Golden Gophers – Page 244 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikings Missed on Brainerd Lineman

Posted on October 30, 2016October 30, 2016 by David Shama

In last spring’s NFL Draft the Vikings used their fourth round pick to select Western Michigan offensive tackle Willie Beavers. One round later the Colts chose former Brainerd and North Dakota State offensive lineman Joe Haeg.

There has to be some head-scratching in Brainerd and Fargo over why the Vikings chose Beavers over Haeg. Beavers has yet to see the field on game days, while Haeg is earning praise in Indianapolis.

The Vikings have been reshuffling their offensive line for months trying to put together a cohesive unit that can run block, and protect quarterback Sam Bradford in the pocket. The task is ongoing with the latest effort last Sunday when the Vikings gave 31-year-old tackle Jake Long game action just days after signing him.

Part of the Vikings’ struggles are attributable to the retirement of veteran offensive tackle Phil Loadholt and the decline of center John Sullivan who was released prior to the season. Injuries to starting tackles Matt Kalil and Andre Smith have been a bigger part of the storyline. But in Indianapolis injuries have allowed Haeg to get an early start to his NFL career while playing guard and tackle.

Here’s what an online story in the October 26 Indianapolis Star said: “Fifth-round pick Joe Haeg has been invaluable for the Colts in just seven games as a pro. He’s now started games at three completely separate positions: right guard, right tackle and left guard. He’s become a jack of all trades and embodies the mantra of flexibility the Colts preach to their offensive linemen.”

Haeg, born in Minneapolis, was an All-American for the Bison and close observers could see his potential coming out of Brainerd High School. University of St. Thomas coach Glenn Caruso watched Haeg as a prep player and evaluated him as a “diamond in the rough.” Now Caruso has seen Haeg playing for the Colts. “It’s no surprise seeing his name on the back of a Colts jersey,” Caruso said.

While Vikings fans may wonder about acquiring a big salary veteran lineman like Joe Thomas from the Browns, they could have had Haeg for a rookie’s salary. Instead, they have Beavers who seven months ago Pro Football Focus ranked No. 2 among the “10 most overrated 2016 NFL Draft Prospects.” …

The Vikings gave up six sacks in their loss last week to the Eagles, and head coach Mike Zimmer complained about his team’s blocking. Will the Vikings vary their formations and at times use extra blockers in future games? “That’s a possibility,” Zimmer said. …

Veteran Bears quarterback Jay Cutler is in his eighth season with the Bears and neither he nor the team have fulfilled expectations since Chicago acquired him in a trade with the Broncos. When the Bears made their move for Cutler in the spring of 2009 the Vikings had a quarterback problem and Minnesota media were envious of Chicago’s deal. Later that year the Vikings convinced Brett Favre to come out of retirement. Cutler is expected to start for the 1-6 Bears Monday night in their game in Chicago against the Vikings. …

Kansas and head coach Bill Self might be in the lead to eventually sign nationally sought Rochester John Marshall power forward Matthew Hurt. Hurt is a sophomore and consensus five-star prospect.

Hurt’s brother Michael is a freshman forward for the Gophers and one of the team’s best potential shooters. The Hurt brothers attended Gophers games at Williams Arena as grade schoolers. …

There is no doubting the parity in college football. The Gophers, for example, won by only one point against Big Ten winless Rutgers a week ago Saturday afternoon. Unranked Penn State upset No. 2 Ohio State that night. Yesterday Associated Press top 10 ranked Baylor and West Virginia lost games. Gophers coach Tracy Claeys said there are often eight to 10 games each weekend with surprise endings. In his opinion the parity trend has been ongoing for about 10 years, and he thinks social media may play a role.

“Sometimes kids read things and try to make up their mind about the game…who is going to win or lose, and that can affect your preparation during the week. But I’m not for sure on all of it.

“I do think that kids are being trained better in high school, and are stronger. So I do think there’s a good core of players out there coming out of high school, and everybody’s getting their share of good ones.” …

Injuries have kept Gophers junior tight end Brandon Lingen sidelined for most of the season. Quarterback Mitch Leidner acknowledged Lingen’s absence has limited the passing game. The potential All-Big Ten receiver’s route running, speed and 6-5 height create more possibilities for Leidner, who compared Lingen to former teammate and 2014 All-American tight end Maxx Williams.

“He’s probably a little bit better of a route runner than Maxx was,” Leidner said. “He doesn’t have, I think, as great a hands as Maxx had, but I think he is a better route runner (than) when Maxx was here. I’d say they’re both probably pretty similar in speed.” …

Jared Weyler, the Gophers redshirt sophomore guard, said the offensive line is told on Fridays the unit’s goals include no sacks or hits on the quarterback for the next day’s game. Another goal is 300 yards rushing. In yesterday’s 40-17 win over Illinois, Minnesota gave up two sacks and rushed for 171 net yards. …

John Cunningham, a key hire earlier this year by new Gophers athletics director Mark Coyle, is a name to watch. A U alum and critic of the athletic department raved about Cunningham in a conversation with Sports Headliners. Cunningham, the Gophers deputy athletics director for administration, impressed the alum with his intelligence and personality. Cunningham has a law degree and his administrative skills include extensive experience with NCAA rules compliance. …

Former Timberwolves assistant coach Eric Musselman could be in for a successful season in his second year coaching Nevada. A preseason Mountain West Conference media poll predicts the Wolf Pack will finish second to San Diego State. Nevada went from a nine win team to 24 victories last season and won the College Basketball Invitational Championship.

Look for media and friends of Musselman here to push his name if the Gophers change head coaches next year. …

Dick Mattson, honored earlier this month by the Gophers with a Distinguished Service Award for his nearly 50 years as an athletic equipment manager, was a fiery supporter of U teams. During the Lou Holtz era he vigorously waved a hockey stick to fire up crowds before games at the Metrodome. …

A Sports Headliners reader emailed after last Monday’s column that Gophers Don Lucia is not only the winningest men’s hockey coach ever, but he also has lost the most games. Lucia’s record since taking over the Gophers for the 1999-2000 season is 418-221-69. He has coached the most games in Gophers’ history. …

When baseball was truly the nation’s pastime, MLB games were shorter and Americans were more patient. Times for the first games of the World Series have been 3:37, 4:04, 3:33 and 3:16. A lot of sports fans are too restless to watch for long. …

Glenn Caruso (photo courtesy of University of St. Thomas)

It’s been another special fall for St. Thomas football. A week ago Saturday head coach Glenn Caruso earned his 100th win at UST, while the Tommies program got its 600th victory. The first season of Tommies football was 1904.

The undefeated Tommies have been top five-ranked by D3football.com and could be headed back to the Division III national championship game. Caruso said the 2015 team was his best since starting with the Tommies in 2009. The coach said that was a selfless group, although not as athletic as Caruso’s 2011 and 2012 teams.

The Tommies are without injured All-American running back Jordan Roberts who has played in just two games. Caruso said pro scouts are showing interest in Roberts who will return to the Tommies next season. …

Bethel’s Steve Johnson also achieved a milestone victory in October, winning his 200th game at the school. He became the 78th coach among all divisions (12th active) to reach 200 wins, and the 33rd to do that at one school and the 10th in Division III. Johnson is in his 28th season at Bethel and his 200th win placed him third among active NCAA Division III coaches in career victories.

Bethel, 3-5 overall and 3-3 in MIAC games, lost 27-6 to St. Thomas yesterday. The Tommies are 8-0 and 6-0. …

Lou Nanne’s American Grill, the Edina restaurant that opened earlier this year for lunch and dinner, is now serving breakfast. A direct mail promotion was sent this month offering a $10 breakfast gift card. …

The milder than normal temps for much of October have extended the season for Twin Cities recreational players. A nine-hole course in the Minneapolis western suburbs was charging $10 to play nine holes this month, with $5 the cost to play nine more.

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Vikings Could Even ‘Limp’ into Playoffs

Posted on October 24, 2016October 24, 2016 by David Shama

The Vikings had a dismal performance in losing to the Eagles yesterday but with a 5-1 record they are positioned to qualify for the playoffs, and possibly a repeat title in the NFC North.

Mistakes on offense and special teams resulted in the team’s first loss of the season in Philadelphia, 21-10. The Vikings’ patchwork offensive line was exploited by the Eagles—creating the possibility quarterback Sam Bradford would sustain a serious and even season-ending injury.

Sam Bradford (photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings)

Bradford is okay but perhaps the Eagles discovered something schematically other teams can use against the Vikings’ offense. Possible, but Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer would be expected to make schematic adjustments, too, and perhaps with personnel changes. Evident for certain yesterday was the Eagles played at a high level defensively. Philadelphia has given up only 23 total points in three home games this season.

A weak Bears team likely helps the Vikings to a sixth win when the two teams play next Monday night in Chicago. The 1-6 Bears have the worst record among the remaining teams on Minnesota’s schedule. The Vikings close the regular season with the Bears in Minneapolis January 1.

The Vikings also have two games remaining against the Lions (4-3), another division rival. The other opponents are the Cardinals (3-3-1), Colts (3-4), Cowboys (5-1), Jaguars (2-4), Packers (4-2) and Redskins (4-3).

With their remaining schedule (five home, five road) and superb defense, the Vikings figure to win at least five or six more times. Even playing .500 football—and the Vikings should do better than that—gives Minnesota a regular season record of 10-6 and probable spot in the playoffs. Last season the Vikings’ 11-5 record won the NFC North. In 2008 and 2012 Minnesota had 10-6 records, good enough to win the division one year and finish second the other season. The Vikings qualified for the playoffs both years. …

Former Vikings linebacker Jeff Siemon will (for a fee) sign memorabilia and pose for photos on Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. at Southtown Shopping Center in Bloomington. His appearance is part of the two-day Saturday-Sunday Triple Crown Sports Collectibles show. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. …

Gophers redshirt sophomore running back Rodney Smith was announced as the Big Ten’s Offensive player of the week this morning. He had 257 all-purpose yards in Minnesota’s win last Saturday against Rutgers. That was the most for a Gopher since Troy Stoudermire had 290 against Iowa in 2008. Highlights for Smith included a 94-yeard kickoff return for a touchdown. …

Gophers hockey coach Don Lucia didn’t bring up the subject but told Sports Headliners his uncertain contract status earlier this year cost the program at least one future recruit. He wouldn’t specify a number.

Lucia ended last season with just one more year on his contract. It was thought an extension could be finalized last spring or summer but an agreement for an additional two years wasn’t announced until earlier this month.

“I don’t know why it took so long, to be honest,” Lucia said. “Nothing changed from June when we talked, so it just took that long to get everything back from the University and get it all signed.”

When asked about the delay’s impact on recruiting, Lucia said, “It didn’t help. Let’s put it that way.”

Lucia, 58, has been leading the program since 1999 and is the Gophers’ all-time winningest coach. He is comfortable with the new contract that takes him through the 2018-2019 season. “It’s fine. It’s like anything. In some ways when you coach at this level, you’re always year to year. You do enough, and they want to keep you around. If not, they go in a different direction.

“I still love what I do. I know I am fortunate to be working here. It’s hard to believe this is my 18th year, 30th year as a head coach. It’s nice to be able to go to work and say I really enjoy what I do. I love the kids. This is a fun team to be around. They want to work.”

Lucia and other coaches in the athletic department were reporting to an interim athletic director during the past school year. That negated contract talks for Lucia until new AD Mark Coyle arrived last spring. It also impacted recruiting, although the Gophers do have multiple verbal commitments in place for next season.

Lucia is trying to get the Gophers back in the NCAA Tournament after failing to qualify last season—although Minnesota did win the Big Ten championship. The Gophers’ 6-11 nonconference record was the team’s undoing for the NCAA’s.

This season Minnesota is 2-2 in nonleague games. The Gophers won two games in Alaska against Anchorage and Fairbanks, but were swept last weekend by St. Cloud State. …

Rumors about the Timberwolves trading Tyus Jones to the Sixers makes sense for guard-desperate Philly. Jones could reunite with boyhood friend and ex-Duke teammate Jahlil Okafor.

Sports Illustrated’s NBA Preview issue predicts the Timberwolves will just miss qualifying for the playoffs, finishing ninth in the 15-team Western Conference. The magazine picks the Warriors to defeat the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.

Basketball authorities, including the NBA’s general managers, are optimistic about the Timberwolves who were 29-53 last season and haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 2004. The league’s GMs said in a survey Minnesota will be the NBA’s most improved team.

The survey named Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns the player most general managers want to start a franchise. They also chose point guard Kris Dunn as most likely to be Rookie of the Year, and the second biggest steal in the draft. It’s a popular view Dunn, selected No. 5 overall in the first round, was the best player in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Sports Illustrated quoted an anonymous NBA scout as saying former Wolves forward Kevin Love wasn’t happy with the Cavaliers last season and likely would have been traded over the summer if the club hadn’t won the league championship in June. …

Greg Eslinger, the former Gopher All-American center inducted last week into the M Club Hall of Fame, weighed close to 300 pounds in college but has lost about 75 pounds and is running marathons. Eslinger has a sales career in Fargo.

Steve Fritz bobblehead (photo courtesy of University of St. Thomas)

Athletic director Steve Fritz is the cover subject of the current University of St. Thomas magazine. A bobblehead photo of Fritz, who coached the 2011 UST men’s basketball team to a national title, is on the cover with the headline “Steve Fritz Is the Ulitmate Tommie.” He is in his 50th school year, arriving at St. Thomas in 1967 as a student and basketball player, and after graduation staying on as an employee in various positions during his career.

Minneapolis-based Taste of the NFL founder Wayne Kostroski said via email that tickets are on sale for the 2017 event in Houston Saturday, February 4. The 26th annual party dedicated to hunger relief in America will be held at the University of Houston and be even more appealing to Minnesotans if the Vikings are playing in Houston’s Super Bowl the next day. More at Tasteofthenfl.com.

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Pitino Not Dwelling on Job Security

Posted on October 21, 2016October 21, 2016 by David Shama

Richard Pitino sat in his office this week and talked to Sports Headliners about the future and past, including why he doesn’t give much thought to his job security as men’s head basketball coach at Minnesota. He was calm and upbeat speaking about his team that will have an intrasquad scrimmage open to the public at Williams Arena tomorrow following the Gophers’ football game against Rutgers.

Pitino’s Gophers play Bemidji State in a home exhibition game November 3 and then the nonconference schedule begins November 11 at Williams Arena against UL-Lafayette. “I can’t wait for the season to get started,” Pitino said Wednesday.

The beginning of any season is usually anticipated positively, but the months ahead present an unusual opportunity for Pitino, his staff and players to upgrade their collective image and brand. The last couple of years have been that troubling on the court and off.

The 2015-2016 team had a 2-16 Big Ten Conference record, the worst in program history. The season before, a group that stirred anticipation about qualifying for the NCAA Tournament lost too many close games and finished with a 6-12 Big Ten record. The program has also been embarrassed by off-court incidents and player suspensions including the sex video scandal earlier this year. Those details only begin to document the troubles Pitino has seen in two of his three years as head coach.

After Pitino’s team won the NIT Tournament in his first season of 2013-2014, fans expected more big victories but the coach said on Wednesday he knew year three would be difficult because of a roster short on experience. Heading into this fall and winter the Gophers are building a more veteran roster and everyone agrees the talent has been upgraded.

New players to the roster bring a welcome mix of experience and skills. Those players include senior transfer guard Akeem Springs, junior transfer center Reggie Lynch, and three freshmen—guard Amir Coffey, and forwards Eric Curry and Michael Hurt.

Minnesota’s roster consists of four freshmen, five sophomores, five juniors and two seniors. That’s more experience than last year’s team that mostly relied on freshmen and sophomores. “The way that you win in this league is old,” Pitino said. “You gotta be old, and you gotta be experienced.”

The offseason was spent doing more than practicing basketball. Pitino arranged for “seven or eight” speakers to talk with players about non-basketball subjects including sex education, how to handle the pressures of being student-athletes, and job skills to make them hirable after college. Players were also involved with community service work, and Pitino said his guys want to have “people talking good about Gophers basketball again.”

Among the motivational speakers were former Gophers Walter Bond and Richard Coffey (Amir’s dad). Other alumni reached out to help, too, including U alum and NBA player Kris Humphries who hosted the players at his house to talk about his experiences. Pitino said the Gophers were engaged as they listened to presenters. “To their credit they didn’t just go through the motions. They were taking notes. They’re eager to learn. They’re eager to grow and I think they did that this summer.”

Pitino won’t talk about a number of wins he expects his team to have. “We’ve been in more close games than a lot of teams, and now we gotta go win them,” he said. “We gotta be disciplined and we gotta work our butts off to do it. It’s (the Big Ten) one of the toughest basketball conferences in college basketball. We’ve gotta do our very, very best to hold it down at home, (and) steal a few on the road.”

The following is a Q&A with the Gophers’ 34-year-old head coach who had a busy offseason in multiple ways including adding a baby daughter to the family with wife Jill, and attending weddings of two siblings.

Q—Are you worried about job security?

A—You try not to worry about those things as a coach. You try to lock in on the things that you can control because there is so much that goes into coaching in today’s world because of social media. There’s so much scrutiny into everything that you do that you try to narrow your focus to your family, your friends and your team. I think I do a pretty good job of that.

Q—What does new athletics director Mark Coyle expect from you?

A—I think he expects us to do things the right way. Work our butts off. Be as transparent as we possibly can with him about where we think we’re going, what we may need from him. He’s been nothing but supportive. He’s been great. I’ve loved working with him.

Q—What was the off-season like for you personally?

A—I think the most challenging thing you go through is an off-season when you don’t have a good year. It weighs on you mentally, big time. You lose a game during the season, you go right back to work. But when you end not the way you want to, it takes awhile to get over.

For me it’s exciting to get back to work, and to get back into that fight. I think our guys are eager, too. We don’t like to let our words do the talking. We like to let our actions speak for them. I think we’re that type of program. I am not a boastful guy but we’re quietly very excited about where we’re at.

Q—The Gophers’ overall record last season was 8-23. What was learned?

A—I think more than anything you learn, you grow, you evolve as a person and as a coach. I think you learn more from losing than you do winning. I thought we’d take a step back in year three (inexperienced roster). We probably took a bigger step back than we needed to but we were young. …There were a lot of young guys playing a lot of big games.

My biggest thing was to keep the players positive. Don’t let negativity and doubt creep into their minds. I thought we did a pretty good job of that. I thought we were playing pretty well at the end (of last season). We just needed to win some close games, and hopefully we break through this year.

Q—Part of the disappointment in 2016 were off-court incidents involving players. What was learned in regard to that?

A—They’re young kids. You’ve got to hold them accountable if they make a mistake and you’ve also got to educate them. I believe we did. We even had to sacrifice some losses in doing that (suspended players), and it was difficult but I believe it was the right thing for them. I believe it was the right thing for the program. I think moving forward they learned from it.

We did a lot over the summer. It’s important for people to look at this program in a positive light. Regardless of wins and losses, it means a lot to me that people value the type of character that we have in this program. We really worked hard over this summer to improve that. They did a great job in the classroom. They did a great job in the community. We brought some speakers in here to educate them.

So that’s our job to do that, and to stick by them. To not abandon guys when they make mistakes, and hopefully our program is stronger from it. I think our guys are very, very eager to show people what they’re all about off the court as well as on the court.

Q—Did you misjudge the character of recruits?

A—You can always get better. It’s not an exact science. You’re always trying to evolve, trying to gather as much information as you possibly can in recruiting. We’ll continue to do that. If we gotta get better, we’ll do it. We don’t have all the answers, we try to find them. We’ll exhaust every option to do that.

Q—Is it realistic to think one day you can lock down the state regarding all the best high school players in Minnesota?

A—I am encouraged (for 2015-2016) because we got the two best players out of the state in Amir Coffey and Michael Hurt. …Reggie Lynch is (also) a local kid and transferred from Illinois State. He was one of their better players (but)…he wanted to come home and play for the state. It really had nothing to do with me.

I am encouraged by (guard) Jarvis Johnson, even though he hasn’t played yet (because of a medical issue). We recruited one of the best players out of the state (in Johnson, a freshman in 2015-2016).

…I love where recruiting is going. It’s important to recruit the state. It’s also important to recruit the best fit for your team at the time.

Q—Williams Arena opened in 1928. Does the building need to be renovated or replaced?

A—The Barn is an iconic building that I would never touch. When I got here we updated the locker room, (and) the players’ lounge. Things like that you can always improve. The building is terrific.

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