In college football, it’s easier to recruit speed than strength. Physicality is something coaches must develop when players arrive to a program. As the Gophers continue to build depth in the trenches, young players will be on the field before they completely develop physically. It’s a challenge head coach P.J. Fleck has been tasked with overcoming in his second season as head coach.
“You can get the speed in here, but it takes a few cycles to be able to go through. Remember, there’s 33 freshmen on our two-deep.” Fleck said. “These are kids who have not been in our program more than one year and some have only been here three months. They are 18 years old. To sit there and say they’re a growing man now, that’s silly.”
In the past, the strength component has been a main issue as the Gophers have struggled to defend the run in Big Ten play. It wasn’t clear whether the team had enough resources to overcome depth concerns on the defensive line in 2018. Early indications hint that this will be a theme again this year, especially considering the Gophers allowed 315 rushing yards in a 42-13 loss to Maryland. While some of those issues were related to poor eye discipline, the defensive line was still outmuscled at times.
It’s something the Gophers will need to develop through future recruiting cycles.
“When you recruit, you recruit speed, but you don’t really develop strength until they get there – grown man strength,” Fleck said. “When you start to look at these guys and the strength and what they look like, they’re going to look really good, but they’re high school seniors plus, is the way I always describe them. They’re a fifth-year high school player because there’s what they naturally are. You’d like to redshirt them all, that’s not a position we’re in.”
Future recruiting is already addressing depth concerns in the trenches, but it will take time for those investments to yield positive reward on the field.
Motion gives the Gophers fits, tests their tackling
Maryland used plenty of motion to get the Gophers out of position. This required Minnesota to play disciplined on defense and maintain run fits. However, they were unable to execute in this category against the Terps. When one player was out of alignment, it required a player in the backend to make a difficult tackle in space.
“It’s almost like playing the option. There’s a dive, there’s a pitch and all these other things and when you miss one tackle, that’s when you saw the big plays happen,” Fleck said. “We just didn’t make the plays…we missed three big tackles that led to huge runs.
The loss of Antoine Winfield Jr. certainly impacted the Gophers’ defensive strategy. With a key defender lost for the season due to a Lisfranc ligament tear, Minnesota will likely be turning to veteran Antonio Shenalut to fill the role.
“Everything we do on our defense is funneled to make sure [Winfield is] the guy and the extra guy to make the play where he needs to make it. And then behind them are very, very young players. That’s the position we got caught in,” Fleck said. [Shenault and Jacob Huff] have to really step up the leadership because they’re going to have a lot of young people around them.”
Annexstad’s ankle impacted the strategy
Freshman quarterback Zack Annexstad tweaked his ankle during a 26-3 win over Miami (OH). The effects of the injury carried into the Maryland game as Annexstad struggled to gain full mobility. Maryland schemed to keep him in the pocket and the coaches were unable to adjust due to Annexstad’s mobility.
“I thought Zack wasn’t able to get out of the pocket with his ankle,” Fleck said. “That’s my fault, but again, they knew that and they kept him in the pocket and he had no place to escape or step up.”
After a week of rest, Annexstad may have the necessary mobility to get outside of the pocket against Iowa. It is important as the offensive line faces more physical defensive line units in future weeks. Annexstad was sacked four times against Maryland and will need to have a clean pocket for the Gophers to succeed on Saturday.
“When you get hit early as a young guy, plus you’re hurt, I think it affects you a little bit, so we have to be able to keep him upright,” Fleck said. “And he got hit early and often, his ankle was bothering him. It’s one of those things where if you keep them off him early, maybe he has a lot more success, he feels more comfortable in the pocket.”
Iowa has a talented defensive line rotation featuring A.J. Epenesa, Park Hesse and Anthony Nelson off the edge. They are also a sound and disciplined tackling team at all levels.
“[Iowa has] big, long, tall, rangy, strong defensive linemen, active linebackers and they tackle probably better than any team I’ve watched,” Fleck said.
Keeping tabs on Noah Fant
Iowa not only presents challenges defensively, but the Gophers will need to keep tabs on one of the top tight ends in the country. Noah Fant, is a powerful, athletic mismatch tight end and will likely be a first round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Whether it’s off boots, waggles, or deep crossers, he is one player the Gophers’ linebackers will be tasked with stopping. Fant has grabbed three touchdowns in the past two games, averaging over ten yards per catch.
“It doesn’t matter [Fant is] covered or not…he’s so big, he’s so rangy, he’s so strong, that if he’s not open, he’s still open. And that’s what makes them so hard to defend is that they have great size, they have great skill and their offensive line is really tough.”
No matter what, head coach P.J. Fleck knows the Hawkeyes will enter TCF Bank Stadium and execute at a high level. His team will need to be ready for the challenge.
“They do what they do, and they do what they do very well,” Fleck said. “Probably better than any other team I’ve ever watched in terms of they are who they are, they don’t stem far from who they are and they execute at such a high level, offensively and defensively.”