Gopher Football
– Cornerbacks
Along with defensive tackle, cornerback is a position where the Gopher are really lacking in depth. Coming into this fall there are only three scholarship players on the roster, with three walkons providing depth.
Leading the way at cornerback for Minnesota is junior Trumaine Banks. So far Banks has had a little bit of an up and down career. He had a nice freshman season (made the Sporting News All- Big Ten Freshman team), which in turn led to higher expectations as a sophomore. But Banks unexpectedly found himself in a struggle to hold onto his starting spot. Redshirt freshman Jamal Harris pushed Banks last fall, even passing him up for a bit. But Trumaine was up to the challenge and won back his starting spot. For the season, Banks recorded a solid 45 tackles, but recorded only 2 interceptions. That INT number is something Banks will hope to improve on this year as Minnesota’s number one corner. Trumaine is easily Minnesota’s most experienced player at this position, having started 22 of the 25 in his career, so his experience will be needed to lead a young group of cornerbacks.
The other cornerback spot is up in the air, with Jamal Harris and Desi Steib battling it out. Harris did have three starts last season and was the guy called upon when Trumaine Banks missed a couple games with an injury. Harris has some nice qualities and could evolve into a good corner for the Gophers. Steib is an interesting prospect who also could make some noise this season. Steib has a nice blend of size (6’1″) and speed that physically give him the tools to become a very good Big Ten cornerback. However, Steib came to Minnesota pretty raw and had a lot of learning to do when he arrived on campus. After a redshirt season and a year of not playing, Steib is said to have made big strides, and his thrust himself into the starting battle with Harris.
Like I mentioned above, depth at cornerback is a big concern heading into this year. Banks, Harris and Steib are Minnesota’s only returning scholarship cornerbacks, so some walkons and true freshman may very well be called upon this season. Of all those players, the most likely to play appears to be true freshman Dominic Jones of Columbus, Ohio. Along with Alex Daniels and Keith Massey, Jones is a member of the “œBrookhaven Trio” that Minnesota signed last February.
– Safeties
Minnesota is a more experienced at safety, with four players who all have some degree of playing experience. After starting his career as a walkon, the leader of the Gopher defensive secondary may be senior free safety John Pawielski. Pawielski. was a first year starter last year and had a decent season before he was knocked out for the year with a broken leg against Iowa. “œJ.P.” is a big time hitter and good tackler, but he needs to improve his pass coverage this year if he is to jump into the elite group of safeties in the Big Ten. Last year he had just one interception, a number that hopefully will jump significantly this year.
Over at strong safety is junior Brandon Owens. Brandon is the type of player who has enough talent that you don’t want to keep him off the field. Unfortunately, exactly where on the field he should be is something that has been extremely unsettled to date. After playing on special teams and as a reserve safety as a true freshman, Owens was moved to linebacker last year. This season however, Owens is back to his natural strong safety spot and is hoping to make a big splash. Owens is a tremendous athlete and a big hitter, so at 6’2″ 210 pounds he has all the physical attributes to be a great safety. But whether or not Owens succeeds this year will likely depend on how well he adepts to being a strong safety again. If he can learn the position, he will be very good.
One of the more interesting storylines during the bowl season / off season was the move of Terrance Campbell to safety. Campbell had been a fixture as a Gopher linebacker the past three seasons, but after the end of the regular season, it was decided that a move to safety was best for him. At 6’2″ 205 pounds, Campbell always was a smaller linebacker, but it was hoped he would be able to put on a little more weight; something that never happened. This season Terrance will be in the mix as a backup, but during the fall press conference Mason didn’t seem to rule out another move for Terrance if he doesn’t do well at safety. The other main backup at safety is sophomore Dominique Barber. Barber did play as a true freshman, but most of the action he saw was on special teams. He is a good prospect and could be a future starter.
Around the Big Ten
The Big Ten will probably be a little weaker than normal this year in the defensive backfield. Gone are several players that made impacts over several years, including Jim Leonhard, Marlin Jackson, Ernest Shazor, and Scott Starks. The consensus best returning member of the secondary this season seems to be Penn State senior Alan Zemaitis. Alan is a two time All-Big Ten selection, and is the leader of what may be the best defense in the conference. Penn State also appears to have the talent to have the best team secondary in the conference. Besides Zemaitis, Penn State has three other seniors that project as starters, which in addition to talent, will give them the most experienced secondary in the conference. For safeties, the best player looks to be Nate Salley of Ohio State. Salley will be entering his third year as a starter and is a returning all conference pick as well.
Last Year . . .
Last season, senior Ukee Dozier was the star of the Gopher secondary. After starting for three years and having a mostly average career, Dozier broke though last season to earn first team All-Big Ten honors. As a group though, the Gopher secondary had a long year. Time after time they had problems covering receivers on 3rd and long situations. They were last in the Big Ten in allowing 266 passing yards per game, were 8th in the conference in allowing 17 TD passes, but did manage to finish 5th in the conference in interceptions with 12.
Bottom Line
Coming into this season, at least one thing is clear: This secondary knows that they’ve struggled in the past, and they know that in order for the team to take the next step, they must improve their level of play. Replacing Ukee Dozier would have been extremely difficult anyway, but when you consider there are only three scholarship players to fill two spots, you know you might be in a little bit of trouble. The good news there is that those three players are more talented than what they’ve had in past years. Because of that, staying healthy will be extremely important for the cornerbacks. As always, a secondary’s job will be made easier from a good pass rush so they will need some help if they want to improve. Like most of the defense, the secondary will also be breaking in a new position coach in Kerry Cooks, so the impact of what he will give them will be something to watch during the year. At the very least though, if the secondary can improve their performance on third down, the defense should see at least modest improvement.