bread and butter, was challenged by running back injuries and didn’t provide a lot more production with 2048 yards and 13 touchdowns. But the running game should be rolling in 2024 with lead back Darius Taylor and a refortified roster of quality backups for Taylor who made All-Big Ten honorable mention as a freshman.

Burns thinks the floor on next season’s record is 4-8, with the ceiling 9-3. The performances of all players and coaches, of course, will all impact outcomes and so will injuries. But Burns emphasizes (as was seen last season) without “consistent quarterback” play it’s difficult to win games.

What if Brosmer plays poorly, or is injured? Well, that’s where things become more dicey. In the spring the Gophers added Virginia Tech quarterback Dylan Wittke. He redshirted last season and didn’t see game action. He didn’t arrive here until late April so it’s difficult to assess Wittke, who was an athletic player coming out of high school in Georgia.

With more experience right now in the Gopher system than Wittke is true freshman Drake Lindsey. “Minnesota is incredibly, incredibly high on that young man after being able to work with him here this spring,” Burns said.

Lindsey, an Arkansas native, comes from a family of Razorback fans. There’s an impression here and down in Hog country the Razorbacks didn’t push hard enough to recruit the hometown quarterback. Any last minute recruiting rush, Burns said, was apparently negated by all the work and time Fleck and co-offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. had already invested on the three-star quarterback.

This spring Burns saw why Lindsey was a recruiting priority. “Drake Lindsay just looked different to me than other true freshman quarterbacks I’ve seen. He was very poised. Nothing really flustered him. Now (it’s true) he was drinking through a fire hose (learning so much). He’d make a great play one time; then the next time would not make a great play but I think his poise DNA ability to make plays is something that excites me.”

That’s good to hear because as recent history shows, the Gophers need help in a lot of places to raise the production of their passing offense.

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Tuesday Perk You Up: Name Dropping and Telling Stories

Posted on May 7, 2024May 7, 2024 by David Shama

Quips and other nuggets to entertain and inform:

Writing columns week after week is something like being the fifth husband of a Hollywood beauty. You have a general idea what to do, but can you come up with something new?

I’ve had many career stops over the years. Never forget long ago driving by my place of work when our youngest son looked out the car window and said: “Hey, Dad, there’s the place that gives you nightmares!”

I’ll say it right now: if the Timberwolves can stay injury free—and play at the level of their first six playoff wins—plan on an NBA championship parade in Minneapolis in June.

The Wolves’ swarming, electric defense last night in their 106-80 victory over the Nuggets might have been the best in franchise history.

I’ve tried to watch Wolves playoff games on TV with the sound off while listening to Alan Horton, the team’s superb radio voice. Too confusing, though, because the radio play-by-play isn’t closely synched to the TV action.

A friend, lamenting about Byron Buxton being on the Injured List for what seems like 100 times in his career, said this: “He’s made of glass.”

Didn’t ask him about Royce Lewis, who may be more talented than Buxton and more effervescent than anyone in baseball. Third consecutive season Lewis is sidelined with a major injury.

No Twins TV games on Comcast has me following the club on radio. Shocker! That’s how years ago many of us tracked the team. Even the rain delays were entertaining with broadcaster and master storyteller Halsey Hall spinning yarns that had the audience laughing and in no hurry for the skies to clear.

Wonder if the Pohlad family has Twins critic A.J. Pierzynski on their Christmas cards list?

There’s palpable optimism about next fall’s Golden Gophers football team after an off-season injection of talent and retention of top players from the 2023 roster.

Sorry, can’t use the “P” word about Gopher men’s basketball but can regarding Dawn Plitzuweit’s women’s team. Based on her first season and impressive overall coaching record she could turn out to be one of AD Mark Coyle’s best hires.

Thanks to the Big Ten’s West Coast expansion, the football Gophers have a more intriguing schedule than usual, with a trip to the Rose Bowl to play UCLA and hosting blue-blood USC. The first time the Trojans ever played in Minneapolis was in 1955. The weather for the late October game was a doozy, with the wind, sleet and snow credited with slowing down a fast USC team ranked No. 10 in the country.

The unranked Gophers prevailed, winning 25-19, with an L.A. Times reporter saying the game was played before “64,592 prospective pneumonia patients.” That quote is from coach Murray Warmath’s biography, “The Autumn Warrior” by Mike Wilkinson, who wrote when the Trojans arrived the day before the game the temps were in the 50s but when they woke up Saturday, October 29 the message was: “Welcome to Minnesota, this ain’t Tinsel Town.”

Here’s more fuel for the fan frenzy over first round draft choice J.J. McCarthy: the 21-year-old quarterback is the same age Fran Tarkenton was in his rookie season with the Vikings in 1961.

One of the many things Charley Walters and I agree on is a dislike for public speaking. The popular Pioneer Press columnist once told me: “I abhor speaking. I am not very good at it and I got nothing to say—and I’ll probably have a toothache that day.”

My friend Bob Klas has the most impressive memory for calendar dates of anyone I’ve even known. He emailed Sunday to say it was 24 years ago that coach Bill Musselman died on May 5, 2000, and that Thursday will be Lindsay Whalen’s 42^nd birthday.

I golfed so poorly the last time out I considered retirement. That notion lasted about five days, a little longer than previous retirements.

I haven’t been fishing yet, but the outlook is more encouraging than the links. My grandson discovered a “fishing hole” a couple of years ago that must be one of the best in the metro. I’d rather give you the password to my I-phone than reveal the secret spot.

Shout out to Mike Max for the referral, and the pros at Hopkins Health and Wellness for corralling my back misery.

It makes almost no sense: in the State of Hockey, neither the North Stars nor Wild have ever won the Stanley Cup.

Foreign confusion: when I worked for the Stars, we had a European player who was pulled over by the police and asked for his driver’s license. Guess what? A Czechoslovakian license didn’t work here.

Never know how this intern business will turn out. Two that we had at Met Center are now Twins president Dave St. Peter, and sports reporter and podcaster Judd Zulgad.

Zulgad posted this on X over the weekend: “The one good thing about Angel Hernandez behind the plate is he has no biases. He’s terrible for both teams.”

The explosion in pickleball popularity is the shadow hanging over tennis. Courts are being converted to pickleball. The 50 and over crowd is switching to the easier to play, more social and gender friendly game. Word is the best pickleball players are former tennis players.

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