Gopher Football
– Matt Spaeth
For the first time in an eternity, #82 will not be starting for the Gophers, so instead we’ll need to get used to hearing this for the next three years: “Starting at Tight End for the Golden Gophers, from Albertville, MN, sophomore Matt Spaeth. Technically, we’ve already heard this the last couple games of last year, but I think you get my drift. Ben Utecht has moved onto the NFL, and a new era of Gopher Tight End is ready to take over.
Spaeth, simply put, is a superstar in waiting. In his redshirt freshman year, he filled in a few times as a starter for an oft-injured Utecht, and the rest of the time he saw action as the number two TE. Matt is a huge dude, listed during spring practice at 6’6″ 265. Keep in min this was after just his redshirt freshman year. Not surprisingly, Spaeth has already proven to be a good blocker. What is a little surprising is his ability to catch the ball. He’s not nearly as fast and as ‘dangerous’ of a threat as Utecht was, but he still is a good athlete to make things happen. He knows how to position his body, present himself as a receiver and catches the ball well for a guy his size. With Jared Ellerson and Paris Hamilton controlling the deep routes, there should be plenty of room underneath for Spaeth to set up shop and be an effective receiver. The only question about Matt is how long he will remain at tight end. One would have to guess that he could easily put on another 20 pounds and become an offensive lineman (aka Rian Melander). For now though, he is a fast rising Tight End prospect.
– Jared Posthumus
Somewhere between Ben Utecht and Matt Spaeth is junior Jared Posthumus. He’s not as big as Spaeth, but he’s faster. He’s not as fast as Utecht, but he’s healthier. Like many other Gopher TE’s of late, Jared finds himself at TE after undergoing a position switch. He came to Minnesota as a quarterback, but quickly switched over to TE and has since progressed nicely. So nice in fact, that he jumped over two other TE’s to become third string last year. Jared ended up seeing a lot of playing time as the 3rd option at TE, but because he was only the #3 TE it’s not concerning that he had only two catches. Expect his receiving numbers to grow this year as he moves into the #2 spot. He’ll provide an adequate option as a backup to Spaeth.
– Depth
Depth is a little bit of a concern for the Gophers at Tight End. After Spaeth and Posthumus there is a large dropoff in experience. At third and fourth string are Chad Redmann and Kevin Salmen. Neither of these two have been consistently present in the TE rotation so far, but that should change this year. One of them will likely be the one to step up and see significant time as a backup to Spaeth and Posthumus. Farther down the road, Minnesota addressed the lack of depth at this position by signing 3 TE’s in their 2004 recruiting class: Sam Scroggins, Tommy Leavitt and Jack Simmons. Of the three, Simmons would probably be the most likely to play this year, but this is unlikely seeing that he is physically not ready at only 220 pounds.
Last Year . . .
Last season was slightly disappointing for the tight ends as a whole. As usual, Ben Utecht struggled with injuries and didn’t have even close to the year that he was capable of. For the year Ben managed only 18 catches for 289 yards and 2 TD’s. Still though, Ben goes down as one of the most productive TE’s in Minnesota history and will be greatly missed. Second in receiving yards was Matt Speath. Matt 12 catches for 98 yards. Posthumus proved an adequate third string option. All three of them did their part in helping the Minnesota running game achieve new heights.
Around the Big Ten . . .
This year will not only be a rebuilding year for Minnesota Tight Ends, but for just about the entire conference as well. Along with Utecht, Ohio State’s Ben Harstock is on to the NFL. The departure of those means the consensus top two Tight Ends in the conference are gone. Looking further down the honors list, there aren’t even any honorable mention TE’s returning in the conference this year.
Of those that do return, Michigan’s Tim Massaquoi might be the best. He isn’t much of a blocker, but like Ben Utecht, he is a converted wide receiver and good pass catcher. The next logical choice to be a top TE is OSU junior Ryan Hamby. He was stuck behind Ben Harstock last year, but this year will be the featured TE in the Buckeye’s offense. Perhaps the best combo TE group will be at Purdue. Charles Davis is a very good blocker, and Garrett Bushong should thrive as a receiver in Purdue’s pass-happy offense.
Bottom Line . . .
When opponents are forming a defensive game plan against Minnesota, it will probably look a little something like this:
1. Stop #21
1a. Stop #22
3. Stop the Wide Receivers
4. Attack #61
5. Disrupt Bryan Cupito
I really hope this is the case, because if it is Spaeth and Posthumus could be in for a surprisingly big year. I’d have to be almost certain that the TE will be the last position on Minnesota’s offense that opposition defenses will be gearing to stop. The past three seasons everybody has known about how good Ben Utecht was, and teams really went out of their way to slow him down. But with Ben gone and an established replacement not fully developed, it’s going to be easy for teams to ignore our tight ends. If Spaeth and Posthumus can assert themselves as I believe they are capable, it will add yet another dimension to the Minnesota offense and make it all the more tough to stop.