Adam Rittenberg on Thieren Cockran

[BleedGopher]

Ben from Fargo, N.D., writes: One of the big stories in 2012 will be a surprising improvement in Minnesota's defensive line play. Ask Jerry Kill about Thieren Cockran. He's coach Kill's secret weapon.

Adam Rittenberg: Will do, Ben. Thanks for the note. Minnesota's defensive line play has struggled since Willie VanDeSteeg departed following the 2008 season. Gophers have ranked and 78th, 120th and 86th nationally in sacks in the past three seasons. It's an area of focus throughout the offseason as Minnesota loses linebacker Gary Tinsley and standout safety Kim Royston. Cockran, a redshirt freshman defensive end from Florida, is among those who needs to step up in 2012.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/43514/big-ten-mailblog-145

Go Gophers!!

 

[zambam]

I feel like that guy from ND is being pretty sarcastic

 

[Formo]

He might be. And if that's the case, I hope Cockran makes him feel silly (unfortunately he'll make him look like a genius).

 

[nsmike]

I believe that Cockran and the other DE's will do alright but the real story will be the emergence of Hageman. He will become one of the elite DT's in the country.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I definitely think Hageman COULD become one of the of the better DTs. He has all of the physical tools and when he flashed dominance, it was as impressive as any Gopher I can remember. However, he was still wildly inconsistent last season, so I hope he is able to take as many (if not more) steps forward next year as he took this year.

 

[GopherHomer]

If the guy from North Dakota was being sarcastic and not really a Gopher fan, it's pretty sad that he knows the name of a redshirted defensive lineman. Wouldn't put it past him, though...

 

[TCF=UnitedWeStand]

Judging by Rittenberg's response (as general as it can get), I don't think he had any clue who Cockran is (understandable, but the title of the thread is misleading - he said nothing about TC, other than he's a RS end from FL).

 

[corcoran1]

Judging by Rittenberg's response (as general as it can get), I don't think he had any clue who Cockran is (understandable, but the title of the thread is misleading - he said nothing about TC, other than he's a RS end from FL).

Cockran may not be a stud next season, but he will be before he leaves, a 6"5" DE who works hard and can really run will be fun to watch.

 

[FireCosgroveGuy]

I hope he does well but I've never seen this much hype for such an unheralded player coming out of HS that has really proven nothing. He MIGHT be good.......he MIGHT not be. I don't know why people are expecting him to somehow be a star DE.

 

[Monty519]

I hope he does well but I've never seen this much hype for such an unheralded player coming out of HS that has really proven nothing. He MIGHT be good.......he MIGHT not be. I don't know why people are expecting him to somehow be a star DE.

It's basically cause Kill essentially said he's our best DE right now, but he just needed to get bigger. I know coaches big up players all the time who don't end up producing, but still, it put his name out there as someone to watch in the future. Foster Bush is another name Kill has mentioned numerous times as high quality. The proof will be in the pudding obviously, but it's clear Kill is excited about the kid.

 

[MaxyJR1]

It's basically cause Kill essentially said he's our best DE right now, but he just needed to get bigger. I know coaches big up players all the time who don't end up producing, but still, it put his name out there as someone to watch in the future. Foster Bush is another name Kill has mentioned numerous times as high quality. The proof will be in the pudding obviously, but it's clear Kill is excited about the kid.

+1. Bush and Cockran are the two that Kill mentioned a number of times. Hence the hype. He basically said Bush could have started this past year.

 

[oleboy41]

Sorry but unless the kid redshirting is a Mike Vick type of situation I won't get excited about any red shirt frosh before they see the field

 

[Killjoy]

Maybe, Maybe Not

Sorry but unless the kid redshirting is a Mike Vick type of situation I won't get excited about any red shirt frosh before they see the field

If it was Brewster saying these things about Bush and Cockran I would be skeptical but when Kill says it just may have some validity to it. I certainly give Kill’s opinions more weight than the posters on this blog.

 

[zambam]

If the guy from North Dakota was being sarcastic and not really a Gopher fan, it's pretty sad that he knows the name of a redshirted defensive lineman. Wouldn't put it past him, though...

I feel like he could just be someone that trolls our board? Idk, I just read it in a sarcastic tone.

 

[TCF=UnitedWeStand]

I never said he wasn't going to be good - I love the fact that Kill specifically mentioned him, and I love the fact that he is 6'6 and lean and hopefully fast.

My point was simply that the thread implieas that Rittenberg talked about Cockran to some length, but based upon Rittenberg's quote, I'm guessing he had never heard of Cockran.

Anyway...

 

[GopherHomer]

I feel like he could just be someone that trolls our board? Idk, I just read it in a sarcastic tone.

...and I certainly wasn't jumping on you or anything. I just wanted to make fun of someone from North Dakota. I kind of agree with your reading of the situation.

 

[MNVCGUY]

The thread title is very misleading as it was pointed out by someone else Rittenberg had no clue who the guy from North Dakota was talking about. As for whether or not Cockran becomes a good player I will fall in the wait and see camp. At this point all we have is the word of his coach and coaches are notorious for propping up guys for a variety of reasons. If Cockran is a starter coming out of spring ball, well then we might actually be onto something with him. And to the post above that says he may not be a stud next year, if he was good enough to be considered our best DE this year, but just not big enough, then he should 100% be a starter next year with having a full season eating training table and hitting the weight room. If he isn't then the coaches were just talking up one of their guys to build hype.

 

[gopherbadgerman]

I was at the Nebraska game and Hageman hade some good plays, really noticed his size and athletic ability. Hopefully he continues to improve, he has the physical skills to play on Sundays.

 

[matt]

Sorry but unless the kid redshirting is a Mike Vick type of situation I won't get excited about any red shirt frosh before they see the field

What the hell would redshirting have to do with dog-fighting?!?!

 

[13 Lined Ground Squirrel]

What the hell would redshirting have to do with dog-fighting?!?!

Sport dogs are typically redshirted their first year so they can grow to competition size. I've seen a few 2-4 month old puppies step up, but unless they're a very special athlete they usually get handled by the veteran dogs.

 

[zambam]

...and I certainly wasn't jumping on you or anything. I just wanted to make fun of someone from North Dakota. I kind of agree with your reading of the situation.

Ah, my bad.

Sport dogs are typically redshirted their first year so they can grow to competition size. I've seen a few 2-4 month old puppies step up, but unless they're a very special athlete they usually get handled by the veteran dogs.

This made me lol hardcore.

 

[EG#9]

Have to be careful about expecting too much from any recruit in their first, second, or in some cases, third year in the program. I hope Cockran looks great this year, but fans have been too quick to call guys "overrated" who haven't performed as underclassmen.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Have to be careful about expecting too much from any recruit in their first, second, or in some cases, third year in the program. I hope Cockran looks great this year, but fans have been too quick to call guys "overrated" who haven't performed as underclassmen.

It never ceases to amaze me how quick fans can build up and tear down a player they really know nothing about. We are seeing it with Nelson in the fans that are expecting him to come in and start right away (I think they are in the minority now but sometimes hard to tell). We are also seeing people off the Shortell bandwagon after a lot of us were calling for him to be the starter early last year when Gray looked bad. As to Cockran the one difference there is that Kill is the one who raised expectations on him so if he fails Kill is really the only one to blame for getting peoples hopes up on him. It is not like he was a stud recruit.

 

[dpodoll68]

We are also seeing people off the Shortell bandwagon after a lot of us were calling for him to be the starter early last year when Gray looked bad.

I always just assumed that anyone who was legimitately calling for Shortell to start at QB over Gray were either brand-new to following football and/or were just clueless about how the game works. I think the same of anyone who thinks that Nelson should start as a true freshman. I think the same of anyone who thinks that Gray should be moved to WR while in a Gopher uniform.

 

[John Galt]

It's funny that in the minds of fans, Jerry Kill can be both too critical of his players (i.e. stating we don't have the talent to compete) and accused of propping them up (accolades for Cockran, Bush) at the same time. JK is a straight shooter and not the kind of coach who lightly throws around accolades, so he's obviously seen something he likes with both these guys. We'll see if that translates to starting or contributing vs. UNLV.

 

[KD6-3.7]

I always just assumed that anyone who was legimitately calling for Shortell to start at QB over Gray were either brand-new to following football and/or were just clueless about how the game works. I think the same of anyone who thinks that Nelson should start as a true freshman. I think the same of anyone who thinks that Gray should be moved to WR while in a Gopher uniform.

honest question. what did you think about people calling for a four year starter to be benched in favor of an unknown quantity behind center in the name of 'preparing for the future'?

 

[oleboy41]

honest question. what did you think about people calling for a four year starter to be benched in favor of an unknown quantity behind center in the name of 'preparing for the future'?

When the team is 1-9, the 4 year starter hasn't performed very well and the backup is the guy that is all but assured of being the starter next year but is getting the majority of his snaps even in practice at WR that is a very valid thought process. We weren't winning games with Gray at WR so at the very least I felt like they should've moved him back to QB and given him a series or 2 a game or at least let the kid practice at QB.

 

[Killjoy]

Oleboy

When the team is 1-9, the 4 year starter hasn't performed very well and the backup is the guy that is all but assured of being the starter next year but is getting the majority of his snaps even in practice at WR that is a very valid thought process. We weren't winning games with Gray at WR so at the very least I felt like they should've moved him back to QB and given him a series or 2 a game or at least let the kid practice at QB.

I am sure Coach Kill would have really have appreciated it if Brewster had done that. We will never know for sure how many more games we would have won in 2011 if Gray had more QB experience but we do know how much he improved during the season. I expect Brewster could see the hand writing on the wall and wasn't thinking about 2011.

The worst part is that there were so many opportunities to give Gray some experience in second half in some of those games that were lost. I thought Brewster should have been fired for that alone.

 

[dpodoll68]

honest question. what did you think about people calling for a four year starter to be benched in favor of an unknown quantity behind center in the name of 'preparing for the future'?

When the 4-year starter is one of the losingest QBs in the history of the Big Ten, and in the midst of what would ultimately be a 3-win season with two very unlikely upsets, and the "unknown quantity behind center" is the highest-rated recruit for Minnesota in the Rivals era, I think anyone backing the 4-year starter was short-sighted and foolish. At the head of this cadre was Tim Brewster. He is now unemployed as a coach.

 

[Nate]

When the 4-year starter is one of the losingest QBs in the history of the Big Ten, and in the midst of what would ultimately be a 3-win season with two very unlikely upsets, and the "unknown quantity behind center" is the highest-rated recruit for Minnesota in the Rivals era, I think anyone backing the 4-year starter was short-sighted and foolish. At the head of this cadre was Tim Brewster. He is now unemployed as a coach.

Where exactly did he rank in win/losses in Big Ten history?