Recruiting – Page 93 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Dalton: AP Still Special Player

Posted on October 1, 2012October 1, 2012 by David Shama

Adrian Peterson ran for 102 yards yesterday in the Vikings’ 20-13 win over the Lions, his best total in four games during his comeback ACL surgery. His longest run from scrimmage this season is only 20 yards but former Vikings running back coach Dean Dalton told Sports Headliners that Peterson “can be as good as ever, maybe even better.”

Peterson, 27, has rushed for over 1,200 yards in four different seasons. His reputation as one of the NFL’s elite runners is part of the reason why Dalton said last week Peterson’s numbers are mediocre so far in 2012. “Everybody (opposing defenses) is keying to stop him,” said Dalton who has an NFL show on Sirius Satellite Radio.

The other problem, at least before yesterday, is what Dalton terms “rust.” During his recovery program from the ACL surgery Peterson didn’t play in preseason games. His first football contact came in week one this season. As Dalton described it, many months had passed since Peterson “had to run over a guy.” Running through drills isn’t the same as a collision.

During the comeback Peterson has shown the ability to power into tacklers and cut by them. Does Peterson think the “rust” is gone and does he have the feel for playing the game the way he once did? “…I felt like (after game three) the rust is knocked off now and that’s what I needed, and I’ll be ready to roll even better,” Peterson said last week.

Peterson was pressed for confirmation on whether he feels like his old self. “Pretty much,” he said. “Pretty much.”

Dalton doesn’t see any physical limitations in Peterson after his long rehab. “I think he’s fine. He will keep getting better.”

Peterson reportedly earns a base salary of $8 million this season and is among the better paid players in the NFL. Dalton said Peterson is worth the money, describing the All-Pro running back as a threat defensive coordinators have to scheme against, and that attention should help make for a more productive Vikings’ passing game.

“Very, very valuable,”Dalton said. “He remains the face of the franchise. He puts fear in opponents. He’s nearly impossible to stop in the red zone. I see him getting back to form sooner rather than later.”

Worth Noting

The Vikings’ Marcus Sherels gave himself a 25^th birthday present yesterday, returning a 77-yard punt for a touchdown against the Lions.

Vikings’ tight end Kyle Rudolph has caught three of quarterback Christian Ponder’s four touchdown passes this season. Both are second-year NFL players who have bonded. The two spent a month in Florida this year working out together and socializing. “I think that really helped us,” Rudolph said.

Don Becker, who works for the Wilf family on real estate projects out east, will have major responsibilities for the Vikings’ stadium project.

The Gophers (4-1) struggled on Saturday to stop Iowa running back Mark Weisman in the first half when the Hawkeyes built a 24-0 lead before winning 31-13. Minnesota didn’t face a power running team in its first four games of the season, playing schools that emphasized throwing the ball.

Coach Jerry Kill said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” yesterday that he wouldn’t predict whether quarterback MarQueis Gray’s high ankle sprain will allow him to play on October 13 against Northwestern. The Gophers have a bye on their schedule this Saturday.

Terry Ryan, the Twins’ general manager, also was on the “Sports Huddle” and indicated there could be a change(s) coming soon with manager Ron Gardenhire’s coaching staff.

Miguel Sano, 19, led the Midwest League in home runs with 28 and RBI, 100. He’s probably the most anticipated hitting prospect in the Twins’ organization. Twins’ minor league executive Jim Rantz told Sports Headliners that Sano could be in spring training with the Twins next February. Will Sano make the final roster and start the season in the major leagues?

“I think that would be a little too much at this time for him,” Rantz said. “I don’t see that happening, but never say never.”

Sano, a third baseman, hit about .300 early in the season at Beloit but finished with a .258 average. Rantz said pitchers threw Sano a lot of breaking balls and “off-speed stuff.” But Rantz believes Sano can become a .270 or better hitter in the majors. “I think that’s a possibility. Sure do.”

Gophers’ baseball coach John Anderson is an advocate for northern schools—like those in the Big Ten—switching to a summer schedule that would start in June and close with playoffs in August. Moving away from the unpredictable northern weather in the spring and playing in the summer would turn Gophers baseball into a revenue producing sport, Anderson said. A larger budget would even allow teams like the Gophers to use wooden bats.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien, who chairs the Mr. Basketball program, told Sports Headliners that Apple Valley is his preseason choice for No. 1 team in the state.

Lien said Apple Valley, led by point guard Tyus Jones, will play Robbinsdale Cooper, led by shooting guard Rashad Vaughn, in the Timberwolves Shootout in January at Target Center. Jones, Vaughn and DeLaSalle’s Reid Travis are part of a nationally recruited threesome that could be the best in Minnesota prep history. “Vaughn might be the only one who ends up with the Gophers,” Lien said.

Lien also said that Edina senior point guard Graham Woodward was scheduled to visit Penn State last weekend. Senior forward Kyle Washington, who played for Benilde-St. Margaret’s in 2010-11 but now goes to school in New Hampshire, has verbally committed to North Carolina State after Wisconsin showed a lot of interest. Grand Rapids sophomore center Alex Illikainen is being recruited by Kansas, according to Lien.

The Gophers’ first two games in the late November Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament will be intriguing. Minnesota plays Duke and legendary coach Mike Krzyzeski in the opening game. Then the Gophers will either play Virginia Commonwealth or Memphis. New Gophers’ athletic director Norwood Teague is from VCU and Shaka Smart, who Teague hired as coach at VCU, might one day be a candidate for the Minnesota job. Jimmy Williams, who has been involved for years in a lawsuit against the University of Minnesota, is an assistant coach at Memphis.

Don’t be surprised if the Gophers upset favored Duke in Minnesota’s opening game.

Former Gophers’ coach Jim Dutcher said Ray Williams, who played for him at Minnesota and had an NBA career, has recovered from colon cancer and is living in Florida.

The Wild’s Dany Heatley is profiled as part of the “Becoming Wild: Chapter Two” series starting at 7 p.m. Thursday on FOX Sports North. A similar feature on Mikko Koivu airs starting at 6:30 p.m. on October 11. The series began with other Wild players last month and features details of their daily lives. Episodes can be viewed at www.wild.com.

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U QB Future May Change Now

Posted on September 17, 2012September 17, 2012 by David Shama

MarQueis Gray’s high ankle sprain has potentially changed quarterback plans for the Gophers. With Gray out indefinitely, sophomore Max Shortell will be the starter and freshman Philip Nelson, who was highly probable for a redshirt season, is the No. 2 quarterback.

If Shortell becomes injured or sick, then Nelson is the next man up on the limited quarterback roster. Nelson has been the No. 3 quarterback behind Gray and ahead of fellow freshman Mitch Leidner who has been seeing scout team duties in practice. Redshirt freshman Dexter Foreman is another reserve quarterback.

Nelson is a high potential player but one obviously without college experience. Prep recruiting authority Tom Lemming rated Nelson the No. 2 pro-style high school quarterback prospect in the country last year. Nelson’s potential in throwing and running the ball is a good fit in Minnesota’s balanced offense.

But the hope by the Gophers coaches is Nelson won’t have to see game action because once he’s on the field his redshirt eligibility disappears. A redshirt season for Nelson in 2012 means he’s still a freshman in football eligibility next season, while Shortell is a junior. That sets up a possible scenario where Shortell could be the starter for two seasons as a junior and senior while Nelson will have two remaining years of eligibility after Shortell completes his career at Minnesota.

The 6-6, 237-pound Shortell has a lumbering running style that makes him a big target for tacklers and potential injury. He would be well advised to slide at the end of runs whenever possible, avoiding the kind of near head-on collision he escaped from last Saturday against Western Michigan.

Gray’s skill set begins with his running, while Shortell’s starts with passing. For that reason the Gophers coaches will make changes to the offense with Shortell as the starter and he won’t be asked to run with the ball nearly as many plays as offered to Gray. That will help limit Shortell’s exposure to injury.

Notes:

Western Michigan coach Bill Cubit praised Shortell who replaced the injured Gray in the first half with the Gophers leading 10-7 on Saturday. He said Shortell, who threw three touchdown passes including two in the first half, was “probably the difference” in the game’s outcome.

“Your whole game plan changes,” Cubit said of the switch in quarterbacks. “Now all of a sudden—no offense to Gray—you have a guy that can throw it around a little bit more. He came in at a time Minnesota was struggling, and he was able to give them a much needed boost.”

Junior Gophers’ defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman didn’t have a sack in the 28-23 win over Western Michigan, leaving his total for the season at three after being double and triple teamed by the Broncos. Was he frustrated by all the extra attention from blockers?

“It’s just part of football,” Hageman said. “I get mad. I just use that for fuel. …”

Sophomore Gophers’ running back Donnell Kirkwood ran for a single game career high of 120 yards. He credited his resolve to be more of a physical runner for the success after having 71 yards in the previous game against New Hampshire. “I think I kind of got away from that last week, trying to make the big play,” Kirkwood said.

Junior Minnesota wide receiver A.J. Barker, who caught three touchdown passes yesterday, isn’t on scholarship but look for that to change, according to what Gophers coach Jerry Kill said on WCCO Radio yesterday.

The 3-0 Gophers play 1-2 Syracuse in a 7 p.m. game Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium. The game is being billed as “Fill Our House” by the Minnesota Athletic Department and $10 tickets are available to the public. Those tickets can be purchased now via www.mygophersports.com or by calling 612-624-8080.

Jason LaFrenz, Gophers’ associate athletics director, said the season tickets total for students is 4,000. Last year it was 5,600.

There’s no accusing suspended wide receiver Jerome Simpson of not being optimistic about the Vikings. Asked last Thursday what he thinks his team is capable of this season, he said: “Super Bowl. I really do because we have so many championship people at positions. … We got a great quarterback, Christian (Ponder). We’ve got so much talent on this team. Anything short of a Super Bowl is lost in my book.”

The Vikings looked more like a team headed for a repeat of last year’s 3-13 record yesterday in a 23-20 loss to the mediocre Colts in Indianapolis. Mistakes, including three personal foul penalties in the third quarter, hurt the Vikings on both offense and defense. Despite playing against a Colts offensive line that has been shuffled with personnel changes, and a rookie Indianapolis quarterback in Andrew Luck, the Vikings couldn’t make enough big plays to win.

The Vikings continue to rotate defensive linemen in and out, much more than in past seasons. KFAN radio analyst Pete Bercich reported during the first half that starting tackle Kevin Williams was so upset he threw his helmet on the sidelines.

The Vikings will pull off one of the NFL’s biggest upsets of the season next Sunday at Mall of America Field if they can defeat the 2-0 49ers, a Super Bowl favorite and perhaps the league’s best club. The two teams met in the preseason and even then the 49ers looked superior, easily winning 17-6.

Mike Tice had to handle tempermental Randy Moss when Tice was head coach of the Vikings. Now Tice is offensive coordinator of the Bears and has an emotional quarterback in Jay Cutler who wasn’t happy with the play of some teammates in last Thursday’s 23-10 loss to the Packers. The Bears played poorly at times in that game, showing a leaky offensive line and receivers who under performed.

St. Paul native and NBA referee Ken Mauer is supportive of the NFL officials who aren’t working so far this season because of a lockout. Mauer said those officials are being told to take fewer benefits, and he “would fight for any worker in this country that was going through something like that.”

“I am for them,” Mauer told Sports Headliners. “I am proud of what they are doing. I applaud them. “

It’s popular to criticize the replacement officials but they have a difficult assignment. Those officials are working NFL games for the first time and their performances are in the national spotlight.

Mike Markuson, the former Hamline University and Farmington High assistant, who was fired as Wisconsin’s offensive line coach after two games last week, was replaced on the Badgers staff by 27-year-old Bart Miller. Miller was promoted to interim offensive line coach from his position as a graduate assistant. The Badgers rushed for only 173 yards in a 16-14 win over Utah State last Saturday.

The guess here is Rashad Vaughn, the Cooper junior guard and one of the nation’s best prep basketball prospects in the class of 2014, will keep the Gophers near the top of his list college lists.

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien emailed that representatives from Louisville, North Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin will be in town recruiting Vaughn this week.

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Could Wild Lose $1.5 Million Per Game?

Posted on September 14, 2012September 14, 2012 by David Shama

A Sports Headliners hockey source estimates the Wild could lose up to $1.5 million per game if the upcoming NHL season is postponed or cancelled.

The current collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players expires tomorrow night. If a new deal isn’t struck during the immediate hours ahead the source predicted it could take until about January 1 to start the season.

Even having a new agreement in place by then would be better than eight years ago when failed negotiations between players and owners wiped out the entire season of 2004-05. “A terrible time,” the source said.

His believes the Wild might lose $1 million in ticket revenues for each game played next season, plus other revenues including concessions, merchandising, suite purchases and parking. The pending work stoppage comes at an unfortunate time for the Wild who with the summer signing of free agents Zach Parise and Ryan Suter caused such a stir in the local sports market it’s possible the franchise could move to No. 2 in popularity behind the Vikings.

Most NHL players don’t get paid until the season starts but Parise and Suter received bonuses of $10 million this summer, according to the source. He also said the Wild ownership is probably working on a plan now regarding how front office employees will be compensated if the coming season is delayed for a long time.

Wild players have been working out at local rinks including the Bloomington Ice Gardens and Orono Ice Arena. They are expected to be physically prepared whenever the season starts.

Football Notes & More:

The Gophers (2-0) are favored by only a few points to defeat Western Michigan (1-1) tomorrow at TCF Bank Stadium, and there was talk earlier in the week about the Broncos being the odds-makers’ choice. Either way it doesn’t impact senior Gophers quarterback MarQueis Gray.

“As a freshman I was worried what outsiders thought about us,” Gray said. “You realize the only people that matter are the ones wearing the uniforms or that’s in this building (Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex). The comments and stuff that people say doesn’t stick to me anymore.”

Minnesota players were aggressive and focused last week, despite playing FCS New Hampshire. Coach Jerry Kill wants his team to approach each game with an “underdog” mentality, regardless of the opponent. “We feel we should do that every weekend,” Gray said looking back on the New Hampshire game.

The 6-4, 250-pound Gray ranks eighth among Big Ten rushers with 177 yards. He’s no proponent of sliding to avoid tacklers. “I don’t think about it,” he said. “I just think about how big I am. I just use my size and know that I am basically like a d-end playing quarterback. I can fall forward to get two yards. Lowering my shoulder or trying to get out of bounds are my best options. So sliding is never an option.”

Speculation a few years ago was the Gophers’ Ra’Shede Hageman would be a standout tight end in college. Although he played offense and defense at Washburn High School, he knew his preference.

“I didn’t care about defense,” he said. “I didn’t like it.”

Now a junior and one of the most promising defensive linemen in the Big Ten, Hageman has three sacks in two games and is tied for the Big Ten lead in that category with Purdue’s Kawann Short.

Broncos quarterback Alex Carder threw five touchdown passes last Saturday in a 52-21 win over Eastern Illinois. Since the start of the 2010 season he’s thrown 67 touchdown passes. The Broncos rank No. 13 in passing offense (333.50 yards per game) among NCAA major college teams.

Carder, who is on preseason watch lists for the nation’s top quarterback, is one of five fifth-year starters on the Broncos offense. The lone Minnesotan listed on the roster is Jonathan Harden, a 5-9, 319-pound No. 2 nose tackle from Cretin-Derham Hall.

Western Michigan lost its opening game this season at Illinois (24-7) but the Broncos are considered a contender to win the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.

The Broncos are 0-3 against Minnesota, with the last meeting in 1977, a 10-7 loss to the Gophers. Broncos alumni include Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings and former Vikings defensive lineman Bob Lurtsema.

Big Ten teams lost six of 12 nonconference games last weekend. The conference has only three teams in the Associated Press top 25, with Michigan Statethe highest ranked at No. 10. The SEC has four teams ranked among the top nine, including No. 1 Alabama.

Don’t believe the hype that major college football programs just schedule “cupcakes” in nonconference games. Northwestern plays Boston College tomorrow and the Wildcats’ first two games were against Syracuse and Vanderbilt. Michigan State plays Notre Dame tomorrow and opened its season against western power Boise State.

Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said Adrian Peterson still has a “ways to go” in reaching the performance level he had last season prior to his ACL injury.

Musgrave was asked if he’s ever seen anyone run harder for his size than Percy Harvin (5-11, 184): “No. Never have. What would be the term? No fair dodging. That’s Percy’s theme. He’s not going to avoid anybody. He can make people miss… he’s agile but he’s not going to run out of bounds. He’s going to run through or run over somebody.”

When St. Thomas played at Saint John’s two years ago the game drew 16,421 fans, a record for Division III football. The Tommies and Johnnies, both 2-0, play tomorrow in Collegeville with such a large crowd expected the Saint John’s sports website is featuring information about travel and parking information.

John Gagliardi will coach his 600^th game for Saint John’s tomorrow. He is college football’s winningest coach and is in his 60^th season as Johnnies head coach.

Gophers’ wrestling coach J Robinson, a former U.S. Army Ranger, was asked about the September 11 anniversary this week and he said Americans have been mostly “insulated” from evil during their lives. “They got a real taste of what it was like and they didn’t like it,” he said.

But Robinson also said the “wake-up call” has been forgotten by many and not much has changed since 9-11-01 for millions of Americans other than security checks in airports. That won’t alter the reality that America has its enemies. “Evil exists in the world and we are very naive in not addressing it,” Robinson said. “Evil can not co-exist with good anywhere.”

This school year is his 27^th as Gophers wrestling coach. The program has won three national titles with Robinson as coach. At 66 years old, how many more can he coach? “A bunch,” he said. “I plan to but whether I will or not that’s another thing.”

Robinson expects his team to be ranked No. 2 or 3 nationally this fall. “Half of our team are All-Americans and the other half want to be All-Americans. So that’s good.”

Prep basketball authority Ken Lien is guessing that Apple Valley junior point guard Tyus Jones will attend Kentucky. He said the prep super star’s final three college choices could be Kentucky, Michigan State and Duke.

Kentucky coach John Calipari visited Apple Valley High School this week and North Carolina coach Roy Williams will be in town next week, according to Lien.

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