Gopher Football
- As was the case last season, only one player did not pass the mandatory running this this morning (Mason did not identify the player). Also, Mason didn’t mention any specifics examples, but he said he was generally very impressed with the physical conditioning of the team.
- There have been several transfers since spring practice. They are: Stephon Hopkins, Sam Scroggins, Camron Smith and Stephon Rhea.
- Minnesota has added one player since spring practice,
- Running back Ben Hason and tight end Kevin Salem are still recovering from injuries suffered in spring ball and will not be participating in fall workouts.
- Starting linebacker John Shevlin underwent hernia surgery a couple weeks ago, but has already recovered and is not expected to miss any practice. Tight end Matt Spaeth is back at 100% after missing spring practice due to a surgery .
- Three members of the Gophers 2005 recruiting class have academic issues. Cornerback Boyd Coleman did not qualify will not be with the team this season. Richard Christy and Jeff Brooks are still waiting to find out if they will be cleared by the NCAA.
- Mason had only two position changes to mention. Quentin White has moved from safety to wide receiver, and Kevin Mannion has moved from wide receiver to defensive back.
- Mason re-emphasized that despite their poor performance in the spring game, he was impressed with the strides made by the defense during the spring and expects them to be improved this season.
- The teams open scrimmage and festivities will be on Saturday, August 20th at 12:30pm. The team will also scrimmage on August 13th, and have a game rehearsal on August 25th.
PERSONNEL NOTES: Mason is confident in Justin Kucek as his punter, but stopped short of declaring Jason Giannini the first string kicker. Jason and Joel Monroe will compete for the kicker spot. — Another area of competition this fall will be the cornerback spot opposite of Trumaine Banks. Jamal Harris and Desi Stieb are leading contenders. — Quarterback Mike Maciejowski has made a ton of improvement over the past year, and is second to Cupito on the depth chart. Mason said that third string QB Tony Mortensen is talented, but is struggling with his consistency. — Keith Lipka will start one at one defensive end spot, but the other is still open. Mason did mention that he is impressed with the development of redshirt freshman Willie VanDeSteeg. — Mason continues to sing the praises of guard Mark Setterstrom. He maintains that Setterstrom is every bit as good of a guard as Greg Eslinger is as a center.
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