Gopher Football
Defensive Tackle . . .
Minnesota appears to be in decent shape with with the two starters at defensive tackle, but after that there are a lot of questions about depth. Both Anthony Montgomery and Mark Losli are big, experienced guys and should give the middle of the Gopher defense a solid foundation to build from.
– Anthony Montgomery
Anchoring the middle of the Gopher defensive line is senior tackle Anthony Montgomery. Montgomery has started for most of his three years as a Gopher, and his experience will be counted on this year to replace leadership that the departed Darrel Reid left. Thus far in his career Montgomery has been up and down. At 6’5″ 305 pounds Anthony certainly has the size to be a dominating nose tackle. He is also very athletic (he was a QB in his school) for a big guy so it’s not like he’s a slow fat guy. If there is one thing I think Monty has been lacking so far, it’s been drive. If it’s possible, it seems sometimes that Anthony is a “˜light’ 305 pounds. More often than what I think there should be, Montgomery gets controlled by the opposing offensive line rather than him disrupting it.
So far you might think I’m not a big Montgomery fan. That really isn’t the case though, believe me. More than most people, I really like Montgomery; regardless of critique I just gave him. In fact, I think that he has the potential to be a first or second team All-Big Ten type of player. Of all the returning Gopher starters, I think Monty easily has the best pro potential. I mentioned above that it seems like he is a “˜light’ 305 pounds. That’s because when you look at him you don’t see the bulk that typically comes with a defensive tackle. I don’t know if he is done growing, but it looks like he could throw about 20 more pounds on his frame and still not look like he’s overweight for his position. If he can get a little stronger (and maybe just a little fatter), I think that will help him to bust up more offensive lines that what we’ve seen so far. (Keep in mind Montgomery did not redshirt, so his physical development may not quite that of a typical senior lineman.) With his height and athleticism he does have a leg up compared some other Big Ten defensive tackles. The one area that does concern me with Monty is his three year development to date. He did make some strides from 2003 to 2004, but going back to his freshman year I don’t think he’s improved as much as his potential would’ve allowed. Perhaps Carey Bailey, the new defensive line coach, will help remedy this. We know that Monty has the physical ability, so if something can click with the new coach and he can take that next step, I think we will see that Montgomery is a special player.
– Mark Losli
Another player who has been starting since he was a freshman is the player opposite Anthony Montgomery, senior Mark Losli. After spending his first two years as a defensive end, Losli moved over to tackle last season. Losli did an adequate job at end his first two years, but he really wasn’t the prototypical player for that position. As a junior last season Losli bulked up to around 290 pounds, so the coaches finally felt it was time to move him to the middle. Losli’s first season at defensive tackle was not spectacular, though he did improve as the season went along. His best game of the season was against Alabama when, against a very good offensive line, he recorded seven tackles and a sack. Unfortunately, those seven tackles represented almost 25% of his tackles for the season. For most of the year Losli did not make a substantial impact, but this season the Gophers need him to step it up a bit. Anthony Montgomery is going to be the guy the opposing offensive line focuses on, so that will like leave Mark one on one for most of the seaosn. Hopefully a year of experience and another off season of learning the position will yield better results for Losli in 2005.
– Depth
Perhaps more than any other position on the field, defensive tackle is a position where the Gophers have some serious issues with depth. The only returning player who has any experience a this position is sophomore Neel Allen, and I may be stretching the definition of “œexperience” here. As a freshman in 2004 Allen appeared in just 5 games and recorded only 2 tackles. The other player who figures to be a primary backup is redshirt freshman Nhemi Theodore. Not a lot is known about Nhemi’s game yet since he redshirted last season, but hopefully he is a player who is ready to step up and contribute this season. Someone who could step and see some playing time is Todd Meisel, a sophomore walkon. Like most walkons, the coaches like his work ethic. At 6’4″ 255 pounds, Meisel was a little too small to figure into the mix last year, but an added 15 pounds would go a long way towards him seeing the playing field this year. The other player who hopes to see the field this year is junior Stephon Hopkins. Hopkins is a former linebacker who was moved to defensive tackle at the end of last season and was not a factor last year. At 6’0″ Hopkins is too small to be counted on as an every down player, but coaches may need him to spell Montgomery and Losli from time to time.
Defensive End . . .
Heading into the fall one of the positions we know the least about is defensive end. The departure of Darrel Reid has left a large hole on the left side, and the right side was never really settled last year to begin with. A mixture of veterans and youngsters will be vying for the two starting positions this fall is what should be a very wide open race.
– Eric Clark
Beginning what will be his third year as at least a part time starter is junior Eric Clark. The first two seasons for Eric have been disappointing on the field; as in both Clark was unable to hold onto his starting spot when given the chance. Generally college players see their biggest improvements between their sophomore and junior season, so I’m sure that’s what Clark and the coaches are hoping for this year. At 6’4″, 265 pounds Clark has ideal size for a defensive end. If Eric can combine that size with better technique, he is a guy who I feel could really make an impact. It has recently been reported that Clark is recovered from a nagging ankle injury that hampered him last year and that the coaches are excited about his off season progress. If this is indeed true there is a very good shot that Clark will be one of the mainstays for the Gophers at DE this season.
– Keith Lipka
Senior Keith Lipka is back at defensive end after spending most of 2004 at tackle. Lipka is one of the guys who underwent a position change before the bowl game last year, and through one game the results have been good. Lipka had a decent game against Alabama in the Music City Bowl (including a fumble recovery for a touchdown) and for the first time as a Gopher showed what he’s capable of. So far in his Gopher career Lipka has been a little used backup, but nothing would be better for the defense than if Lipka steps up his senior year and grabs hold on a starting spot.
– Depth
There is good news and bad news with depth at defensive end. The good news is there are a lot of bodies to choose from, the bad news is none of them have very much experience to speak of. Perhaps the best prospect Minnesota has at defensive end is Willie VanDeSteeg, a freshman who redshirted last year. But considering Willie hasn’t even seen the field, it’s too early to pencil him in as a starter (or even as someone who will see a lot of playing time). The backup who has been around the longest is junior Maurice Buchanon. Now would be a perfect time for Buchanon to step up, but considering he hasn’t been called upon to play in any meaningful situations yet we’ll just have to wait and see what happens with him. A couple of players new to defensive end are sophomore John Scroggins and freshman Matt DeGeest. Both players could see some time because of the lack of developed depth, but each is likely at least a year away.
Last Year . . .
Last years Gopher defensive front was a mixed bag. The “˜Good’ was Darrel Reid. Darrel was moved to defensive end for his senior season to try and give a boost to the Gopher pass rush and it turned out to be a rousing success. Reid recorded 7.5 sacks, the most for any Gopher player since Karon Riley in 2000. Even when he wasn’t getting sacks, Darrel was finding his way into the backfield putting pressure on QB’s on a regular basis. The “˜Bad’ was the opposite end spot. Even though Reid was doing his part on the left side, nobody could step up and do the same on the right side. Mario Reese, Eric Clark, even Brandon Owens and finally Keith Lipka all were given reps at some point during the season, but all of them (except Lipka in the bowl game) failed to establish anything productive. The “˜Ugly’ was the Gophers interior run defense. After improving their run defense substantially from 2002 to 2003, the middle of the Gophers run defense regressed in 2004, giving up gaping holes up in the middle in several games. This was surprising considering the size and experience that Losli and Montgomery provided, and is sure to be something the coaches hope to fix this year.
Around the Big Ten . . .
In all likelihood this will be a bit of a down year in the Big Ten across the defensive line. Both Wisconsin and Iowa suffered devastating graduation losses from what were two very good lines last year. Ohio State, maybe the league’s best defensive team year in and year out, doesn’t appear to have a superstar. Loren Howard, the Northwestern player who when healthy might just be the best defensive lineman in the conference, is coming off a 2004 where he missed nearly the entire year because of a broken leg. If Howard is back at full strength I think we will see he is a potentially great player, but you always have to wait and see with players when they return from serious leg injuries. As a team, Michigan probably has the best defensive front in the conference. Many people think that nose tackle Gabe Watson would’ve been a high draft pick had he declared after last season. The big senior is back for his final year however. Watson is flanked by another very good senior, defensive end Pat Massey. An up and coming superstar could be Purdue’s Ray Edwards. As a sophomore last year (his first season as a starter) Edwards recorded 8 sacks, and should only keep improving this year.
Bottom Line . . .
Simply put, if the Minnesota defense is to improve in 2005, it all needs to start with the defensive line. The Gopher defense got a somewhat unexpected surprise last year when Darrel Reid turned in an outstanding year after being moved to defensive end. Unfortunately since Darrel was a senior, that move was only good for one year, and now it’s back to the drawing board. Other than at times Montgomery, no other Gopher player on the defensive line did much of anything to get excited about heading into this season. That probably has a lot to do with why Coach Sims was fired, so there is always the hope and optimism about what kinds of thing new blood will bring in. A coach needs players though, and whether or not anyone steps up is the big question heading into this fall. There are a lot of holes to fill and a lot of questions to answer, but if Monty & Losli can improve a little, and if one of the many defensive end prospects can step it up, things might not be as bad as many Gopher fans are expecting.
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