While Kill will be in the spotlight tomorrow, there is more to pay attention to. Watch the tempo of the event. “The Gophers are different from in the past,” said a Big Ten football source who spoke anonymously. “I am somewhat in awe of the tempo he (Kill) conducts practice. I love well paced teams that run on and off the field.”
Past Gophers teams have been weaklings at pressuring the quarterback but this coaching staff is determined to fix the problem. Watch tomorrow to see what the pressure is like from the defensive line. If that unit can’t get it done, defensive strategy likely will call for pass rushing help from linebackers and defensive backs.
The linebacker unit is the team’s deepest and most talented. Kill may give six or so linebackers regular playing time in the fall.
It’s an intriguing bunch that includes hard hitting senior Gary Tinsley, a game type player, and mobile junior Mike Rallis. Another returnee with experience is junior Ryan Grant, a young man from the Bud Grant and Mike Grant football tree, and possessed with a high football IQ.
And Gophers fans will see the debut of Florida transfer Brendan Beal, a Rivals four-star linebacker during his prep days in Pennsylvania. How good might this sophomore be for the Gophers?
Then there’s freshman running back Lamonte Edwards. Mention his name the last couple of years to Edwards experts and you might start an argument about whether his considerable athleticism is best suited to running back and linebacker. That could be a topic Kill and his staff have pondered more than once. (An injury may keep Edwards out of tomorrow’s scrimmage).
A position there seems no debate about is quarterback where junior MarQueis Gray seems to have won the job. Gophers fans can watch tomorrow to see if Gray, who has played mostly at wide receiver during his first two years, looks in command of the team and is able to pick out secondary receivers when passing.
Probably not so defined is the team’s No. 2 quarterback where sophomore Moses Alipate, who has a year’s edge in experience, was thought to have an edge on freshman Tom Parish. If Parish wins the backup job, could the 6-5, 285-pound Alipate move to another position?
So go ahead and watch Gray, Parish, Alipate and all the other players tomorrow. No doubt Kill would like attention directed to his players, not him.