Preps – Page 3 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Vikings Grind But Show They’re Who We Thought They Were

Posted on September 9, 2025September 9, 2025 by David Shama

Enjoy a Tuesday notes column.

The Vikings substantiated their preseason label as an NFL playoff contender last night in a come from behind 27-24 season opening win over the Bears in Chicago. This looks like a top 12 team that will challenge the Packers and Lions for the NFC North Division title.

It could have been a different outlook today if first-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the offense hadn’t rallied in the fourth quarter after trailing 17-6 following three periods. McCarthy produced three final quarter scores with two touchdown passes and a TD run.

After the game head coach Kevin O’Connell, speaking to ESPN, said that at halftime he told his 22-year-old quarterback the Vikings were going to win. Minnesota was trailing 10-6 at the half having endured too many three and outs and failed plays.

McCarthy, though, was a leader even when things weren’t going well. On the sidelines he was interacting with his offensive teammates. Asked after the game by ESPN what he told his teammates, he said the message was “we gotta believe.”

While McCarthy received the headlines last night, the offensive line, providing protection and opening holes for the running game, was vital to the comeback. The rebuilt line with newcomers Will Fries, Donovan Jackson and Ryan Kelly gave notice they can be an upgrade from last season and a strength of this year’s team. And they played last night without standout left tackle Christian Darrisaw, with sub Justin Skule struggling at times.

The Vikings offense looked rusty for much of the game, including McCarthy. The unit hardly played in preseason games and left O’Connell open to second guessing if last night had been a disaster.

But the offense sharpened, the defense was mostly its stingy self with impact plays by such performers as newcomers Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave who caused problems for the Bears on the line of scrimmage. And place kicker Will Reichard was money as usual, making two field goals including one from 59 yards out.

With the offense coming around to meld with other strengths of the team, and winnable games at home coming up against the Falcons and Bengals, the Vikings look like who we thought they are (to paraphrase the late Denny Green.)

BTW: McCarthy became the first starting quarterback to overcome a 10-point fourth deficit to win in his NFL debut since Steve Young (1985). On Sunday night against the Falcons, he can become the first QB since 1970 to have his first two career starts be primetime games (7 p.m. EDT or later) and win both.

Among Vikings fans at the game was Minneapolis attorney Marshall Tanick. He attended the franchise’s first game ever, in 1961, also against the Bears. He might be the only person who can lay claim to being at both the 1961 and 2025 games.

There’s a rumor that the Wilfs are interested in becoming minority owners of the Twins. The family already holds ownership in the Vikings and the Orlando men’s and women’s pro soccer teams.

Sports Headliners is told Minnesota businessman and Twins fan Marty Davis is definitely not interested in being a minority owner.

The Golden Gophers, about a two-point favorite to defeat the California Golden Bears in Berkeley Saturday night, face their first game of the season against a Power Four opponent, and also first road test.

Of interest, too, is the 9:30 p.m. West Coast kickoff time. Sports Headliners is told the Gophers will fly to California on Friday, rather than earlier in the week, to allow more days to address the time change. Apparently, coach P.J. Fleck’s experience is that the best approach is to get in and get out quickly including departure for Minneapolis after the game.

It looks like status on whether star running back Darius Taylor (injured in last Saturday’s game) will play at Cal won’t be known until Minnesota’s availability report comes out Saturday night. Taylor has a history of hamstring trouble.

Two of the Gophers’ most highly ranked verbal commits for the recruiting class of 2026, Howie Johnson and Andrew Trout, attended last Saturday’s 66-0 win over Northwestern State. In 247 Sports rankings of recruits, Johnson, a defensive lineman from Forest Lake, and Trout, an offensive lineman from Rocori, are second and third only to Roman Voss from Jackson County Central.

Eli Diane, the defensive lineman from Wayzata High School, is a verbal commitment for the class of 2027 and also attended the game. 247 ranks Johnson, Trout, Voss and Diane as four-star recruits.

247 ranks the 2026 Gopher class, with 23 verbal commitments, No. 29 in the nation. Local recruiting authority Ryan Burns told Sports Headliners he believes the class is pretty much set as the early National Signing Day awaits in December. He added that “while they’re pretty good where they’re at right now,” watching senior season tape on prep players could prompt additions to the class.

Burns also said he knows the Gophers would “love” to get a verbal commit from class of 2027 Shakopee linebacker Blake Betton who has offers from Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin. Betton grew up a Gopher but wants to “go through the recruiting process,” per Burns.

The quality of the 2026 class is evident, and a factor Burns believes is impacting recruiting success is Minnesota’s placement of NFL players. Six players, three drafted and three free agents from last year’s team, are in the NFL. “Not many (college) teams can say that,” Burns said.

Many additional former Gophers players from the Fleck era are in the NFL, too. That, plus winning seasons in four of the last six years, helps attract high school talent, Burns added.

Annika Sorenstam, the women’s golf legend who spoke to the Twin Cities Dunkers yesterday at Interlachen Country Club, is part of a legacy of women who have spoken to the club during its storied history. The first female speaker was Minneapolis golf trailblazer Patty Berg who addressed the then Minneapolis Dunkers in 1951.

Sorenstam played at Interlachen in the 2008 U.S. Open. It was her final major tournament before retirement. On the last hole she recorded an eagle on the 18^th hole par five with a 199-yard six iron shot fueling the signature finish to her famous career.

The ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M is being played this week at the Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo. The tournament was founded by the ANNIKA Foundation in 2014. The 54-hole stroke play event is held each year at the Royal Golf Club and the tourney features 12 of the top Division I women’s programs in the country.

Former Gophers basketball player Jamal Abu-Shamala, now a first vice president at UBS, has been recognized by Forbes on its Best in State Wealth Advisors List of the top financial advisors across America.

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‘Slap in the Face’ Motivates Gophers New QB Drake Lindsey

Posted on July 16, 2025July 16, 2025 by David Shama

Drake Lindsey, the presumptive starter as the Golden Gophers quarterback for the August 28 opening game against Buffalo, certainly doesn’t lack motivation. Big-time college football players always talk about excelling and being elite, but there’s something more involved with Lindsey—the redshirt freshman from Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Lindsey told KFAN Radio this morning it was a “slap in the face” that he wasn’t recruited by his hometown Arkansas Razorbacks. Lindsey grew up dreaming of playing for the Hogs. His high school is located a short walk to the Arkansas campus. He comes from a family of Arkansas alums.

Yet it was head coach P.J. Fleck and assistant coach Greg Harbaugh Jr. who committed early to Lindsey and made him feel wanted at Minnesota. Lindsey said he will use the Arkansas snub to push himself.

Lindsey told the radio audience he’s excited about his college choice and sees his destination as something meant to be. He also knows being a first-year starter will be challenging after playing only limited minutes last season as Max Brosmer’s backup.

Brosmer was an acclaimed leader and accomplished player who is now trying to make the Vikings roster. Lindsey, who describes himself as more extroverted than Brosmer, learned a lot from last year’s star QB.

Lindsey said at a media gathering this morning it was a “blessing to have that guy,” praising how Brosmer led the team, performed and put such effort into preparation. Lindsey doesn’t think anybody in the country “prepared like Max.”

Lindsey said back in January he was trying to act like Brosmer but since then has learned to be himself. He has impressed teammates with his development.

Defensive end and upper classman Anthony Smith believes Lindsey has “really stepped his game up” as the months have gone by. “On the field I think he’s an awesome leader,” Smith said.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, Lindsey came on strong his senior season and led Fayetteville High School to a 13-0 record and state championship. He threw for 3,941 yards in his senior season while completing 69 percent of his passes (264-for-383), tossed 54 touchdown passes and had just three interceptions.

Minnesota started recruiting Lindsey in April of 2023, before his senior season. He said the Gophers showed him “love” and made him feel special.

With ambition to be a “great quarterback,” Lindsey will have the opportunity to show the Razorbacks what they missed.

Worth Noting

Koi Perich photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

The Gophers Koi Perich, who was the No. 1 recruit in the state two years ago out of Esko, continues to receive lots of summertime recognition after his breakout freshman season in 2024. Among the latest honors is Lindy’s Big Ten preview magazine selecting him as a second team preseason All-American safety.

Perich is also second team All-Big Ten while defensive teammates Anthony Smith (end) and Maverick Baranowski (linebacker) are third team selections by Lindy’s.

The magazine picks the Gophers 11^th in the 18-team Big Ten, one spot behind Iowa and one ahead of Wisconsin.

The publication quotes an anonymous NFL scout as saying the Gophers could push into the national top 25 conversation. “When you look at what P.J. Fleck has done at Minnesota, it’s impressive,” the scout said. “Even without the NIL resources to push them into the top tier of the Big Ten, he’s managed to keep the program competitive. …”

Scott Dochterman, writing in The Athletic last week, ranked college football’s 100 best rivalries and has Minnesota-Wisconsin at No. 10. Minnesota-Iowa is No. 34.

Congratulations to Sports Headliners advertiser Blaze Credit Union on its recent honors. The Falcon Heights-based company was recently named Minnesota’s best in five categories in the Star Tribune Readers’ Choice Awards. Blaze earned Gold for Credit Union, Home Mortgage, Wealth Management, and Financial Services Customer Service, and Silver in the overall Customer Service category.

Blaze has also been named a Forbes Best-in-State Credit Union for the third consecutive year. Partnering with the market research firm Statista, Forbes annually recognizes the best banks and credit unions across the nation. Financial institutions have been evaluated via survey by approximately 26,000 U.S. residents.

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Supporters Talk ‘Recipe’ for Coach Medved Success at U

Posted on June 25, 2025July 8, 2025 by David Shama

There is an old cliché about impressive coaches “winning” their introductory press conferences. An initial honeymoon can extend longer and that appears to be the reality for new University of Minnesota men’s basketball coach Niko Medved.

The Minnesota born and raised Medved has been a hit since the announcement came on March 24 that he was leaving his successful program at Colorado State to take the head coaching job at his alma mater. He’s been embraced literally and figuratively because of his ties to the state, successful coaching record at multiple stops and a personality that resonates as authentic, humble and determined to restore the Gopher basketball brand.

Sports Headliners checked in with sources tied to the program and asked their thoughts about the 52-year-old Medved who was a student manager in the 1990s under head coach Clem Haskins. That era was the last time the program had a glorious run—with Williams Arena turned into a mad house and the best ticket value in town for sports entertainment.

…”It’s probably the best fit this place has had in quite some time,” said former Gopher radio analyst Spencer Tollackson about the Medved hire.

Tollackson played at Minnesota in 2006-2007 when Medved was an assistant on the staff. So, too, did Jamal Abu-Shamala who believes the new coach will do a “fantastic job running the program.”

One of the requirements for success with the Gophers, Abu-Shamala reminded Sports Headliners, is connecting with the community and fans. “He’s the perfect guy for this day and age. He’s really good in front of a crowd. He’s good in front of people and that’s only going to build that connectivity to the program which people feel they need…here in Minnesota. I think that’s more critical than ever.”

In the new millennium, losing seasons have become commonplace at the U. Minnesota finished last in the Big Ten standings in both 2022 and 2023. The last time the Gophers finished with a winning record in Big Ten games was 10-8 in 2017. Prior to that the only winning season in conference games was 2005 at 10-6.

Medved’s coaching chops with teaching and strategizing will be important for a turnaround, but talent always figures in prominently. And in the new world of college basketball, players can earn not just six-figures but become millionaires because of revenue sharing by athletic departments and compensation for name, image and likeness.

Tollackson refers to the “differentiating factor” of money in today’s landscape. And he recalled someone said this to him: “The answer is money. Now what’s your question?”

Gopher booster Bob Klas has given significant amounts of money to Minnesota’s official collective for NIL, Dinkytown Athletes. He was asked the following:

Can Medved be more successful as Gopher coach than his four predecessors in this millennium? And what will it take?

“A key to Niko being successful, as I imagine will be true for most other coaches, will be the amount of revenue sharing and NIL money he’ll have available for his program,” Klas said via email. “From what I’ve heard and read so far, the (Gopher) athletics department seems committed to providing him with a competitive budget. If that happens, I think Niko’s program can be in the upper half of the Big Ten, which hasn’t been the case for a while.”

Jim Petersen, a member of Minnesota’s 1982 Big Ten championship team, said previous coach Ben Johnson “was kind of hamstrung a little bit” regarding NIL money but he anticipates Medved having more resources. Word is men’s basketball will have more money than in the past from Dinkytown Athletes, and revenue sharing by the athletic department is expected to begin this summer for multiple sports at Minnesota including Medved’s program.

“I think he’s going to be successful,” Petersen said in response to a question about what the future will hold for Medved.

Those who know Medved believe his success will partially come from his ability to identify talent when others don’t. At Colorado State he recruited Minneapolis native David Roddy when many programs didn’t show that much interest, and he helped develop him into a NBA first round pick. In this week’s draft former Rams star Nique Clifford, who transferred to Fort Collins after a mediocre run at Colorado, is likely to go in the first round.

Abu-Shamala sees Medved as a coach who burns to win and will discover under the radar talent. “I think he’s super competitive. He’s a worker. He’s out and about all the time connecting with coaches…but he’s also going around and he’s looking at players’ intangibles that I think are often overlooked.

“Nowadays, there’s all these analytics. This guy shoots this percentage from three and this is how he fits in. But I think often overlooked is the element of who they are as people and how they fit into a culture. And I think he will do a really nice job of finding those players that have the pieces that you can’t measure with analytics.

“David Roddy had that. He’s just a worker. He didn’t fit a position, so people didn’t know where to slot him. And you get guys like that, that can find a role on a team, and they’ll be successful.”

If Abu-Shamala sounds pumped about Medved, he’s not alone. “I want to go play (for him) right now,” said the 63-year-old Petersen, once a prep All-American at St. Louis Park High School and also an NBA veteran.

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