Category: Preps

 

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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Derrick Engel knows all about long odds.  That’s why he doesn’t hesitate much when talking about the possibility of running at full speed in April despite having ACL surgery only a few months ago.

The 6-foot-2 former Gophers wide receiver from Chaska has been proving football folks wrong for years.  Now he’s trying to prove himself again by not only making a quick and complete recovery from a serious knee injury, but also that he is worthy of playing for an NFL team.

Engel started jogging two weeks ago, another step in his rehab and weight programs.  His weight dropped to 172 following the ACL surgery that came last December. The knee injury and later surgery caused him to miss the last two regular season Gopher games and the Texas Bowl.  Now Engle’s weight is up to 185 pounds and his determination is strong.

Engel hopes to be medically approved for contact in May, admitting that is “kind of a lofty goal” coming less than six months following surgery.  The calendar is on his mind because the NFL Draft is May 8-10 and teams will be setting up not only their draft choices but free agent possibilities.  If Engel is healthy by some date in May he hopes teams will bring him in for a private workout that could at least lead to a free agent opportunity as a non-drafted player.

Engel’s May timeline could be too ambitious but he’s not discouraged about his football future.  Scouts have expressed interest and Engel has retained Minneapolis-based agents James Selmer and Shawn Stuckey to represent him.  He and his agents will see if NFL opportunities develop in June, if not May.  Canadian pro football, not just the NFL, is also a possibility.

“If it doesn’t work out this year I think I am definitely going to give it another year… to fully train and get this knee healthy, and show people what I can do,” Engel told Sports Headliners.

Show people what he can do.  Those words define Engel’s football career dating back to Chaska High School.

“I didn’t take the easy route to D-I,” Engel said.  “I had to prove myself from the bottom up.  Start (the college career) at D-2.  Even in high school I didn’t play as a sophomore.  I had to kind of prove myself.  I didn’t get on the field until my junior year.  I am kind of used to taking the rougher path.”

At Chaska Engel caught 50 passes for 637 yards and nine touchdowns his senior year.  He was honorable mention all-state but had no Division I college scholarship offers.  He did make multiple visits to Evanston, Illinois where Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald wanted him to be a preferred walk-on but at $50,000 per year for school that was a high cost for the Engel family that includes dad Joel and mom Karen, both former college athletes.

Engel was slender in high school and his build has influenced the way football coaches and scouts look at him even to this day.  “I don’t really pass the eye test.  Just walking down the street in street clothes, you probably don’t point at me and say, ‘Oh, that kid is a football player.’

“I’ve had to get by with my speed, my brain and my ball skills.  I am definitely lacking in size and strength so that’s probably the main reason why people don’t take a second look at me a lot of times.  Once they see me play, they can see that I make up for that with the way that I play.”

Engel’s first college stop was at Winona State.  His first season in 2009 he made honorable mention All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.  The second year he led the team in receptions with 39 and 584 receiving yards and was named all-conference.

Engel wanted to play at a higher college level and was interested in the Gophers while in high school.  He decided to leave Winona and walk-on at Minnesota where he had to sit out the 2011 season.

The Gophers 2012 season opener was at UNLV.  During late summer practices Engel was trying to move up the depth chart and convince himself and the coaches he deserved playing time.

Engel entered the UNLV game as the No. 3 slot receiver.  Freshman Jamel Harbison tore his ACL in the first quarter and so Minnesota lost its starting slot receiver. During a timeout in the second quarter Engel was told he was going into the game for the first time as a Gopher.

“I knew I was getting the ball for about two minutes there and had all the time in the world to think about it, which didn’t help me at all, but I ended up getting in there and caught the ball,” Engel said.  “I think it was like a 30 yard gain.  It was a pretty neat way to start my career.”

A nervous Engel had proven himself once again and he would receive other limited opportunities in 2012.  For the season he started only one game, catching 18 passes for 375 yards and one touchdown.

In Engel’s senior season last fall he became Minnesota’s premier wide receiver.  Despite missing three games, he tied tight end Maxx Williams for team highs in receptions with 25 and touchdown catches with five.  Engel averaged 16 yards per catch.  After he was injured the absence of his speed and deep threat ability was a major loss for the Gophers’ passing game that faltered late in the season.

The ACL injury and missed games took away the possibility of performing at his best closing out his career and impressing NFL scouts.  Now he is determined to increase his weight to about 200 pounds and to run a “sub-4.40 forty.”

Engel believes he has a “lot of upside” that football scouts haven’t seen.  But he also realizes he has much to prove, “Kind of what I’ve done my whole career anyway.”

What’s it feel like to often be doubted and not even wanted or accepted?  “It definitely puts a chip on your shoulder,” Engel said.  “You’re kind of thirsty to go out there and prove to everyone that they’re wrong.  That their expert opinions aren’t as expert as they think they are.  It’s probably better for me that way—that people doubt me because that kind of fuels my fire and gives me more motivation to prove people wrong.

“It’s not just like I am doing it to prove people wrong, it’s for myself, too.  I want to play at a high level.  But that’s definitely part of gaining motivation.” 

Worth Noting 

Former Vikings Ben Leber and John Randle will sign autographs tomorrow from 11 a.m. to noon at Franklin Street Bakery, 1020 East Franklin Ave.  “Purple velvet cupcakes” will be on sale with proceeds going to Minnesota FoodShare.  No purchase is necessary for autographs but donations to FoodShare are encouraged.

The five finalists for the 2014 Mr. Basketball Award are Wheeler Baker, Osseo; Brian Goodwin, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa; Tyus Jones, Apple Valley; J.P. Macura, Lakeville North; and Reid Travis, DeLaSalle.  Only seniors are eligible for the award and the winner will be announced after this week’s boys’ tournament.

The Gophers women’s basketball team will learn Monday whether they are invited to the NCAA Tournament.  If so, they will need better shooting accuracy from Big Ten scoring champion Rachel Banham.  In last week’s two Big Ten Conference Tournament games the Gophers’ point guard made only nine of 34 shots despite playing 84 minutes in Minnesota’s overtime win against Wisconsin and loss to Nebraska. 

Sports Headliners reader Paul Ehrhard e-mailed that Iowa’s fans were “raucous” at last weekend’s Big Ten Wrestling Championships in Madison.  Ehrhard, who was in attendance, wrote that during the semi-finals and finals other Big Ten fans “cheered loudly and long” against Iowa’s wrestlers.

The Gophers finished third behind Penn State and Iowa.  Senior redshirt freshman Tony Nelson was the only Minnesota wrestler to win a championship. The Gophers will be in Oklahoma City March 20-22 for the NCAA Championships.  Nelson is a two-time defending national champion.

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