Golden Gophers – Page 354 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Claeys High on Hageman NFL Draft

Posted on December 13, 2013December 13, 2013 by David Shama

Gophers defensive coordinator and acting head coach Tracy Claeys doesn’t hesitate when talking about senior defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman being chosen during the first round of next spring’s NFL Draft.

“He will be a first round draft pick. I don’t see 20 teams passing him up, let alone 32 once they get a chance to work him out,” Claeys told Sports Headliners this week.

If Claeys is correct, Hageman will be the first Gopher selected in the first round since running back Laurence Maroney in 2006. Hageman became the first Minnesota player to be chosen first team All-Big Ten since 2009 (wide receiver Eric Decker) when he made both the media and coaches all-conference teams.

Hageman finished the 2013 regular season with 34 tackles, a team-high 11 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, one interception, eight pass breakups, one fumble recovery, one blocked field goal and one blocked extra point.

A converted tight end, the 6-foot-6, 311-pound Hageman was announced as the Gophers’ MVP and outstanding defensive player at the team’s awards program on Sunday. “I think he’s improved a lot since we got here,” said Claeys who came to Minnesota with head coach Jerry Kill for the 2011 season. “Each year he’s made leaps and bounds (improvement). I think this year he made a lot more individual plays than he has in the past, and that caused people to have to double team him more.”

Claeys said Hageman has “tremendous upside” and will benefit from playing in the NFL where he won’t face as many blocking schemes. “He’s right up there with the best that is in the Big Ten and I think that will show on draft day,” Claeys said.

Media specializing in draft analysis have varying opinions on where Hageman will be selected, with Dane Brugler from CBSsports.com among the more optimistic. He projects Hageman being selected No. 29 in the first round by the Patriots. He also ranks him No. 2 among projected defensive tackles available for the draft.

Claeys also believes senior Gophers defensive back Brock Vereen will be drafted. He projects Vereen as a “middle rounds” choice because of his abilities including experience playing both cornerback and safety for the Gophers.

Worth Noting

Chris Werle, Gophers senior associate athletic director, e-mailed that as of Wednesday morning 40,000 tickets had been sold for the outdoor Hockey City Classic at TCF Bank Stadium. The doubleheader, featuring the Gophers men’s and women’s teams, will be played the evening of Friday, January 17. If severe weather causes postponement, the classic will be rescheduled for Sunday, January 19.

The athletic department is looking for financial help with the cost of busing students to the Texas Bowl where the Gophers play Syracuse in Houston on Friday, December 27. The Gophers football marching band will fly to Houston.

Big Ten Network football analyst Gerry DiNardo said on Sunday after the announcement of the seven Big Ten bowl game assignments that the Gophers have the most favorable match-up. The Gophers are 4 ½ point favorites to defeat Syracuse, according to yesterday’s Linemakers story on Sportingnews.com.

Jeff Jones, the state’s 2013 Mr. Football, visits Iowa State this weekend. He visited the Gophers last weekend. Other official visits aren’t scheduled yet.

Last night legendary former Saint John’s head football coach John Gagliardi received the Contributions to College Football Award during the Home Depot College Football Awards show on ESPN. Gagliardi retired after the 2012 season as the winningest coach in college football history.

The Eagles team that plays the Vikings on Sunday at Mall of America Field has won five consecutive games and owns a league best 5-1 road record. On Sunday the Eagles, led by new head coach Chip Kelly, will try to become the fifth team in NFL history to have 11 games of 400-plus yards in a single season.

Nick Foles has emerged as the Eagles quarterback and he is featured in this week’s Sports Illustrated. Kelly is quoted in the story as saying Foles will be the team’s quarterback “for the next thousand years.”

Gophers basketball players heard from Louisville coach Rick Pitino when he was in town earlier in the week to watch Minnesota play South Dakota State at Williams Arena. Gophers forward Oto Osenieks said Pitino told the players that to be a better team they have to improve defensively. “He said he watches us all the time on TV,” Osenieks said.

Asked about the similar mannerisms and appearances of Pitino and his son Richard Pitino, the Gophers coach, Osieneks said: “You can tell they’re related.”

Phil Jackson includes Minnesota connections in his bestselling new book Eleven Rings. The NBA coaching legend writes about his Williston High School team losing in the North Dakota state tournament finals to Rugby led by Paul Presthus who went on to become captain of the Gophers. Jackson also writes about the “my way or the highway” style of Bill Fitch, his University of North Dakota coach, who after going to Bowling Green coached the Gophers. After a great career at North Dakota, Jackson chose the New York Knicks of the NBA over the ABA’s Minnesota Muskies.

Timberwolves forward Kevin Love is fourth among front court players and guard Ricky Rubio is eighth among backcourt players in voting for Western Conference players to determine who will participate in the Sunday, February 16 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. The NBA issued the first of voting updates yesterday. Balloting concludes on Monday, January 20.

Former Gophers basketball coach Jim Dutcher has high praise for Apple Valley point guard Tyus Jones. “I think he is the best (prep) guard in state history,” Dutcher told Sports Headliners. “He has great court awareness and when he needs to take over the game he does. I think he will play well immediately for Duke (next year). An NBA friend told me he thinks he can play at the next level.”

Saint John’s men’s basketball coach Jim Smith is one victory away from tying Ed Diddle (Western Kentucky, 1923-64) for 17th on college basketball’s all-divisions win list. Smith has a 758-538 career record in 50 seasons.

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Kill-Claeys Roles Not Set for Bowl

Posted on December 11, 2013December 11, 2013 by David Shama

Tracy Claeys told Sports Headliners earlier this week he isn’t sure if Jerry Kill will coach from the press box in the Gophers’ bowl game in Houston on December 27.

“He’s basically back doing everything now anyways, except I still do a lot of the practice organization and the meeting times and all that stuff getting (things) set up,” Claeys said. “But as far as recruiting and everything else goes, coach is back in the office doing everything.”

Claeys, the Gophers defensive coordinator, added the title of acting head coach earlier this fall when Kill needed time to first focus on his epilepsy struggles and then shifted his workload. The Gophers won four consecutive Big Ten games with the arrangement and finished with an 8-4 record, the school’s best since 2003.

Could the roles of Claeys on the sidelines and Kill in the press box continue indefinitely? “That will be up to ‘Killer’ but I don’t expect this to go on very much longer,” Claeys said. “He’s gotten along great (with improving health).

“He is very superstitious and the fact that we’ve played well, and by me taking a few of the things off (Kill’s duties) with the practice schedule and stuff like that, it has allowed him to spend more time with the players and recruiting. At this time of the year that’s the two most important things to spend your time with.”

Claeys moved from his usual game day spot in the press box to the field when Kill was sidelined this fall. Claeys was concerned about no longer being able to direct the defense if he took on head coaching responsibilities on the field but that hasn’t been an issue. He has continued directing the defense while taking on the extra work.

Claeys has coached with Kill for about two decades. The two are close friends and value each other personally and professionally. “I would do it again (acting head coach),” Claeys said.

Claeys has also gained admiration for all that a head coach does. “You deal with a lot of things every day,” he said. “It takes a lot more time when you are the guy in charge. It gives you a lot of respect for the person sitting in that seat.”

Although Claeys made the coaching switch to help a friend and assist the staff, the change hasn’t been without compensation, too. The Gophers athletic department has been paying him an additional $13,000 per game for serving as acting head coach.

Claeys appreciates the money but what will he do with it? “I am gonna give half of it to the state of Minnesota, I am sure,” he laughed. “So that’s the way that works.”

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Frazier Not Sure about Peterson Status

Posted on December 9, 2013December 9, 2013 by David Shama

Football, basketball and baseball notes:

Vikings coach Leslie Frazier described the potential of Cordarrelle Patterson as “very special” today and offered a review of injured players including All-Pro Adrian Peterson at his afternoon news conference.

Patterson, the rookie wide receiver and kickoff returner, was superb yesterday in the 29-26 loss to the Ravens. He caught five passes for 141 yards including a late fourth quarter touchdown reception of 79 yards. Can Patterson become an elite NFL player?

“Oh, there’s no question about it,” Frazier answered. “…He’s showing that in some of the things he does when the ball is in his hands. He has a chance to be very special for a long time.”

The Vikings’ offense is making more use of the rookie now than earlier in the season but Frazier doesn’t regret the team’s cautious approach. “We had a plan from… the day we drafted him and how we wanted to bring him along, and it’s worked out beautifully.

“You see the things he’s done now but I don’t know if those things would have occurred in September or October if we didn’t take the approach that we took. I think we did it the right way to get the results we wanted to be able to get at this time of the year.”

Peterson sustained a foot injury in yesterday’s game. Frazier said the team is awaiting test results later today and consultation from a “foot doctor.” The coach isn’t sure of Peterson’s availability for Sunday’s home game against the Eagles, nor is Frazier sure he will have second unit running back Toby Gerhart who has a hamstring injury.

Frazier hoped to have tight end Kyle Rudolph back by now from his foot injury but instead the Vikings will place him on injured reserve and his 2013 season is finished. Frazier said quarterback Christian Ponder, who missed yesterday’s game because of concussion concerns, will be available for the Eagles. The staff will meet today to discuss the quarterback starter for Sunday’s game.

Vikings fan Steve Nestor predicts the team will have the sixth pick in the first round of next spring’s NFL Draft and select Fresno State quarterback Derek Carr who has thrown 48 touchdown passes this season and averaged 405.5 yards per game passing.

Jeff Jones, the Washburn running back who won the state’s Mr. Football Award yesterday, wants to visit Iowa State, Michigan State and Missouri before making his college choice. Those trips haven’t been scheduled but Jones took his first official college visit over the weekend to Minnesota, and pronounced it an “honest” look at the Gophers where he heard from players already in the program.

What would Jones decide if he chose a college yesterday? “If I had to commit this afternoon, yeah, it would be the University of Minnesota,” he said on Sunday.

The Gophers, with a bowl game remaining, have an 8-4 record, and the most wins since the 2003 team won 10 games. Winning in college is important to Jones.

“I grew up here in Minnesota. I watched Minnesota lose a lot of games,” Jones said. “Just to be from here and to see that they’re doing better, it puts a smile on my face because there are a lot of good players that came out of Minnesota that chose different colleges because they were losing. I feel like it gives us incentive to stay home now.”

Gophers coach Jerry Kill has made the right impression with Jones. “He changed that program around. They really believe in the brick-by-brick foundation.”

Jones will play in the prestigious Under Armour Game, a national all-star prep game to be held on January 2 in Orlando. He may announce his college choice around the first of the year. “If I get a couple more visits in before the Under Armour Game there is a good possibility,” he said. “If I don’t get any visits in I think I am going to have to wait until the signing day.”

High school players can sign National Letters of Intent binding them to a school on February 5, 2014. If Minnesota is Jones’ choice he will be competing for playing time next year against all the Gophers top running backs who are in the program now including starter David Cobb who has rushed for 1,111 yards this season and Berkley Edwards, a speedy freshman who is being redshirted. “I feel like it will be good competition with the running backs over there,” Jones said. “It’s going to be a dogfight next year between four or five of us there.”

Jones, a four year starter who ran for 4,668 yards at Washburn while also being a slot receiver and safety, is the only Rivals.com four-star player among those who have made verbal commitments so far to the Gophers in the class of 2014. A two-time City MVP and all-state player, Jones said winning the Mr. Football Award is a “great cherry on top of the ice cream.”

Jones was one of 10 finalists for the award, one of the projects by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and Vikings to promote prep football. The award banquet was held yesterday at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park .

Golden Valley-based Buffalo Wild Wings, sponsor of the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in Tempe, Arizona, was probably lobbied by the Gophers as a bowl game destination. With large numbers of Minnesotans in the Phoenix area, the Gophers figured to have strong support at the game. But it will be Michigan and Kansas State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on December 28 while the Gophers will play Syracuse on December 27 in the Texas Bowl in Houston.

The St. Thomas football program is looking for an offensive coordinator, a full-time 12 month position. Three years of college coaching experience is required. The school posted the opening last week.

The Gophers basketball team, 8-2, plays South Dakota State, 4-6, tomorrow night at Williams Arena. The two programs have played nonconference games against one another for eight consecutive years. The Gophers are 16-0 in the series that dates back to 1930.

The Gophers are averaging 77.4 points per game, the most for Minnesota since the 83.3 points average in 1989-90. The Gophers’ offense often looked stagnant under former coach Tubby Smith but this season players appear more comfortable.

Senior guard Maverick Ahanmisi said the offense is less structured now with new coach Richard Pitino encouraging players to move the ball up court quickly and often take a shot. “Coach tells us he wants us to run the show,” Ahanmisi said.

Playing fast offense and full court defense takes energy. Pitino and strength and conditioning coach Shaun Brown have “transformed everybody’s body,” according to Ahanmisi. He said his body fat has changed from 8.8 percent to 7.9. Mo Walker said his declined from 18 percent to “11 or 12.”

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo will be in Rice Lake, Wisconsin tomorrow night to watch Rice Lake High School center Henry Ellenson, brother of Gophers forward Wally Ellenson.

Security was tight for those involved with last week’s scheduled game in Mexico City involving the Spurs and Timberwolves that ended up being postponed because of a fire in the arena. Even staff members from the two organizations weren’t allowed to leave the hotel without an NBA security person accompanying them in the streets of Mexico City.

Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor said on WCCO Radio yesterday morning the Spurs-Wolves game might be rescheduled for April 8 at Target Center.

Matt Thornton, the new owner of Jay Buckley’s Baseball Tours, e-mailed that the LaCrosse, Wisconsin-based company has 30 trips scheduled for 2014 including to spring training sites, the College World Series, MLB’s All-Star Game and MLB regular season games. More at Jaybuckley.com.

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