Preps – Page 124 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikes Receivers ‘Huge Disappointment’

Posted on November 26, 2012November 26, 2012 by David Shama

If the Vikings (6-5) are going to qualify for the playoffs they will need much more production from their pass receivers than Minnesota had yesterday in a 28-10 loss to the Bears in Chicago.

The receivers, led by Jerome Simpson’s three drops, couldn’t catch numerous passes. The Vikings had 159 yards in passing offense while rushing for 114 yards. The offense converted on only 37 percent of third down plays (33 percent on fourth downs). The team played without injured wide receiver Percy Harvin who has been the most effective Viking this season making longer receptions.

“I put this loss on the receiving corps not making enough plays down the field,” said Dean Dalton, the former Vikings assistant coach who now has an NFL show on Sirius Satellite Radio. “In a passing league, if you don’t have that threat you become one dimensional no matter how great Adrian Peterson is.”

Second-year quarterback Christian Ponder completed 22 of 43 passes and threw one touchdown pass and one interception. His stats probably looked worse than how he performed. “I think Christian Ponder made reasonably good decisions today,” Dalton said. “The receiving corps has been a huge disappointment (this season) because they haven’t been able to make explosive plays. They (the Vikings) have got to find a way to get production out of the vertical passing game. Peterson can (then) be even more productive.”

Simpson’s first drop yesterday came in the opening quarter. On a third down and four yards to go he couldn’t catch a ball that would have sustained a drive, and the Vikings then settled for a field goal.

Simpson, an offseason free-agent acquisition, has caught just 12 passes for 138 yards and no touchdowns in seven games this season. “He’s a leader of the clubhouse,” Dalton said. “This kid has great speed. He has great athleticism. We have not seen that productivity, that consistency (needed).”

Tight end John Carlson (a more costly 2012 free-agent acquisition) and wide receivers Stephen Burton and Michael Jenkins also dropped balls yesterday. The best receivers were tight end Kyle Rudolph and wide receiver Jarius Wright who combined for 12 receptions and 104 yards.

Dalton said the Vikings “defense can be outstanding” and the “rushing game excellent” but the downfield threat in the passing game has to emerge in the team’s remaining games. He also said receivers coach George Stewart is “outstanding” but the players have to execute better including the most basic of fundamentals like looking the ball into their hands.

Yesterday the Vikings did give up 28 points but the Bears sometimes only had to move the ball short distances to score. The defense, Dalton said, was also on the field too long because the offense couldn’t sustain drives.

With five regular season games still on the schedule, the offense, including Ponder and the receiver corps, will have some make-good opportunities including next Sunday in Green Bay against the Packers.

Worth Noting

Dalton’s son Devon Dalton plays the tuba in the Auburn marching band. Dalton is a season ticket holder for Tigers’ home football games and said it was hardly a secret this fall that head coach Gene Chizik was going to be let go despite winning the national championship only two years ago. Dalton was amused recalling some band members were promoting his name as Chizik’s successor. “They’ll find a southern fella,” Dalton said.

An NFL college scouting executive told Sports Headliners he doesn’t think Gophers senior MarQueis Gray will be drafted by an NFL team. The 6-4, 250-pound Gray is unlikely to have a professional opportunity to play quarterback but might get a free agent look as an H-back, or tight end, according to the authority.

He projects 50 or more underclassmen leaving school early for the 2013 NFL Draft. He said defensive tackle has the potential to be a particularly deep position.

Here are Sports Headliners’ final Big Ten football power rankings: Ohio State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana and Illinois.

Look for the Gophers coaches, with the players off this week before beginning preparations for their bowl game, to emphasize recruiting including junior college prospects.

John Revere, father of Twins outfielder Ben Revere, has been named Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association among schools in the Football Championship Subdivision. He is the running backs coach at Eastern Kentucky.

The Minnesota Football Coaches Association will announce its 2012 Mr. Football winner on December 9. The 10 finalists are Marley Allison, Edina; Jake Disterhaupt, Moose Lake-Willow River; Chase Morlock, Moorhead; James Onwualu, Cretin-Derham Hall; Noah Scarver, Washburn; Shaun Schindler, Hutchinson; Bridgeport Tusler, Osseo; Brett Watercott, Becker;Jake Wieneke, Maple Grove; Alex Wood, Lakeville North.

Noel Mazzone, who was an assistant coach for the Gophers from 1992-1994, is in his first season as offensive coordinator at UCLA and is being credited with the Bruins’ turn-around season that includes a Pac-12 South Division championship. UCLA plays at Stanford for the Pac-12 championship on Friday night.

John Gagliardi, who retired earlier this month as the winningest college football coach of all time, has seen his Saint John’s teams struggle the last few seasons but as recently as 2007 was the Liberty Mutual Division III College Coach of the Year.

The Gophers basketball team plays at Florida State (4-1) tomorrow night on ESPN2 as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge series. The Seminoles are a potential top 25 team led by senior Michael Snaer who is making almost 41 percent of his three point shots and could be one of the nation’s best shooting guards. The game starts at 6:15 p.m. Minneapolis time.

Minnesota (6-1) won fifth place in the Battle 4 Atlantis with an opening game loss to top 10 ranked Duke and victories over Memphis and Stanford. Minnesota’s good fortune against Stanford included more than Andre Hollins being fouled on a desperation shot from near mid-court at game’s end, and then converting three free throws for a 66-63 victory. Maverick Ahanmisi, Hollins’ backup at point guard and a 5.4 points per game scorer, came off the bench in the first half to make five free throws by throwing his body into the Cardinal defense and drawing fouls.

Apple Valley High School’s Tyus Jones is one of only two juniors included on the preseason prep All-American team announced earlier this month by USA Today High School Sports. Jones is one of three point guards on the 10-player roster. The Eagles open their season on December 4 at St. Louis Park High School.

Former Timberwolves assistant coach Eric Musselman is now an assistant at Arizona State.

Gophers baseball coach John Anderson said his team has 38 games scheduled for next year, with 22 at the Metrodome and 16 at the new Siebert Field including the opener on April 5. The $7.2 million facility will seat about 1,500 fans.

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Losses Pile Up But Jug Special

Posted on October 31, 2012October 31, 2012 by David Shama

Michigan comes to Minneapolis on Saturday for the 93rd game when the Wolverines and Gophers play for one year ownership of the Little Brown Jug. It’s been 35 years since Minnesota defeated the Wolverines in the Gophers’ home stadium, and took possession of the jug that Wikipedia says represents the oldest trophy series in college football.

The Gophers and Wolverines have been playing for the trophy since 1909. The prize came about when the Wolverines inadvertently left their water jug behind after a game in Minneapolis. Michigan wanted the jug returned but a Gophers official said, “If you want it, you’ll have to win it.”

And win it the Wolverines have, with 67 victories. The Gophers have 22 wins and there have been three ties in the Little Brown Jug series. The Gophers won nine straight games in the 1930s and 1940s. During the 1960s Minnesota won six of eight including four games at Memorial Stadium.

But what a drought it’s been since 1967 with the Gophers winning the jug only in 1977 in Minneapolis, and 1986 and 2005 in Ann Arbor. The lopsided results have removed much of the luster from a rivalry that once was among the most glamorous in college football.

Minnesota has more talk about games now with Iowa and Wisconsin, two other famous trophy games. Michigan fires up for games with Notre Dame, Michigan State and Ohio State.

Former Michigan running back Mike Hart, who played for the Wolverines a few seasons ago, told ESPN.com last year that competing against Minnesota is just another game.

“There are so many important games to us that that’s not really a big rivalry game,” Hart said in a September 29, 2011 article on ESPN’s WolverineNation. “It’s more or less just another game to us that has a trophy involved.

“It’s not like, ‘Oh, we’re getting the Jug.’ I personally never saw it as that. I saw it as another Big Ten team we were playing.”

Just another game? That will make Butch Nash roll over in his grave. Nash, from northeast Minneapolis, played for the Gophers in the 1930s, then was an assistant coach over five decades. He reveled in the Michigan-Minnesota Little Brown Jug rivalry.

It was Nash who spoke from the heart before Gopher wins in 1977 and 1986. The 1977 victory was particularly memorable because the Gophers rocked the college football world on October 22 of that year when they thoroughly dominated and punished then No. 1 ranked Michigan 16-0 in Memorial Stadium.

The victories in 1986 and 2005 were much closer. In 1986 quarterback Rickey Foggie’s fourth quarter running set up a game-winning Chip Lohmiller’s field goal for a 20-17 win over No. 2 ranked Michigan. In 2005 running back Gary Russell’s 61-yard sprint down the sidelines positioned Jason Giannini for a game-ending field goal and a 23-20 Minnesota win.

The Gophers aren’t expected to win on Saturday in TCF Bank Stadium. Sports Headliners has the Gophers as a 10 point underdog and losing to Michigan for the 28th time in the last 35 years (the teams haven’t played each year since 1977).

The Gophers would be well advised to talk to Darrell Thompson who played for the 1986 Gophers and heard Nash’s fiery words. “He talked about the tradition and history of the game,” the former Gophers running back told Sports Headliners. “The thing that stuck with me out of his speech was to leave nothing out on the field. Only you know if you have given everything, and then you can feel very good about your effort.”

Thompson, who is close to the program as the radio analyst on the Minnesota games, said the current Gophers are well drilled about the importance of their rivalry games including the Little Brown Jug. He thinks the jug means a lot to the Minnesota players. “When they win (it), they will understand even more (the importance),” he said. “It hurt when we lost it in 1987.”

Mauer Wedding, Wolves Outlook & More

Invitations have been mailed for the Joe Mauer–Maddie Bisanz wedding on Saturday, December 1 at a church in St. Paul. Mauer’s grandfather, Jake Mauer, told Sports Headliners the invitation asks guests not to give wedding gifts but instead make donations to a Twin Cities nonprofit benefiting teens and adults with disabilities. Joe’s brothers Jake and Bill will be co-best men.

The wedding will be followed by a reception and dinner with 720 invitees—many more guests than can be accommodated at the church, according to Jake. There will be various activities for guests on Thursday and Friday leading up to the wedding including a skating party. “It will all cost over $300,000.00,” Jake said.

Bisanz is a Twin Cities nurse who plans to continue her career after marrying the Twins All-Star catcher, according to Jake who said the couple is in southwest Florida for several weeks. Honeymoon plans aren’t decided yet. “Joe wants to go to Paris,” Jake said.

Some Wolves fans may choose to hibernate until box-office stars Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love return from injuries, but the team’s regular season schedule starts on Friday night at home against the Kings. Like it or night, the Wolves have 27 games scheduled between now and year’s end. The Wolves probably will play most or even all of those games without the Big Two.

Only eight of those games are against the better teams in the NBA, with the remaining opponents being mediocre or worse. Down-trodden teams on the Wolves schedule are the Bobcats, Cavs, Hornets, Kings, Magic, Raptors and Warriors. The Wolves will play a balanced home-away schedule during the first two months, with 13 games at Target Center and 14 on the road.

Take an upbeat approach to November and December because of coach Rick Adelman. He’s among the NBA’s better coaches ever and has plenty of experience working with underwhelming talent over the last 20-plus years. He will expect a cast of Wolves role players to play hard and do their jobs. Translation: don’t try to be Love or Rubio.

Take a skeptical approach to November and December because NBA games are frequently decided in the fourth quarter—and the Wolves may not have any players who can consistently close out games. Shooting guard Brandon Roy may want to say, “Boys, jump on my back and I’ll carry us home.” But the burden could be too much for Roy who hasn’t played a regular season game since 2010-2011 because of troublesome knees.

Love and teammate Lou Amundson will be taking 10 children from HopeKids to the World’s Largest Trick-or-Treat event at Mall of America tonight from 5 to 6 p.m. HopeKids benefits families with children who have cancer or other life-threatening medical conditions.

Former Gopher Mychal Thompson’s son Klay Thompson starts his second season with the Warriors and is one of the NBA’s most promising three point shooters, making 0.488 percent of those shots in preseason while averaging 14 points per game.

In the October 29 issue of Sports Illustrated the magazine makes its NBA predictions and picks the Heat to defeat the Lakers in the playoff finals. S.I. predicts the Wolves are a possible playoff team but no cinch.

Gophers football coach Jerry Kill said his offensive line played its best game of the season in last Saturday’s 44-28 win over Purdue. Ed Olson, probably the team’s best offensive lineman before the season started, was injured and didn’t play against Purdue, and Kill doesn’t expect him back for Saturday’s game with Michigan.

Three Minnesota prep football coaches earned milestone career wins earlier this month. Congratulations to Dean Taylor from St. Cloud Cathedral on his 200^th career win, and Jack Drews of Rochester John Marshall and John Clark Jr. from Mahnomen on their 100^th career victories.

The football Prep Bowl will be Friday, November 23 at the Mall of America Field. Last year’s champions were Eden Prairie, Class 5A; ROCORI, Class 4A; Saint Croix Lutheran, Class 3A; Caledonia, Class 2A; Dawson-Boyd, Class 1A; and Edgerton/Ellsworth, Nine-Man.

Former Vikings head coach Jerry Burns worked for legendary coach Vince Lombardi in Green Bay. The stage play “Lombardi” has been at the History Theatre in St. Paul this fall with the final performance on Sunday, November 4. Burns attended the production on opening night and spoke at a special dinner prior to the performance. He recommends the play including the portrayal of the Hall of Fame coach by James Detmar.

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U Likely in Tyus Jones Top 5

Posted on October 29, 2012October 29, 2012 by David Shama

Debbie Jones told Sports Headliners she hopes her son Tyus Jones can narrow his college choices to five finalists in the coming weeks. “I would probably say in the next month or so,” Debbie said.

Tyus, with a reputation as the best high school point guard in the country for the class of 2014, is considering the Gophers and many other schools. His mother wasn’t specific about how many schools but said the decision to arrive at a list of five will be made by Tyus and family members.

Will the Gophers be among the final five? “I can’t say for sure. I would think they would be in the five,” Debbie said.

Debbie also said there’s no target date as to when a final college choice will be made by Tyus who is becoming a prep legend in Minnesota and will lead an Apple Valley High School team with ambitions to become state champions. She acknowledged her son’s popularity and support among Minnesotans is a factor in the Gophers favor.

“That’s the hardest part for all of us because that is there and it is a pretty big deal,” Debbie said. “It comes down to taking everything into consideration.”

Before narrowing the choices of colleges to five, Tyus wants to visit Kansas and Kentucky. Travel dates haven’t been established.

Worth Noting

Philip Nelson had one of the best passing games ever by a true freshman Gophers quarterback on Saturday against Purdue. Nelson, starting his second game, passed for 246 yards (all in the first half) and in one stretch completed 12 consecutive passes. Rickey Foggie passed for 281 yards in a game as a true freshman in 1984. The school record for consecutive passes is 14 set by Adam Weber in 2008 when he was a redshirt sophomore.

Cornerback Michael Carter also had an extraordinary performance in the Gophers 44-21 win over Purdue. At times he was all over the secondary breaking up passes, and he returned an interception 43 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. He tied Michael Lehan’s school record for six pass breakups in a game set in 2001.

Carter was among the last players to commit to the Gophers in 2009 and then coach Tim Brewster was excited about Carter’s potential. But Carter didn’t emerge as an impact player until Saturday, more than halfway through his senior season and after playing in only five games last season, starting none.

Nelson was announced this morning as Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week, while Carter is the Co-Defensive Player of the Week in the conference.

The Vikings offense has produced four touchdowns in the last two games, but the results haven’t diminished the confidence of Adrian Peterson who said the team has to sustain long drives. “We’ve got great potential offensively,” Peterson said. “Confidence is there.”

Peterson has rushed for 276 yards in the last two games. That’s his best two-game total of the season.

A Sports Headliners reader after watching quarterback Christian Ponder face a persistent pass rush in last Thursday night’s Vikings-Bucs game, emailed this: “I guess he has to learn to throw from his back.”

Vikings running back Toby Gerhart hasn’t fumbled since the closing minutes against the 49ers on September 23 when he had two fumbles. He told Sports Headliners that was “dumb running” because instead of making ball security the highest priority he was trying to have a big gain.

“I’ve become a smarter runner in that situation,” he said. “Four minutes (to the) end of the game. There’s no reason to try to make a big play. Get what you can and get down (on the turf). We’re (the Vikings) just trying to run out the clock. Now I’ve tried to look at situations more for what they are and be smart about it. …”

The Vikings play the Seahawks in Seattle on Sunday, going against coach Pete Carroll. When Gerhart was at Stanford he played against Carroll, the USC coach.

“He’s a good coach,” Gerhart said. “He gets his guys fired up to play and they play for him. …Just his personality from what I’ve seen across the field, it seems like he’s a good motivator.”

Carroll was a Vikings assistant coach in the 1980s under head coaches Bud Grant and Jerry Burns.

Tartan High School defensive back Keelon Brookins emailed news that his rehabilitation from a torn ACL is going well and he remains verbally committed to Wisconsin where he plans to enroll in January. He attended the Gophers-Badgers game in Madison on October 20.

If the Timberwolves are going to make the playoffs, they might have to beat out Northwest Division rival Utah, a team led by former Wolves center Al Jefferson. Also on the roster is ex-Wolves guard Randy Foye. Former Wolves forward Tyrone Corbin is Utah’s head coach. The Wolves open their regular season at home on Friday night against the Kings.

Wolves forward-guard Chase Budinger might have a career scoring year. He scored 21 and 20 points in the team’s last two preseason games. In Budinger’s first three seasons in the NBA, all with the Rockets, he didn’t average more than 22.4 minutes and 9.8 points per game, but his skills, including three point shooting, are a solid fit in Wolves coach Rick Adelman’s offense.

Former Wolves forward Michael Beasley averaged 12.7 in preseason games for the Suns, although he had 29 points on Friday night against Denver. In the October 29 issue of Sports Illustrated an anonymous scout said this about Beasley: “I am not a fan of Michael Beasley. It’s his personality. He just doesn’t seem to care. He doesn’t play hard.”

Ex-Wolves guard Wes Johnson averaged 8.6 points in preseason for the Suns.

Five Big Ten teams are ranked in the top 25 of the Associated Press preseason college basketball poll, but the Gophers aren’t included. The Big Ten is the first conference since the Big East in 2008-2009 to have three teams in the AP preseason top five: Indiana at No. 1, Ohio State No. 4 and Michigan No. 5.

The American League champion Tigers open the Twins regular season schedule next year as part of a series of games against attractive teams at Target Field in April. The Mets, Angels, Rangers and Marlins will also be in Minneapolis that month. Single game tickets are expected to go on sale in February.

Patrick Klinger is no longer vice president of marketing with the Twins after 14 consecutive years with the organization. Klinger, whose responsibilities included oversight of advertising, broadcasting and special events, may start a public relations firm.

St. Thomas is the preseason choice to finish first in MIAC men’s hockey, according to a league poll. Following the Tommies are Gustavus, St. Olaf, Saint John’s, Concordia, Hamline, Augsburg, Bethel and Saint Mary’s.

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