Gopher Football
– Jared Ellerson
Beginning his third year as a Gopher starter at wide receiver will be Jared Ellerson. More is expected of Jared this year not only because he is a senior, but because he is coming off a somewhat disappointing 2004. Ellerson had a breakout year in 2003 as a sophomore; a season in which he had 44 receptions for 909 yards and 5 TD’s. Looking back, a lot of Jared’s good numbers that year was probably due to having a senior quarterback throwing to him. Last season when a sophomore QB took the reigns as his first year at starter, it wasn’t a total surprise that Jared’s numbers slipped. Ellerson led the team in receptions with 37, but was second in yards with 521 and just third in TD’s with only 3.
This season Ellerson should see things improve. We know from a couple years ago that he is capable of putting up some big numbers, so with the quarterback spot more experienced and another good receiver lined up on the opposite side, Jared should find himself in a position to succeed. On the field, there really isn’t one specific thing that stands out about Ellerson. At 6’1″, he has average size for a receiver. He doesn’t blow you away with speed or dazzle you with moves. But, he runs good routes, has solid hands, can occasionally beat you deep, and now he has two years of starting experience under his belt. All of these put together make Jared a good Big Ten receiver, and someone who can hurt you if don’t give him the proper attention. If the Gopher offense is going to take the next step, they will need players like Ellerson to rebound and have a good season. If Jared can get 50 receptions for 800 yards and 6 TD’s I think that would be a sign that our offensive is doing very well.
– Ernie Wheelwright
Lining up opposite of Jared Ellerson is sophomore Ernie Wheelwright. Unlike Ellerson, Wheelwright’s physical abilities are the first things that jump out you after watching him play. Wheelwright stands a very tall 6’5″, and as a freshman last season he used his height to snatch many bombs and fades out of the air over the outstretched defenders. There are a lot of tall receivers out there but not many of them have the body control that Ernie possesses. That in part is what really helped Wheelwright to succeed last year. As a true freshman, Wheelwright had 30 receptions for 654 yards a 7 TD’s. In comparison, for Gopher Ron Johnson’s freshman season saw him get 38 catches for 395 yards and 3 TD’s. If Wheelwright can progress at a reasonable level, he will become the first Gopher receiver since Johnson in 2000 have at least a thousand yards receiving.
Like any freshmen, Wheelwright was not without his faults. More than any other receiver on the team, Ernie had some problems hanging onto the ball. Most notably Ernie dropped two potential touchdown passes in the Music City bowl, which had he caught would’ve given the Gophers a more comfortable victory. The other thing Wheelwright needs to work on to become a more complete receiver are his routes. Ernie definitely has the fly and fade patters down, so his next line of business will be to get the shorter routes and crossing routes down. Once that starts to happen, Gopher fans may begin to see they have a great one on their hands.
– Jakari Wallace
The forgotten, and perhaps underappreciated member of the Gophers receiving corps last year was Jakari Wallace. After spending most of his first three seasons as a Gopher injured, Jakari finally came into the year healthy and was able to find the field. Wallace supposedly is the fastest Gopher (with a 4.34 forty yard dash), but his speed hasn’t been his best asset so far. Last year Wallace was the “œgo-to” guy when the offense needed a clutch catch. It seems as though almost all of his 20 catches were for first downs or else were getting the offense out of a jam. Jakari is a veteran guy who won’t make a lot of mistakes, so expect him to see the field a lot once again. Going into this season, I would love to see the Gophers try to utilize Wallace’s speed in sort of jitterbug fashion, similar to how Iowa would get Fred Russell out in the open and hiding behind his blockers. At the very least though, the Gophers know they have someone who can come through with the big catch in the clutch.
– Depth
The bad news for Minnesota is that there is not a lot of developed depth at wide receiver. The good news is there are some good prospects on the horizon that should be ready to take over next year. The guy everyone is excited about is sophomore Micah Rucker. The 6’6″ Rucker is nearly a physical clone to Ernie Wheelwright, and by next year will give Minnesota a pair of difficult matchups for opposition DB’s. Rucker did not have a reception last season, but look for him to fill in for Paris Hamilton as the fourth receiver this year. Junior Logan Payne is the receiver with the most experience, but he too has not seen the field very much. So far in two season Logan has just one reception to go with a couple of punt returns. If he sees the field very much this year it will likely be in a blocking role. Rounding out the returning Gopher receivers is former walkon Mark Jundt. So far Jundt has been a star in the spring games but has not seen much real game action. On the horizon, Minnesota signed 3 receivers in the off season: Eric Decker, Mike Chambers and Richard Christy. Given the Gophers questionable depth don’t be completely shocked if one of those three sees the field this year, especially if there are any injuries.
Around the Big Ten . . .
A quick look around the conference doesn’t show a lot of proven superstars, but does show a lot of potential superstars. Ohio State may have the most exciting pair of receivers in the nation in Santonio Holmes and Ted Ginn. As a sophomore last year, Holmes led Ohio State in catches (55), receiving yards (769) and touchdowns (7). He has all the tools to become the top receiver in the conference this year. Opposite Holmes is actually a more talented player, sophomore Ted Ginn. The true freshman burst onto the scene last year with several dazzling punt return and receiving touchdowns. Even though he didn’t get a ton of touches, his blazing speed and killer moves got him on the highlight reels more often than anyone. As he continues to mature as a player, Ginn is only going to get better. This is bad news for opposing Big Ten teams.
As usual, Michigan will have a couple of good receivers on their hands. A lot of people are hyping Steve Breaston as the heir apparent to Braylon Edwards, but I have a hunch that honor will go to Jason Avant. Breaston is a Holmes/Ginn like physical talent, but so far hasn’t done much as a receiver. Last year Breaston had 31 receptions, but for only 214 yards. Considering Breaston is billed as a speed guy, a 6.9 yard per catch average doesn’t exactly strike fear into the opponents. Breaston is a great talent though, so expect him to improve greatly on those numbers this year. The most underrated receivers in the conference are at Iowa where Clinton Solomon and Ed Hinkel reside. Both players had solid seasons last year, and expect them to do as well or better as Drew Tate develops as Iowa’s QB.
Last Year . . .
Considering Minnesota was breaking in a new quarterback, it’s not much of a surprise that the receiving game fell off a little bit from the previous year. Ernie Wheelwright was the biggest threat for the Gophers in averaging 21 yards per catch. As I mentioned above, Jakari Wallace was the clutch receiver, and Jared Ellerson saw his receiving totals fall off by almost half from 2003. Paris Hamilton may be the only player in college football history to average more than 50 yards per catch for his career”¦. Unfortunately he had only 4 receptions on the season. The most disappointing number for the group last season is that nobody exceeded 37 receptions. As a group, the route running and catching ability were not up to par, and the probably led to coach Richard Wilson’s firing at the end of the season.
Bottom Line . . .
Mason summed it up yesterday at the Big Ten preseason press conference: “œOur Wide Receiver crew is the best that we’ve had since I’ve been at Minnesota.”. Those are some big words to live up to, but I think this group of Gopher receivers will do just that. Jared Ellerson and Ernie Wheelwright gives Minnesota a couple of starters who should be in the top groups of starters in the league, Jakari Wallace gives the unit another veteran presence, and Micah Rucker is looming on the horizon as another potential star. This group is not going to get 4000 yards receiving this year, but they don’t really have to. As we all know, Minnesota philosophy has always been to run the football, and this year they have the talent to have another great rushing team. But if the receivers can step up and provide the offense an alternative, it’s going to make all phases of the Gopher offense better and tougher to stop. The one wild card that will be interesting to watch will be the new Gopher receiving coach, Luke Tressel. Can a guy in his mid-20’s command the respect of players just a few years younger than him? If he can, and if the players can learn from their mistakes last year, the Gophers should have a more then suitable group of receivers to compliment their running game.
Talk about the Gopher Wide Receivers on the Gopher Football Message Board.