Gopher Football
The bad vibes with this team started early this year when Gopher JUCO cornerback verbal commitment Jarrell Holman backed out after Glen Mason was fired and decided to attend Arizona State instead. Then in April, running back E.J. Jones, defensive end Alex Daniels and cornerback Keith Massey were arrested, but not charged with rape. Then in July cornerback Dominic Jones was arrested and charged in that same incident. All four of those players were then kicked off the team. Then in August cornerback Durrell Clark-James was kicked off the team after breaking team rules. Somewhere in there JUCO defensive lineman Serge Elizee left the team as well. Before the season even began, Minnesota lost a slew of defensive players. Then Willie VanDeSteeg, the Gophers best returning defensive player from 2006, suffered a wrist injury. Mike Sherels and John Shevlin also played hurt. Though we tried to hope for the best, the losses and injuries ended up to be WAY too much to overcome. In the first game of the season, on the first drive of the season, Bowling Green drove 80 yards in 4 plays in just 1:19 to score a touchdown. That drive would be a good indicator of how the rest of the season would go. With that brief recap out of the way, here are some thoughts on some different aspects of the team.
Adam Weber
Needless to say, Adam Weber made a lot of mistakes this year and is one of the reasons why the team lost as many games as they did. Besides throwing for a school record tying 19 interceptions (tied with three other players, most recently Marquel Fleetwood in 1992), Weber also made a lot of bad throws, both in missing open receivers & trying to force the ball into receivers who were covered, and had a bad habit of staring down his primary receivers.
However I think Weber had a very good year considering he was a freshman quarterback in the first year of a new system. Are any of the things I listed above completely out of the ordinary for a freshman quarterback? I certainly don’t think so. The interceptions number is a little high, but considering:
– This was first year the Gophers have run a spread offense
– The Gopher WR’s corps, though solid, was still very young
– The Gopher defense was putting the offense in large holes almost every game
– The running game was not always there
Considering these facts, I think the 19 interceptions are somewhat excusable. Weber was asked to do an awful lot for a freshman quarterback, and I think that largely he handled himself very well. Now, there are the issues with accuracy and decision making, but I think that experience will help that out a lot. Some people have wondered, given Weber’s struggles this year, why the coaches did not give Tony Mortensen a chance? I think there are two main reasons.
First, coming into this season, I really did not know what to expect with the spread offense. But after watching just a couple games, it became obviously really quickly that the system we are running works best with a quarterback who can run. Tony Mortensen is not that quarterback. Weber, though not the fastest guy on the field, is good on his feet and is very elusive considering his size (6’3″ 220 lbs). Weber ended the season as the Gophers leading rusher with 617 yards, and had a 4.2 yard per carry average (which includes sacks). Those rushing numbers are not that far off from Juice Williams (774 yards) and Kellen Lewis (653 yards), the top two rushing QB’s in the conference.
Second, coming into the season Brewster said that whoever won the QB job was in it for the long haul; he was not going to have a quick hook. Well, when it would’ve come time to pull Weber, the team was already at the bottom of the Big Ten and nearly out of the bowl picture, so replacing your freshman quarterback of the future with a junior who is not the long tern answer just didn’t make sense.
Coach Brewster and his mouth
Coach Brewster has been taking a lot of crap from some fans and in the local press for “œrunning his mouth” in the months leading up to this season. Brewster stated among other things, that he expected to the go the Rose Bowl this season, that our special teams would be the “œSpecial Forces”, and more recently that he “œdidn’t really like” a certain Big Ten coach. Once things started going badly some fans and columnists turned on him, upset and offended that he dare get their hopes up. For the life of me, I don’t understand why this is a problem. This is the kind of coach that I WANT! I want my coach to have going to the Rose Bowl the annual goal. I want my coach to hate our biggest rivals. I want my coach to tell us why we can instead of why we can’t. I think the biggest problem with some Minnesota fans here is that we’re just a little too Scandinavian. We don’t like hear people tell us what they really think. (One time I got SO mad at someone, I almost said something.) If Brewster ends up looking like a fool, then so be it. Something tells me he doesn’t care. I’d rather have a guy out there trying to get people psyched up than hiding in his office never making public appearances. Brewster is no question putting his reputation on the line with this kind of talk. If he coaches here for 5 years, goes 8-32 in the Big Ten, then he will end up looking like a fool. But Brewster has enough confidence in his abilities, specifically recruiting, where he feels that the talk will be justified in the long run and he is the one who will come out on top. He feels that once he gets a few of his recruiting classes in here, than we will have the talent to back up this talk. In the mean time, it’s unfair for us as fans to demand he not talk about greatness until we actually achieve it.
Coaching questions
In a season that was as bad as this one, it’s easy to second guess the coaching staff when things aren’t working. As the season went on however and things were not getting better, I’m willing to give the coaching staff a break, because I think that especially in their first year they were entitled to start making decisions that would focus on building on the future.
However, before then I think there are a couple things they should’ve done different. The things I am most disappointed about was the involvement, or lack thereof, for Jack Simmons, Jay Thomas (before he got injured) and Justin Valentine. Clearly Simmons and Valentine do not fit as well in the spread offense as they did in the old Mason/Browning offense. But what I think the coaches miscalculated was that even in the spread, these two guys still could have an impact.
- Through the first nine games of the season, Justin Valentine had only three carries. What makes this especially frustrating was that a major problem for the offense early in the season was their inability to convert on short yardage situations. They could move the ball so well in most occasions, but when it came time to line up and pound the ball on a 3rd and 1, they would fail. In a lot of these situations Valentine was ignored. Then in the last three games of the season, Valentine had eleven carries and proved he was an effective runner. Suddenly they’d found a guy who could get a yard or two in those situations, but unfortunately the season was already gone.
- In the last game of 2006 when Matt Spaeth was out with an injury and Jack Simmons was the number one guy, he responded with 7 receptions for 134 yards. Now, I understand that Simmons was banged up for a good portion of the year, but I think that he was just plain underutilized over the course of the season. On the year he had just 20 catches for 202 yards. I think that Jack is more talented than these numbers show, and hopefully the coaches can get him more involved next year during his senior season.
- When it was announced that the Gophers would be running a spread offense this season, the player I was most excited to see was Jay Thomas. Maybe not just at running back, but split out as receiver, taking reverses and things like that. However through the first five games, Thomas got just 13 touches on offense. I’m sure there is a reason for that, maybe he had an undisclosed injury, or perhaps he was in the doghouse. But finally in the sixth game of the season at Indiana, Thomas had 8 carries and 2 receptions, and then had his best game of the year at Northwestern with 22 carries for 100 yards. The next week Thomas was lost for the season when he tore his ACL at the end of a 15 yard run against NDSU. Next year Thomas will still only be a junior, and he’s again a guy who I think needs a bigger role in the offense. However, coming off his second ACL tear, will Thomas’ blazing speed be gone?
- Another personnel decision I didn’t agree with this season was with Harold Howell. I won’t go as far as calling giving Harold Howell a scholarship a mistake (as some have)”¦ it’s certainly way too early to be talking like that. Howell was a late addition to the recruiting class of 2007, and he is a Florida track champion so he does some speed which usually equals at least some potential. Howell did end up having a couple of nice returns this year, but he was not anywhere near the game breaker that Coach Brewster suggested he may be before the season started. Howell ended the season just 9th in the Big Ten in punt returns (long of only 14 yards), and only 7th in kick returns (long of 51 yards). He did not have a touchdown, and had a couple fumbles along the way (including the costly one on Saturday against Wisconsin). In addition, Howell had only 2 touches on offense, both rushes, for 15 yards. Though I do think Howell could have a place in this team/offense the next couple years, I think that it would’ve been the best decision for this season to have red shirted him.
When I think of Howell’s situation it reminds me of Logan Payne’s career. In 2003 Payne played as a true freshman, but it was very much non-impact. Most of his minutes came on special teams and as a blocking receiver. But by Payne’s senior season he was one of the best players on the team, leading the team in receiving. How nice would it have been to have Paying back this year playing in his senior season instead of the wasted true freshman season?
Offensive MVP
On offense I’m going to go with Ernie Wheelwright. Even though Eric Decker had an outstanding year and had 100 yards more receiving on the season, Ernie had a better Big Ten season, having 53 receptions for 618 yds (including 3 100-yard games) compared to Decker’s 40 receptions for 520 yards (1 100-yard game). Since the Gophers went 0-8 in conference, I have look at the game the Gophers came closest to winning, and that was the 2-OT loss to Northwestern. In that game Wheelwright was huge, having 7 catches for 116 yards and 3 TD’s. It was great to see Ernie finally put a whole season together instead of going through the rough stretches that he’d endured every season of his career up until now.
Runner-up: Eric Decker As mentioned above, Decker was right there with Wheelwright in receiving yards and could very easily be argued at the team MVP. Considering he is only a sophomore, we can expect big things from him in the future.
Defensive MVP
While my choice for offensive MVP might be a little different than most, I don’t think there should be any doubt with anyone on the defensive side of the ball. While the Gophers 2007 defense was historically bad, it would’ve been historically worse without senior safety Dominique Barber. On a team where it seemed like nobody ever wanted to make a tackle, Dom Barber was usually the guy at the end of the play making a touchdown-saving stop. He led the Gophers in tackles by a wide margin with 91 (25 more than the next closest). Barber also had a sack, was second on the team with 7 pass breakups, recovered a team leading 3 fumbles, and had 1 forced fumble.
Runner-up: Dion Hightower It’s too bad it took a while for Dion Hightower to find the field, because once he did he was the best Gopher linebacker. He finished the season second on the team with 66 tackles, including 8.5 tackles for loss, and was the Gophers hardest hitter.
Special Teams MVP
We’ll find out for sure on Tuesday, but the chances are slim that Justin Kucek will be a first team All-Big Ten player. 0-8 teams just don’t get guys on the first team, especially when he lacks name recognition. I’m hope I’m wrong though, because Kucek deserves it. Besides leading the Big Ten with a 42.7 yard average, Kucek was also deadly at pinning team inside their 20 yard line. Kucek had 21 punts inside the 20 yard line, with just 6 touchbacks.
Runner-up: Joel Monroe It looks like the Gopher finally found their kicker! After replacing Jason Giannini early in the season, Monroe went on to become a solid FG kicker, making 7 of 9, including 54 and 48 yarders in his last two games of the season. He also has great kickoffs.
Biggest Surprise
This award goes to true freshman defensive back Kyle Theret. For those of you who don’t follow recruiting, Theret was a very late addition to the Gophers 2007 recruiting class, taken seemingly out of nowhere from Mullen High School in Denver, Co, where Brewster’s sons played. Despite being undersized and unknown, Theret jumped into a beleaguered secondary early in the year and made an impact. He led the team with 3 interceptions, always played hard and played tough. He became a regular in the secondary, and after Barber did as good of a job as anyone else back there.
Runner up: Marcus Sherels Marcus was great on special teams, but found his way into the rotation at wide receiver as well. He looked very good at times and should be a contributor for the next couple seasons.
Second Runner up: Both of the Tow-Arnett’s How great of a story is this?! Two brothers walk own to the Gopher football team and in their third year on the team they both find themselves starting a few games.
Random Best & Worsts
Play of the year: Ernie Wheelwright’s TD catch against Northwestern just before halftime.
Play to forget: Jamal Harris dropping the ball on his way to the end zone after a blocked field goal.
Best game: Everyone should be able to guess this one.
Worst game: There are a couple to choose from, but losing to NDSU while allowing them to rush for 394 yards has to top the list.
Best stat: 7 = Number of games left in Metrodome
Worst stat: Defense allowed 518 ypg, that’s 108 ypg more than the 10th ranked defense.
Unsung hero: Robert McGarry
Biggest loss – defense: Dominique Barber
Biggest loss – offense: Ernie Wheelwright
Best returning player – defense: Dion Hightower
Best returning player – offense: Eric Decker
Will emerge next year – offense: Adam Weber
Will emerge next year – defense: Derrick Onwuachi
Would-be senior missed the most – offense: Gary Russell
Would-be senior missed the most – defense: Brandon Owens
Ranking the positions:
- Punter: Justin Kucek had a fabulous year, and one could argue was the overall MVP for the team. He did everything asked of him almost every time.
Grade: A - Wide Receiver: Decker & Wheelwright were great, Ralph Spry and Tray Herndon were solid considering they were freshmen.
Grade: A”” - Offensive Line: Despite a few injuries, the line did pretty well most of the year. Sacks allowed were low, and they paved the way for over 1900 yards rushing. The only real disappointing aspect was short yardage situations.
Grade: B+ - Kicker: It would be rough early on, but once Joel Monroe replaced Jason Giannini the kicker position was actually very good. No missed XP’s and 7 of 9 on FG’s for Monroe.
Grade: B+ - Running Back: When healthy, the players did very well. However injuries to all three of the players in the rotation over the course of the year kept any consistency from developing. Even so, the Big 3 still averaged 5.2 yards per carry.
Grade: B - Tight End: When called upon, the tight ends did pretty well. However they weren’t called upon very much, just 28 receptions for the entire position.
Grade: B - Quarterback: Weber went nearly the whole way. Was very impressive considering he was a freshman, but a few too many turnovers and inconsistencies.
Grade: B”” - Secondary: Though it was horrid early on, the secondary, led by Dom Barber, did improve as the year went on. True freshmen Ryan Collado and Kyle Theret had something to do with that.
Grade: D+ - Defensive Line: Probably the most disappointing unit as a whole, I expected more out of them. Only 7 sacks from the D-line for the entire season, very little QB pressure in general and very little support against the run.
Grade: D”” - Linebackers: The Gophers haven’t had an above average Big Ten linebacker in about 7 years. Injuries didn’t help, but the LB’s were the big reason why the Gophers got killed in ground down the stretch. There were also major issues in pass coverage.
Grade: F
The Gophers just went 1-11. Why should I renew my season tickets?
- This was a VERY young team. A lot of true freshmen played, more than I can count. I’m guessing 8 ““ 10. Many of them were impressive at times of the year and will only continue to get better. On top of that, I can’t stress enough that learning new schemes, both on offense and defense takes time. For example, when Bryan Cupito made his first start at Gopher quarterback, he had already had 2 years to learn the offense before he was called on to start. Even then, all the other players knew the scheme so it was easier to learn. This year, Adam Weber was a year younger than Cupito was then, and he had only been learning the offense for 6 months. My prediction for next fall is going to be that we will be in awe how much more comfortable our offense looks than we did in the first game against Bowling Green this year. As these players learn their new schemes, and gain experience, they will only continue to get better.
Don’t necessarily think that 1-11 is the absolute best this team could’ve done. At some point during this season, Brewster decided to go young. Mike Chambers quit the team when he wasn’t getting a lot of playing time in front of two true freshmen. Jamal Harris, Duran Cooley and Desi Steib were benched for a parts of the season in favor of true freshmen Ryan Collado, Curtis Thomas and Kyle Theret. Duane Bennett played in front of Amir Pinnix (though Pinnix was a little banged up). Brewster was willing to take some lumps this year in order to get some freshmen some playing time.
- Tim Brewster is recruiting like a mad man. Despite losing a few guys in state so far, the class Brewster has put together right now already ranks higher than any class Glen Mason in 10 seasons as coach. It was no joke that Brewster could recruit, and he is proving it so far. I see no reason why he can’t keep this up for a couple years, especially with a new stadium on the horizon. The overall talent that we will see on the field in the next couple years will be much higher than we are used to, especially on defense. Also, the players that we recruit will match the type of offense and defense we have. Right now we are trying to run a Tim Brewster scheme with Glen Mason players. Those aren’t necessarily going to match up. As we see Brew’s players filter into the system during the next few years, the results will be better.
- Though we did have 11 losses this year, at least the losses were close. Six of the losses were by a TD or less. In other words, it wouldn’t have taken that much for this season to look completely different. If we get back all of the defensive players that I mentioned in the opening paragraph, I think that would’ve been good for at least a few more wins. As for next year, as Adam Weber cuts down on his turnovers, and the defense improves, these losses will turn into wins. I would be disappointed next year if we did not have at least five wins, and definitely think that six is within reach.
- The team didn’t quit, for most of the year anyway. Two of best games we played all year were against Iowa and Wisconsin, when we were 1-9 and 1-10. Give the coaches credit for keeping the guys into the games, at least initially. Also, there were many times, especially early in the season, when we got down by a large margin and kept fighting. If they can get guys to play as hard as they did with a horrible record, how good can they get them to play when they’re winning?
- Did I mention the young players? Just think, this year, Adam Weber, Eric Decker, Ralph Spry, Tray Herndon and Duane Bennett, not to mention D.J. Burris and Dominic Alford all played a big part of our offense. Now only do we get them back next year, we get them back for the next TWO years. Considering our offense was not that bad this year, this is exciting. I don’t see as much talent on the defense currently, but it’s coming. There are already several recruiting commitments out there, with more to come, that will upgrade the defensive talent as well.
And that’s about all I got. It’s been a tough year to be sure, but I think there are enough positives out there not to jump ship (as discussed above), and it’s going to be an offseason worth paying attention to. I wouldn’t be surprised of there are some defections, but hopefully they will be limited and the team is already gearing up for next year. Until then, the next day to pay attention to is February 6th. That is national signing day, and will be first really big indication on just how good Brewster is as a recruiter.
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