Gopher Skill Players: Top 10 for 2015

Everyone loves a countdown, right?  Except when it’s one of those bleacher report style click-bait things.  Screw that noise.

For 2015, the Gophers start the year with a huge question. How do they replace the production of  David Cobb and Maxx Williams on offense?  

For this countdown, I'm excluding the quarterback from offensive "skill positions" because we know we’ll have Mitch Leidner back .  Manning Camp Mitch is going to have even more weight on his shoulders coming into this year as he and the staff search to find the guy(s) who should get the ball.  The good news is there are many candidates.

As usual, Kill plays it pretty close to the vest.  Throughout the spring and into the summer we've heard him praise a number of different players in classic Jerry Kill generalities:  "Did a nice job", "Had a good day",  "Really playing well", "I like him a lot," etc. 

We’ve also seen that those at the top of the proverbial depth chart pre-season may not be who we find starting to close out the year.  To recap, here’s what the Gophers are losing from 2014 as far as receiving and rushing goes:

That’s 1728 of 2813 rushing yards (61.4%) and 1285 of 1844 (69.7%) of receiving yardage. 

I’m going to use a proprietary blend of dynamic-ness/upside-ness and playing time.  It’s all very scientific and totally on the level, trust me:

10.  (5-way tie!) Lincoln Plsek /Jerry Gibson/Duke Anyanwu /Brandon Lingen/Nate Wozniak, TEs -  So, right from the start I’m cheating.  This is a hugely important position in the Limgrover offense, but I haven't a clue who gets the bulk of the catches.

With Anyanwu (RSSo.) and Plsek (Sr.) both recovering from knee and back injuries respectively, the door cracks open a little bit more for someone else to step up.  At this point, it appears Plsek is in risk of missing the opener, but Anyanwu is out just a couple of weeks. Plsek is more of a classic blocking tight end with Anyanwu with more speed and athleticism. 

Gibson may or may not be ready for prime time yet as a redshirt freshman.  He's a heck of an athlete though and next to Lingen and Anyanwu may be the most likely to be that receiving tight end.  “Six-foot-Ten” Nate Wozniak deserves a special shout-out because Kill mentioned him at Big Ten Media days and again after the scrimmage.  It’s hard to believe Wozniak can play every down – I would expect more of a specialist with his length.  Lingen also getting a lot of praise and had a decent amount of run as a true freshman last year  Maybe he’s the guy? It’ll probably end up being one of the other nine tight ends on the roster.   ¯\(°_o)/¯

9.  Eric Carter, WR – The redshirt sophomore had just one catch last year, but it wasn’t too long ago that many were high on his prospects.  He made a nice 12 yard catch on third down on the first drive of the gopher fall scrimmage.  He's not a starter yet, but with only two returning receivers with 10+ catches, anyone can make the jump.

8.  Berkley Edwards, RB – Edwards is one of the running backs in the hunt for carries and looks like an option for a change-of-pace runner at 5’9” 195lbs.  He had 30 carries for 140 yards and 2 TDs in 2014 as a redshirt freshman in 2014 and really showed so flashes of being the lightning to someone's thunder.

7.  Melvin Holland Jr., WR -  Jerry Kill calls him gunpowder!  Holland caught a 56 yard pass in the scrimmage from a slant pass against the first team defense.  The RS freshman has a lot of skill and Leidner has said that he has “taken the most strides.”  I really like him as a possession guy that can generate yards after the catch with his elusiveness.

6.  Rodney Smith, RB – The redshirt freshman got the second drive of the fall scrimmage and is in the hunt for major carries this season if Williams doesn’t carry the bulk of the load.  He did get stuffed by Everett Williams on said second drive because the dreads have eyes. 

Everett Williams

5.  Drew Wolitarsky, WR – Wolitarsky at times has shown the ability to find openings in a defense.  Coming off a 10 catch year as a sophomore, he is a likely starter outside.  As important as catching passes, his 6’3”, 220lb frame may need to replace some of the blocking that Isaac Freuchte brought to the squad in 2014. 

4.  Isaiah Gentry, WR – I’m going out on a limb with Gentry in the 4 spot.  He’s 6’4”, can run well and goes up in the air to catch the ball.  A big part of Maxx’s ability to have success was to get those jump balls and I think Gentry can mimic that effect.  When was the last time we had a receiver with size that could go deep?

3.  KJ Maye, WR – KJ is the odds-on favorite to be the leading receiver and also happens to be the returning receiver with the most receptions.  He also jet-sweeped (jetswept?) the Hawkeyes to death last November, which was terrific.  He’s an undersized receiver at 5’10”, but could be very valuable working underneath with some of the younger and bigger players “taking the top off” of defenses.

2.  Rodrick Williams, RB – Nugget seems to be the favorite to replace a lot of the Cobb production.  He committed himself in the off-season and got in better shape anticipating a heavier workload.  In my opinion, he doesn’t have as much of that one-cut ability that Cobb showed, but I like him to be a grinder and break some tackles. I expect him to lead the team in rushing attempts and touchdowns this season.

1.  Jeff Jones, RB/WR – The redshirt freshman has been moved to the slot wide receiver position to catch passes and maybe run some jet sweeps.  The Under Armor All America MVP has come in with a lot of hype out of Washburn Hs and will finally get a chance to show what he can do this year.  I expect him to get some carries from the backfield as well.  By the end of the year, he could be getting a lot of touches per game both on the ground and through the air.  He has all of the talent and skills to be our biggest impact player.

Honorable Mention:  Shannon Brooks (RB), Chris Streveler (QB/WR?), “Six foot Five” Rashad Still (WR), Desmond Gant, WR

What do you think?  Who comes through and shines as a play maker for the Gophers this season?  Who did your buddy TRE miss?  Which one of those tight ends comes through?

Is it a trap? Gophers vs Illinois

Favored by -12.5 against Purdue at home.  Was that a trap game?

Favored by -6.5 against Illinois at Champagne this weekend.  Maybe that's the trap?

The bye week certainly isn't a trap, but what about the following week at home versus Iowa.  Trap?

Everyone seems to be calling each game a trap these days.  I realized that I don't know what the hell a trap even is except you lose when you don't expect to.  Some nerds at Harvard defined the trap game as a game against a lesser opponent preceding a game against a better opponent.  In that case, I guess Iowa would most qualify as a trap game presuming you think the Gophers are better than Iowa.  Iowa lost to The Turtle last week and has a loss against the Cyclones in non-conference play.  They will likely get handled by Northwestern a week from Saturday at Kinnick.  So yeah, let's assume they are worse then our Gophers.  Then the Gophs face Ohio State at home the following week, which will be a game they most certainly are not favored in.

Back to Harvard... they did an analysis of "trap games" in the NFL between (2002-11) and found that in so called trap games, the favored team won at a percentage consistent with other (non-trap) games where they are favored.  In fact, they won ever so slightly more often.  There were similar results for "let down games", i.e. games against a lesser opponent after beating a strong opponent.

So, in this non-trap matchup with the Illini, what can we expect?  The line at Bovada stands at Gophers -6 right now with an o/u of 56.  Illinois lost 38-28 to the Badgers in their last game and is now 3-4 (0-3) on the year.  They lost quarterback Wes Lunt to injury against Purdue, but the offense was still working with Reilly O'Toole and rushing QB Aaron Bailey leading the way.  The team averages 304 yards passing per game, but that's mostly due to Wes Lunt-ness.  Guy was slangin' rocks.  Now you have Bailey running and O'Toole throwing it around like the boys.

Tim Beckman thinks the Gophers will struggle with the dual QBs, "I think that for them to prepare for two is always a little more challenging than to prepare for one."

Here's the thing though, one looks like he's a glorified tailback and the other was efficient (12/19), but threw for 96 yards last week.  He was also sacked four times, so look for the Gopher d-line to put on some pressure.  Freshman WR Mike Dudek is having a good year receiving for the Illini.  He has 37 receptions for 598 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Irish assassin O'Toole will need to find him early to get some points on the board.

Obviously, Illinois scores some points here, but probably not as easily as Purdue did last week with their death-by-bubble-screen attack. There will be some bending.  There may be some breakage.  What we do know though is the defense is the softest of Swiss cheeses.  Which makes them Laughing Cow I guess?  Illinois gives up 35.9 points per contest including letting Texas State (who?) hang 42 on them.

My prediction is similar to many pundits this week.  The David (Daniel?) Cobb ground and pound will continue and the defense and specials will continue to make plays.  The Gopher secondary will make it tough for O'Toole and hopefully bear down on Bailey.  Minnesota 34 - Illinois 24.

Oh, almost forgot (scotch):

Illinois All-Namers:

V'Angelo Bentley DB - Nice take on the uber boring D'Angelo
Marchie Murdock WR - Marchie'ing down the field shtick in play
Man Berg QB - Full given name is Peter Bailey Berg ... Goes by "Man".  What in the everloving F?  Father is an EVP at CBS, man.
Jihad Ward DL - Declares Jihad on OL's each week
Dawuane Smoot DL - PARTY BOAT, Y'ALL!

Apostrophe Count: 3 including O'Toole and O'Connor

Know Your Enemy Week 1: EIU Pamfs

Zack knows.

Each week before the game I like to try and use the mysterious powers of the intergoogles to learn more about the given week's opponent.  For week 1 of the 2014 season the Gophers are taking on FCS power Eastern Illinois.  The FCS schools are a little tougher to research than say, Nebraska, but let's see what we can find out.

My first stop is to the official EIU Panthers Website and their preview against Minnesota.  As a side note, congrats to EIU grads Janelle and Warren for winning the USTA Mixed Doubles Grass Court Championships:

Janelle clearly carried the team.

Where was I?  Oh yeah, so the EIU site has 5 things to watch which amount to:

1.  Kim Dameron is their head coach and its his first year.  It's a dude named Kim; this is 2014, bro.
2.  Who will replace Jimmy Garoppolo at QB?  Answer, two guys that transferred from NMSU and Kentucky respectively.  NMSU guy Andrew Manley actually beat the Gophers in 2011 and if I recall correctly, is a ginger.  Suddenly I have the fear.  Jalen Whitlow started some games for Kentucky and was a dual threat type.

Minnesota is preparing for two quarterbacks against Eastern Illinois -- maybe two at the same time, Kill says.
— ESPN Big Ten (@ESPN_BigTen) August 26, 2014

Wait, what?

3.  There's a new punter and new kicker(s) this year.  They're riding the "hot foot" at kicker.  There's a 70% chance the opposing kicker wilts under the glare of SANTOSO.
4.  They beat San Diego State in the opener last year and narrowly lost to Northern Illinois.  However, they are 0-6 against the Big Ten.
5.  Despite losing Jimmy at QB and WR Erik Lora, the recent Vikings undrafted free agent cut; they return 2900 receiving yards and two other FCS All-Americans.  They also return both running backs who combined for 2500+ yards in 2013 including Walter Payton Award watch listed Shepard Little.

More on Garoppolo

Not Related

If you're living an NFL-free lifestyle, you may not know the name Jimmy Garoppolo.  This spring he became something of a pre-NFL draft sensation; he was a late add to the Senior Bowl after playing well in the East-West Shrine game.  The guy threw for over 5000 yards and 53 touchdowns as a senior, breaking records that Tony Romo set at EIU.  He won the Walter Payton award which is like the FCS Heisman.  The Patriots selected him in the 2nd round, 62nd overall and he'll be starting the Pats final preseason game on Thursday while his Panthers take on the Gophers.  Word is he may play the whole damn game.  Clearly, losing Jimmy will be a big blow to this team, but this still a strong offense that the Gophers defense should not take them lightly.

Any @EIU_Panthers fans that forgot how good @JimmyG_10 was, he is having a pretty good exhibition season 24-of-37, 334 yds, 4 TD, 0 INT
— EIUPanthers.com (@EIU_Panthers) August 24, 2014

Eastern Illinois All-Namers

WR Keiondre Gober - Fastest WR, deep threat!
DE Fedney Delphonse - OLB/DE SuperFedney
DB Elven Walker - Lives in a tree
WR Stephen Bravo-Brown - Hooray!
*Note:  Not a single apostrophe on the squad

How will the game go?

Under the previous regime, Garoppolo and friends ran a high-tempo, high-octane offense.  Dameron and new OC Greg Stevens intend to slow it down and use their very capable running backs tandem.  Dameron is considered more of a defensive-minded coach and has a lot of returning starters.  The defense has strength up the middle with DT DinoFanti and MLB Robert Haynes. 

The bottom line is this is another one of those non-conference games where the Gophers need to just execute and rely on the fact they are the bigger, better, stronger, faster, better looking team.  A strong start could be crucial.  If the Gophers can get the running game going and the crowd behind them, it could be all downhill from there.  If they make early mistakes and give up an early lead, it could be a painful slog.  We at SGH? believe our defensive backfield is a strength and this will be a great early test.  My dream would be a solid early lead with the opportunity to stretch the field for some passing to Jones, Maxx, Maye and Woli. 

TRE's Score Prediction:  Gophers 30, Panthers 17
Swan's Score Prediction: Gophers 35, Panthers 10