Two games is hardly a season but it’s difficult to imagine a more spectacular start for a linebacker than what Nate Triplett is experiencing. In the Gophers’ first game the senior from Delano High had nine tackles and intercepted a pass in the end zone during overtime to end a Syracuse scoring drive. Last Saturday in the Gophers’ first game ever in TCF Bank Stadium he had a career high 17 tackles and ran 52 yards with a fumble to score the decisive touchdown against Air Force in Minnesota’s second win of the season.
Triplett’s heroics earned him recognition as the Walter Camp National Football Foundation Defensive Player of the Week. He was also named the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week by the football writers association. Triplett, who had 12 solo tackles against Air Force, is the co-Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, too. Triplett’s 17 tackles are a conference high so far this season.
For a guy who only started one game last season and saw most of his playing time as a special teams player, Triplett’s 2009 start is a surprise to many and a source of pride for Gopher coach Tim Brewster. He said Triplett has been the conference’s best special teams player the last two years and described his development as “amazing.’
“What he’s done is he’s carried that over to linebacker,” Brewster said. “Right now he’s playing at an extremely high level.”
Triplett said he wasn’t worried about what kind of season his last would be, but he was determined. “This is my senior year,” he said. “It’s all I have left.”
Determined to make this a “memorable season,” Triplett said he’s been willing to “stay 10 minutes after practice” and “watch 30 more minutes of film” to improve.
He’s also living with two of the Gophers most productive players, quarterback Adam Weber and wide receiver Eric Decker. That kind of company can’t hurt either.