Category: Golden Gophers

 

This upcoming season will be Tanner Morgan’s fifth as the University of Minnesota’s starting quarterback.

Think that’s a lot?

Yup, contrast Morgan with the other team in town that football fans follow with passion. In the 61-year history of the Vikings only four quarterbacks have been regular starters for five seasons or more. The list includes Kirk Cousins who is preparing for his fifth season in Minneapolis, plus Fran Tarkenton, Tommy Kramer and Daunte Culpepper. BTW Morgan, 23, is the same age as second-year Vikings backup quarterback Kellen Mond.

Morgan, who took over as Minnesota’s starter in October of 2018, is the only five season starting quarterback dating back to the end of World War II, per the Gophers’ media guide. He could be the only Minnesota QB to ever have been a starter for five seasons since the beginning of Gopher football in 1882.

Morgan’s unique story is happening because of an extra season of eligibility granted to football players by the NCAA in response to the loss of practice and game opportunities caused by COVID in 2020. Morgan is part of the “encore four” that includes three other six-year players who began careers at Minnesota as freshmen in 2017. Wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell, running back Mohamed Ibrahim, and center John Michael Schmitz are the other members of the group.

All four redshirted in 2017 and then first played in 2018, with Morgan having six starts in the team’s final games, and Ibrahim and Autman-Bell starting in nine games each. Schmitz saw action on special teams.

Morgan has quarterbacked the team to 27 wins, the most ever for a Gopher quarterback. Now he and teammates are getting ready for the season opener at home September 1 against New Mexico State.

He is grateful for his time at Minnesota. “You know, I’ve been here a long time. I’ve been very thankful for that. …Sometimes I pinch myself for having the situation that I am (in). Wake up in the morning, praying and thanking God that he has me where he has me. That I am a member of the University of Minnesota football team. …So it’s a joy to be here every day.”

Morgan holds school records for passing including those set in 2019, his best year as a Gopher when he threw for 3,253 yards and 30 touchdowns (both single season records). That team had an 11-2 record and was ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll.

The Gophers, who had a 7-2 Big Ten record that year, are trying to duplicate similar success in 2022 and are considered a dark horse to win the West Division. “I know he knows the expectation he has upon himself,” said head coach P.J. Fleck. “Nobody is going to put more pressure on himself than Tanner and this football team. He knows what he has to be able to accomplish. … I think he’s better than he’s ever been—to his performance, to his attitude, to his leadership. It’s proactive leadership, not reactive leadership. And I think that’s due to (wife) Sarah probably (and) getting married.”

In pursuit of chasing perfection as a passer, Morgan knows he’s never going to be perfect. “It all comes down to fundamentals and how you use your body to make throws,” he said.

With all his experience, Morgan certainly has the confidence of his teammates. “With Tanner, he’s very smart,” said safety Jordan Howden. “He knows when to throw and when not to throw. …With six years, you can see the growth from him. “

Worth Noting

Want to scout New Mexico State before Jerry Kill’s guys play the Gophers September 1? The Aggies game Saturday night against Nevada from Las Cruces will be televised on ESPN2 starting at 9 p.m. Minneapolis time.

Kill, approaching his first game as Aggies coach, has one Minnesotan on his roster, reserve freshman defensive back Rashad McKinley from St. Paul and Hill-Murray High School.

Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah likes to talk about “evidence-based” decisions. His previous front office experience with the 49ers and Browns came into play yesterday when Minnesota, scrambling to upgrade the talent and depth of its quarterback roster, acquired veteran Nick Mullens from the Raiders. The fifth-year pro has been with both the 49ers and the Browns.

Viking defensive lineman T.Y. McGill Jr., through two preseason games, leads the NFL in sacks at 3.5. The defense is holding opponents to 4.47 yards per play, ranking third best in the NFC during preseason.

A week from today NFL teams must reduce rosters down to 53 players.

A Sports Headliners reader and long-time Twins fan emailed that his friends are challenged to give away tickets to clients because people don’t want to go downtown. “And I have yet to talk to anyone that is happy with the way Rocco (Balldeli) manages his pitching staff. Of course we are all happy to be in the hunt for a playoff spot but many feel we could be seven games ahead if we had managed our starting pitchers and relief pitchers differently.”

The CORES luncheon group welcomes Ken Mauer Jr. as its guest speaker September 8 at the Bloomington Event Center. With 37 years of experience, the St. Paul native is the NBA’s longest tenured referee having worked games in five different decades including NBA Finals. He didn’t officiate last season due to a disagreement with the league regarding COVID directives. Reservations must be made by September 5. For more information contact Jim Dotseth: dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

Birthday wishes: St. Paul native and baseball Hall of Famer Paul Molitor turned 66 yesterday and former Gophers women’s Final Four basketball coach Pam Borton had her 57th birthday.

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It won’t be a big payday for the New Mexico State football program when the Aggies play in Minneapolis September 1 against the Golden Gophers. Through a Sports Headliners discovery request to the University of Minnesota, it was learned the Aggies, under new head coach Jerry Kill, will receive a guarantee of $250,000 for the game at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Two other Minnesota 2022 nonconference opponents, Western Illinois and Colorado, will each receive guarantees of $450,000 to play in Minneapolis. Unlike the Aggies and Colorado who are FBS programs, Western Illinois is at the lower Football Championship Subdivision level.

New Mexico State will play two other Power Five programs in addition to the Gophers in 2022. The Aggies have a guarantee of $1.4 million to play at Wisconsin and $1.6 million for their game at Missouri, according to a story last January by the Las Cruces Sun News.

It’s believed the modest guarantee for New Mexico State in Minneapolis is because of an agreement made between the two schools years ago. That agreement was for the Aggies to play in Minneapolis in 2018 and 2020. Minnesota defeated the Aggies 48-10 in 2018 but the 2020 game wasn’t played and moved to this year.

Kill, the popular former Gophers coach, inherited the schedule against the three Power Five teams. It wouldn’t be surprising if after he was named Aggies coach last November he explored a possible buyout to cancel the game and replace it with a much less formidable opponent than the Big Ten Gophers.

The Aggies have been among the most hapless programs in college football for decades and finished 2-10 last season including losses to Hawaii, Nevada and UTEP. The underwhelming fan support for the football program is a key factor in why the athletic department is operating about $4 million in debt, per a story from the Las Cruces Sun News in July.

With a deficit like that the athletic department probably isn’t positioned to have cancelled the game at Minnesota if it wanted to. Football is the potential golden goose for the Aggies and the program needs an on-field and financial renaissance led by Kill who is generating increased fan interest in Las Cruces.

Kill, who rebuilt the Gophers program from 2011-2016, is being paid $550,000 in base salary. His guaranteed compensation at Minnesota seven years ago was over $2 million.

Kill is known as something of a “miracle man” for a couple of reasons. His health battles with epilepsy and cancer would long ago have derailed most mortals. As a football coach he’s known as “Mr. Fixit” for the programs he has revived. In dusty Las Cruces, and at 60 years old, he faces a very challenging “clean up” job.

Ironically, in Kill’s first home game as Minnesota coach in 2011 his heavily favored team lost to the Aggies in Minneapolis, 28-21. In the closing minutes of the game he suffered a seizure and collapsed on the sideline.

Worth Noting

Dylan Wright, the athletic 6-3 wide receiver who led the Gophers last season in average yards per catch at 20.28, has three seasons of eligibility remaining and could become a special player. Gophers coach P.J. Fleck offered an assessment Saturday noting that while Wright is athletic and explosive there are varied aspects to being a wide receiver including route running, break points and blocking. While praising Wright for his progress, Fleck also said, “I think that he’s still got a long way to go.”

Collectively the Gophers lost 181 game starts with the departure of offensive linemen from last season. This year’s crew has 35 but Fleck said the line is “longer (and) we’re probably a little bit more athletic than we’ve ever been.”

Fleck has a message for the unit: “Since January they’ve been hearing about what they can’t be, what they won’t be, what we’re missing. You know (things like) what the questions are, what the weakest links are—and I told them don’t let other people put labels on who and what you are—and they’ve answered the bell that way. We’ve got a long way to go because those 181 starts, that experience is critical—and experience on Saturdays is different than practice on a Tuesday.”

Top running backs Mo Ibrahim and Trey Potts, both of whom missed much of last season with serious injuries, were running well in practice Saturday. Fleck said the leadership of the two is “through the roof.”

Fleck won’t decide on some of his starters until days out from the New Mexico State opener. He also said that in listing names of individuals the word “or” will indicate the depth, equality and competition at positions.

The Gophers have two more practices open to the public: 7:45 p.m. Thursday at Huntington Bank Stadium and 4:15 p.m. August 15 at the Athletes Village.

NFL players vote the top 100 players each year and the 2022 list will be revealed on Sundays this month starting August 14 on NFL Network. The Vikings on last year’s list were Dalvin Cook, No. 20; Justin Jefferson, No. 53; Eric Kendricks, No. 70; and Adam Thielen, No. 80.

Tom Lehman, 63, had right knee replacement surgery a few weeks ago but when recovered he plans to resume playing on the PGA senior tour. Jim Lehman, 64, described his brother as “young at heart” and looking forward to continuing the pro golf career that began in 1982 after being an All-American for the Gophers.

Jim’s Minnetonka-based Medalist Management company represents pro golfers including Tom who in 1978 walked-on with the Gophers, initially having no scholarship offer. It’s easy not to get noticed in the golf world growing up in Alexandria, Minnesota but Tom, who has over $13 million in career earnings, is the only male Minnesotan ever to win one of golf’s biggest tournaments.

In 1996, three weeks after finishing second in the U.S. Open, he won the British Open. He was the leading money winner and Player of the Year in 1996.

“Think about that,” Jim said. “A kid from Alexandria, who was never even recruited to play college golf. Not even the University of Minnesota recruited him and he goes on to be the No. 1 player in the world. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty incredible.”

Tonight’s Twins-Dodgers game from L.A. could be a fun pitching matchup with Minnesota’s Joe Ryan, 8-4 with a 3.67 ERA, against Julio Urias, 11-6, 2.57 ERA.
The Dodgers swept a two-game April series in Minneapolis by scores of 7-2 and 7-0.

The Twins, struggling to hold first place in the AL Central, haven’t finished a month over .500 since May when they were 18-12. Minnesota was two games below .500 in both June and July, and 4-3 so far in August.

The Dodgers are No. 1 in MLB.com’s latest power rankings, with the Twins No. 11.

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