Golden Gophers – Page 317 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikings D-End Could Play Running Back

Posted on September 19, 2014September 19, 2014 by David Shama

Nobody is suggesting the Vikings replace Adrian Peterson at running back with a defensive end but Paul Wiggin told Sports Headliners that Everson Griffen could make the switch.

“He could play running back for us,” Wiggin said. “He’s a phenomenal athlete.”

Wiggin is a former college and NFL coach who works in the Vikings’ front office. He made the statement above after being asked about Griffen’s abilities and potential. The 26-year-old, 6-3, 273-pound Griffen is in his fifth season with the Vikings but first year as a starter. During the last offseason the Vikings signed him to a new contract, an indication the organization thought he was ready to replace Jared Allen as an every week starter.

Griffen’s job description puts an emphasis on sacking quarterbacks—something the Vikings hope he can do to Drew Brees of the Saints on Sunday in New Orleans. Griffen had 2.5 sacks in the final three games of last season, and then had two in the Vikings’ opening win this year against the Rams. His two sacks put him among the NFL leaders in that category so far.

“We attack. Our coach (Mike Zimmer) wants us to attack,” Griffen said in the September 14 issue of the Vikings’ GameDay program. “We make plays. I feel like we’re go-getters. We’re not waiting for them (foes) to strike. …”

Wiggin has watched Griffen mature as a person and said that has played a role in the player’s improvement. Griffen is involved with a program that makes meals available to school-age kids, and has participated in the Vikings’ blood drive and community events.

Griffen was drafted by the Vikings in 2010 after being a second team All-Pac 10 defensive end as a junior playing for USC. In high school in Avondale, Arizona he also played in the defensive line and had 16 sacks his senior season. But guess what? He also played running back in high school, rushing for 1,251 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Worth Noting

Replacing Peterson in New Orleans likely will be Matt Asiata who was given that assignment in Peterson’s absence last Sunday. The Vikings are also looking at rookie Jerick McKinnon and Joe Banyard, a first-year player last season who has yet to have an NFL carry. “We will keep evaluating that spot each and every time,” Zimmer said.

Wiggin, whose career experiences include college head coach at Stanford and in the NFL with the Chiefs, has the title of senior personnel consultant with the Vikings. Part of his job is to scout opposing linemen from films. He identifies tendencies that can help Vikings offensive and defensive linemen.

The Rams’ Robert Quinn, for example, is one of the NFL’s most dominant defensive linemen. In preparation for the Rams game on September 7, Vikings offensive tackle Matt Kalil was given 42 plays involving Quinn to watch on his iPad.

Gophers redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Streveler will have his first college start tomorrow if Mitch Leidner, who has been slowed by knee and turf toe injuries, can’t play against San Jose State at TCF Bank Stadium. Streveler, 19, might have the cool for the pressure-filled job.

As a reserve player Streveler likes to have “fun” on the sidelines, trying to help however he can. Off the field? “I don’t really take myself too seriously,” he said. “I stay pretty low-key.”

Leidner has only passed for 362 yards in three games, completing 48.1 percent of his passes with two touchdowns and four interceptions. Still, offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover believes the redshirt sophomore can become an effective passer, and that progress will come by Leidner having better support from teammates including pass blocking.

“In anything you want to be successful (doing), you have to feel comfortable in that environment, and I don’t think he feels comfortable now going back and throwing the football,” Limegrover said. “So what’s happening is he’s trying to do too much and it’s getting him in trouble. I think that has to start up front (offensive line).”

Last winter the Gophers signed a promising group of incoming freshman wide receivers to National Letters of Intent but so far none has seen the field. This week it was announced that Isaiah Gentry, the 6-4 receiver from Cincinnati, is out for the season because of a knee injury that bothered him for a couple of weeks.

“Yeah, he’s a tough kid,” Limegrover said. “He fought through what a lot of guys would have shut down on and really actually did pretty well. So long‑term, that’s exciting for us, and it’s a little disappointing in the short-term that he had to get shut down.”

Melvin Holland Jr., 6-3 from Ashburn, Virginia, and Conner Krizancik, 6-2 from Mentor, Ohio, could be freshman wideouts who will play this season. Among the first year receivers, Holland may have turned the most heads in practices.

At the start of this college football season the University of Alabama compliled a list of programs with the most graduate students on their rosters. The Crimson Tide and Boston College topped the list with 15 each, and only four other teams had more than San Jose State’s nine grad students including starting quarterback Blake Jurich.

The Spartans have only five players on their 104-man roster who aren’t California natives. Three of them are from Arizona, with one each from Texas and Washington.

Congratulations to Browerville head football coach Wayne (Ribsy) Petermeier on his 100th career win last week. Petermeier, now in his 13th season at Browerville, was previously head coach at Hayfield for one season. His career record is 100-41.

The Gophers baseball team practiced this week with 33 players. The Gophers don’t provide full scholarships for baseball but 26 of the players have partial financial assistance ranging from 25 to 70 percent.

The baseball Gophers once offered a full scholarship to Joe Mauer who could have also had a football scholarship to Florida State but signed a contract with the Twins coming out of Cretin-Derham Hall High School in 2001.

Big Ten Hockey Media Day is next Wednesday in Detroit. Forward Kyle Rau and goalie Adam Wilcox will represent the Gophers who are expected to be among college hockey’s elite teams next season.

SI.com listed college basketball’s top 20 college guards, wings and “big men” for next season in a September 11 story, but no Gophers were included—a mild surprise that senior guards Andre Hollins and DeAndre Mathieu were left out. In a separate listing of freshmen, Tyus Jones, the ex-Apple Valley high schooler now at Duke, was included with the best first-year guards, and Rashad Vaughn, who played at Cooper High School two years ago and is now at UNLV, was listed among the top wings.

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Momentum Increasing for U Facilities

Posted on September 17, 2014September 17, 2014 by David Shama

According to sources, expect 3M to become a corporate contributor to the $190 million campaign to improve Gophers’ facilities, and also look for ground to be broken next spring for a new on-campus indoor football practice facility.

Effective fundraising—mostly still behind the scenes—is being done by the Gophers’ Athletic Department and well-connected volunteers. An announcement is expected that 3M will join Land O’Lakes as a major contributor to the fundraising campaign. LOL has made a $25 million commitment to support a wide range of University of Minnesota activities, but the centerpiece will be building the Intercollegiate Athletics Center for Excellence that will benefit over 700 student-athletes through academics and nutrition.

Among projects expected to receive priority in the master facilities plan is the new football practice building, perhaps costing $70 million. Sources told Sports Headliners they predict shovels in the ground for the football building by next spring.

Gophers football coach Jerry Kill has been outspoken with high school recruits and media about the importance of a new football complex. The existing facility has a ceiling so low footballs hit the top and the building has a crowded schedule with multiple teams practicing there.

Athletic director Norwood Teague, who announced the $190 million campaign in July of 2013, said earlier this month $40 million has been secured but hasn’t specified sources by name beyond LOL which reportedly will contribute $21 million of the $25 million to athletics. Corporations, wealthy donors, the general public and revenue bonds are all on the table as funding sources.

An announcement is expected soon about how the public can make contributions to the campaign. Included will be a website with information that potential contributors can review.

The $190 million master facilities plan will include a new practice building for Gophers basketball, and amenities for other sports such as wrestling and track. Minnesota’s athletic facilities are considered among the worst in the Big Ten and generally haven’t been improved for many years.

The near $200 million project is expansive and ambitious, with a fundraising goal that may be challenging to meet without the sale of bonds. The University is authorized to sell bonds and those involved with the fundraising have been considering that option for awhile.

Worth Noting

“Who would you want your son to play for?” Football Bowl Subdivision coaches were polled asking that question and ESPN.com posted a story last Saturday reporting Gophers coach Jerry Kill tied for third with Stanford’s David Shaw. Georgia’s Mark Richt and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops tied for first. Duke’s David Cutcliffe was fifth in the ESPN poll while Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio and Ohio State’s Urban Meyer were among five coaches tied for sixth. Ninety-eight of 128 coaches participated in the poll.

Dick Jonckowski, the Gophers baseball and basketball public address announcer, is selling half of his sports memorabilia to help pay medical bills. The sale will be October 3, 4 and 5 at the new Canterbury Park Expo Center. Items—many of of them autographed—will include baseball, basketball and football cards, and photos and publications.

For many years Jonckowski’s basement has housed a vast collection of not only Gophers, Twins and Vikings memorabilia but also national items. He is selling much of the collection because of bills relating to his non-Hodgkin lymphoma and type 2 diabetes. He expects a full recovery from the cancer.

Former Gophers quarterback and NFL coach Tony Dungy said on Monday’s Dan Patrick Show it remains to be determined whether Vikings running back Adrian Peterson abused his four-year-old son. Dungy also said he grew up with similar discipline. See Danpatrick.com.

Mick Tingelhoff, who is a 2015 senior finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, said he doesn’t know who he would ask to be his presenter if he does receive induction into the Canton, Ohio shrine.

One reason the Vikings activated running back Joe Banyard last week is his work ethic. Signed as a free agent in 2012, he has yet to have an NFL rushing attempt. Growing up in Texas, he hunted rattlesnakes.

Parking near TCF Bank Stadium for last Sunday’s Vikings game cost $40 in at least one lot but some customers are paying $70 at the 49ers’ new stadium in Santa Clara.

Rochester Postbulletin.com reported last week that 6-foot-8 eighth grade guard Matthew Hurt, who is being recruited by the Gophers, suffered a lacerated spleen recently and could miss early games with John Marshall High School. His brother Michael, a 6-7 junior guard-forward, has already been offered a scholarship by the Gophers.

Richard Pitino, who had his 32nd birthday yesterday and is the Big Ten’s youngest basketball head coach, wrote on his Gophersports.com blog last week that Minnesota fans should disregard what his dad—legendary Louisville coach Rick Pitino—says in coming weeks when their two teams prepare for a nonconference nationally-televised game in Puerto Rico in November. Writing with dry humor but also making a point about his dad, Richard said: “Ignore anything and everything that comes out of my father’s mouth leading up to this game.”

Former Timberwolves reserve Mark Madsen will be an assistant coach for the Lakers under new head coach Byron Scott. Madsen’s basketball resume and positive outlook will likely land him an NBA head job some day.

This is the fourth year WCCO Radio is broadcasting all St. Thomas football games. A three-year agreement ended after last season but another three-year deal is in place.

Through the first two weeks of the season, MIAC football teams have a 12-5 record against nonconference teams. Among the highlights last week was a 55-45 Augsburg win against Concordia-Wisconsin when the Auggies had 682 yards in total offense with over 400 yards rushing. The MIAC has only one nonleague game remaining in 2014—Bethel at home against Chicago on October 18.

Bridgeport Tusler, who was the 2012 Associated Press Minnesota Player of the Year while at Osseo, is now a freshman wide receiver at Bethel. Tusler started his college career at South Dakota State.

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Kill May Land Best Recruiting Class Yet

Posted on September 12, 2014September 12, 2014 by David Shama

National Signing Day for college football programs isn’t until next February but Ryan Burns told Sports Headliners he will be surprised if the Gophers’ 2015 class of recruits isn’t the best of the Jerry Kill era. Burns manages the GopherIllustrated.com website that tracks Gophers recruiting.

Burns is optimistic because he believes multiple members of the 2015 class will be talented enough to play as true freshmen, and also the Rivals.com star rating system values these recruits more than past Gophers groups.

And there are other reasons for his optimism about Minnesota signing a lot of quality players to National Letters of Intent on Signing Day.

Burns, who played high school football at Tartan and then at St. Olaf, is impressed that the Gophers staff is chasing what he calls “plan A” recruits—and more so than in the past. “They’re not going to be going down the list to the B’s and C’s, I don’t think, in this class. They’re just in on too many of the plan A guys,” he said.

The 2015 recruiting class, which eventually could total about 25 scholarship players, will be Kill’s fifth at Minnesota. Expecting it will be the best isn’t downgrading the 2014 group that is already contributing to the Gophers including when as many as six true defensive freshmen have been on the field together. “I wouldn’t say by far (the best group in 2015) because the 2014 class is very good, but I think they’re going to take another step up in this class for sure,” Burns said.

Burns pointed out that prep players sometimes use schools as safety nets by verbally committing to programs before Signing Day but knowing if more desirable scholarship offers come along they will switch loyalties. With players who have already verbally committed to the Gophers for 2015, Burns sees a group that wants to be in Minneapolis.

“They’re not using Minnesota as a reservation place, or they’re looking around for bigger offers,” Burns said. “They’ve come to (Minnesota’s) campus. They’ve seen it. They’ve talked to the coaching staff. They really like them and they stick. That’s why you’re only probably going to see one or two kids compared to…six or seven (flip commitments) come Signing Day.”

GopherIllustrated.com lists 13 players who have verbally committed to Minnesota’s 2015 class. They are Almonzo Brown, wide receiver from Suwanee, Georgia; Shannon Brooks, running back, Jasper, Georgia; Ray Buford, athlete, Southfield, Michigan; Nick Connelly, offensive line, Red Wing; Demry Croft, quarterback, Rockford, Illinois; Bronson Dovich, offensive line, Chaska; Jonathan Femi-Cole, running back, Aurora, Ontario; Jacob Huff, defensive back, Bolingbrook, Illinois; Julian Huff, linebacker, Bolingbrook, Illinois; James Johannesson, running back, Fargo; Quinn Oseland, offensive line, Springfield, Illinois; Ted Stieber, offensive line, Akron, Ohio; and Jaylen Waters, linebacker, Copperas Cove, Texas. All are Rivals.com three-star players except for Brooks, Connelly, Johannesson and Julian Huff who are rated two stars.

Speed, length and wingspan are defining characteristics among the potential 2015 class. “That’s what everybody is looking for nowadays,” Burns said. “You look at Eric Murray (the Gophers outstanding junior cornerback). He had no offers coming out of high school. But what did he have? He had great length and he had great speed.

“Look at guys (among the 2015 commits) like Jaylen Waters—his arm’s extremely long and he runs well.”

Major college programs have been chasing Gophers commits like Brown, who has offers from Florida, Kentucky and Missouri. “You see a lot more of that (than other years),” Burns said. “You’re seeing Kill win more battles and it’s just something that hasn’t happened. Usually (in the past) it’s coming against teams like Middle Tennessee State.

“Probably one of the crown jewels of this class so far is Quinn Oseland. He has all the connections in the world to go to Illinois. He had Oklahoma State, he had Michigan State, Oregon (after him). But he came up here on a visit…in July. He really didn’t’ even want to come. His coach kind of like was, ‘Hey, you should take a visit.’ His eyes were opened to it (becoming a Gopher).”

Burns is enthusiastic, too, about Croft, the 6-4 quarterback, and cousin of Minnesota sophomore wide receiver Donovahn Jones. “I think his ceiling may be the highest of (all) the Big Ten quarterbacks so far committed. He has so many physical tools. If he can learn the system, if he can develop, he is an ideal dual-threat quarterback for what Kill wants to do.”

Even two-star recruits like Dovich and Johannesson have Burns curious about what they will be like in college. He said Dovich could have the “highest celing”among the offensive linemen who have committed. “His athleticism is off the charts (and)…I think he will probably be bumped to three stars.”

Burns said Johannseon ran for 40 touchdowns and 2,600 yards as a junior, and he has seen the 6-2, 212-pound North Dakotan run a 4.5 forty. “You don’t have a lot of athletes like that,” Burns said.

Kill and his staff are trying to build a winner at Minnesota by sometimes identifying talent others don’t see. The Gophers aren’t among the glamour programs in college football and that partially explains why the 2015 class is only ranked No. 60 in the nation by Rivals.com. But other Kill classes have been ranked low and probably undervalued so Gophers fans are advised not to worry too much about the players’ real potential.

“I would be shocked if Jerry Kill ever got a top 25 class in Rivals rankings,” Burns said. “I mean he’ll even tell you he doesn’t look at it. Just for the perception of the fans he would love to (have a highly ranked class) but I think if Minnesota gets to the point where they’re signing a class that’s between 30 and 45 in the nation I think they will be extremely happy. Anything above that I think is just gravy.”

Worth Noting

The Gophers had 67 yards passing in last week’s victory against Middle Tennessee State. Can they win tomorrow at TCU with similar production against the Horned Frogs?

“I don’t think so. …I would imagine they will open it up this week and they’ll throw the ball a little bit more,” Gophers radio analyst Darrell Thompson told Sports Headliners.

Minnesota only had 156 yards passing in its opening win against Eastern Illinois. The Gophers rank No. 13 in passing among 14 Big Ten teams, and may not have starting quarterback Mitch Leidner (knee injury) available tomorrow. If backup Chris Streveler takes over, will the Gophers throw frequently despite his limited experience?

“I think they have to,” Thompson said. “I think it’s just at a point now where if we don’t, we’re limiting ourselves, just becoming a little too predictable.”

TCU (1-0) will certainly be the best defense the 2-0 Gophers have seen so far. Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson is on a short list of college football’s best defensive minds. “He’s as good a defensive coach as there is in the country, and I think everybody knows that,” Gophers coach Jerry Kill said.

The temperature for tomorrow’s game in Fort Worth will probably be in the low to mid-70s by kickoff at 3 p.m. The Gophers could have faced a warmer welcome to Texas in September but will still be prepared with liquids—even pickle juice for replenishing sodium.

Gophers’ tight end Maxx Williams talks with former teammate and ex-Minnesota quarterback Philip Nelson who is in Mankato awaiting trial for a fight incident earlier this year. The two have known each other since ninth grade and were football rivals in high school, Williams at Waconia and Nelson at Mankato West. “He’s still one of my friends,” Williams said.

Big Ten football hasn’t been impressive in nonconference matchups for years and the conference’s image is ready-made for critics to pile on again. Big Ten teams have lost every major test to nonconference powers during the first two weeks of the season and the highest ranked league team now is Michigan State at No. 13 in the AP poll. Other top 25 Big Ten teams are Wisconsin at No. 18 and Ohio State, No. 22.

Sunday’s Vikings-Patriots game at TCF Bank Stadium will not be the first for New England on the University of Minnesota campus. In 1971 the two teams met in an August preseason game. The Patriots will become the first NFL team to have played the Vikings in four Minnesota stadiums, TCF Bank and Memorial Stadium on the U campus, Met Stadium in Bloomington and the Metrodome downtown.

The Vikings’ Adrian Peterson needs 78 yards to break Cris Carter’s career club record for combined net yards, 12,410. With two more touchdowns Peterson can tie Randy Moss for second place in career TD’s, 93. Carter holds the Vikings record with 110.

Vikings wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson rushed for 102 yards on only three carries in the win over the Rams last Sunday, including a 67-yard touchdown run, but offensive coordinator Norv Turner said it was the other runs that impressed him the most. “The two other runs were more impressive to me because they were challenged runs at the line of scrimmage, they were physical runs. Our guys did a good job up front (blocking).”

No. 7 nationally-ranked Bethel plays at No. 15 Wartburg tomorrow in Waverly, Iowa. Wartburg defeated Augsburg, 40-3, in Minneapolis last week. Tomorrow will be Bethel’s opening game. The rankings are by D3football.com.

The Wild will hold a practice open to the public on Saturday, September 20 at Xcel Energy Center from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Fans can enter Gate 1 starting at 8:45 a.m. Admission will be free with concessions for purchase. That morning single game tickets will be on sale.

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