Gopher Football
Defensive End
The big surprise of the Gopher defense last season was the sudden impact provided by end Steve Davis. Even though Davis was just a true freshman and severely undersized at 230 pounds, he led the team with 6 sacks and was the only player who could apply decent quarterback pressure. The only downside of his play last year was that he would occasionally disappear for large chunks at a time, but considering he was just a true freshman I don’t think that was too unexpected. Davis is the only returning starter on the Gopher defensive line so he will be counted on to continue his contributions and become a more consistent player. The biggestthing Steve had going for him last year was his speed, so I see two challenges ahead of him: Develop some other pass rushing skills, and try to get bigger and stronger without losing that speed. If he can do that, the Gophers will have a star for the next three years.
How Davis will perform this year will be a key in how effective the defensive line as a whole is. With the loss of the other three starters Davis will clearly be the marked man for opposing offensive lines so achieving his sack total of last year may be a bit of a challenge. What may help ease some of the pressure off of Davis this year would be if Willie Van DeSteeg can establish himself like Davis did last year. The 6’4″ 255 pound Van DeSteeg saw a little bit of action last year as a freshman and the results were mostly encouraging. Though he didn’t record any sacks, he did have 3 tackles for loss and showed the ability to create havoc in the opposition’s backfield during his limited opportunities. This year Van DeSteeg will be counted on to step into the starting lineup and contribute right away.
Like it will be at most positions for Minnesota, depth at defensive end is a conern. The only remaining scholarship player at this spot is sophomore William Brody. What’s of concern is that Brody did not play last year at all so the Gophers will likely have no backups that have seen game action. This makes it a very good possiblity that one of the Gophers two true freshmen defensive end signees, Willie Dyson or Robert McField will see time this year. (Another option in an emergency would be to move Eric Clark or Matt Stommes back to end.) All in all this will be an extremely young group of Gopher ends. If you take Davis, VanDesteeg, McField and Dyson and then throw in receent transfer Raymond Henderson into this mix in 2007, I think you’ll have what will be potentially a great group of DE’s in 2007 & 2008. The big question is can this group “œarrive” a year early and be a force in 2006?
Defensive Tackle
To be blunt and up front about the situation, the Gophers could be hurting at defenisve tackle this season. Gone are Anthony Montgomery and Mark Losli, two guys who saw about a combined 7 years of experience as starters. Even though neither of them really set the world on fire during their time as a Gopher, their experience and combined 600 pounds will be very difficult to replace. What makes this situation even more difficult, again, is that there is very little depth at this spot so the coaches won’t exactly have a lot to work with.
Eric Clark is the guy who will be counted on to lead this group. At 6’4″ 270 pounds Clark is a senior who is moving to defensive tackle after spending three years at defensive end. Like Mark Losli a few seasons ago, Clark never became a dominant pass rusher while at defensive end. That, along with his size and the need for bodies in the middle contributed to his switching positions. Because Clark will be taking on a new position and considering he’s undersized, his expectations should not be set very high. If Clark can just hold his ground in the middle and not get pushed around too much I would consider that a successful season. Lining up opposite Clark will be junior former walk-on Todd Meisel. At 6’4″ 260 pounds, Meisel is another guy who will be another undersized guy for his position. Last year Meisel did see a couple starts and scattered 14 tackles through the season. Like Clark, if Meisel can just hold his own without getting pushed around too much through the course of the Big Ten schedule, I think that would be considered a success. Any consistent push he can get into the oppositions backfield would be a bonus.
Behind Clark and Meisel are more questions about size and depth. Neel Allen appears to be the guy that would pose the biggest threat to win a starting job. At 6’3″ 285 lbs Neel has the size that will be needed through the season, but does he have the ability? In his sophomore season last year Allen appeared 9 games and had only 10 tackles. There would be no time like the present for him to emerge. There appears to be some good news on the horizon for Gophers fans, as it appears that Nhemi Theodore may be working his way back into the rotation at tackle. After redshirting in 2004, Nhemi rather mysteriously didn’t see the field last year; this despite being considered one of the more talented members of the Gopher 2004 recruiting class. Seeing that Nhemi hasn’t played a down of college football yet I won’t place any expiations on him, but at the very least he would help the Gophers situation at this position. Regardless of whether Theodore or Allen pan out or not, it looks to be a good possibility that incoming freshman Garrett Brown will get a shot to work his way into the rotation. Garrett certainly has the look of someone who is physically ready to play Big Ten football. You don’t want your true freshmen to be the most physically ready guys at a position, but at 6’2″ and a lean 285 pounds Garrett may be just that.
Around the Big Ten
This is a spot on the field where the Big Ten could be hurting a little bit this year. If you believe the all conference honors from last year the Big Ten loses 9 of the best 12 defensive linemen. Ohio State’s Quinn Pintock (tackle) and Iowa’s Kenny Iwebema (end) are arguably the top two returning players in the conference on the DL. Both Iowa and Ohio State appear to be in solid shape, along with Wisconsin and Michigan. With all the Big Ten quarterback returning, and all of the losses in the Big Ten in the secondary, many teams will be counting on the their lines to get to the QB, otherwise we may see a record year in the Big Ten with passing totals.
Last Year
Last years Gopher DL consisted of Montgomery, Losli, Davis and Keith Lipka. Like Montgomery and Losli, Lipka was also a senior. If one were to say before last year that Steve Davis would get 6 sacks, most people would’ve assumed that the line had an outstanding year considering Davis was the baby of the group. Rather, what happened is that for the most part they turned out to be a disappointment. Davis had his moments with the pass rush, Anythony Montgomery had his best year as a Gopher and was rewarded with second team All-Big Ten honors, but Losli and Lipka suffered through some droughts. On the year Minnesota tied with Indiana and Northwestern for 6th in rushing defense, and the starting four combined for just 9 sacks (6 of them by the freshman). That’s not exactly what you’d hope for from a line featuring three seniors.
Summary
Like I mentioned above, this could be long season for the Gopher defensive line. There certainly is some young talent, perhaps more than at anytime in Mason’s tenurr with Minnesota, but I think this season will be a little too early for that talent to develop. What is especially concerning is defensive tackle. Minnesota will rely on two starters who are a former walkon and a person switching positions, two of their three backups haven’t played a down of college football, and the other body is a true freshman. What is a more likely hope, in my opinion, is for the line just to hold their line and hope that the more experienced linebackers can be relied on more to help out. Hopefully we will see some progress this year though, and next year when I write this same preview there will be a lot more optimism!
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