At the start of the season, Minnesota’s secondary was expected by many to be one of the team’s weaker points by national pundits. With the loss of starting safety Brock Vereen, many media outlets thought that the secondary lacked experience, and BTN.com ranked the Gophers defensive backs 10th out of 14 conference teams. After a crushing win in Michigan where the defense and secondary limited the Michigan passing offense to an 88 yard performance, the Gophers secondary has now proven they are a force to be reckoned with, and may be one of the Big Ten’s best.
Much of the Gophers success so far this year is due to amount of turnovers they have produced, as they have recorded an astounding 15. Six of these turnovers have been interceptions by the Gophers secondary.
Part of the key to the secondary’s success is having such a strong linebacker core. With Damien Wilson 5th in the nation in tackles at 10.2 per game, and De’Vondre Campbell and Jack Lynn having strong seasons alongside Wilson, the linebacker core is allowing the secondary to rely less on tackling and more about the pass protection.
Last year Cedric Thompson beat out Wilson for the team lead in tackles by one. This year Wilson says that he and Thompson are in a bit of a competition to see who can get more. The winner seems all but locked up to be Wilson, who leads by 32, as the strong line backing core is limiting secondary tackling opportunities. “I can’t get to tackle that much because our linebackers are doing such a good job making all our tackles before we get there,” said senior safety Cedric Thompson.
In return, the secondary is taking some of the pressure off of the front seven. “They’re a big key to what’s happening right now, because if you can play in the secondary, you can do more things up front,” said Coach Jerry Kill.
The back end of the defense is also severely limiting long passing plays. The Gophers defense has allowed just three passes of 30 or more yards. The longest pass play for Michigan last week was only 18 yards.
Eric Murray is having another stellar year, locking up the best receivers of teams and essentially erasing them from the game plans. In the win against Michigan, Murray was matched against dynamic wide receiver Devon Funchess for much of the game, and Funchess was limited to just four catches for 37 yards. Murray, Derrick Wells, and Briean Boddy-Calhoun have all had stellar years so far, and have lessened the load on Thompson and Damarius Travis on the back end. “In certain coverages, I know that we can lock those guys up so I don’t have to worry about helping them out or anything like that. So having some lockdown corners really helps a lot,” said Thompson.
The secondary has suffered a recent setback, with another injury to cornerback Wells. Wells was sidelined with a hamstring injury in the game against Michigan, and on Wednesday Kill said that he is unlikely to play against Northwestern.
Even with the loss of Wells, the Gophers have an up and coming playmaker ready to step in with sophomore Jalen Myrick. Myrick is one of the fastest players on the team, and showed off his skills against Middle Tennessee where he returned an interception for 31 yards and his first career touchdown. He has an additional three pass breakups. “Last year he was a young guy who played with a little bit. Even with his experience last year, he’s kept up a lot and he’s playing really well,” said Thompson.
While the secondary appears to be improving every week, and seems to have silenced the doubters so far, the team knows that they have a lot more left to prove. “We’re not going to sit here and cut ourselves short here saying we’re the best secondary in the Big Ten because we still have a lot to prove, and we’re not satisfied where we’re at right now,” Thompson said.