Greg Davis, the Texas offensive coordinator, was in town last week to meet with Gopher coaches. Davis, one of Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster’s best friends, discussed such topics as how to change offensive tempo and two-minute offenses, according to Brewster.
Brewster and Davis also talked about Minnesota freshman quarterback MarQueis Gray who will be participating in his first spring practice starting next Tuesday. “He’s extremely similar to Vince Young in a lot of different ways,” Brewster said.
Davis coached Young, an All-American quarterback who led Texas to the 2005 national championship. Davis and Brewster talked about how to use and develop a quarterback with the athleticism of Gray. Although the Gophers won’t have a system emphasizing runs by the quarterback, Brewster made it clear Gray will have opportunities to use option plays where he can run.
Starting quarterback Adam Weber is recovering from off-season shoulder surgery and won’t have contact this spring. Gray is expected to benefit by directing the first team and gaining experience before he backs up Weber next fall. Brewster regards Weber, who will be a junior, as a player who could rank with the nation’s best quarterbacks next fall.
Brewster, who has been the Minnesota coach for about 26 months, expressed satisfaction with the team’s academic success. He said the Gophers had 46 players with a 3.0 GPA or higher last semester. He believes the total is the best in school history.
Brewster also said the program has experienced just one off field incident in two years where players got in trouble. Other programs have fared much worse with irresponsible behavior. Brewster said he tells his players, “Those who refuse to study history, are doomed to repeat it.”