Preps – Page 28 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikes Earn an “A” for Persistence Today

Posted on September 25, 2022September 25, 2022 by David Shama

Let’s get right to the grades after the Vikings’ last minute 28-24 win over the Lions today at US Bank Stadium.

The Vikings, now 2-1, trailed 24-14 going into the fourth quarter. In its previous games Minnesota hadn’t produced a touchdown in the second half. But when today’s game was over the Vikings had scored two fourth quarter touchdowns, including a 28-yard strike from quarterback Kirk Cousins to wide receiver K.J. Osborn in the last minute.

Minnesota had never led in the game until the Osborn touchdown with 25 seconds remaining. Give the Vikings an A team grade for persistence.

Lions’ coach Dan Campbell gets an F for late-game strategy. It was his fourth down decision to go for a failed field goal of 54 yards that allowed the Vikings, trailing 24-21, to start their winning TD drive from their own 44-yard line. A Detroit punt sending the Vikings back near their own goal would have been a savvy option and no-brainer for most coaches.

Cousins and his offensive line deserve B- grades. A popular target for not delivering in pressure situations, Cousins threw for 260 yards and two touchdowns today. The Lions were blitz crazy but his offensive line and own awareness helped him avoid interceptions and he was sacked just once.

Kevin O’Connell photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

The offense didn’t have much of a day for explosive plays but got two big ones at the end when Osborn preceded his winning reception with another 28-yarder. Running back Dalvin Cook had his best game of the season with 96 yards on 17 carries before apparently injuring his shoulder. Minnesota coach Kevin O’Connell said on the KFAN Radio postgame show he didn’t think the injury was serious.

The Vikings’ defense stopped the now 1-2 Lions in the closing seconds, ending the game with a Josh Metellus interception of a Jared Goff pass. Hard to give that unit better than a below average grade for its work today, though. The Lions consistently opened running holes and Goff’s repetitive completions over the middle were an embarrassment. The Vikings didn’t come up with a single sack and Detroit’s time of possession was 34:04, while Minnesota’s was 25:56.

The last four games in the series between the two NFC North Division rivals have been decided by four points or less. When the Vikings and Lions play again, December 11 in Detroit, the days will be counting down to Christmas. The Vikings better plan on playing better because they can’t expect another “gift” from Campbell.

Worth Noting

It’s believed the University of St. Thomas will soon announce plans to build an on-campus hockey facility after considering other sites in St. Paul. To meet CCHA guidelines the facility will have to seat at least 3,000 fans.

The Gopher football team, dominant in a 34-7 win over Michigan State Saturday, has outscored opponents 183-24 in four games. Minnesota has punted three times all season.

Minnesota is No. 21 in the Associated Press top 25 poll out today. It’s the first time this season the Gophers have been in the AP top 25. Haven’t been ranked by the AP since 2020.

U marketers are promoting the first ever Stripe Out in Huntington Bank Stadium next Saturday for the Purdue game. Fans in various sections are asked to wear maroon or gold clothing.

Former Gophers head coach Jerry Kill earned his first win at New Mexico State last night with a 45-26 home victory over Hawaii.

Often injured Byron Buxton hasn’t played in a Twins game since August 22 and will finish the year appearing in 92 games. That ties the 92 games he played in 2016 for the second highest total of his eight-year career. In 2017 the Twins’ MVP played in 140 games.

The best hope the Twins may have in retaining Carlos Correa for next season is if he and representative Scott Boras decide the less crowded free agent market for shortstops a year from now is their best strategy for a mega contract deal.

Without splashy offseason moves, including possible retention of Correa, the Twins will find it difficult to retain and grow their disappointed fanbase.

It was 10 years ago this fall that St. Paul native Tim Tschida, now 62, retired from umpiring MLB games. The affable Tschida enjoys tending bar at Mancini’s Char House.

Long before home run king Aaron Judge and hockey immortal Wayne Gretzky wore No. 99, Minneapolis Lakers great George Mikan popularized the number. He was voted Mr. Basketball of the first half of the 20th century by Associated Press.

BTW, although way overdue, the Los Angeles Lakers will retire Mikan’s number in a home game October 30 against the Nuggets.

Oddsmakers have the Timberwolves, who have their first training camp practice Tuesday, finishing second in the Northwest Division behind the Nuggets.

Gophers basketball player Parker Fox has a podcast called “Double Down.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X25lkiCNXM

For the first time ever Minneapolis will host Big Ten Basketball Media Days. The event October 11 and 12 at Target Center will include coaches and players from all 28 men’s and women’s basketball programs. Minnesota coaches Ben Johnson and Lindsay Whalen will speak October 12.

Nolan Winter, the Lakeville North basketball recruit who has verbally committed to Wisconsin, will be a nice fit in the Badgers’ offense that features outside shooting by its bigs, but his decision to turn down the Gophers is painful for local fans who over the years have watched a “parade” of Minnesota preps travel to Madison.

Apple Valley’s Tre Jones, a reliable playmaker but able to make just 19.6 percent of his three-point attempts last season, could emerge in training camp as the starting point guard for the NBA Spurs. Jones, 22, is starting his third NBA season.

The USHL Fall Classic in suburban Pittsburgh this weekend is attracting about 300 scouts and college coaches including former Wild GM Chuck Fletcher now in the same role with the Flyers. All 16 USHL teams are playing their first games of the season.

Budding superstar Kirill Kaprizov, who probably would be targeted for military conscription if still in his native Russia, played with teammates and others in the Wild’s inaugural golf tournament last Monday at Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo. The course opened in 2018 but is up for sale with a possible purchase price of $8 million, per a September 20 story from Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.

Bally Sports North will televise three Wild preseason games: October 2 and 6 against the Blackhawks, and October 8 with the Stars.

Oddsmakers have the Wild, who started preseason practices last Thursday, finishing second to the Avalanche in the Central Division.

Some Wild preseason practices at TRIA Rink are open to fans who must pre-register. http://www.wild.com/openpractices

St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso speaks to the CORES group November 10 at the Bloomington Event Center. Former North and Henry basketball coach Larry McKenzie will be the January 12 speaker. More information about CORES is available by contacting Jim Dotseth, dotsethj@comcast.net. CORES is an acronym for coaches, officials, reporters, educators and sports fans.

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‘Great Game’ Predicted for Dalvin Cook

Posted on September 18, 2022September 18, 2022 by David Shama

It could be a spotlight evening Monday for Dalvin Cook when the Vikings play in Philadelphia against the Eagles. The leaky Philly defense allowed 181 rushing yards on 28 carries in a 38-35 win over the Lions last weekend.

The Eagles were inefficient on defense and sloppy in their tackling Sunday while allowing 6.5 yards per carry. The Lions and many other NFL teams don’t have anyone as talented as Cook who at age 27 is coming off three consecutive seasons of rushing for over 1,000 yards.

The Eagles’ defense will for sure focus on controlling wide receiver Justin Jefferson who made headlines with a spectacular season debut last Sunday catching nine passes for 184 yards and two scores in Minnesota’s 23-7 win over the Packers. “We’ll just see what the defense gives us and we’ll try to take advantage of it,” Viking tight end Johnny Mundt told Sports Headliners.

Dalvin Cook photo courtesy of Minnesota Vikings

Cook, who rushed for 90 yards against the Packers on 20 rushes, could see big holes to run through Monday night. Even if Cook doesn’t the former All-Pro, has a way of finding daylight. Mundt said Cook seems to know where defenders will be and what they will do, allowing him to be a step ahead of tacklers.

“I think we’re going to spread the ball around really well (Monday night),” Mundt said. “I think Dalvin’s going to have a great game. Our O-line is very locked in so there’s holes to be there and we’ll move people off the spot.”

The Vikings’ run defense will be challenged, including by one of the most effective running quarterbacks in the league. Jalen Hurts ran for a touchdown and 90 total yards on 17 rushing attempts against the Lions. Minnesota coach Kevin O’Connell is impressed with the physicality and elusiveness of the 6-1, 223-pound Hurts.

“There’s times you could tell by the scheme that they’re…blocking up (on) everybody but the corner(back),” O’Connell said. “And leaving the corner for the quarterback, which is pretty rare for a guy to then be able to make that guy miss, go get the first down and line up and do it again.

“His consistency to be able to do that on early downs, second-and-10, run the rock, get tackled, get up on a third-and-three and be precise in the pass game, that’s really what’s impressive. His consistency.”

Vikings’ veteran safety Harrison Smith knows what the defense must do against the 24-year-old Hurts. “Everybody’s gotta take care of their assignment,” Smith told Sports Headliners. “He can make a lot of plays on the ground and if you give him the opportunity in the pass game he can make those as well. So it’s really trusting what your job is and not getting outside of that.”

Worth Noting

Smith, 33, is in his 11th NFL season. How much longer does he want to play? “I am just playing and letting it unfold,” he said.

Former Gophers linebacker Nick Rallis is in his second season as the Eagles linebacker coach. The Edina native was a defensive quality control/assistant linebackers coach with the Vikings from 2018-2020.

Darren Wolfson said on SKOR North that KSTP TV (along with the NFL Network) will televise the Vikings-Saints game from London beginning at 8:30 a.m. October 2.

The Eagle game Monday night is on ABC-KSTP with announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Buck is married to sports reporter Michelle Beisner-Buck, the niece of former Gophers basketball public address announcer Dick Jonckowski.

Jonckowski received the best of news when his doctor told him Tuesday his cancer is gone. He was battling non-Hodgkins Lymphoma for the third time. “Hopefully this time it will stay away,” he told Sports Headliners.

Jonckowski will play the kazoo and trombone, and tell jokes, while performing with the Midas Touch Band at Mancini’s Char House in St. Paul next Saturday evening.

On NFL opening weekend there were 19 players each from Houston and Miami high schools on league rosters, tied for the most of any city. Detroit had the third-most players with 16, followed by Tampa with 15 players.

Not only are the 3-0 Gophers the only undefeated football team in the Big Ten West but three of the division’s seven teams have two or more losses.

Among the many reserves who played yesterday in the 49-7 rout of Colorado was redshirt freshman defensive end Austin Booker who made his Gopher debut and has the potential to be a superb pass rusher.

Former Gophers basketball coach Richard Pitino turned 40 on Friday. His dad, Rick Pitino, is 70 today. Pops brings his Iona Gaels to Albuquerque December 18 to play Richard’s New Mexico Lobos.

Carson Hansen, the running back from Lakeville South who has verbally committed to Iowa State, also had offers from many other programs including Air Force, Army, Kansas State and Northwestern but not Minnesota, per 247Sports.

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Hunter & Smith May Hold Vikings’ Fate

Posted on September 4, 2022September 6, 2022 by David Shama

Predictions about the Vikings’ final 2022 season record run to extremes. Sports Illustrated, for example, has Minnesota at 7-10 while national talk show host Colin Cowherd is giddy about the Purple shocking the NFL with a 13-4 record.

Reality is speculating on a final record before the first regular season game is even played is challenging. Of course, it’s also fun.

The Vikings didn’t use their starters in three winless preseason games, the norm now for NFL teams. The Purple forecasting assignment is also more difficult because of the team’s new coaching staff headed by Kevin O’Connell. He is a rookie head coach and unknown leader, although the Vikings have a staff that includes veteran assistants.

The team was 8-9 last season, missing the playoffs for a second consecutive year. Sports Illustrated almost nailed Minnesota’s final record in its football preview issue in 2021 (predicting 9-8) and made the correct call about missing the playoffs.

S.I. was on the money last year in forecasting a second-place finish in the NFC North but in 2022 believes the Vikings will finish third behind the 11-6 Packers and (gasp) the 9-8 Lions. S.I. sees a possible scenario where the Minnesota offense is “middling” and the defense falters in its comeback bid.

Cowherd likes O’Connell’s resume as the former offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion Rams. He projects O’Connell will be a big help to veteran QB Kirk Cousins and the Minnesota offense. Cowherd’s gushing about the Vikings includes the prediction they will upset the hated Packers in the season opening game for both teams September 11.

Before Cowherd tells his audience the Vikings will win the Super Bowl, I asked a former NFL front office executive to jump in and offer his thoughts. What’s a best-case scenario for the Purple?

“I think if they keep (Danielle) Hunter and (Za’Darius) Smith healthy, and Cousins has a pretty good year, I think they’re a 10-win team and make the playoffs,” the source said while asking that his name not be used.

The two outside linebackers (may also play defensive end) have big upsides as pass rushers but also histories of being sidelined with injuries. If healthy, Hunter and Smith can take a lot of pressure off the uncertain secondary that includes two inexperienced and vulnerable defenders, safety Camryn Bynum and corner Cam Dantzler.

Hunter and Smith will need rest during games, with subs Patrick Jones and D.J. Wonnum available off the bench. “If they lose those guys (Hunter and Smith), or even one of those guys, it’s going to make just a huge difference,” the source said.

The NFL authority also said Cousins will be a key to a best-case scenario for the season. The veteran must play better in “crunch time” than in the past for the Vikings to make or even exceed expectations.

The potential positives for 2022 improvement include the schedule. The Vikings play nine of their 17 games at home and have only 7 true road games. They play the Saints in London on October 2 in a neutral site game that figures to be an easier assignment than trying to win in New Orleans. “I think that’s a big advantage schedule wise,” the source said about where the 17 games will be played.

Worst-case scenario for the season? Injuries wreak havoc, the authority said, citing names like Hunter, Smith, linebacker Eric Kendricks, running back Dalvin Cook and wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen as difference makers the Vikings can’t afford to lose in large numbers. (Jefferson, BTW, is Sports Illustrated’s choice to be NFL Offensive Player of the Year.)

Troubles, too, could include stumbling in the transition to new offensive and defensive schemes. If the Vikings falter on the learning curve that could contribute to losing a lot of close games again. Minnesota lost eight one-score games in 2021.

Regarding a disappointing 2022, the source summarized it this way: “So I think the worst-case scenario is the injury bug hits them, and they have growing pains with the new schemes on offense and defense, and they lose close games like they did last year and that knocks them out of the playoffs.”

With that scenario, his prediction is the Vikings finish 7-10.

Golden Gophers Notes

Wyatt Gilmore and Riley Sunram are two high school players to follow as the Gophers pursue their 2024 football recruiting class. Both have been offered scholarships and recruiting authority Ryan Burns from GopherIllustrated offers praise.

Gilmore, from Rogers, Minnesota, projects as a defensive tackle with Minnesota. “…I think he is going to be a really good pass rusher,” Burns said.

Sunram, from Kindred, North Dakota near Fargo, projects as a defensive end. “Riley Sunram I think is going to be a pretty special player,” Burns said. “I think he could be one of the best players to come out of the Dakotas in the last handful of years.”

The Gophers’ recruiting class for 2023 is holding at 18 verbal commitments, per 247Sports. Burns believes it could be November before there are additions to the class, with the possibility Minnesota will add players at cornerback, linebacker and receiver.

Credit past decisions in the University of Minnesota athletic department allowing the Gophers to pay less than market rate guarantees for home games against their three nonconference opponents in 2022. The $1,250,000 total is less than some Power Five programs pay out for one nonconference game.

Not only did the Gophers shutout New Mexico State 38-0 in their opener last Thursday night, but they also kept the Aggies from making long gains most of the game. Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi said last season Minnesota allowed the fewest explosive plays in the nation.

The Gophers played two of their backup quarterbacks in the fourth quarter to finish out the game, Cole Kramer and Athan Kaliakmanis. Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca said during training camp it wasn’t clear who would replace Tanner Morgan if he were injured.

Head coach P.J. Fleck praised both his top backups near the end of camp. He said Kramer, a redshirt junior, had a “phenomenal camp.” Regarding redshirt freshman Kaliakmanis the coach said, “I am really proud of the progress he’s made, and he’s going to be a really, really talented player.”

Former Gophers in their debuts for other programs: RB Bucky Irving started and ran for 13 yards on five attempts for Oregon Saturday in its 49-3 loss to Georgia. Also Saturday, QB Zack Annexstad started for Illinois State and threw an interception returned for 100 yards while playing most of the game in a 38-0 loss to Wisconsin. On Friday night RB Ky Thomas started for Kansas, running seven times for 19 yards in a 56-10 win over Tennessee Tech.

Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle said his department has about $21.5 million to pay back on a loan caused by drastically reduced revenues during the pandemic. He also estimated the debt still owed on the Athletes Village in the $38 to $40 million range.

“Athletes Village has been an absolute game changer for our program,” Coyle said. “We call it the wow factor when a recruit comes into your building and they have a chance to walk through this facility. It’s good when they pull out their cell phones and they start taking pictures.”

Coyle plans to attend Lindsay Whalen’s induction Friday into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. The legendary former Gophers and Lynx guard will join over 300 inductees in the basketball shrine in Springfield, Mass. Ex-Gopher and NBA star Lou Hudson is also part of the 2022 and will be inducted posthumously.

Coyle said Gopher athletes now have a 96 percent graduate rate, the highest ever at Minnesota. He also estimated that last school year over 130 of his athletes benefitted from more than 260 Name, Image and Likeness deals.

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