“Who’s house? Our house!” Gopher football assistant coaches have used that cheer to fire up Minnesota fans since head coach Tim Brewster put his staff together over a year ago. It’s fair to say that as Brewster and his assistants get ready for a second season they are still working on the “house’s” foundation.
Tonight (Friday) the public can assess more of the building process when the Gophers play in their annual free spring game at the Metrodome starting at 7 p.m. Don’t expect to reach a lot of conclusions, though. Playing an intra-squad game is a lot different from facing another team in the fall. Plus, the Gophers’ starting defensive lineup for next season is far from settled with the possibility that incoming junior college and freshmen players will earn regular spots in August and September.
That’s because the Gophers have a strong group of freshmen and junior college players from a recruiting class that focused on defensive players and earned national praise. The help wanted sign was really out as Brewster and his staff went recruiting after last season’s team was a disaster defensively and largely responsible for a 1-11 record.
Tonight’s game is an opportunity to see some newcomers already here including linebacker Rex Sharpe, defensive back Tramaine Brock and athlete David Pittman, all jucos. Pittman is an exciting player who will play some at quarterback and other positions. Look for him to give the Gophers’ a big play running threat at quarterback in special situations next season.
Most fans will focus on quarterback Adam Weber who was a Sporting News third team freshman All-American last season. His 241.2 yards per game passing was third in the Big Ten Conference and he set school records for pass completions, attempts, touchdown passes and yardage. Weber has now added muscle and weight that will help him take the pounding required of a passing-running quarterback in the spread offense. He’s also working to become a more vocal leader.
With improved talent, more familiarity with the offensive and defensive systems, plus a favorable schedule, the Gophers will win more than one game next season. As usual the non-conference schedule is soft and unattractive to fans, but helpful for winning games. The Gophers will be favored in home non-conference games with Northern Illinois, Montana State, and Florida Atlantic, and at Bowling Green. All four of the home conference games–Indiana, Northwestern, Michigan and Iowa–are possible wins. The road will be much more difficult with games at Ohio State, Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin.
The Gophers could win several games, although the regional and national media will make them a popular choice to finish last again in the conference. Ohio State is the elite team in the conference, a possibility to play in a third consecutive national championship game. Wisconsin, Penn State and Illinois may be the next best teams. Iowa has struggled in recent seasons but Mark May predicted on ESPN2 this spring that the Hawkeyes will be one of the surprise teams in college football next season. He based his prediction on Iowa returning most of its offensive starters and the skills of head coach Kirk Ferentz.
Big Ten football has been inferior to other conferences for awhile, including the SEC which has five coaches who have won national championships. Brewster’s opportunity is to consistently recruit such high level players to Minnesota that he passes by the many mediocre Big Ten programs.
Talented players build a strong “house.”