Tracy Claeys leads the Gophers on the field tomorrow night as the program’s head coach. The game kicks off his first full season in that role after being named coach last November.
Will Claeys be heading up the football program a couple of years from now?
The three-year contract University of Minnesota president Eric Kaler gave Claeys last fall carries a clear message: This is a trial run for the U and the 47-year-old former defensive coordinator who served Jerry Kill for years and then succeeded him as Minnesota’s coach. The U was willing to give Claeys the job as head coach but not make a major commitment in years or money—at a reported $1.4 million in 2016.
Claeys may turn out to be worthy of the long-term, big money deal that many college football coaches earn. To get there he will have to improve his recruiting because the Gophers need better personnel and more depth to annually compete against the Big Ten’s best teams.
Kill upgraded the talent with the six recruiting classes he directed. The arrows on the progress chart will need to move upward under Claeys’ leadership. He and his staff will certainly continue the Kill model of finding overlooked high school players with potential. The coaches have shown an aptitude for developing players at various positions but the Gophers need to sign-up more quality ready-to-play talent.
“I think the recruiting will make all the difference in the world,” former Gophers captain Jim Carter told Sports Headliners. He, too, believes the unknown about Claeys’ legacy is probably recruiting.
Carter is an admirer of Claeys. “Not all coaches are teachers, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but Tracy is,” Carter said. “I’ve watched him for a number of years, since he’s been here with Kill.
“He never yelled much. He always gets people in the classroom after they film all the practices. He teaches technique, and he teaches the kids what to do. That’s unusual. He’s both a coach, but a very good teacher.”
Carter has been close to the Gopher program for years. He’s been impressed with what Claeys has done in a short period as head coach. That includes the bold move Claeys made after last season when he dismissed longtime colleague Matt Limegrover who was the offensive coordinator and line coach. Claeys replaced Limegrover with new offensive coordinator Jay Johnson and line coach Bart Miller.
“As far as hiring Miller and Johnson, the people that I talk to over there—which includes many of the players—are very optimistic about them,” Carter said. “They’re encouraged about the planning with the offense. They’re encouraged about the aggressiveness of Miller with the offensive line. He’s a tough guy and he’s getting toughness to rise up out of some of those offensive linemen. I see it as very, very positive, those moves that Tracy made bringing those two guys in.”
Johnson is expected to direct an unpredictable offense that is more likely to take risks than the play-calling of the Kill-Limegrover era. Claeys directed a defense under Kill that was the backbone of the program’s success, but for the Gophers to have winning records year after year in the Big Ten the offense must get much better. Over 100 teams ranked ahead of Minnesota in scoring offense last season.
Fans are taking a wait-and-see approach with Claeys. There’s not much hype about Gopher football and that is part of the reason there will be a lot of empty seats in TCF Bank Stadium for tomorrow night’s nonconference opener against Oregon State. But program insiders already see a lot they like about Claeys including his devotion to the job. The 47-year-old bachelor is all about football and the people who work and play for him.
There is no pretense with Claeys. He’s straightforward with people inside and outside of his program. He is a high I.Q. guy who has already shown he will take action when he sees problems. He not only made the coaching staff changes referenced above but he brought in two junior college transfers in the offensive line after recognizing the vulnerability in talent and depth with that unit.
The Gophers have a quality person and teacher leading their program. Now all Claeys has to do is go out and win a bunch of games, and keep the arrows on that recruiting chart going “north.”
Gophers Notes
Although he isn’t expected to be coaching, Mike Sherels might be at tomorrow night’s game sitting with other coaches in the press box. Carter heard Sherels could be in the press box all season after recovering from surgeries earlier this summer for an undisclosed medical issue.
Sherels has recently been in the football office, although Keith Jordan is the acting linebackers coach. “The news is fabulous compared to where he was a couple weeks ago where I had real serous concerns about life-threatening problems he went through,” Carter said last weekend.
Among their offensive starters, the Gophers have only three players in their last season of eligibility—the lowest number in major college football. The three are quarterback Mitch Leidner, offensive tackle Jonah Pirsig and receiver Drew Wolitarsky.
Minnesota has 13 total players on the roster in their last season of eligibility. That’s the third lowest total in the nation after Kentucky with 11, and Baylor and Penn State with 12 each.
The Gophers’ position chart released this week has defensive tackle Andrew Stelter listed as a starter ahead of Steven Richardson who earlier this month talked about his goal of becoming All-Big Ten. Both are juniors.
Among the 22 starters on offense and defense, five are from Texas, and four each from Georgia and Minnesota. The Minnesota products are Leidner, Pirsig, Stelter and safety Adekunle Ayinde.
True freshmen and Minneapolis natives Phillip Howard and Tyler Johnson are listed as wide receivers on the No. 2 offense. Redshirt junior Conor Rhoda from Eagan is Leidner’s backup.
The Gophers will have two more nonconference games after tomorrow night before starting their Big Ten schedule October 1 at Penn State. Big Ten teams will play a nine-game conference schedule for the first time since 1984. Big Ten players will have the opportunity to compete against all the other teams in the conference at least once during a four-year period.
Teams from the East Division will host five conference home games during even-numbered years, while teams from the West Division will have five home games during odd-numbered years. The Gophers, part of the West Division, play four home league games and five on the road in 2016.
Texas Lutheran University has hired Mike Wacker as men’s basketball coach. He is the son of former Gophers football coach Jim Wacker who also coached football at TLU.
Congratulations to longtime Gophers donor Lee Sundet and his wife Louise who had their 65th wedding anniversary last Friday.
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