The Gophers open practice today at 3:55 p.m. at the Gibson-Nagurski Complex. That practice and many others are open to the public including workouts through Friday. All five practices through Friday begin at 3:55 p.m. and are at Gibson-Nagurski.
Quarterback MarQueis Gray will be the team’s playmaker and he’s bulked up since a year ago, reportedly approaching 250 pounds. Kill said he will wait to see if the additional size is “good or bad” for his quarterback.
“I’ve seen a lot of guys lift a lot of weights, (and) can’t play football,” Kill said. “I’ve seen a lot of 10.4 track guys that can’t play football. You gotta translate that (size, speed) to the football field.”
The 6-foot-4 junior is expected to be the Gophers starter for the first time in his career. Kill praised Gray’s offseason efforts to become a team leader.
Joel Maturi said he didn’t know if the Big Ten had finalized plans to eliminate 11 a.m. football games this year but “we’re hoping we’re going to play at noon at the earliest.”
The conference did announce league teams will play nine conference games each starting in 2017. Maturi said the increase from eight games to nine was long discussed and helping to ease the transition is that all schools will still be able to play seven home games (including nonconference opponents) each year.
“I do think the fans want more conference games,” Maturi said. “That’s a huge part of the factor.”