IceBoxGopher
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From Athlon Sports. Here's the bit on Minnesota:
"Last year, they really seemed to settle into a Big Ten West identity at times. They could look like Wisconsin or Iowa and get all the way up to 70-30 run-pass. They've got the big guys up front, and their primary back can make some big plays if he's fully recovered. That's probably their biggest personnel question. They were really banged up there last year."
"Bringing Kirk [Ciarrocca] back makes a ton of sense. We know he'll get back to his bread and butter, a lot of inside and outside zone, a lot of RPO, getting creative and still controlling the clock."
"No one really understood why he was treated the way he was at Penn State. He had these guys absolutely firing. The problem is that they don't have those caliber receivers right now. Where are those top-end guys? The [Rashod] Batemans? You haven't seen that with them for a minute. [Tanner] Morgan's always been a solid quarterback. You don't want him winning or losing games on his own, but he's good when he's got weapons. They lose a lot of that OL, so that's certainly something to keep an eye on."
"The defensive line will probably take a step back since they're losing NFL talent there, but they didn't get a lot of attention for a really solid overall unit, we thought. They make you keep it in front of them, really solid and smart."
"If Ciarrocca and Morgan can click again, and the lines hold, they could have another special year."
"Last year, they really seemed to settle into a Big Ten West identity at times. They could look like Wisconsin or Iowa and get all the way up to 70-30 run-pass. They've got the big guys up front, and their primary back can make some big plays if he's fully recovered. That's probably their biggest personnel question. They were really banged up there last year."
"Bringing Kirk [Ciarrocca] back makes a ton of sense. We know he'll get back to his bread and butter, a lot of inside and outside zone, a lot of RPO, getting creative and still controlling the clock."
"No one really understood why he was treated the way he was at Penn State. He had these guys absolutely firing. The problem is that they don't have those caliber receivers right now. Where are those top-end guys? The [Rashod] Batemans? You haven't seen that with them for a minute. [Tanner] Morgan's always been a solid quarterback. You don't want him winning or losing games on his own, but he's good when he's got weapons. They lose a lot of that OL, so that's certainly something to keep an eye on."
"The defensive line will probably take a step back since they're losing NFL talent there, but they didn't get a lot of attention for a really solid overall unit, we thought. They make you keep it in front of them, really solid and smart."
"If Ciarrocca and Morgan can click again, and the lines hold, they could have another special year."
