Golden Gophers – Page 192 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

‘Chip on Shoulder’ May Define U QB

Posted on August 26, 2018August 26, 2018 by David Shama

A year ago most University of Minnesota football fans had never heard of Zack Annexstad. Even six months ago he was hardly a household name in the state of Minnesota. But Thursday night when the Golden Gophers offense takes the field he will be the focus of fans sitting in TCF Bank Stadium and in front of TV sets.

Annexstad is a true freshman and not on scholarship. He plays the most demanding of positions in Big Ten football—less than a year after being in high school. Because of all that he is one of the best debut stories in recent Gopher football history.

Fleck chose Annexstad over redshirt freshman and scholarship quarterback Tanner Morgan. The coach said last week he was making a commitment to Annexstad and his intentions aren’t to alternate the quarterbacks during games.

News that Fleck named the Norseland, Minnesota native the starter got the attention of both local and national media. The decision surprised a lot of people outside the program but not Kevin Wright. “No, not at all,” said the IMG Academy football coach from Bradenton, Florida. “He’s a tremendous leader.”

Wright is all-in on Annexstad and his brother Brock, a redshirt sophomore wide receiver for the Gophers who could play Thursday night when Minnesota opens its season against New Mexico State. Brock is a former walk-on who Fleck put on scholarship this month.

“You’ve got two walk-on kids that all they ever dreamed about was going to the University of Minnesota, who are able to make that dream come true,” Wright told Sports Headliners. “It’s exciting for us (at IMG) and definitely we’re very excited for those guys and their family.”

It was during the 2015-2016 school year that Wright, who coaches one of the elite prep football programs in the country, first met the Annexstad family—including Brock and Zack’s mom and dad. They talked in the lobby of a hotel in San Antonio, Texas and the conversation impressed Wright.

“This is a tough (competitive) place (IMG football),” Wright said. “They (Brock and Zack) understood what they were getting into. They understood they would have to leave home and go hundreds of miles to try and even compete and get on the field. I think it was something that drove them, excited them, and something they were looking for. That type of challenge.”

Zack Annexstad photo courtesy of Minnesota Athletic Communications.

In Zack’s first season at IMG, the summer and fall of 2016, he showed Wright he could contribute. The junior competed for playing time behind senior Kellen Mond and even started one game. Mond was a true freshman at Texas A&M last season and started most of the Aggies’ games.

In early 2017 another talented quarterback arrived in Bradenton to compete with Annexstad. Artur Sitkowski, from New Jersey, earned the starting job at IMG early in the season. “I don’t know that it was a head and shoulders decision (between the two),” Wright said. “We always knew that Zack could play. He handled it (the decision) just like a pro. He could have pouted, could have had a negative reaction. Just decided he was going to battle (to get on the field).“

Sitkowski was a four-star recruit as a prep. The University of Miami wanted him before he flipped his commitment to home-state Rutgers. Now the true freshman has won the starting quarterback job for the Scarlet Knights.

The high profile Sitkowski is also the guy Annexstad eventually beat out for the quarterback job at IMG. Early in the 2017 season the offense wasn’t as efficient as Wright wanted. “We just felt like we needed a little bit of a spark,” Wright said. “I think the third game or so of the season, (we) put Zack in and then he remained the starter the rest of the way.”

It wasn’t just any season, either. Playing a schedule considered perhaps the most demanding in all of high school football, Annexstad helped lead the Ascenders to an undefeated season. In 2017 he threw for 940 yards and 10 touchdowns.

As a freshman Annexstad isn’t allowed yet to talk with the media, but by now you get the idea the young quarterback responds to challenges in a big way. His former coach says Annexstad embraces the underdog role and plays with a “chip on his shoulder.”

Wright likens that characteristic to Baker Mayfield, the former walk-on quarterback at Oklahoma who went on to win the Heisman Trophy. “You need somebody like that who has that chip, who has that confidence,” Wright said. “Not arrogance, but has that confidence that they can go in and get the job done.

“That’s really, ultimately, I think what you’re looking for when you’re trying to build a program. You’re trying to look for a guy that first and foremost is a leader and that other kids buy into. At our place that was very, very obvious that everybody bought into Zack. He was a guy that could make other people better around him. He was a kid that everybody liked.”

IMG offensive linemen Curtis Dunlap Jr. and Daniel Faalele liked Annexstad enough that he influenced their decisions on where to play college football. Dunlap was committed to the University of Florida before he switched to the Gophers. Faalele’s last three recruiting visits were to Alabama, Georgia and LSU.

“When you’ve got the ability to bring those guys with you and bring those guys in, now you’re able to start to build,” Wright said. “You need that guy (like Annexstad). You just gotta go out and perform now.”

Fleck was 2-7 in Big Ten games during his first season as Minnesota’s coach last season. From day one he has talked about culture and leadership at a program that hasn’t won a Big Ten championship since 1967. Part of his quest to find leadership led him to Annexstad who was labeled by 247Sports as a three-star recruit at IMG, a school expected to have three of its alums (add in Shea Patterson at Michigan) starting for Big Ten teams this fall. Annexstad had a few Division I scholarship offers but he wanted so badly to play for the Gophers he was willing to head north as a walk-on—a status likely to change early next year.

What do the Gophers have in the quarterback who beat out Morgan and in spring practice helped discourage junior college transfer Vic Viramontes from staying at Minnesota? The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Annexstad is described as a pro-style quarterback, known for his throwing accuracy, and with the physical strength to run and make a gain out of a broken play.

Annexstad has been at Minnesota since January. He has become, as coaches like to say, “bigger, stronger and faster.” Yet ask Wright about Annexstad’s college future and those aren’t the words that initially come out of his mouth.

“I think first and foremost…he has the potential to be known as a guy that’s a winner,” Wright said. “…Every college coach in America is looking for that guy that can win football games for him. They can find a way. I think he’ll be known as that guy.

“If they (the Gophers) can win seven or eight games, get to a bowl, that’s a huge step for them and the program. …There are a lot of guys that played in the NFL that are similar to Zack in that they didn’t have a lot of accolades coming out of high school necessarily. They weren’t really highly recruited, but that internal motivation to work, to prove people wrong, to be the best you can be, that’s something you can’t gauge. The mark he leaves is obviously yet to be seen.”

It will be just a beginning but Annexstad will leave a mark Thursday night.

Comments Welcome

Vikings Leaders Discuss Social Issues

Posted on August 24, 2018August 24, 2018 by David Shama

Enjoy a Friday notes column.

The Vikings organization continues to have discussions involving players, coaches, the front office and ownership regarding social issues. The talks are a response to the highly publicized past protests by NFL players in various cities who have spoken out about social justice in America.

The Vikings are one of the few NFL teams that haven’t experienced players protesting at games, including so far this preseason. An open dialogue within the organization is reflective of what’s been described as a “good culture” in the locker-room. The Vikings discussions involving various parties have been referred to as a “player-driven initiative.”

Last year the Vikings players, coaches and management locked arms on the field before a home game at U.S. Bank Stadium to show solidarity following criticism of NFL national anthem protests by president Donald Trump. Head coach Mike Zimmer has said it’s important to show respect for the American flag and stand for the national anthem.

An announcement by the Vikings could come soon regarding the outcome of the discussions by the group.

The NFL and the players’ union are presently in a “standstill agreement” situation where the two sides are trying to finalize a gameday policy regarding protests. The clock is ticking with the NFL regular season schedule starting early next month.

Ironically, the Vikings’ first regular season game is against the 49ers, the former team of quarterback Colin Kaepernick. It was Kaepernick that first put protesting in the national spotlight two years ago when the media reported him kneeling on the field prior to a 49ers’ preseason game.

The Vikings play their third preseason game tonight at home against the Seahawks. It will be a major surprise if there are any on-field protests by Minnesota players.

The NFL’s 256 game, 17-week schedule begins on Thursday night September 6 with a single game—the Eagles hosting the Falcons in Philadelphia. The Vikings are interested in playing a showcase Thursday night game at U.S. Bank Stadium in future years.

The organization also has ongoing interest in hosting the NFL Draft. Host cities for the 2022-2025 drafts have yet to be determined. The popularity and events associated with the draft would necessitate the use of two locations, U.S. Bank Stadium and the club’s training site and headquarters in Eagan.

Because the Vikings hosted the Super Bowl this year, league politics might minimize chances of holding the draft here any time soon. Green Bay, for example, is one of the many northern NFL cities that will never host a Super Bowl so the league might some day choose to award the draft to the Packers.

Although it won’t be any time soon, the Vikings and Minneapolis officials remain interested in bringing the college football national championship game to U.S. Bank Stadium.

Vikings rookie kicker Daniel Carlson, 23, said he will study his 40-year-old Seahawks kicking rival Sebastian Janikowski in warm-ups tonight. Carlson won the Vikings kicking job this week. “It really wasn’t until my second year in college that I even thought about it (an NFL career),” Carlson told Sports Headliners.

Carlson’s younger brother Anders is succeeding him as Auburn’s kicker this season. The Vikings have a bye in early November and Daniel hopes to be in Athens, Georgia on November 10 to watch his brother play against Georgia.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins celebrated his 30th birthday last weekend with a visit to a local Portillo’s. He’s been a fan of Portillo’s for awhile and has multiple menu favorites. “The chocolate cake shake is hard to beat,” he said.

Local sports author Jim Bruton has signed a contract with Triumph Books to write a hardcover book on Twins broadcaster Dick Bremer. The book will cover Bremer’s 35-plus seasons with the Twins and be released in the spring of 2020.

Twins third baseman Miguel Sano has experienced a difficult season, although he is sometimes playing better since returning from the minor leagues in late July. Sano is perceived as not being disciplined enough with his weight and conditioning but Twins president Dave St. Peter pointed out the 25-year-old power hitter had offseason leg surgery that made it more difficult for him to train.

Sano appeared to be struggling physically and mentally when the Twins dispatched him in June to a recovery program in Florida. St. Peter sees improvement. “I think we all believe that he has an opportunity to be one of the elite players in our game, and he’s showing signs of progressing in a positive direction,” St. Peter said.

St. Peter believes the last weeks of the season will be an important time for Sano to stay healthy and be at his best. “I think that’s a really important thing for fans to watch over the course of the last six weeks,” St. Peter said.

St. Peter also said he expects Sano to arrive in shape and ready for spring training next winter.

The Twins promotional department might consider a stocking cap giveaway for next year’s opening series at Target Field. The Twins start the 2019 regular season at home on March 28, 30 and 31 against the Indians. The recorded high temps in Minneapolis on those dates this year were 52, 43 and 35 degrees, per accuweather.com.

College football coaches have said forever teams make the most improvement between the first and second games on their schedules. Minnesota opens at home against New Mexico State next Thursday but the Aggies have their first game tomorrow night (Saturday) in Las Cruces against Wyoming (ESPN 2).

Former Gopher defensive back Ray Buford, Jr. now plays for the Aggies.

Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle is friends with Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari but told Sports Headliners there are no plans for Minnesota to schedule the Wildcats. When Coyle was AD at Boise State the Broncos did play a game in Lexington.

Comments Welcome

Mauer Puts Off Possible New Deal

Posted on August 22, 2018August 22, 2018 by David Shama

Questions have hovered over Joe Mauer’s future this summer as the Twins’ 35-year-old first baseman plays out the final season of his contract.

Does Mauer want to continue his now 15-year major league career with his hometown Twins? Might he prefer another team with more potential to earn its way into the 2019 postseason?

Does he even want to play beyond this season? Will he choose retirement?

Do the Twins want Mauer on their roster in 2019?

The answer to the last question is yes. Club president Dave St. Peter made it clear how much the front office values the Minnesota native during an interview with Sports Headliners on Monday. “I think if Joe Mauer wants to play—and we expect him to make that decision sometime in the early part of the offseason—I would expect Joe Mauer would be back with the Twins. But Joe Mauer has indicated that he would prefer that dialogue to take place in the offseason. We are fully supportive of that. We’ll have that dialogue at the appropriate time.”

The Twins made Mauer the first pick in the first round of the 2001 MLB Draft after a legendary athletic career at St. Paul’s Cretin-Derham Hall High School. He has played his entire professional baseball career in the Twins organization.

Mauer is finishing the last season of his eight-year, $184 million contract. With a career history of injuries, a young family and all the money he could ever need, he might decide to retire.

The flip side? Mauer is still able to play major league baseball better than many of his peers. The desire to continue competing on the field may still be in place during the months ahead.

St. Peter describes it as “speculation” as to what Mauer will decide regarding his career this fall. What St. Peter does believe is not having Mauer in a Twins uniform would be a significant loss to the franchise.

“You lose a very good player, somebody who is still playing at a high level,” St. Peter said. “Still taking great at bats. Still one of the more difficult guys to get out with runners in scoring position late in the game.

“He (also) turned himself into a Gold Glove caliber first baseman. So you lose a lot. That’s not to be taken lightly in terms of that decision and how it impacts your baseball team. …”

Before switching over to first base in 2014, Mauer could be mentioned in the same breath with baseball’s greatest catchers ever. He is the only MLB catcher to win three batting titles and the only one ever among American Leaguers. He won the 2009 American League MVP Award and also received three consecutive Gold Glove awards for his work behind the plate.

“This is a player that our young players look up to,” St. Peter said. “He leads in I’d say a very quiet, very steady manner inside of our clubhouse. I think he leads by example. I think he models the type of behavior in terms of preparation that you want your young players to mimic…to learn from.”

Mauer has been hitting better of late, batting about .300 in recent games and knocking two home runs over the fence. Will how he finishes the season impact the decision on his playing future?

“If he were to get hurt, I think that could have some impact,” St. Peter said. “I think Joe is healthy today. He feels good. Assuming that remains the case, I really don’t know the on field stuff is going to have a huge impact. Joe knows he can still play. He’s demonstrated that. I expect him to have a strong final six weeks.”

Worth Noting

St. Peter didn’t offer details yet but expect the Twins to make offseason improvements to Target Field as has become their custom.

Augsburg baseball alum and Minneapolis native Mike Gallagher is in his second year as a radio play-by-play announcer for the Elizabethton Twins. The Johnson City (Tenn.) Press had an online story last Friday featuring Gallagher and another Minnesotan, Andy Fisher from Hutchinson who is a Minnesota-Crookston graduate. Fisher is a statistical data caster for the Twins minor league team in Elizabethton, Tenn. Data casters enter all the information from a game into a computer so viewers can follow developments on the Internet.

The Big Ten Network TV football crew including Gerry DiNardo and former Gophers coach Glen Mason attended Minnesota’s practice last Thursday. DiNardo said on the show devoted to analyzing the Gophers that redshirt freshman Tanner Morgan and true freshman Zack Annexstad look like better quarterbacks to him than last year’s twosome of Demry Croft and Conor Rhoda.

Mason likes the throwing accuracy of Morgan and Annexstad, who has been named Minnesota’s starter for the opening game August 30 against New Mexico State. “If I was going to say a negative thing about it, I am not sure if they have got the strong enough arm to throw the deep ball,” Mason said on BTN.

The offensive line lacked numbers and quality last season. Mason sees improvement in both areas. “They’ve got some big dudes in there now. Now they’re young. B-i-g doesn’t spell good but…in time they’re going to be good offensive linemen.”

Mason still lives in the Minneapolis area and said he is asked “all the time” how the Gophers, 2-7 in the Big Ten last year, are going to be in 2018. He answers “average at best” and said that’s a good thing because the roster of players is so young and inexperienced. “Down the road they’ve got hope here,” Mason said.

Annexstad is a walk-on and sure to earn a scholarship next year if he becomes a key contributor to Minnesota’s success this fall.

The Gophers may have about 6,200 University of Minnesota freshmen using free tickets for the opener August 30 at TCF Bank Stadium. Freshmen are annually given free tickets as an introduction to Gophers football.

Jim Brunzell, the former Golden Gopher football player and one-time partner with Greg Gagne of The High Flyers wrestling tag team, recalls this directive from Minnesota football coach Murray Warmath: “Brunzell, you can jump like a kangaroo but your blocking will kill us!”

It will be interesting to see how the Gophers volleyball team, ranked No. 4 nationally in a preseason poll, draws in its Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Target Center Friday and Saturday. Minnesota was 28-6 last season and has 12 returnees including three All-Americans—Alexis Hart, Stephanie Samedy and Samantha Seliger-Swenson.

The Gophers’ home matches at Maturi Pavilion were a popular ticket last season. Multiple matches at the Pav are likely sellouts this season including against Nebraska, Penn State and Wisconsin. In the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s preseason poll Nebraska is No. 2, Penn State No. 6 and Wisconsin No. 9.

1 comment