Newcomers/younger players who caught my eye (spring game)

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touchdownvikings

touchdownvikings

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Naquan Crowder. Legit run-stuffer. My mind is at ease about being gashed with the run.

Noah Jennings. Runs all routes. Athletic talent. WR room will be at least three-deep on Saturdays.

Bennett Warren. Looked great a RT. Fantastic addition. OL will be solid.

Nate Cleveland. High-level tackling LB. I don't think he's capable of missing a tackle. :)

Hayden Moore. The roster prevents him from seeing much game time yet, but he's a talented WR.

Owen Lansu. How could this freshman QB not catch everyone's eye? Poised. Accurate.

...What say all of you? Who did I leave out? (I'm sure I left some out -- this is top-of-head.)
 

It's nice to know if Drake goes off this year, Lansu is waiting in the wings if he transfers or goes to the draft.
 

touchdownvikings said:
Naquan Crowder. Legit run-stuffer. My mind is at ease about being gashed with the run.

Noah Jennings. Runs all routes. Athletic talent. WR room will be at least three-deep on Saturdays.

Bennett Warren. Looked great a RT. Fantastic addition. OL will be solid.

Nate Cleveland. High-level tackling LB. I don't think he's capable of missing a tackle. :)

Hayden Moore. The roster prevents him from seeing much game time yet, but he's a talented WR.

Owen Lansu. How could this freshman QB not catch everyone's eye? Poised. Accurate.

...What say all of you? Who did I leave out? (I'm sure I left some out -- this is top-of-head.)
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Thanks TDV. Football season can't get here fast enough.
 

touchdownvikings said:
Naquan Crowder. Legit run-stuffer. My mind is at ease about being gashed with the run.

Noah Jennings. Runs all routes. Athletic talent. WR room will be at least three-deep on Saturdays.

Bennett Warren. Looked great a RT. Fantastic addition. OL will be solid.

Nate Cleveland. High-level tackling LB. I don't think he's capable of missing a tackle. :)

Hayden Moore. The roster prevents him from seeing much game time yet, but he's a talented WR.

Owen Lansu. How could this freshman QB not catch everyone's eye? Poised. Accurate.

...What say all of you? Who did I leave out? (I'm sure I left some out -- this is top-of-head.)
Click to expand...
14-0?
 

touchdownvikings said:
Naquan Crowder. Legit run-stuffer. My mind is at ease about being gashed with the run.

Noah Jennings. Runs all routes. Athletic talent. WR room will be at least three-deep on Saturdays.

Bennett Warren. Looked great a RT. Fantastic addition. OL will be solid.

Nate Cleveland. High-level tackling LB. I don't think he's capable of missing a tackle. :)

Hayden Moore. The roster prevents him from seeing much game time yet, but he's a talented WR.

Owen Lansu. How could this freshman QB not catch everyone's eye? Poised. Accurate.

...What say all of you? Who did I leave out? (I'm sure I left some out -- this is top-of-head.)
Click to expand...
I was also impressed with Lansu. Very accurate and seemed comfortable. I like Karmo too! Will be excited to see the WR room … seems like quite an influx of talent.
 



touchdownvikings said:
Bennett Warren. Looked great a RT. Fantastic addition. OL will be solid.
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Not enough has been said about Warren, IMHO. He didn't particularly stand out in the game by throwing pancake blocks, but he was going against some really good edge rushers and holding his own in the limited action we saw. But what impressed me more wasn't the execution, but the effort. Even when the plays were not run to his side, he was hustling every time in pursuit or back to the pile to help push. HE didn't take off any plays and played to the whistle every time. He was one of the players that was given the "Juice" jersey in spring practice for solid effort and it was evident in the spring game.
 





DarrenTheGreek said:
Not enough has been said about Warren, IMHO. He didn't particularly stand out in the game by throwing pancake blocks, but he was going against some really good edge rushers and holding his own in the limited action we saw. But what impressed me more wasn't the execution, but the effort. Even when the plays were not run to his side, he was hustling every time in pursuit or back to the pile to help push. HE didn't take off any plays and played to the whistle every time. He was one of the players that was given the "Juice" jersey in spring practice for solid effort and it was evident in the spring game.
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Right.

I think the line is an athletic line geared toward pass protection -- and Warren fits that mold, like the others. I saw Warren blocking against Menz, for example, and Warren moved his feet well and kept his positioning vis-a-vis Menz, which is no easy task!

As for this line as a whole and run blocking, I suspect they'll favor running outside zone stuff, as that is what a line like this typically wants to do: use their athleticism in their favor, as opposed to getting locked up in a contest of brute force who-can-move-who. (Challenge is that you usually want faster backs to go along with outside zone schemes, whereas we usually load up on slightly slower one-cut-and-go backs.) ...At one point last season, didn't PJ say that AJ Turner runs the outside zone better than any back he has ever seen?
 

touchdownvikings said:
Right.

I think the line is an athletic line geared toward pass protection -- and Warren fits that mold, like the others. I saw Warren blocking against Menz, for example, and Warren moved his feet well and kept his positioning vis-a-vis Menz, which is no easy task!

As for this line as a whole and run blocking, I suspect they'll favor running outside zone stuff, as that is what a line like this typically wants to do: use their athleticism in their favor, as opposed to getting locked up in a contest of brute force who-can-move-who. (Challenge is that you usually want faster backs to go along with outside zone schemes, whereas we usually load up on slightly slower one-cut-and-go backs.) ...At one point last season, didn't PJ say that AJ Turner runs the outside zone better than any back he has ever seen?
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I wouldn’t generally call our OL groups now or really at any time under PJ particularly athletic. We’ve had some higher end guys obviously, but particularly the last three years our guys whiff a lot and end up standing around, watching tackles being made either at the line of scrimmage or for a loss. Regardless of all that if we just have a line that is slightly above average in the conference, that’s good enough for us to take a step into a better bowl game.
 

Gopherchase said:
I wouldn’t generally call our OL groups now or really at any time under PJ particularly athletic. We’ve had some higher end guys obviously, but particularly the last three years our guys whiff a lot and end up standing around, watching tackles being made either at the line of scrimmage or for a loss. Regardless of all that if we just have a line that is slightly above average in the conference, that’s good enough for us to take a step into a better bowl game.
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Nathan Roy.jpg

That is Nate Roy literally diving yards -- straight out horizontally like a bird -- through the air to make contact with a defender.

That is beyond athletic and he will be a first round pick.

This group is athletic. ...But brute force is not their forte.
 

Our rushing offense has ranked 130, 121 and 130 the past three years. Our OL has left something to be desired; although our play designer/caller is JV.
 



I believe we have the QB and skilled players to get to the next level. What's the next level?
To me:
1. Beat the teams you are favored to beat.
2. Compete with the Upper Big 10 Tier.
3. BEAT Iowa.
4. Upset a Penn State, Washington or Michigan.

No doubt the only way this happens, we need drastic improvement in the trenches.
Will the offensive line get better?
We know we can protect Drake but can we run the ball?

Will the defensive line get better?
We know we have elite edge rushers but can we stop the run?

Could 2026 be the season we make a significant jump? I think so.
Go Gophers!
 

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