The Iowa Defense is Formidable and Stuff

I don't know... I laughed.

This post is a follow-up to my post on Monday about the Hawkeye offense.  Sure, the offense has some neat parts and all, but the defense is what is most impressive about our corn people to the south.



Iowa ranks 18th in the nation in points against. (20.0ppg)  They are coming off of a week where they only allowed 7 to Pat Fitzgerald's Veiny Forehead. 

Here's a list of Iowa's best defensive performances this year:

Granted, our Gophers have given up more points to some of these teams, but I found it notable that they stifle the the suckier teams -- which I suppose makes sense.  Ball State is 2-2 in the MAC, ISU hasn't won a game in conference play and Pitt is 2-3 in the ACC.  Their other three games where they allowed 23, 29 and 38 points were against teams that as of right now (looking at you, IU) are all .500 or better.  And in two of they last three they gave up 29 and 38!



What does it all mean?  I don't know, I'm just trying to spin a scenario where the Gophers should be able to put up some points.

Kill said in the presser this week that Iowa is always a team that gets better during the year.  Lets look at the Hawkeyes by position.

Defensive Line

Drew Ott

The starting defensive ends are Nate Meier and Drew Ott.  Each have a whopping 40 total tackles on the year, but Ott is a pressure-machine.  The 6'4", 270lb junior has 10.5 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks on the year.  He's had at least one sack in each of the last three contests.  He also has seven hurries and a pretty sweet beard. Fear him.

The defensive tackles are also very good.  Senior Louis Trinca-Pasat is coming off a game where he had three sacks and made Trevor Siemian cry. (unconfirmed)  He is fourth on the team in total tackles and has the most among defensive lineman with an incredible 50.  His 9.5 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks are both second on the team.  The other tackle is 6'5", 315 senior Carl Davis.  He's a space eater type that occasionally gets into the backfield as well.  Kill refers to the two defensive tackles as "special" and not in the normal Iowa way.



Linebackers

Quinton Alston

The linebackers have been a bit banged up of late, but still are a strong unit featuring the team's leading tackler, senior Quinton Alston.  Last week, Alston moved to WLB as Reggie Spearman was out.  Travis Perry started in the middle.  The Outlaw Josey Jewell has also been banged up, but is normally a starter.  Alston is the gem of this group though, he gets tackles, breaks up passes (4) and gets to the QB (2 sacks, 1 hurry).  Not sure if he's related to Skip 2 My Lou or not though.  In this week's presser Limegrover calls the linebacking group very consistent, but says the front four really picks them.



Secondary

Kirk Lowdermilk has a son on the Hawkeyes and he's pretty dang good!  Ol' Milky is second on the team with 58 tackles and the other safety, Jordan Lomax is third with 52.  They have 3 interceptions between them.  Desmond King and Greg Mabin are the starting corners.  Travis Perry and Maurice Fleming round out the group.  These guy held Siemian to 68 yards passing last week.  They also held Maryland to under 50% passing and 206 total yards even though they lost that one. Sudfeld and company were abysmal for Indiana as well, throwing for 116 yards and 3 INTs.  As a team they have 10 interceptions and 30 passes broken up. 

Know Your Enemy - Purdue Boilermakers

Plas-tic Ham-mer

 
I just took a little trip to imagination land and imagined myself as a Purdue fan.  Purdue football has been around since 1887, but these days they play it like they just came over from India and are still learning the rules.  Purdue's glory days were in the 1890s, when they won four consecutive conference championships.  Purdue has 8 Big Ten championships, 7 of which they were co-champion because they'd only play like 6 games in conference. 

In 2000, they had their most recent Big Ten championship under Joe Tiller going 8-4 (6-2). Drew Brees and Matt Mitrione lost in the Rose Bowl to Washington. 

As I imagined being a fan, I thought to myself that the best part would be drinking Boilermakers at the tailgate lot.  Is that a thing they do?  It should be.

A boilermaker can refer to two types of beer cocktail. In American terminology, the drink consists of a glass of beer and a shot of whiskey.^[1] The beer is either served as a chaser or mixed with the whiskey. When the beer is served as a chaser, the drink is often called simply a shot and a beer.
In the United Kingdom, the term boilermaker refers to a half pint of draft mild mixed with a half pint of bottled brown ale.^[2] The use of the term in British pubs can be traced back to about 1920.

So, I always thought a boilermaker was a drop shot; meaning you drop the shot of whiskey in the beer.  Wiki tells me that I'm wrong though:

• Traditionally, the liquor is drunk in a single gulp and is then "chased" by the beer, which is sipped.^[4][5]

• The liquor and beer may be mixed by pouring or dropping the shot into the beer. The mixture may be stirred, if desired.^[4] If the full shot glass is dropped into the beer glass, the drink is known as a depth charge.
• The liquor may be poured directly into an open beer bottle or can after removing some of the beer.

So, I've been drinking DEPTH CHARGES, which sounds more awesome anyway.  That first bullet point is just "drinking" to me.  Doesn't everyone drink beer and whiskey on the reg like that?  Am I making boilers the whole time?

Back to Football

I've been getting the impression that our Gophers are once again being underestimated.  I just read snippets here and there, but Purdue seems a little punchy and even a little confident. 

I found quotes from head coach Darrell Hazell saying, “I think this is a big game for us — all of them are.  I like our chances. Obviously, they’re feeling good about themselves at 5-1 and playing good football. We’ll match up well with them.”

and

“I think this is a big game for us, as all of them are, but this is a huge game.  We have to come out there and play our best football game of the season. I like our chances.”

Mike Carmin at JCOnline's first question Joe Christianson in his Scouting Minnesota piece was essentially, The Gopher offense is terrible, why are they 5-1?

The dudes at Boilermakerblitz.com are split on their predictions for the game. @cclinkin says the Gophers D is vulnerable to explosive offenses and Purdue has just such an offense.  The whole thing made me a little ragey. 

Part of the hype is due to the switch at quarterback.  Purdue has started sophomore Austin Appleby the past two games.  He completed 68% of his passes in those contests and made mediocre appetizers after each game.  Looking at Purdue's performance against MSU, sure its neat that they closed within a TD with 6 minutes remaining, but they still lost 45-31 and were down 38-17 entering the 4th.  Appleby's QBR was 45.7 (50 is average) and he only amassed 211 yards on 37 attempts.  To compare, Leidner's QBR against NW was 80.3 and the game prior it was 73.5.  We won't talk about anything prior to that.

Also, Appleby doesn't play both ways though and Purdue is still allowing 30+ points per game on the year.  And that's with Iowa bringing down the average with their 24-10 win.  Western and Central Michigan combined for 81 against this defense.  They allowed 532 million yards to Michigan State.

Hunt and Mostert are two capable backs and Tracy Claeys has said this is one of the better offensive lines that he's seen on film.  That means the Gophers need to rely heavily on the defensive line to play a good game and get some pressure on Appleby.

Purdue All-Namers

Andy James Garcia, LB - Academy award for best supporting actor in Godfather III
Ra'Zahn Howard, DT - Bad. Ass.
Race Johnson, DB - Bet he's fast
Dolapo Macarthy, TE - I just.  I just don't know.
Bearooz Jacoobi,  OL - Has a brother named Feerooz, actually true.

They have a lot of apostrophe guys too: Ra'Zahn, Ja'Whaun and Da'Wan

Prediction Time

TRE:  At first when I read all of the hype for Purdue I got some fearz thinking that Admiral Ackbar is standing behind me yelling ITS A TRAP when its already too late.  Then, reality set in. 

We have a top passing defense and Appleby isn't scaring me.  Get ready for a lot of bubble screens where the Gophers have to be sure tacklers. 

There will be times where Purdue runs well and Damien Wilson is going to have to be the monster in the middle that he's been all season long to help keep those runs from breaking.  The three headed monster at safety will also have plenty of work to do to keep those big plays from happening. 

On offense, Cobb will continue to roll and Leidner will continue to improve as a passer.  Wills will be exerted, rousers will be chanted.

On special teams, the Gophers will continue to excel and now there's the added fear factor of Jalen Myrick running 21.5 miles per hour and housing it on you. 

Bottom line is the Gophers are going to pound Purdue Pete and friends into dust.  There will be little pieces of plastic hammer everywhere: Gophers 41, Purdue 24

Frothy:  Purdue gets an A for effort in last weekend's fight against Michigan State, but if there's one thing I know, it's rebuild jobs.  They aren't linear, so consistency will be lacking from game to game - meaning they played great last week, but probably won't this week.  Also, getting close to but falling short of beating a superior team usually means bad things happen the following week.  For evidence, look no further than the 2013 Purdue squad, who came up 14 points short against MSU at Sparta and then lost 56 doughnut at home to Ohio State the following week.  Now, Purdue is better than last year and we're not Ohio State - but the hangover will still be in effect:  Minnesota 31, Purdue 10

 

Gophers Preview: BIG SLINGERS

So did you make it through all of the defensive previews?  You did?  No way! Color me impressed.  To the hundreds (dozens?) of you that are still here we have a special treat.  And to our repeated Ukrainian visitors that keep making their way here, let me say:

Привіт і спасибі за відвідування. Нехай усі ваші вороги вмирають у вогні

Allow those of us at SGH to introduce a new bit we're calling Gopher Numerology!!!  Watch as we confuse and bend numbers to our will in order to receive the outcomes we desire!  Be amazed at the mystic powers of Frothy and TRE as they accurately predict* the future!  Seriously, this is totally happening and you are not on purple drank stumbling around Block E.

In 2014 the quarterback position is as clear as hill people moonshine.  Mitch Leidner is the quarterback and the only way he loses the job is if he suffers from spontaneous combustion, or you know, another injury.  He will not fall on this face as other somewhat-hyped Gopher QBs have.  How do we know?  Freaking Numerology, son.

While we saw some moments from Leidner in 2013, especially on the run, we were left wanting more.  As I was consulting star charts and contemplating the color green I thought to myself:

How many quarterbacks started as a freshman or sophomore and had similar numbers to Leidner?  And self, how did those quarterbacks fare in their second year and how did their last season at quarterback go?

To the googles and sports-reference.com I went.  They have this neat CFB search engine where I looked up 2000-2013 Quarterbacks with similar stats to Leidner.  I used the following thresholds: from 2000 to 2013, requiring Pass Attempts <= 150 and Passing Yards >= 400 and Rushing Yards >= 300 and Rush Attempts <= 150, sorted by descending Passing Efficiency Rating.

I threw out the military schools where they never pass as well as recent QBs that haven't finished their career yet.  I threw out position changes (except Colter) and players that lost their job (the mystics say Leidner will play the next three years). 

Using that list and those assumptions, we're left with a pretty small and interesting list. 

Looking at Leidner's peers here, only Colter and Lovecchio were not drafted by the NFL.  We have a Heisman winner and a finalist in Smith and Young.  Now granted, Leidner is last in passing yards and 3rd to last in rushing yards out of this group, but these are the thresholds that I randomly chose and he didn't play full time in 2013 with Phillip Nelson appearing in 11 games.

Some of these players are elite runners at the quarterback position, and I don't think we'll ever say that about Leidner.

Let's look at how these players performed in their second year:

Lovecchio lost his job to Carlyle Holiday and we'll see him in the final table as a member of the Indiana Hoosiers.  Counting numbers are up across the board with amazing rushing totals and touchdowns.  Smith and Harris clear the 2000 passing yard mark, but passer rating on average goes down as more INTs are thrown. Completion percentage is slightly up despite throwing nearly twice as often. 

Let's skip ahead to each QB's final year:

First, Kain Colter was kind of crazy productive, no?  I mean, this doesn't even count his 63 receptions at Northwestern.  Other than Lovecchio, this group ended up being very, very good.  Tyrod Taylor goes from 2:7 TD:INT ratio as a sophomore to 24:5 as a senior.  VY and Smith are insanely good obviously, with Smith going almost all pocket passing.  White and Harris were monster dual thread guys that really improved their passing numbers as well.  Look at the average, nearly 3000 combined rushing and passing yards and 28 touchdowns.  Sign me up for some of that!  The last Gopher QB to get 2800 combined yards and 25 combined TDs was Adam Weber in 2007... but he also threw 19 interceptions.  Prior to that it was Billy Cockerham in 1999.


I don't think we're sitting on the next Vince Young (but they are the same size!), or Troy Smith,  However, I do think there's evidence that quarterbacks have had a less than overwhelming start to their career and have really progressed, especially as a passer.  Can Leidner become an even better runner and do more damage through the air this year?

TRE's Grade

Rubric: Marc Trestman - F

I'm using Marc Trestman because when I was delving into sports-reference.com I found myself checking out and being somewhat underwhelmed by Tony Dungy's stats as a Gopher QB.  It was a different era and stuff though, I get that.  In doing so, however, I came across the glory that is Marc Trestman's college football career.  Trestman of course has coached at a number of stops including some assistant work with the Vikings and is the current head coach of the Chicago Bears.  He's known as an offensive minded head coach and last year with the Bears he led them to break several offensive records including total yards.

At Minnesota, Trestman backed up Dungy for a couple of years and then Wendell Avery (who also ended up in coaching for awhile).

Trestman's career stats passing:  10-40, 151 yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs
That's good for a 47.1 passer rating.  He did score a TD on the ground (32 carries for 31 yards career!).

It must have taken some amazing perseverance to stay in football after a career like that.  Oh wait, he WROTE A BOOK ON PERSEVERENCE!

:blowsout:  So anyway, we're certainly in better shape than that at quarterback with Leidner.  I'm cautiously optimistic about his growth as a passer and we already know he can do some damage with his legs.  Until I see more, hopefully a lot more, I'm giving the QB position a C grade.  If Leidner goes down by the way, hide yo wife and hide yo kids and go to the triple option.

Frothy's Grade

Rubric: Billy Cockerham - B-

Billy was the quarterback during my most formative years as a Gopher fan. And by that I mean I became booze legal during the Cockerham era. The realization that likker effectively numbed the pain of Gopher fandom was a critical finding and one I've wholeheartedly embraced in the subsequent years. Oh, Billy, thank you for being on the field while I walked the path to Robitussin-induced numbness for the first time.

Cockerham had a nice little career with the Gophers. He got some very limited run in his freshmen and sophomore years, split time with Andy Persby during his junior year and was the big man on campus for his senior year. Regarded as one of the better running quarterbacks in Gopher history, he had a decent passing season in the 1999 season, where the Gophers finished with a winning record in the B1G for the first time since Noah built that big boat.

I chose Billy because I think his senior year campaign is what we can expect to see from Leidner this year. Since this is our first run at GOPHER NUMEROLOGY, I figured I'd better include some stats:

My gut feeling is that Leidner 2014 and Cockerham 1999 are fairly comparable: both are oriented in a run-first offense (Thomas Hamner had 1,426 rushing yards in 1999), both are effectively entering their second seasons as contributors and first as full-time starters and both will rely on an opportunistic defense led by a strong secondary. I think Cockerham was a better pure runner than Leidner, but Mitch probably has better passing credentials than Cockerham did.

People have been speculating that, given our lack of experienced depth at QB (we won't be doing a depth chart in this post because the abyss, it is dark) Leidner won't be running very much. I'm not so sure that's the case. The offense is kind of the offense at this point, and I doubt the coaches are going to radically modify their philosophy to accommodate depth concerns at quarterback. In terms of percentage of total plays from scrimmage, I'd expect Leidner to rush less; but that's more of a function of him only passing on 29.7% of the plays. He won't be running on 70% the time, but he's still going to get a healthy share of carries. Begin purchase of Pepto Bismol now.

With regard to passing, I think Cockerham's numbers are at the high end of what we can hope for from Leidner. The completion percentage isn't where we'd like to see it, but I'd be happy with 2,000 yards passing and a 1.5-1 TD-to-INT ratio. Who knows, maybe there's some upside and I just need to believe in the dream? Grade: B-.

(Frothy's starting word count: 12,442; Finishing word count: 12,899)

*Predictions not guaranteed to be accurate.

Gophers Position Preview: Defensive Line

Life without Big Shede

I think TRE and I have been at this for over two weeks now. We're as surprised as you are.

We conclude our preview of the defensive with our take on this year's line. Getting good defensive linemen to Minnesota has always been a little tricky. While Minnesota annually produces a few Big-5 (/waves goodbye to BCS) quality offensive linemen, there seems to be substantially less quantity with their defensive brethren and those we do produce have a tendency to go away for school. Consequently, our defensive line play has been inconsistent since the time I learned to walk. Every few years, we get a player who exceeds our expectations and drives our defensive productivity toward the upper half of the B1G. Said player performs at such a high level, he makes what is an otherwise ordinary line perform at an above average level. A shining, glorious halo of excellence in which the others can bask, if you will.

The question we face going into this season is whether Ra'Shede Hageman was such a catalyst for the 2013 Gophers defensive line. Above, I used the qualifier about defensive line players who "exceeded our expectations" and whether that applies to Hageman is debatable. As a high school player, he had the measurables and offers that, unfortunately, often apply to players who choose to leave the state. Frankly, we probably benefited by there being some ambiguity as to whether he would play tight end or along the defensive line in college. At 6'6" and 250lbs as a high school senior, he had offers from Florida, Ohio State and Oklahoma, along with much of the Big Ten. He chose to stay in state, began his career as a tight end and transitioned to defensive end before finally landing at defensive tackle.

Whether he exceeded expectations depends on your reference point. As a player with freakish raw talent, recruited by many of the premier national programs, his 2013 statistics and 2nd-round NFL draft position probably met expectations. As, again, a raw talent who languished for his first few years in the program and flirted with failing out at the end of the Brewster regime, Shede lived up to what we all hoped he would be and was a remarkable surprise for many Gopher fans last year. His stats from this past season largely speak for themselves:

I mean, eight passes defended? C'mon. He was second on the team in PBUs (behind Eric Murray) and tied for 10th in the conference, the only non defensive back to finish in the top 15. His 13 tackles for loss were good for tenth in the conference. He was an utterly explosive player, a once in a generation talent at Minnesota. It's just icing on the cake that he was an AINP.

Within that context, I believe that he exceeded expectations. I genuinely thought he was finished following his suspension in the last few games of the Jeff Horton half season. It smelled of academics and it seemed unrealistic he would return under the new head coach. When he was still on the squad under Kill the following spring, I believed that any production from Hageman was a bonus and, with that as the baseline, he launched my flaccid expectations into the sun.

But now he's gone. And thus, we come to the question that defines the narrative. Was the Gopher defense an aberration last year due to Ra'Shede's dominance?

What follows for the next few paragraphs is what some might call a blatant rationalization. I'm not sure I believe anything of what I'm going to say, but it's a coping mechanism that has served me well through 30-some years of Gopher fandom. Work with me here, people.

It's my belief that Ra'Shede was a fantastic player, but was not a talisman on whom the Gophers' defensive success was solely based last year. His stats suggest a dominant presence who regularly inflicted pain on opposing teams. He was an animal. But I maintain that there was an inconsistency to his play in that he would disappear for long stretches of games: sometimes he would be on the bench; at other times, he would be in the game, but a non-factor. He was just a man.

To support this position, I bring to you an SGH-derived stat: The Metric Associated with Nothing, an Impotent Measure of Assets and Liabilities. The MANIMAL.

The MANIMAL measures the extent to which a given player operates as a regular man capable of well-defined feats of human achievement or as a ravenous, killing beast that slays and drinks the blood of helpless bipeds. It is largely based on memory which, now that we're nearing nine months since the last game, is admittedly fuzzy.

We're giving 'Shede a 7/10 on the MANIMAL scale. This indicates he was more animal than man, a fact with which poor Taylor Martinez would probably agree. But there's a healthy percentage of man there. That, to me, suggests that while he may have been the best, most athletic defensive lineman on the Gopher roster last year, he may not have been the most consistent. And with that consistency, the line may have found ways to be productive without Hageman. Which, since the Gophers now exist in a Hageman-free state, brings us to this year.

Let's begin with his old position:

There's a few moving parts here, so take it for what it's worth. Scott Ekpe appears to be Replacement Shede to start the season. He played in every game last season and was pretty productive for a backup, registering 19 tackles, including one for loss. At 6'4" 295lbs, he has ideal size for a B1G defensive tackle and, entering his third year in the program, should be reaching his prime at the college level.

Demaris Peppers appears to be his backup, but things are a little, uh, fluxy with respect to the 3rd - 5th defensive tackle positions. Peppers also has legitimate size at 6'3" and 287lbs, but coming off of his red-shirt year, it's tough to flex too strong with confidence that he's ready to meaningfully contribute. Much like the linebackers, it's depth that's the concern, with a dependence on younger players to add substantial value. Unlike the linebackers, though, the defensive line regularly rotate, so we can expect to see second- and potentially third-string players log meaningful game time. We're all hoping that fifth-year senior Harold Legania can step in and provide some depth to this unit. Legania, one of the few remaining players recruited by Tim Brewster, has been a model student and important contributor; but his live-action reps have been limited. He's a traditional nose tackle in a 4-3 defense, meaning he's big, strong and there to keep the opposing centers and guards from setting up big runs through the middle of the defense. Unfortunately for him, the current Gopher regime requires defensive tackles to seek gap penetration to disrupt offensive flow. That's certainly no knock on him; it's just not necessarily one of his strengths. With four solid years of practice and conditioning, though, this could be his year to shine.

At the other defensive tackle spot, we have one guaranteed starter (barring injury, of course) and another hodgepodge:

Mr. Reliable is Cameron Botticelli, who, as far as I recall, has started every game at defensive tackle since the year of my birth. Honestly, unless I forcibly recall the days of Jewhan Edwards and Brandon Kirksey (and who isn't longing for those days?), it's tough to think of a time when Botti wasn't regularly in the Gophers lineup. C-Bot seems like one of those guys who is a complete pain in the ass to play against. Super high energy, gives his all on every play. There was a dude on my high school team who went full blast on every single play in practice. Coaches loved him "[Player X] makes everyone on this team better!" they'd yell. Yeah, well everyone on the team hated [Player X]. Except on game days when that sort of motor works in your favor. Anyway, my gut feeling is Botti is that guy on this team, irritating the piss out of his teammates except for the days where he's being a relentless wad to opposing teams.

Backing him up, at the moment, is a true freshman. I've stood five feet from Steven Richardson and 5'11" might be a generous measure of his height. But dude is a quick twitch, leverage machine. As I remarked to Kyle Goblirsch, the keeper of all things Gopher 247 (which is a fantastic site if you're interested in a more nuanced discussion on Gopher football - highly recommended), I have no idea how I'd block the guy. He's agile, has a ridiculously low center of gravity and is calm like a bomb. He was lightly recruited on account of his height, but, coupled with his quickness, that's an asset. He's likely to see time at both defensive tackle positions, and will be a regular part of what should be a four-man rotation.

Yoshoub Timms is something of a wildcard. He looked good in the first two games last year, then was limited in his participation throughout the rest of the season. A non-participant in this year's spring practice due to injury, he figures to be in the rotation due to his size and athleticism; but the extent to which he will be a contributor is unclear. Now in his third year in the program, he should be entering his prime and providing some veteran stability to a fairly young position group.

To the defensive ends!

Of anyone on the defensive line, Thieren Cockran ostensibly benefited from Hageman's presence the most. With an aggressive defensive tackle forcing a double team, Cockran would have been left one-on-one against the offensive tackle, providing opportunities to disrupt the offensive team's flow. Certainly, his production last year was good. He grew into his 6'6" frame and retained the majority of his speed and agility, earning Second Team All B1G honors. He will earn the bulk of his scholarship money this year, though, now that Hageman is gone. His 2013 stats were not far removed from pre-season All American Shilique Calhoun. The question remains whether he can be productive in a line without Hageman's disruptive capabilities or become an ordinary defensive end. His production will be the linchpin on which the rest of the defensive line turns.

Backing him up is junior Alex Keith. At 6'3" and 245lbs, Keith is a little smaller than Cockran, but has been a productive defensive end, first as a pass-rushing specialist in his freshman year and a more all-purpose player last season. He has legitimate speed off the edge, but has had less than ideal size to hold the point against rushing-oriented B1G teams. 

This is probably the deepest position along the line, with proven upper classmen in the two deeps. Appearing to back them up, at the moment, is true freshman Andrew Stelter. Like Keith, he is in the 6'4" range and about 245lbs, but he appears to be a little thicker than both Keith and Cockran. While he's looked good in the limited workouts I've seen, there's been speculation he's ultimately destined for defensive tackle. He certainly doesn't have the size to play there now, so may get some run this year at end in the event of injuries. Ideally, he can red shirt, spend a year in the strength and conditioning program and see whether he is better suited for the tackle or end positions.

The two deep at the other end position is probably as well defined, but the productivity has been lacking.

Michael Amaefula has started 30 games at defensive end. Did you know that? My mind leaked into my beer glass a little when I added it up. A starter by the end of his true freshman season, he has been in the starting lineup for every game the last two years. I mean, I've known he's there. I've seen him with the ones in practice, seen him on top of the depth chart on the Thursday evenings of game weeks, watched him appear regularly on the field. I was just surprised to see he had 30 starts. I guess I feel a little bad I don't have more to say about him. He's clearly fairly competent at his job, he's just never really stood out to me. That's a me problem, not a him problem, though.

Next in line is Hendrick Ekpe, a true sophomore who saw action in ten games last year. At 6'5" and 251lbs, he's one of the bigger defensive ends on the roster. I would expect his productivity to increase this season as he's now accustomed to the speed of the college game and has added some weight in the strength and conditioning program. He was the team's Outstanding Defensive Freshman of the Year last season.

At the first open fall practice last year, I found myself standing next to this tall dude wearing Gopher warm up gear. He was watching practice while casually chatting with a buddy and I figured he was just another Gopher knob like me. Turns out, that was Robert Ndondo-Lay. A walkon transfer from Winona State who sat out last season, it wouldn't shock me to see him get some playing time this season. He's pretty athletic and has apparently been getting run at both defensive tackle and defensive end.

One final wildcard is the news that freshman Gaelin Elmore, he who chose to come to the Gophers despite an offer from his home-state Badgers, has been moved from tight end to defensive end. Of anyone currently on the roster, he has the most potential to be the next Hageman. As an incoming high schooler, he is already 6'6" 260. Check. He is a converted tight end. Check. He had interest from many of the top national programs. Check. Having made the switch, he will almost certainly see some playing time this year at one of the end positions. His play this season will be fun to watch and, depending on the amount of reps he gets, the MANIMAL scale may very well be in play.

Frothy's Grade

Rubric: Jewhan Edwards - B+

Ain't no party like a Jew Jew Party, right?

You might never admit it to your partner or work friends, but there's a part of you that wants to be former Gopher defensive tackle Jewhan Edwards. Giant, strong, athletic and doesn't give an eff about anything. Who wouldn't want that? Jew Jew played three years for the Gophers and in 2010, during his junior year, led the Gophers in both tackles for loss and sacks, with 11 and three, respectively. (As an aside, how bleak were those years where the team leader in sacks had three? Good gravy.) Edwards was poised for great things going into his senior year.

Of course, Brewster had been fired midway through that 2010 campaign and when Kill was hired to replace him, he set up some new parameters around what was expected from his players. These didn't sit well with Jew Jew and, before too long, he had been booted from the team and infamously posted his displeasure with that decision on Facebook. Good times.

I'm not a fan of the way he scorched the earth and salted the land when leaving the program; but he was one of very few bright spots for Gopher fans during that ill-fated 2010 season.

Frothy's 2014 DL Grade - B

(Frothy's starting word count: 9,855; Finishing word count: 12,442)









TRE's Grade

Rubric:  Lamanzer Williams - A


Lamanzer had 18.5 sacks in 1997 for the Gophers and went on to be drafted in the 6th round and had a short stay in the NFL, mainly with the Jaguars.  That sack total puts him at a tie for the 19th highest season total in CFB since 1980 (FYI - Derrick Thomas holds the record with 27 sacks in 1988 for Alabama) In 1997, he received All-American and All B1G first team honors.   At 6'4' and about 270 lbs, he was a dervish on the outside for the Gophers.

He's also been a force on the coaching scene the last several years and now is the AD and Co-Head coach of Ypsilanti, which is where he went to high school.  Here he is kicking ass in an interview about the upcoming season: 



I'm excited about Thieran Cockran in 2014.  I hope that he is able to build off of his great 2013 campaign and go Lamanzer on the league.  As Frothy mentioned, an important part of that is replacing the production of Hageman on the interior.  As those amazing stats suggest, when he wasn't bearing down on the quarterback, he was using his size to get up in the air and bat down passes.  Quarterbacks obviously were aware of this tendency, and I'm certain some of the sacks were due to a passer being forced to delay or pull down a thrown due to the SHEDEWALL.

Going into 2013, I was never all that impressed with Cameron Botticelli, but my opinion of him changed tremendously over the course of last season.  My initial impression is that he was undersized and often overwhelmed, but I think I was probably just an idiot.  There is no doubt though that 2013 was his best year as a Gopher.  He's a workhorse as Frothy mentioned, and is often all over the field making plays.  He has 38 games as a Gopher, with 50 total tackles to date.  I think we could see a 30 tackle season from him this year.  

We'll also get a chance to see even more of Scott Ekpe at defensive tackle.  I've like what I've seen from him, he has moments where he looks quite explosive.  ***BREAKING*** your boy Harold Legania is apparently moving to help on the offensive line, so we are likely in for a load of Steven Richardson, Demaris Peppers and Yoshoub Timms Cup rotating in at DT.  

It will be interesting to see if Amaefula can produce some big plays in his senior year as a Gopher as it feels like there are some playmakers in the waiting with Henrick, Ndondo-Lay and freshman Elmore in reserve.  Speaking of which, I already feel like we need a nickname for Elmore.  Does one exist?  How about "Gael Force"?





TRE's 2014 DL Grade - B-

While there is a lot of inexperience in the depth chart, many of those players have some exciting skills that I'm looking forward to seeing.  Losing a beast like Hageman leaves big shoes to fill though, so I have to stick with the B- grade for now, but I see a lot of room for growth in this group.