Gopher Football All Time Team

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delusionalgopherfan111

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Making an all time gopher football team… did not follow closely until early 2010s so it’s likely I am missing some big names.

Trying to get to 11 on offense/defense so I can create the team/use them in NCAA CFB26. Any obvious holes/misses? Correct me if I’m wrong on positions too:

OFFENSE
QB – Tony Dungy
RB – Bruce Smith
RB – Darrell Thompson
WR – Rashod Bateman
TE – Matt Spaeth
OL – Greg Eslinger
OL – Dick Wildung
OL – Gale Gillingham

DEFENSE
DE – Bronko Nagurski
DT – Carl Eller
LB – Bobby Bell
DB – Antoine Winfield Jr.
DB – Tyrone Carter

SPECIAL TEAMS
K/P – Peter Mortell

Go gophers!
 

delusionalgopherfan111 said:
Making an all time gopher football team… did not follow closely until early 2010s so it’s likely I am missing some big names.

Trying to get to 11 on offense/defense so I can create the team/use them in NCAA CFB26. Any obvious holes/misses? Correct me if I’m wrong on positions too:

OFFENSE
QB – Tony Dungy
RB – Bruce Smith
RB – Darrell Thompson
WR – Rashod Bateman
TE – Matt Spaeth
OL – Greg Eslinger
OL – Dick Wildung
OL – Gale Gillingham

DEFENSE
DE – Bronko Nagurski
DT – Carl Eller
LB – Bobby Bell
DB – Antoine Winfield Jr.
DB – Tyrone Carter

SPECIAL TEAMS
K/P – Peter Mortell

Go gophers!
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Kicker would be Chip Lohmiller. QB stats-wise would be Tanner Morgan but there is much debate on here about the QB position and I'm sure many will chime in. Eric Decker would be my #1 receiver. Bateman #2.
 

GoldRush said:
Kicker would be Chip Lohmiller. QB stats-wise would be Tanner Morgan but there is much debate on here about the QB position and I'm sure many will chime in. Eric Decker would be my #1 receiver. Bateman #2.
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Yeah, Chip was my first thought looking at the roster. Good looking list none the less.
 


Sandy Stephens, Ricky Foggie at QB. Paul Giel, Barber III, Maroney, Mo at running back., throw Bronco in at FB as well as DB I personally thought Utecht was better than Spaeth at TE but he had to contend with Heath Miller at UVA for the Mackey. Ron Johnson, Eric Decker, Rick Upchurch Tyler Johnson at WR. Leo Nomellini at OT, Tom Brown, Setterstrom at Guard, Ben Hamilton at Guard/Center, JMS at center. Lamanzar Williams, Keeon Riley, Carter Coughlin, Rasheede Hagelman at Dline. Jeff Wright, Sean Lumpkin, Tyler Nubin, Winfield Jr, Tyrone Carter at Safety Bobby-Calhoun, Willie Middlebrooks Tom Sakal, Sandy Stephens again at CB. Nystrom at Kicker, Gruening at punter
 
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The Deliberate Stranger said:
Sandy Stephens, Ricky Foggie at QB. Paul Giel, Barber III, Maroney, Mo at running back., throw Bronco in at FB as well as DB I personally thought Utecht was better than Spaeth at TE but he had to contend with Heath Miller at UVA for the Mackey. Ron Johnson, Eric Decker, Rick Upchurch Tyler Johnson at WR. Leo Nomellini at OT, Tom Brown, Setterstrom at Guard, Ben Hamilton at Guard/Center, JMS at center. Lamanzar Williams, Keeon Riley, Carter Coughlin, Rasheede Hagelman at Dline. Jeff Wright, Sean Lumpkin, Tyler Nubin, Winfield Jr, Tyrone Carter at Safety Bobby-Calhoun, Willie Middlebrooks Tom Sakal, Sandy Stephens again at CB. Nystrom at Kicker, Gruening at punter
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Good job! I agree with so many names on your extensive list. I would also take Utecht over Spaeth, though Spaeth was a terrific blocker, as evidenced by his NFL longevity. I also would take Greg Larson at center and find room for Tom Brown and Clayton Tonnemaker somewhere on that defense.
 

It's so hard to qualify players from different eras. A player like Pug Lund or Paul Giel or Sandy Stephens don't have stats to match the modern guys, but they blew the doors off the conference in the '30s (Lund), the '50s (Giel), and the early '60s (Stephens).

Is Anthony Smith better than Willie VanDeSteeg? Was Lawrence Maroney better than Darrell Thompson?

I'm at a loss.
 



The Deliberate Stranger said:
Sandy Stephens, Ricky Foggie at QB. Paul Giel, Barber III, Maroney, Mo at running back., throw Bronco in at FB as well as DB I personally thought Utecht was better than Spaeth at TE but he had to contend with Heath Miller at UVA for the Mackey. Ron Johnson, Eric Decker, Rick Upchurch Tyler Johnson at WR. Leo Nomellini at OT, Tom Brown, Setterstrom at Guard, Ben Hamilton at Guard/Center, JMS at center. Lamanzar Williams, Keeon Riley, Carter Coughlin, Rasheede Hagelman at Dline. Jeff Wright, Sean Lumpkin, Tyler Nubin, Winfield Jr, Tyrone Carter at Safety Bobby-Calhoun, Willie Middlebrooks Tom Sakal, Sandy Stephens again at CB. Nystrom at Kicker, Gruening at punter
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Maxx Williams was better them all. Only played two seasons. Probably didn’t need to red shirt.
 
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Can we put Maroney/Barber III as the RB1? I would argue they did so much for our program both in success/numbers but also in sports pop culture at a time when CFB media/ESPN was growing. They made our name part of the national conversation in ways that I haven't seen since outside of the 2019 run.
 


GoldRush said:
Kicker would be Chip Lohmiller. QB stats-wise would be Tanner Morgan but there is much debate on here about the QB position and I'm sure many will chime in. Eric Decker would be my #1 receiver. Bateman #2.
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Tyler Johnson was an all-decade B1G receiver. Bateman arguably had more athletic tools, Tyler had a better career. Don’t let Ron Johnson see this, but he might’ve been better than them both.
 



The Deliberate Stranger said:
Sandy Stephens, Ricky Foggie at QB. Paul Giel, Barber III, Maroney, Mo at running back., throw Bronco in at FB as well as DB I personally thought Utecht was better than Spaeth at TE but he had to contend with Heath Miller at UVA for the Mackey. Ron Johnson, Eric Decker, Rick Upchurch Tyler Johnson at WR. Leo Nomellini at OT, Tom Brown, Setterstrom at Guard, Ben Hamilton at Guard/Center, JMS at center. Lamanzar Williams, Keeon Riley, Carter Coughlin, Rasheede Hagelman at Dline. Jeff Wright, Sean Lumpkin, Tyler Nubin, Winfield Jr, Tyrone Carter at Safety Bobby-Calhoun, Willie Middlebrooks Tom Sakal, Sandy Stephens again at CB. Nystrom at Kicker, Gruening at punter
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college football hall of famer at center - Greg Eslinger.
 



SJUgopher said:
Huh? Recency bias. Matt Spaeth was the best TE in the country. Maxx was not.
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Spaeth had 12 touchdowns in 4 years. Maxx has 13 in 2 years. Maxx as a sophomore had 8 touchdowns which doubled Matt’s total for any season of 4. Maxx Freshman year also had 5.

If you take away Matt’s freshman year Maxx still averaged more yards per season than Matt did in last 3.

I’d take Maxx as a tight end and one of the best to ever suit up for Minnesota. Hope Roman Voss has a similar career.
 


minnyrules11 said:
Spaeth had 12 touchdowns in 4 years. Maxx has 13 in 2 years. Maxx as a sophomore had 8 touchdowns which doubled Matt’s total for any season of 4. Maxx Freshman year also had 5.

If you take away Matt’s freshman year Maxx still averaged more yards per season than Matt did in last 3.

I’d take Maxx as a tight end and one of the best to ever suit up for Minnesota. Hope Roman Voss has a similar career.
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Too bad injuries derailed his NFL career. He was an extremely talented college player.
 



minnyrules11 said:
Spaeth had 12 touchdowns in 4 years. Maxx has 13 in 2 years. Maxx as a sophomore had 8 touchdowns which doubled Matt’s total for any season of 4. Maxx Freshman year also had 5.

If you take away Matt’s freshman year Maxx still averaged more yards per season than Matt did in last 3.

I’d take Maxx as a tight end and one of the best to ever suit up for Minnesota. Hope Roman Voss has a similar career.
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It's an interesting comparison no doubt. They both clearly excelled at the position for different reasons and had differing skillsets. This is one of the best catches by a Gopher receiver I have seen live, and the best from a TE IMHO. Spaeth was just very, very good at pretty much all aspects of that position.


Edit: added video.
 
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The Deliberate Stranger said:
Maxx was very good, disagree with the redshirt, he was a QB in high school, I think the redshirt allowed him to bulk up learn the scheme and the position.
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Perhaps but could have played special teams and got action at tight end later in the year. Ethan Stendel (spelling) linebacker from Caledonia played special teams this year as a true freshman. Maybe got some game action at linebacker against Northwestern St and some others and did not red shirt. Maxx was a punter think in high school too. Seemed like he could do it all.

We are seeing the trends of TE lining up under center for a sneak.
 

Clairemont Gopher said:
Good job! I agree with so many names on your extensive list. I would also take Utecht over Spaeth, though Spaeth was a terrific blocker, as evidenced by his NFL longevity. I also would take Greg Larson at center and find room for Tom Brown and Clayton Tonnemaker somewhere on that defense.
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It's gotta be Spaeth.

They had nearly identical receiving stats and Spaeth was an elite blocker. Spaeth was essentially a combo of Utecht and Ko Kieft.
 

PMWinSTP said:
It's an interesting compasison no doubt. They both clearly excelled at the position for different reasons and had differing skillsets. This is one of the best catches by a Goper receiver I have seen live, and the best from a TE IMHO. Spaeth was just very, very good at pretty much all aspects of that position.
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Yeah, it's hard for me to disagree with people going with Maxx or Spaeth, I don't think there is a wrong answer. That said, my personal opinion, it's Spaeth. He was the best blocking TE in the nation, a very good receiver and went on to have a long career as one of the better blocking TEs in the NFL.
 

I know the stats might not be there for their entire careers but Wilie Vandesteeg and Jon Schlecht had great single seasons.
 




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