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Mr. Football Announcement Comes Sunday

Posted on December 8, 2011December 29, 2011 by David Shama

Committee chair Rick Sutton said it was a challenge determining the winner of the 2011 Mr. Football award. The committee recently chose a winner from three finalists and the name will be announced on Sunday at the Mr. Football Banquet at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park.

A couple of weeks ago 10 candidates for the award were announced. “This was the most difficult year in coming up with 10 finalists. Then we struggled with the final three to pick the winner,” said Sutton who has been on the committee all eight years of the Mr. Football program.

The 10 finalists announced on November 20 were: Beau Bofferding, Marshall; Jonathan Harden, Cretin-Derham Hall, Trey Heid, Lakeville North; Andrew Larson, Eden Prairie; Andre McDonald, Hopkins; Nate Meyer, Rocori; Phillip Nelson, Mankato West; Jonah Pirsig, Blue Earth Area; Sam Sura, South St. Paul; Tyler Vaughan, Braham. All players had to be high school seniors.

Gophers fans have a particular interest in Nelson and Pirsig, the two candidates among the 10 listed above who verbally committed to play for Minnesota in 2012. The guess here is at least one of the two was among the final three candidates.

Nelson could be the Mr. Football winner. He’s considered by some prep observers to be the best Minnesota high school quarterback since Joe Mauer played for Cretin-Derham Hall 11 years ago. Nelson was also recently named the Minnesota Associated Press Football Player of the Year. At Mankato West he threw 94 career touchdown passes and rushed for 41.

Pirsig, 6-9, 300 pounds, played defensive end and offensive tackle for Blue Earth. He’s projected as a “road grader” type offensive tackle in college. Although he didn’t play against the strongest of high school competition, Pirsig drew interest from Minnesota and other major colleges.

The Mr. Football program is sponsored by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and the Vikings. Sutton is an association leader and Eagan High School football coach.

The printed banquet program includes quotes from the coaches of the 10 finalists. Here are some program quotes edited for brevity:

Mankato West coach Mark Esch on Nelson: “His combination of arm strength, quick release, size and speed make him the best quarterback I’ve ever coached. He is a leader and has a bright future at the next level playing for the Gophers.”

Blue Earth coach Randy Kuechenmeister on Pirsig: “Jonah is a physical player who moves exceptionally well for his size. He moves people and makes things happen up front.”

Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant on running back Andrew Larson: “We have never had a better player at Eden Prairie and this includes multiple Division I players and a few who played in the NFL.”

Hopkins coach John DenHartog on wide receiver Andre McDonald who has committed to Vanderbilt: “Andre’s skill set is something that doesn’t come along very often in high school football. He has a unique ability to be big, fast and very quick. Andre is a great competitor who refuses to be tackled and believes he is going to score every time he touches the ball.”

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Gophers Basketball Notes

Posted on December 7, 2011December 29, 2011 by David Shama

There’s talk the Gophers will be announced as one of the teams playing in the 2014 Preseason NIT Tournament. Sports Headliners reported recently the Gophers will participate in the 2013 Maui Invitational, and it’s known Minnesota will play in the 2012 Atlantis Tournament in the Bahamas. Teams at the Atlantis tourney will include Duke and Louisville.

The 9-1 Gophers have been winning without injured players but did see the return of center Ralph Sampson III last night, contributing 10 points in a win over Appalachian State. “We’re gonna be a real good team once Ralph gets back,” guard Julian Welch said last weekend.

Even if the NCAA grants Trevor Mbakwe a medical redshirt allowing him to play next season, it’s probably a lock he won’t return to the Gophers unless his surgically repaired right knee has left him physically subpar and he requires more time to recover before he can compete on the pro level. Mbakwe is likely to try the NBA even as a second round draft choice, or use another pro basketball option.

Welch said “it helps a lot” playing more minutes now because he doesn’t worry about making a mistake and being removed from the game. In the Gophers first four games the junior college guard transfer never played 20 minutes but now is a team leader in both minutes and performance.

Rodney Williams likes the new assignment of playing power forward created by the absence of Mbakwe. “I’ve got a lot of mismatches because I can use my speed to get around the bigger guys,” he said recently.

The Gophers and Penn State are the only Big Ten teams who will play their first two conference games on the road. Minnesota is at Illinois December 27 and at Michigan January 1.

Tubby Smith, now starting his fifth season as Gophers coach, has a career 32-40 Big Ten record. After four seasons Dan Monson, his predecessor, was 26-38 in conference games.

The announced attendance for last Saturday’s Gophers women’s game against No. 1 ranked Baylor at Williams Arena (capacity 14,625) was 3,814. The Gophers trailed 48-21 at the half and lost 89-60.

This Friday at 5 p.m. is the deadline for men’s basketball season ticket holders who want to transfer their tickets to an “immediate family member,” according to an email from the Gophers athletic department.

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Worth Noting

Posted on December 5, 2011December 29, 2011 by David Shama

The 1962 Vikings lost seven consecutive games, the most in franchise history for one season. The 2011 team, now on a four game losing streak, could break the record by losing its last four games including the season finale at home on January 1 against Chicago.

Former Gopher wide receiver Eric Decker talking about his Denver quarterback teammate Tim Tebow who directed the Broncos to another close win yesterday against the Vikings: “He’s a miracle maker. He brings a positive attitude and optimism that has rubbed off on the guys. He does a great job.”

The Gophers 1972 Big Ten championship basketball team was honored at halftime of Saturday’s Minnesota-USC game at Williams arena. Among those in attendance were Ron Behagen, Jim Brewer, Corky Taylor, Clyde Turner, Greg Troland and Dave Winfield.

The Gophers were coached by the late Bill Musselman who loved to intimidate opponents and motivated his players by playing war songs in the locker room.

Gophers coach Tubby Smith after being asked about Rodney Williams’ spectacular 360 degree dunk in Saturday’s win against USC: “I didn’t see it. What did he do?”

The Timberwolves could put a starting lineup on the floor with players who were all top five draft choices. Forward Derrick Williams and center Darko Milicic were No. 2 overall choices, guard Wes Johnson a No. 4, and forward Kevin Love and guard Ricky Rubio both were No. 5 picks. Michael Beasley, who could win a job ahead of Williams, was also a No. 2 draft choice.

St. Thomas won its home football playoff game on Saturday against St. John Fisher and advances to the Division III semifinals but a less than capacity crowd was a disappointment.
The Mr. Football banquet will be Sunday afternoon at the Doubletree Hotel in St. Louis Park. The 10 finalists for the award are: Beau Bofferding, Marshall; Jonathan Harden, Cretin-Derham Hall, Trey Heid, Lakeville North; Andrew Larson, Eden Prairie; Andre McDonald, Hopkins; Nate Meyer, Rocori; Phillip Nelson, Mankato West; Jonah Pirsig, Blue Earth Area; Sam Sura, South St. Paul; Tyler Vaughan, Braham. The Mr. Football program is sponsored by the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and the Vikings.

Eden Prairie Class 5A state championship football coach Mike Grant will be the speaker on Thursday, January 12 at the C.O.R.E.S. luncheon in Bloomington. C.O.R.E.S. members can contact Jim Dotseth for more information, dotsethj@comcast.net. C.O.R.E.S is an acronym for coaches, officials, educators, reporters and sports fans.

The Wild announced that in partnership with West Bend and Kincaid’s Classic American Dining, the Wild About Children event last month raised $150,000 ─ the second largest fundraising total in event history. Over eight years, more than $814,000 has benefitted Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

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