Gopher Football
Starters
In my previews I often tend to harp on the fact that I expect players to really step their game up when they become a junior. This year it will be no different when I talk about Ernie Wheelwright. During his first two seasons Wheelwright has been among the most productive receivers on the team. In his freshmen season he caught 7 touchdown passes, and last year he led the team with 568 yards receiving on 37 receptions. At 6’5″, 220 pounds, few receivers in the Big Ten can match Wheelwright’s size. Throw in his good speed, and Ernie has all the physical tools to develop into a dominant receiver. The problem with Ernie thus far in his career, and the reason why I’m expecting some big improvements this year, has been his lack of consistent play. He has a habit of making the spectacular catches and then dropping the easy ones. Concentration and focus have seemed to be lacking a bit with him”¦.. which make his first two seasons all the more impressive. If he can just start to catch balls that he should, and continue his normal development in other facets of his game, the Gophers should find themselves with one of the top receivers in the conference and have a guy who can get pile up 1000 yards receiving. Ernie is a big play type of guy and the Gopher really need him to step up this season.
At the other starting spot is senior Logan Payne, another physical Gopher receiver. After doing next to nothing (literally) in his first two seasons, Payne came out of nowhere last year to tie Wheelwright for the team lead in receptions at 37 to go along with his 529 yards receiving. Logan is a tough, physical receiver who isn’t afraid to mix it up or use strength to muscle his ways into making the touch catch. This year should be another productive one for Logan. He has good all around skills and he should be able to find himself open more often than not. Both Payne and quarterback Bryan Cupito are seniors, and hopefully the chemistry they’ve developed over the past three years will result in a big season for both in 2006.
Depth
Depth at receiver is an area of concern for Minnesota, as only 2 returning scholarship players are on the depth chart. If that in itself doesn’t make you worry, the fact that those two player are redshirt freshmen may. Those two players are Mike Chambers and Eric Decker. It’s not all bad news however, as Coach Mason has on several occasions talked about how impressed he is with these two. Decker is listed at 6’2″ 210 pounds, Chambers at 6’1″ 190 pounds. Each of the two is talented, and the Gopher wide receivers should be in good hands in the coming years with these two guys leading the way.
Because there are only four returning scholarship players at wide receiver, odds are fairly good that incoming freshman Ben Fisher may see some action this year if he can show he is ready. The chances of Fisher playing this year went way up once it was learned that incoming recruit Jamar Howard was denied admission to the university. Howard had been considered one of the top two or three recruits in last years class. I don’t have any names to throw out there, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a position switch by the end of the year to help bolster wide receiver depth.
Around the Big Ten
This year should be a big one for Big Ten wide receivers. The big surprise last year was the performance of Indiana wideout James Hardy. The freshman led the conference with 89 receiving yards per game. Luckily for Indiana, Hardy recently avoided possible jail time stemming from an off season domestic disturbance. Shaun Hebert of Northwestern was another unlikely star last year. The senior to be finished 6th in yards and 3rd in receptions. The best receiver in the conference heading into this year will likely be Purdue’s Dorien Bryant, and the future star probably lies over at Ann Arbor in sophomore Mario Manningham.
Last Year
The Gopher receivers didn’t pile up huge numbers last year, but because of another superb performance of the running game they didn’t really have to. Ernie Wheelwright and Logan Payne put up nearly identical numbers as described above, and senior Jared Ellerson chipped in 511 yards on just 21 catches. Ellerson saw his stas drop each year after his sophomore season, but injuries did have a say in the drop in his production. Jakari Wallace provided numerous big catches (and kick returns) and finished with 218 yards. Sophomore receiver Micah Rucker transferred after the season. As always, the Gopher receivers did their part when it came to downfield blocking in the running game.
Bottom Line
For the first time in a while, the Gopher receivers could overshadow their counterparts at running back for the offensive unit that makes headlines. Heading into the first game in a week, Coach Mason has yet to determine a starting running back and plans to give four different guys carries. With the instability at that position, the pressure will surely be on the wideouts to perform. With a senior quarterback, the top two receivers back and two exciting freshmen on the horizon the pieces seem to be in place for that to happen. If they don’t, the Gophers will probably find themselves in unfamiliar territory with having an offense that will struggle. The single biggest test for all the Gopher receivers this year though is how they’ll handle the added coverage that they will surely face. In prior years opponents often used their safeties to cheat up against the run which left the Gophers with a lot of single coverage. But with the running game not the perceived threat it has been in the past, there figures to be more double coverages for Wheelwright and Payne. If they can break through that still find a way to be productive the offense should not miss a beat.
Talk about the Gopher wideouts on the Gopher Football Message Board.
Previous article: Quarterbacks