Gophers Hockey – Page 16 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

CB Richard Sherman Could Help Vikings

Posted on March 3, 2021 by David Shama

Cornerback Richard Sherman, 32, has been an elite player during his NFL career and he becomes an unrestricted free agent later this month. The former All-Pro has the profile and experience to complement what otherwise is a young Minnesota Vikings cornerback roster.

A former NFL executive (familiar with NFC North teams like the Vikings) told Sports Headliners a veteran cornerback might be on Minnesota’s free agent shopping list. “Maybe they can negotiate a good deal with someone like him (Sherman),” the authority said.

The source mentioned offensive guard, defensive tackle and possibly cornerback as priority positions for the Vikings as they consider 2021 free agents and college draft choices. He would use Minnesota’s first round draft selection at No. 14 on Alabama defensive tackle Christian Barmore. “I think he would be a really good target for them,” he said.

Vikings fans weren’t happy with the defense last season, including the performance of the line. They certainly could welcome Barmore, a redshirt sophomore All-American who might have been the most dominant defensive tackle in college football last season.

The Vikings have 10 draft picks as of now and will pick up a couple more adding compensatory choices for players lost through free agency. With so many selections in the seven round draft, general manager Rick Spielman will be doing a deep think on how he can better the club’s future. “I am sure he’s going to be moving around (trading picks and perhaps veterans). He always does,” said the authority who asked that his name not be used.

Mock drafts have several quarterbacks dominating the first 10 selections of the opening round but the NFL source wouldn’t use the Vikings’ draft collateral to move up to select a replacement for starter Kirk Cousins. “I think he’s good enough to win with,” he said. “Certainly they need someone long term to draft (at QB). I wouldn’t go in the first round (this year) and get one of those (college) guys. Maybe (get a) third round type of quarterback. You can find really good players in the third and fourth rounds (Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott are prime examples).”

The source considers Cousins a top 15 NFL quarterback, maybe even first 12, and questions the credibility of speculation the Vikings are interested in trading him. That’s partially because he sees Cousins as a potential winning piece directing an offense with playmakers like running back Dalvin Cook and wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. Also, the Vikings have salary cap issues and would have unwelcome “dead money” allocated against them if they moved the veteran quarterback.

The NFL has yet to establish the final salary cap number for franchises but it could be $185 million per club—a figure that has Vikings management crunching numbers. Minnesota is unlikely to franchise tag a player like last year when safety Anthony Harris received $11.4 million. With that deal expiring soon, he might be among players released in the coming weeks as the Vikings try to create “wiggle room” with the cap and the ability to chase free agents, perhaps including Sherman. Other Vikings could be headed toward restructured deals, with that looking like the direction for offensive tackle Riley Reiff.

The Vikings were 7-9 last season after playing most or part of the year without the following key defensive personnel: end Danielle Hunter, tackle Michael Pierce and linebackers Anthony Barr and Eric Kendricks. “It’s a whole different deal if those guys were all there,” the source said. “I don’t think there’s any question that they would have been a playoff team… .”

Spielman will meet with the media via Zoom today to discuss the offseason.

Worth Noting

There was preliminary discussion between the Gophers and Minnesota Twins prior to the pandemic about establishing a high tech pitching lab on the University of Minnesota campus. Gophers coach John Anderson told Sports Headliners such a facility could help pitchers to not only improve performance but prevent injuries.

The expertise of sports science and kinesiology authorities at the U are part of what makes the idea of a pitching lab intriguing. Anderson said the Gophers and Twins have an ongoing successful relationship and are always interested in projects that will enhance baseball in the state.

Anderson is in his 40th year leading the program and has 1,325 wins. That’s the best in Big Ten history and he can start adding to the total when the Gophers begin their season Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium. Minnesota has games Friday, Saturday and Sunday against Indiana and Rutgers.

The pandemic cut short the season in 2020 and the Gophers’ overall record was 8-10. Anderson has seven positional starters back from last year’s team whose season ended March 11. He believes the Gophers “have enough talent” to achieve a winning season playing a schedule of Big Ten opponents only and no Big Ten postseason tournament.

Anderson will be without Max Meyer who was drafted last season by the Miami Marlins and could eventually join Glen Perkins as the two best pitchers he has coached. Already one of baseball’s top prospects, Anderson believes Meyer has the “stuff” to have a long MLB career.

Longevity will require continuation of a healthy right arm. “We didn’t over pitch him at Minnesota,” Anderson said. “We protected him and didn’t overuse him.”

At Woodbury High School Meyer weighed only about 165 pounds but at Minnesota he physically matured and benefitted from weight training. Analytics and other tools helped the 6-foot right hander improve, too. At Minnesota he developed a fast ball clocked at three digits to complement a slider he was using since high school. “He touched a couple hundreds in the short season we had in 2020,” Anderson said. “Quite a jump that he made.”

Twins 40-year-old DH Nelson Cruz has hit 311 home runs since 2012, the most in the big leagues.

When Marcus Carr totaled 41 points against Nebraska last week he came within two points of breaking the men’s single game scoring record for Gopher players. Eric Magdanz and Oliver Shannon each scored 42 points in a game. Carr’s 41 moved him into a tie in the record book with Andre Hollins.

Two Minnesota natives and former Gophers are on the WCHA 2000s All-Decade team announced by the Twin Cities-based league Tuesday. The team includes defenseman Jordan Leopold from Golden Valley and forward Johnny Pohl of Red Wing. Others on the team are forwards Peter Sejna and Brett Sterling, both from Colorado College; defenseman Matt Carle of Denver and goaltender Brian Elliott of Wisconsin.

All-decade teams this winter are part of the league’s 70-years celebration.

Maurice “Mo” Forte, believed to be the first ever African American assistant football coach of the modern era with the Gophers, died last Friday in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Mo, a native of Hannibal, Missouri, was an outstanding running back for the Gophers in the late 1960s before becoming an assistant at Minnesota from 1970-1975. His coaching career included the head job at Arkansas-Pine Bluff and assistant positions at major colleges and with two NFL teams. His 74th birthday would have been last Monday. Condolences to his family and many friends across the country.

Dr. Joel Boyd, recognized as one of the top knee surgeons in America and Minnesota Wild team physician since the franchise’s inception, will be the guest speaker for the Twin Cities Dunkers March 10.

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Only Football for Coach Mike Grant Now

Posted on February 17, 2021February 17, 2021 by David Shama

Mike Grant, 63, is more than a month into a new experience at Eden Prairie High School. As of January 1, he is retired as the activities director but continues with his legendary career as head football coach. No complaints, though.

“My days are certainly full.” Grant told Sports Headliners. “Football takes as much time as I want to put towards it.”

With no administrative or teaching responsibilities, football is his only focus at the school he has been coaching at since 1992 and where his Eagles have won 11 state championships. As activities director, Grant was sensitive to other sports and their coaches, and he didn’t want to offend others by being outspoken about the value of football. “Now I can promote it all I want,” he said about the game he loves and learned from his famous dad, Bud Grant.

The EP varsity and junior varsity teams were undefeated last year. The sophomores and freshmen each lost a game. But Grant believes it’s not winning that is the most important reason kids come out to play football at his school and others across the state.

“You can have a great experience in football and win one game because you are with your buddies,” Grant said. “There’s camaraderie in football that is very different than any other sport.”

With all the success Grant has had at Eden Prairie, readers might scoff at his remarks. But before coming to EP he was head coach at Forest Lake where the wins were few and opponents could almost predetermine the final score.

“I have been there,” Grant said. “I look back on that and those were some of my fondest memories with those kids that were playing. I still see those guys. They are men now and they have nothing to say but great things about playing football way back then.”

A lot of youth are specializing in one sport these days. An industry has developed of paid trainers from outside the school systems who work with young athletes with ambitions of earning college scholarships and even professional careers.

Sometimes disillusion sets in long before high school graduation. By focusing on one sport, kids may eventually realize they are missing out on their full potential as high school athletes, or that the advice from others isn’t working for them. Grant has seen some of his better players take a circuitous route to his roster. “Because they come back out (for football) as juniors and seniors after being told that they should focus only on basketball, or only on hockey, or only on whatever. …”

During the last several years the safety perception of football has taken a nosedive with the public because of negative publicity concerning concussions in the NFL and college football. Even though the incidence of concussions in high school football is reportedly less than some other activities, parents have been apprehensive in allowing their sons to participate in the sport.

“I don’t know that we had one concussion last year,” Grant said. “But there was so much hype and media hype about concussions, that a lot of parents pulled their kids from it (football). So football numbers everywhere are down and we’re certainly no different. I always look at it (as) if we’ve got a problem, everybody else has got a bigger problem in terms of numbers.”

Enrollment at Eden Prairie High School has for decades been among the largest in the state. In the EP football system, Grant estimated participation numbers are off by about 30 percent. The trend is more skilled athletes are likely still participating but the marginal players, who Grant said can really benefit from football, may not be.

The varsity Eagles were a senior dominated team last season. “I thought we were the best team in the state last year,” Grant said. Only a few starters return for 2021 but a lot of others on the 2020 roster came off the bench and gained experience. “We’ll be as good as we’ve ever been,” the coach said about the coming season.

Worth Noting

This week will significantly influence whether Richard Pitino’s Golden Gophers basketball team earns an invitation next month to the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota lost at Maryland Sunday, but tries for its first road victory of the season tonight (Wednesday) at Indiana, and then plays No. 5 ranked Illinois in Williams Arena Saturday.

A major positive is the Gophers, 6-8 in the Big Ten and 13-8 overall, have tied a school season record by defeating five top 25 ranked teams. A road win tonight and a home upset of Illinois would bolster Minnesota’s wobbly win-loss record. That’s not likely to happen but if the Gophers could pull to 8-8 in league games by Saturday night, NCAA prospects boldly brighten with two of their three remaining games at home. Northwestern (Feb. 27) and Rutgers (March 6) come to Williams Arena, with Minnesota playing at Penn State March 3.

University officials provided no update at last week’s Board of Regents meetings about borrowing money to cover the system’s anticipated budget shortfall of perhaps $166 million. Details are apparently yet to be finalized including a significant portion of the loan targeted to Gophers athletics whose deficit this fiscal year is speculated to be $40 million or more.

The Timberwolves’ next road game is Sunday in New York where the Knicks feature familiar faces. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, whose demanding style helped the Wolves to a rare playoff appearance before being fired, has the lowly New York franchise earning a better record than the Wolves, 14-15 versus 7-21. This is Thibodeau’s first season with the Knicks and two of his player favorites are former Wolves Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose. New York media speculates whether Thibs will clash and last with controversial Knicks owner James Dolan.

Don’t fret yet but offseason additions by the Chicago White Sox, including former Twins pitchers Liam Hendriks and Lance Lynn, have crystal ballers making the Sox favorites, or co-favorites with the Minnesota Twins, to win the AL Central Division. Hendriks has ERAs under 2.00 the last two seasons as a late inning stopper. Lynn could win 15 games or more for the Sox. Vegasinsider.com lists the Sox as 10-1 World Series favorites, with only the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and San Diego Padres more likely to win out in 2021.

Ben Reppenhagen, the Edina native who played high school football at St. Thomas Academy, is a redshirt freshman tight end at TCU and grandson of the late Mike Wright, the 1959 Gophers football captain.

Three Minnesota natives took half of the six spots on the WCHA 1990s All-Decade team announced by the Twin Cities-based league Tuesday. The team includes former Gophers Brian Bonin (forward, White Bear Lake) and Mike Crowley (defenseman, Bloomington) and ex-North Dakota goaltender Karl Goehring (Apple Valley). All-decade teams this winter are part of the league’s 70-years celebration.

Guess who is only four years away from eligibility for Social Security? Michael Jordan is 58 today.

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U Football Transfers in School Already

Posted on January 20, 2021January 20, 2021 by David Shama

Golden Gophers football transfers began classes at the University of Minnesota this week, per recruiting authority Ryan Burns of GopherIllustrated.com. Head coach P.J. Fleck and staff made news in recent weeks by bringing in more transfers than at any time in his regime dating back to 2017, with the number of newcomers distinguishing Minnesota from its six West Division rivals.

“I think that Minnesota in the West has certainly done the most to improve their short-term (talent) in 2021 using the transfer market,” Burns said. The transfers are linebacker Jack Gibbens, Abilene Christian; defensive tackles Val Martin and Nyles Pinckney from N.C. State and Clemson respectively; kicker Will Mobley, Temple; guardKarter Shaw, Utah State; punter Daniel Sparks, Louisiana-Monroe; and wide receiver Dylan Wright, Texas A&M. All but Mobley are in school now, with the Temple athlete enrolling in May, according to Burns.

The arrival of the newbies, most of whom have considerable college game experience, bolsters the overall Minnesota roster depth, while adding quality talent and potential starters. “I look at every position now and I see competition,” Burns said.

Competition will highlight the team’s offseason as players go through conditioning, weight training, meetings, drills, practices and scrimmages. Intense competition for playing time should make the Gophers more prepared and better on the field for next season starting with an opening game against Big Ten and national power Ohio State, expected to be ranked in the preseason AP top five.

Starting spots on defense are really open, with perhaps cornerback Coney Durr and end Boye Mafe the only locks. Gibbens, a grad transfer with four years experience at Abilene, is expected to provide leadership and quality play at linebacker where the Gophers were both thin and inexperienced last season. Defensive line was also a trouble spot in 2020 and Burns said junior defensive tackle Jamal Teague, who opted out last season, might not return. Another junior tackle, Noah Hickox, has left the program, leaving the defensive line roster even more inexperienced. The arrival of veteran grad transfers Martin and Pinckney clearly fills a need with their immediate eligibility.

Pinckney is a headliner after being a four-star recruit out of high school and playing in 55 games for the powerful Clemson program. The Tigers are heavy on defensive line talent for 2021, with two of their players named this week to an early ESPN preseason All-American team. Pinckney comes to Minnesota looking for a big season and invite to the NFL.

The Minnesota offense contrasts with the defense, having veterans returning at every position, but the arrival of Shaw and Wright, both underclassmen, can mean potentially helping the Gophers this year and beyond. Burns said Shaw has been told he is the center of the future, eventually replacing John Michael-Schmitz. Shaw can play multiple positions and could have helped the Gophers last season as they struggled with depth.

Wright looks like the other headliner among the transfers and Gopher fans need to hope the NCAA soon announces a new policy that underclassmen like he and Shaw can move to new schools and have immediate eligibility. Wright was a four-star recruit out of high school and wooed to A&M by former Gophers assistant Maurice Linguist who worked for Fleck at Minnesota before joining the Aggies, and is now with the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. Burns credits Linguist with playing a huge role in Wright choosing to transfer here.

“It’s Linguist who actually tells Wright I can vouch for everything that P.J. is doing up there—look at their wide receiver development. Minnesota is able to land him,” Burns said in telling the Wright recruiting story. “He is a kid that Minnesota doesn’t have anybody in their wide receiver room right now that looks like him. He is a specimen at 6-foot-4. The question is going to be how long is it going to take for (wide receivers coach) Matt Simon to refine his game where he can help Minnesota win football games.”

Minnesota’s extra points and field goal kicking last season was poor. Burns said grad transfer Mobley, who is expected to challenge returnee Brock Walker for kicking duties, holds the Temple record for consecutive extra points made (51). Sparks was among the Sun Belt Conference’s best punters last season as a freshman and if eligible will offer competition to returnee Mark Crawford who has to improve.

Burns said Fleck obviously “wasn’t blind” to special team woes last season that included poor field position on kickoff returns. Burns’ research showed primary returner Cam Wiley, who struggled with decision making, had 11 returns resulting in average starting field position on the 16-yard line. A fair catch places the ball on the 25.

“They lost nine yards of field position every time he decided to return a kick. I cannot stress to you (enough) how horrible that is,” said Burns, who noted the Gophers had the fourth worst starting field position following kickoffs in college football last season.

In yesterday’s interview with Sports Headliners Burns also talked about Minnesota’s 2021 freshman recruiting class that has 17 players signed to national letters of intent, with two highly publicized players pending. The next date for signing is February 3, and the Gophers hope to lock up offensive tackle Saia Mapakaitolo from Arizona and Nebraska cornerback Avante Dickerson.

Mapakaitolo was committed to USC and had his choice of West Coast offers, per Burns who said a California recruiting authority raves about the athleticism of the young tackle. Listed at 6-5, 280 pounds by 247Sports, Burns is intrigued by Mapakaitolo’s size, athleticism and participation in rugby, a grueling sport.

It was a disappointment to Gopher fans that Dickerson, a four-star recruit and the highest ranked of Minnesota’s verbal commitments last year per 247Sports, didn’t sign in December as expected. Burns believes Minnesota and Nebraska are the front runners for the gifted cornerback. With only about two weeks until the February signing date, Burns said Dickerson and his mother may visit Minnesota to help make a final decision.

The issue of location, staying closer to home and playing for the Cornhuskers in Lincoln is apparently a major factor in trying to make a decision. For Burns, there is no question what school Dickerson should choose.

“I don’t think particularly highly about Nebraska, with all the (outgoing) transfers they’ve had in the last year, their win-lost record. … To me it doesn’t make a ton of sense, because especially I believe (head coach) Scott Frost is on the hot seat. So why would you want to be going to a school, other than it’s close to home, that you could potentially be playing for a new coach in the next year or two?”

Worth Noting

The Gophers also have several players from the 2021 freshmen class who have enrolled early and started classes. 247Sports identifies early enrollees as DE Deven Eastern, WR Brady Boyd, WR Lemeke Brockington, “athlete” Dylan McGill, CB Justin Walley and LB Devon Williams.

Word is the Gophers have given up on recruiting Davon Townley, the defensive end from Minneapolis North High School. At one time Minnesota coveted the four-star for its 2021 recruiting class. Where might Townley be headed? “I have no idea,” Burns said. “All I know is I assure you…it ain’t going to be at Minnesota.”

Legendary Herb Brooks, who led the hockey Gophers to national championships in 1974, 1976 and 1979, was named the WCHA’s 1970s Coach of the Decade today as part of the league’s 70-year celebration.

The NFC title game Sunday in Green Bay features the franchise, the Packers, with the most world titles (13) against the quarterback, Tom Brady of the Bucs, with the most post season wins, 32.

Packer wide receiver Davante Adams had 18 touchdown receptions during the regular season. That total ranks behind only former Viking Randy Moss (2007) and ex-49er Jerry Rice (1987), who are tied for most in NFL single season history with 23 each.

Jeff Crilley’s email newsletter, “The Rundown,” included a story yesterday listing the states whose residents are most to least stressed during these turbulent times. Citing a OnePoll survey for stress supplement Natrol Relaxia, Minnesota ranked among the most relaxed citizenry. Iowa is the least stressed, Missouri the most.

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