Preps – Page 108 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U RB Goal to Become Big Ten’s Best

Posted on April 7, 2014April 7, 2014 by David Shama

A year ago in spring practice running back David Cobb didn’t know how much he would contribute to the Gophers’ success. Now he wants to be the best runner in the Big Ten Conference.

Cobb was one of the team’s surprises last fall, becoming the No. 1 running back and rushing for a Gophers’ best 1,202 yards. Among Minnesota’s roster of running backs, he offered the best combination of speed, elusiveness and power as the Gophers did some surprise work achieving a 4-4 record in the Big Ten, the program’s best since 2005.

That breakout season for the then junior from Killeen, Texas boosted his confidence. “I definitely think I am a lot better than what I was at this time last year,” Cobb told Sports Headliners in late March. He and teammates are going through practices leading up to the annual spring game this Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium.

The success of 2013 came about because Cobb was physically stronger, understood his assignments better and played with confidence. It was a transition no one was certain would happen.

When a player isn’t even included on the travel roster for a game, doubt can develop. Thoughts occur about whether the program is the right fit. Cobb played minimally as a freshman in 2011 with 10 carries and 57 yards rushing. The numbers as a sophomore declined to one rushing attempt and eight yards.

“You question yourself and you question the coaches whether they want you here,” Cobb said. “This is where you want to be. The hardest thing for me was knowing what I could do but just not having the opportunity.”

Cobb learned the coaches did want him. Among those who have helped is Nate Griffin who has the title of offensive quality control coach but has a background working with running backs. “I can’t thank him enough,” Cobb said.

Early last season the Gophers were searching for a No. 1 runner. Some observers thought that runner might be Donnell Kirkwood but he missed games because of injury. The chance to play more became available to Cobb.

He seized that opportunity to get on the field and become a starter. Now he has a more ambitious goal. “I want to be the best back in the Big Ten. If I am the best back in the Big Ten that does our team a whole lot of favor. As a team we want to win the Big Ten and we feel like we will win the Big Ten.”

Worth Noting

Running back is a position to watch with the Gophers. Kirkwood led Minnesota in rushing during 2012 with 926 yards. The senior is the team’s most experienced back. Junior Rodrick Williams is Minnesota’s most powerful runner and has caught Cobb’s attention. “That’s a load to bring down at 5-10, 250,” Cobb said earlier this spring.

Cobb has seen Williams benefit from increased confidence. “When you know the offense, you play with a lot more confidence,” Cobb said. “He’s playing faster and he’s looking great. Picking up blocks, running people over…making moves. So he’s looking good. I definitely see the change.”

Redshirt freshman Berkley Edwards will be among the fastest backs in the Big Ten. The Gophers will use him on more than plunges into the line. Play calls for Edwards could include reverses and pass receptions—opportunities to put his speed and elusiveness out in the open field.

“I definitely know that we’ll both be on the field at the same time,” Cobb said. “He’ll help complement me and I’ll complement him as well.”

Former Gophers defensive lineman Ra’Shede Hageman said he won’t be disappointed if he isn’t chosen during the first round of the May 8 NFL Draft. “Not really. There’s a lot of great players that have went second round that were able to do well so that doesn’t really concern me at all.”

The 6-6 Hageman weighs over 300 pounds and is viewed as someone who could play multiple positions on the defensive line. He said that versatility and his explosiveness after the ball is snapped are attributes pro scouts like.

What do scouts doubt about the Minneapolis native? “Just my motor. Just my consistency. …But that’s something I can easily change,” Hageman answered.

Rick Pitino, the legendary Louisville basketball coach and father of Gophers head men’s coach Richard Pitino, admires Minnesota athletic director Norwood Teague. “He is regarded as one of the top five AD’s in the business,” Pitino said last Thursday on 1500 ESPN following the Gophers NIT championship. “…He’s an awesome AD. He is going to bring them to heights they’ve never seen before.”

Verbalcommits.com is reporting Djuan Piper, the Seattle small forward who is targeted by the Gophers, will make a college commitment this week.

Although there has been no official announcement and update, Saint John’s in Collegeville, not St. Cloud State, will host the Tackle Cancer All-Star game on June 28 starting at 1 p.m. The North versus South game showcasing outstanding senior players from the 2013 Minnesota high school football season can’t be held in St. Cloud because the artificial field is being replaced at Husky Stadium.

Players and coaches representing 85 schools and 30 conferences will participate in the game, and they were selected by members of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association. College-bound players include Columbia’s Lord Hyeamang (Apple Valley); Penn’s Drew Trabing (Prior Lake); Eastern Michigan’s Tim Gordon (Cretin-Derham Hall); Montana State’s Joey Marinello (Eastview); Northern Iowa’s Ezra Szczyrbak (Moose Lake/Willow River); North Dakota recruits Keaton Studsrud (Benilde-St. Margaret’s), Grant Aplin (Chanhassen), Reid Taubenheim (Farmington), Deion Harris (Hibbing) and Connor Bolduc (Mahtomedi); and North Dakota State’s Aaron Steidl (Alexandria) and Christian Triplett (Delano).

Head coaches for the game are Bill Weiss of Chisago Lakes Area (North) and Mike Grant of Eden Prairie (South).

The Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association honored Grant last month with the Tom Mahoney Man of the Year Award. Grant has won nine state titles including three in a row.

Former Vikings center Matt Birk spoke at the recent MFCA Clinic and talked about the importance of making the right choices and decisions. He has authored a book titled Pro Wisdom: The 7 Choices That Lead to Greatness.

Birk is an appeals judge for the NFL, deciding whether players will be disciplined by the league.

The Twins lost 99 games in 2011, and 96 each of the last two seasons. They will lose 100 this year if Sports Illustrated is correct. In the magazine’s baseball preview issue last month the Twins’ record was forecast at 62 wins, 100 losses. The Twins were ranked No. 14 in the 15-team American League.

The magazine quoted an anonymous and rival scout on the Twins. Among the more interesting comments was that pitchers “Phil Hughes and Ricky Nolasco will be a tremendous upgrade to their staff,” plus this evaluation of center fielder Aaron Hicks:

“I always had high hopes for Aaron Hicks, but he can’t keep it together. Too many hitters think they’re supposed to be power guys instead of learning how to handle the bat.”

Hicks, who is outstanding in the field, is hitting .190 in six games so far this season after batting .192 as a rookie in 2013. Nolasco has started two games and is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA. Hughes has one start, 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA.

The Twins, 3-3 so far this season, have their home opener this afternoon against the A’s. The prediction here is the Twins will win 70 or more games and easily avoid a 100 loss season.

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Storytelling Part of Football Clinic Fun

Posted on March 21, 2014March 21, 2014 by David Shama

A Texas High School football coach who shall go unnamed went 9-3 in his first season and “got nothing but heat” for his record. Next year the same record. In football crazy Texas expectations are for championships, or there can be consequences.

After the second season a guy off the street came into the coach’s office and without introduction said, “I made $12 million last year. I am going to spend every damn cent of it to get you fired.”

The coach responded, “Sir, you write me a check for $3 million (and) I am out of here—and you’re $9 million ahead.”

Minnesotan Ron Stolski chuckles when telling that Texas tale. The coach told him that is a true story and the only reason he is still coaching is because he later won a state title.

Stolski met that coach a few years ago at a national coaches’ convention. The Texan is part of a network of coaches nationally and in Minnesota that Stolski and other leaders of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association have used to build the Minnesota Football Clinic into a model event.

This 2014 clinic will be held next week at the DoubleTree Hotel in St. Louis Park. Last year’s event drew a record attendance of over 1,100 attendees and with presenters the total reached 1,300. Vendor spaces are sold out for this year but advance registrations to attend are still being accepted and walk-ups are also welcome for the March 27-29 clinic.

High school and college presenters from Minnesota and other states will talk about the technical, organizational and psychological aspects of football at the clinic. The teaching sessions draw not just one or two individuals from prep football programs but multiple members of staffs who can learn more about their responsibilities. Lining up the presenters is the job of Claud Allaire who is the clinic’s program manager. “He does a tremendous job,” Stolski said.

The extensive 2014 roster of clinic speakers will include Gophers coach Jerry Kill and former Vikings center Matt Birk, and on the evening of March 29 a new group of Minnesotans will be inducted into the MFCA Hall of Fame. Clinic attendees will also watch the Gophers practice at TCF Bank Stadium on March 29.

Stolski, who is both executive director of the MFCA and head football coach at Brainerd High School, has been a clinic organizer for years but credits others for its successes. The state has a long history of successful football clinics and Stolski praises Minnesota football coaching leaders like Les Dreschel, Chuck Elias, Tom Mahoney, Dave Nigon, Bob Roy and Don Swanson for their early contributions.

The MFCA broke away from the Nike Clinic several years ago and decided to co-sponsor the Minnesota Football Clinic with the Gophers. The effort has been rewarding while creating and maintaining an event where attendees not only come to learn but also to network and enjoy the company of fellow coaches.

A couple of presenters from Texas let Stolski know a few years ago what they think of the Minnesota clinic, describing it as “the best high school clinic we’ve been to.” One of the presenters said the session rooms are not only packed with attendees but the coaches have a “thirst for learning.”

Then the coach added, “We go into a lot of clinics across the country. You just don’t see that (elsewhere).”

Stolski attended his first football clinic in the spring of 1964 at the University of Minnesota. Saint John’s football coach John Gagliardi, whose team had won the 1963 NAIA national title, was speaking in front of 400-plus attendees.

Stolski admired how the Johnnies’ ball carriers fought for yardage and were difficult to bring down. He asked the unconventional Gagliardi if he could describe a drill the Johnnies used in practice to make those ball carriers so difficult to stop.

Stolski recalled that Gagliardi responded by saying at Saint John’s players are taught to have faith. “They damn better not go down,” Gagliardi told the young coach who was expecting a more technical answer.

Through the years Stolski has met major college coaching legends at various clinics including Nebraska’s Bob Devaney. Al Fisher, a neighbor of Stolski, had played for Devaney. He encouraged Stolski to meet the great coach, and by chance that opportunity came one day at a clinic. The encounter made a huge impression on Stolski.

Devaney not only remembered Fisher but also knew the names of his children and wife. Devaney showed Stolski there was much more to relationships and caring for former players than just recalling they played for the coach. “That was a great lesson for a young coach,” Stolski said.

The clinics of years ago didn’t have concurrent small group sessions like today that offer topics such as “The Spin & Spread Series,” or defending no huddle offenses. The old clinics featured national headliners like Paul Bear Bryant, Woody Hayes, Duffy Daugherty or prominent college assistant coaches talking in a large hotel ballroom.

In his early days of attending clinics, Stolski learned it was wise to not sit too close to the stage. That was the case when a college assistant coach named Buck Nystrom was speaking.

“Very much of a tiger of a guy,” Stolski remembered. “You kind of wanted to see who was going to sit up front because you knew Buck was gonna get a couple of them up there (on the stage) as he demonstrated blocking techniques, how to shed a block and how to properly block.

“Before you know it old Buck would have his sport coat off (and) his tie off. He would be down to his T-shirt. He would be in a sweat, and he would be pounding the living hell out of these coaches who he called up there to demonstrate with.”

For several years the Leamington Hotel in downtown Minneapolis was the site of popular winter football clinics. As with clinics today, there was time for fellowship after a long day of listening to speakers. Stolski’s memories of the Leamington include being in a room with a few friends late at night when they heard a lot of noise out in the hallway.

Stolski investigated and on a narrow stairway he found some coaches moving a pop machine. The unit was several floors from its original location and still on its way to where the ambitious clinic attendees wanted it. Pushing and tugging, they were working hard on their post-midnight project.

Why were the fellas going to so much trouble that night? “The elevators were not working,” Stolski explained.

Hmm. Sounds like the coaches were thirsty for more than knowledge at that clinic long ago.

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Gophers QB Leidner Talks Heisman

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

The Heisman Trophy.

That’s an award Gophers redshirt sophomore quarterback Mitch Leidner would like to win. Leidner, who is the team’s No. 1 quarterback in spring practice after rival Philip Nelson transferred this winter, talked about the Heisman while answering these personal questions for Sports Headliners:

Favorite meal my mom makes: Probably lasagna that she makes (for) me and my brothers all the time.

Award I would most like to win: The Heisman award, no doubt.

What I like best about coach Jerry Kill: I like his toughness and demeanor, and how much he gives to this program and all the players.

What I miss about Philip Nelson: I miss the competitive edge he brings to the quarterbacking spot on the field.

What people should know about redshirt freshman quarterback Chris Streveler: They should know that he likes to take his shirt off. Yeah, that’s the biggest thing. He likes to take his shirt off around anyone.

The Gophers’ biggest rival: I think the Gophers’ biggest rival is Iowa because we hate Iowa.

What makes me nervous on the football field: Nothing really makes me nervous. What gets me pumped up is being down (on the scoreboard) and having to come back and play under pressure.

Anyone interested in being my girlfriend should know: That I have a girlfriend and I am taken.

If I wasn’t a quarterback, I would be playing: Probably tight end. That’s what I came to camp here for (as a high school player), or a linebacker.

Worth Noting

Leidner’s passing will benefit if sophomore wide receiver Donvahn Jones continues to improve. Converted to receiver from quarterback last year, Jones said he is capable of running a 4.4 40-yard dash. After catching 10 passes for 157 yards last season, he said his goals for 2014 include a first college touchdown pass.

Jones played last season with both Leidner and Philip Nelson who transferred to Rutgers in January. He likes the idea of working with one quarterback, not adjusting to two. “It can make me a lot better because I know how Mitch operates and what he likes to do and where I am supposed to be,” Jones said.

The 6-3 Jones, who weighed about 185 pounds as a freshman, hopes to play this fall at 205 pounds or more. More size and strength without compromising speed can help him against Big Ten cornerbacks. Jones, who turned 19 on March 12, said he competes against an outstanding cornerback when Eric Murray covers him in practice.

“It’s helpful for me because I feel like he’s probably one of the best corners in the Big Ten, so having a chance to go against him every day is only making me better,” Jones said.

Gophers coach Jerry Kill likes the potential of redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Jonah Pirsig, 6-foot-9 and 325 pounds. “He’s going to be a great player,” Kill said. “We just gotta keep him healthy.”

Pirsig participated in seven games last season after redshirting in 2012. He played small town high school football in Blue Earth, Minnesota. The speed and size of the players in college has been an adjustment. “If I had to go against someone big during high school football they definitely weren’t as fast, and if I were going against someone fast they definitely weren’t as big as the guys here,” Pirsig said.

The weather for Gophers spring practice has kept the team indoors at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex. A low ceiling makes it impossible to kick like outdoors. Last week the Gophers punted the ball to give their coverage players some practice but the ball struck the ceiling and chunks of insulation were knocked loose.

That prompted Kill, who wants a new practice facility, to laugh. “Keep kickin’ until that roof comes out and then we get a new building,” he said. “There’s a lot of ways to get something new. We’re puntin’ (and) kickin’ as much as we possibly can so eventually we’ll get that done. So that’s good strategy, isn’t it?”

Look for the finalists to be announced today for the new Mike Richter Award honoring the best goalie in NCAA men’s hockey. There were 19 candidates announced last month.

The top 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award recognizing college hockey’s best player will be announced tomorrow.

It was an extraordinary group of finalists but Tyus Jones from Apple Valley High School was named the state’s 2014 Mr. Basketball Award winner yesterday. Ken Lien, who has administered the Mr. Basketball program for years, made the announcement on 1500 ESPN. The other finalists were Wheeler Baker, Osseo; Brian Goodwin, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa; J.P. Macura, Lakeville North; and Reid Travis, DeLaSalle. Only seniors are eligible for the award.

Alex Illikainen, the junior forward from Grand Rapids who might one day play for Nebraska, will be a favorite to win Mr. Basketball next year.

Lien told Sports Headliners he saw former Gophers coach Tubby Smith at last week’s Minnesota boys’ prep tourney. Smith’s Texas Tech team was 14-18 in his first season in Lubbock and wasn’t invited to a post-season tournament.

Lien said Smith was also at the Wisconsin prep tournament last week. Smith is recruiting Rice Lake High School star Henry Ellenson, the brother of former Gopher Wally Ellenson.

There are no teams from the state of Indiana in this year’s NCAA basketball tourney. Basketball is nearly a religion in the state and Butler, Indiana, Indiana State, Notre Dame and Purdue have played prominent games in tournament history.

There hasn’t been much pre-tournament talk about Duke but the Blue Devils may make a deep run in the tournament.

Ricky Nolasco is likely to be the Twins starting pitcher when the club opens the regular season on March 31 against the White Sox in Chicago. The Twins no doubt would like a performance the equal of what Nolasco did last season as the Marlins opening day pitcher when he went six innings, allowing three hits and two runs against the Nationals.

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