Bobek to Minnesota

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It is exciting that Kill could convince him to stay in the Big Ten even with losing a year.
 

Bobek came to us to pursue his NFL dream. His red shirt year is available if he gets dinged. He has a year to learn the system and in a weight room where athleticism and power is as important as weight (which he will gain).

Our O line will again lead us back to glory (when we have a solid D on the field, and we will). It has been soooo long.

We will win with this staff. Coach Kill was clearly the best hire available. Better than imagined.
 

calminnfan said:
I find it interesting Bobek seemed to know the quality of coaching he will receive...something good is going around folks!!!
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He's from Illinois, KIllCo was at NIU, I suspect they knew each other before Bobek ever committed to OSU.
 




This is great news but we could use him now rather than later.

Was a huge Meyer fan until he bamboozled my Gator Nation.

I hope Meyer finds no success in the B1G.
 

“The University of Minnesota offers a quality education, and I hope to take advantage of the many opportunities of going to school in a great city like Minneapolis."
Like to see this too...:clap:

Excited to see you play, Brian!
 

Darn. I was hoping it was the meth dealing figure skater Nicole Bobek.
 

MV touched on this: In 2013/2014, the starting OL will please the "star-gazers." This group has some serious potential.
 



My biggest worry is whether or not he is on scholarship or not, and what a disaster this is to our scholarship count...
 

He's not on scholarship until Jan, he's paying for the first semester, so he'll only count agaist scholarship numbers in the years he's eligible to play. He plugs the only position on the O-line, I had some reservations about, all I see are positives.
 

nsmike said:
He's not on scholarship until Jan, he's paying for the first semester, so he'll only count agaist scholarship numbers in the years he's eligible to play. He plugs the only position on the O-line, I had some reservations about, all I see are positives.
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I know. It was just a dig at the scholarshipdisasternazis on this board. Amazing that a football staff that knows what they are doing knows more the "fans". Amazing. ;)
 

highwayman said:
I know. It was just a dig at the scholarshipdisasternazis on this board. Amazing that a football staff that knows what they are doing knows more the "fans". Amazing. ;)
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You're becoming obsessed with this topic.

There is a difference between wondering if Bobek received a scholarship (obviously nonsense) and wondering if a non-descript RB who know one had heard of who joined the class late in the process (Fudge) had received a scholarship. The Fudge situation was a question mark, this kid will obviously get a scholarship. That is why no one asked whether he received a scholarship. The fact that you made this lame joke shows that you don't understand why people inquired.
 



Bob_Loblaw said:
You're becoming obsessed with this topic.
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You got it, my obsession is that I don't understand the whole scholarship number/roster position obsession. It's a draw between that and wondering if picking up a new center will result in scholarship players being "cut".

We have no say in the matter. All roster moves are made to benefit the team. A coach with 25+ years of experience knows a little more than we do about who he's going to play where and how he's going to divide up his 85 scholarships. Idle conjecture on this message board is, well, idle.

To me, it's like Minnesotans discussing the weather--you can't do anything about it, but if you talk about it enough maybe you can.

I guess if people like to "discuss" these matters, I'll have to let it go. I'll have to appreciate that people care enough to "discuss" it.
 

We have no say in whether the team wins or loses. So why do we show up and cheer the team on every game day?
 

highwayman said:
I guess if people like to "discuss" these matters, I'll have to let it go. I'll have to appreciate that people care enough to "discuss" it.
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So you can't understand why Gopher football fans on a Gopher message board discuss the roster, who is on scholarship, and who potential walk-ons are?
 

Does the Tea Party care if the Gophers win? Are the Gophers a social issue? You raise important questions.
 


John Galt said:
So you can't understand why Gopher football fans on a Gopher message board discuss the roster, who is on scholarship, and who potential walk-ons are?
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My favorite part is that he still thinks people were freaking out in that thread when all they were doing was asking a simple question.
 


highwayman said:
You got it, my obsession is that I don't understand the whole scholarship number/roster position obsession. It's a draw between that and wondering if picking up a new center will result in scholarship players being "cut".

We have no say in the matter. All roster moves are made to benefit the team. A coach with 25+ years of experience knows a little more than we do about who he's going to play where and how he's going to divide up his 85 scholarships. Idle conjecture on this message board is, well, idle.

To me, it's like Minnesotans discussing the weather--you can't do anything about it, but if you talk about it enough maybe you can.

I guess if people like to "discuss" these matters, I'll have to let it go. I'll have to appreciate that people care enough to "discuss" it.
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So if Kill signs 13 offensive linemen next year, I'll just have to trust him? I'm not saying I think he's wrong with this decision, but I think fans are justified in questioning the numbers. By the idea that the coach knows best, you're saying we can't question Mason's play calling in the second half of the Michigan game or the Insight Bowl, which in my opinion is ludicrous.

Just for the heck of it, I did some math. There are 22 offensive and defensive positions plus special teams players and other players required for special formations (nickel back for example). And there are 85 scholarships. Looking at the current crop of offensive linemen (not counting the three long snappers that I don't think are on scholarship) here's what they have:

64 Bak, Caleb Offensive Lineman 75 6-3 290 4 RS SO Columbia Heights, Minn. (Concordia Academy)
73 Bjorklund, Joe Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 295 2 RS FR Rosemount, Minn. (Rosemount HS)
Bobek, Brian Offensive Lineman ??????????? SO
77 Bush, Foster Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 300 2 RS FR Menasha, Wis. (Menasha HS)
65 Campion, Josh Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 315 2 RS FR Fergus Falls, Minn. (Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy)
63 Christenson, Jon Offensive Lineman 76 6-4 290 2 RS FR Minnetonka, Minn. (Minnetonka)
52 Epping, Zac Offensive Lineman 74 6-2 310 4 RS SO Kenosha, Wis. (Tremper HS)
70 Ferguson, Sean Offensive Lineman 78 6-6 300 4 RS SO Philadelphia, Penn. (The Hun School)
76 Gjere, Jimmy Offensive Lineman 79 6-7 325 4 RS SO New Brighton, Minn. (Irondale HS)
Hayes, Isaac Offensive Lineman 74 6-2 275 1 FR Brooklyn Park, Minn. (St. Thomas Academy)
75 Heifort, Ernie Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 250 2 RS FR Bemidji, Minn. (Bemidji)
Lauer, Ben Offensive Tackle 78 6-6 265 1 FR Plymouth, Minn. (Wayzata HS)
74 Lenkiewicz, Marek Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 275 4 RS SO Tinley Park, Ill. (Victor J. Andrew HS)
71 McAvoy, Kyle Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 305 2 RS FR Bloomington, Ill. (Bloomington HS)
66 McAvoy, Luke Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 285 2 RS FR Bloomington, Ill. (Bloomington HS)
62 Mottla, Zach Offensive Lineman 74 6-2 290 6 RS JR Edina, Minn. (Cretin-Derham Hall)
58 Olson, Ed Offensive Lineman 79 6-7 305 6 RS JR Mahtomedi, Minn. (Mahtomedi HS)
53 Olson, Tommy Offensive Lineman 76 6-4 295 3 SO Mahtomedi, Minn. (Mahtomedi HS)
Pirsig, Jonah Offensive Tackle 81 6-9 295 1 FR Blue Earth, Minn. (Blue Earth Area HS)

That's 2 juniors, both on scholarship, 7 sophmores, I believe all on scholarship except Ferguson (?), 7 freshmen, I believe all on scholarship except Heifort and Christensen (?), plus three incoming freshmen likely to be redshirted, also all on scholarship. So that's 16 out of 85 scholarships dedicated to a 5 player position. That's 19% of the scholarships for 21% of the positions on the field (counting a punter and a kicker). That in and of itself doesn't seem too out of line, other than I know in the pros they usually have more defensive linemen than offensive on the roster because they are substituted more often. But when you break it down by class it does seem like they are very heavy in linemen over two classes, and they went and added another person to one of those classes.

I guess I can't argue picking up a player that improves the team, but it does seem like it further unbalanced the classes which is something they didn't need...
 

If Kill fails it won't be because of over signing OL players. Peter Principal having him max out at NIU will be the culprit.
 

IMO a good offensive line can make average WR's look special (more time to get open), average QB's look great (time in the pocket to read and make an accurate throw) and decent RB's look spectacular (bigger holes to run)

It all starts with the OL, so to me, this is very good news.
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
I guess I can't argue picking up a player that improves the team, but it does seem like it further unbalanced the classes which is something they didn't need...
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I dunno about this. You can't look at the O-Line as a single position when thinking about imbalance. Bobek is a center who can play starting in 2013. At that time, the only other true center we have is Hayes, who if redshirted this year (which seems likely) will be a RS Frosh in 2013. Bobek gives you a starting center who has B1G experience and plenty of years of quality weight training and development. Signing him means they can give Hayes more time to develop before seeing the field as a RS Junior. See MV over at FBT's take on it. He seems to lay out a pretty convincing case as to why this is a good move and ideally will result in a stronger O-Line in future seasons. Here are two samples of his thoughts (first one comes from his post about Alex Mayes, the second from his post about Bobek:
After securing the transfer commitment of Brian Bobek this weekend, Kill and Limegrover took another step towards solidifying the future of the OL by landing Mayes, though his pledge was not at all unexpected. Not only does Mayes add future depth at tackle, if (when?) the staff are able to land Connor, Minnesota could in theory have the center position locked up until 2018.

As things stand now, the Gophers won't lose any linemen to graduation until 2013, with a whopping 15 scholarship linemen (including Bobek) on board beyond 2014. What's more, the linemen from the 2012 and 2013 classes are in a position where they may not be forced into action prior to their redshirt junior seasons -- a truly outstanding development. More than any other position, offensive linemen need time to develop; Limegrover has nearly a dozen of such prospects aside from the current sophomore starters to bring along.
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The transfer adds yet another talented underclassmen line prospect to the war chest Limegrover and Kill are building at the position. Bobek could potentially start at center in 2013, allowing the coaches to redshirt Isaac Hayes​ this season and move former walk-on Zach Mottla to back up next fall. The 2013 line in particular could be loaded with experience and highly rated talent, with four stars ​Tommy Olson, Jimmy Gjere and Bobek plus 4 year anchor Ed Olson, Jr. and three year starter ​Zac Epping​ at right guard.
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highwayman said:
You got it, my obsession is that I don't understand the whole scholarship number/roster position obsession. It's a draw between that and wondering if picking up a new center will result in scholarship players being "cut".

We have no say in the matter. All roster moves are made to benefit the team. A coach with 25+ years of experience knows a little more than we do about who he's going to play where and how he's going to divide up his 85 scholarships. Idle conjecture on this message board is, well, idle.

To me, it's like Minnesotans discussing the weather--you can't do anything about it, but if you talk about it enough maybe you can.

I guess if people like to "discuss" these matters, I'll have to let it go. I'll have to appreciate that people care enough to "discuss" it.
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I think there are two kinds of people who are curious about the scholarship count. First, I think there are people that bring up the number in the sense that they are second-guessing what the staff is doing. However, I think the vast majority of us, are simply curious about the number. It'd be just like how I'd be interested to know if our APR cost us scholarships (for a variety of reasons). It's simply that I like having a decent idea of how large our class is going to be next year. I don't pretend to question Kill and staff as they know more about football and the exact situation than I can pretend to know. However, it's just curiousity to know where the scholarships will be at next season. It's not much different than a variety of curiousities about the program that we all have and that we all have no control over.
 

GoAUpher said:
I dunno about this. You can't look at the O-Line as a single position when thinking about imbalance. Bobek is a center who can play starting in 2013. At that time, the only other true center we have is Hayes, who if redshirted this year (which seems likely) will be a RS Frosh in 2013. Bobek gives you a starting center who has B1G experience and plenty of years of quality weight training and development. Signing him means they can give Hayes more time to develop before seeing the field as a RS Junior. See MV over at FBT's take on it. He seems to lay out a pretty convincing case as to why this is a good move and ideally will result in a stronger O-Line in future seasons. Here are two samples of his thoughts (first one comes from his post about Alex Mayes, the second from his post about Bobek:
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Good post! The kind of depth that we are building along the offensive line is going to be about what everyone should expect. We need to get to a point where an underclassmen along the offensive line is a rarity. Isaac Hayes and Christensen (who I keep hearing people absolutely gush over) should be fighting for PT after Bobek is gone. If they happen to be absolute freaks and can overtake Bobek, all the better.
 

scher215 said:
IMO a good offensive line can make average WR's look special (more time to get open), average QB's look great (time in the pocket to read and make an accurate throw) and decent RB's look spectacular (bigger holes to run)

It all starts with the OL, so to me, this is very good news.
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Yep. The O-line is the most important position on the field IMO.
 

Lakeville Goldy said:
So if Kill signs 13 offensive linemen next year, I'll just have to trust him? I'm not saying I think he's wrong with this decision, but I think fans are justified in questioning the numbers. By the idea that the coach knows best, you're saying we can't question Mason's play calling in the second half of the Michigan game or the Insight Bowl, which in my opinion is ludicrous.

Just for the heck of it, I did some math. There are 22 offensive and defensive positions plus special teams players and other players required for special formations (nickel back for example). And there are 85 scholarships. Looking at the current crop of offensive linemen (not counting the three long snappers that I don't think are on scholarship) here's what they have:

64 Bak, Caleb Offensive Lineman 75 6-3 290 4 RS SO Columbia Heights, Minn. (Concordia Academy)
73 Bjorklund, Joe Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 295 2 RS FR Rosemount, Minn. (Rosemount HS)
Bobek, Brian Offensive Lineman ??????????? SO
77 Bush, Foster Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 300 2 RS FR Menasha, Wis. (Menasha HS)
65 Campion, Josh Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 315 2 RS FR Fergus Falls, Minn. (Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy)
63 Christenson, Jon Offensive Lineman 76 6-4 290 2 RS FR Minnetonka, Minn. (Minnetonka)
52 Epping, Zac Offensive Lineman 74 6-2 310 4 RS SO Kenosha, Wis. (Tremper HS)
70 Ferguson, Sean Offensive Lineman 78 6-6 300 4 RS SO Philadelphia, Penn. (The Hun School)
76 Gjere, Jimmy Offensive Lineman 79 6-7 325 4 RS SO New Brighton, Minn. (Irondale HS)
Hayes, Isaac Offensive Lineman 74 6-2 275 1 FR Brooklyn Park, Minn. (St. Thomas Academy)
75 Heifort, Ernie Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 250 2 RS FR Bemidji, Minn. (Bemidji)
Lauer, Ben Offensive Tackle 78 6-6 265 1 FR Plymouth, Minn. (Wayzata HS)
74 Lenkiewicz, Marek Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 275 4 RS SO Tinley Park, Ill. (Victor J. Andrew HS)
71 McAvoy, Kyle Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 305 2 RS FR Bloomington, Ill. (Bloomington HS)
66 McAvoy, Luke Offensive Lineman 77 6-5 285 2 RS FR Bloomington, Ill. (Bloomington HS)
62 Mottla, Zach Offensive Lineman 74 6-2 290 6 RS JR Edina, Minn. (Cretin-Derham Hall)
58 Olson, Ed Offensive Lineman 79 6-7 305 6 RS JR Mahtomedi, Minn. (Mahtomedi HS)
53 Olson, Tommy Offensive Lineman 76 6-4 295 3 SO Mahtomedi, Minn. (Mahtomedi HS)
Pirsig, Jonah Offensive Tackle 81 6-9 295 1 FR Blue Earth, Minn. (Blue Earth Area HS)

That's 2 juniors, both on scholarship, 7 sophmores, I believe all on scholarship except Ferguson (?), 7 freshmen, I believe all on scholarship except Heifort and Christensen (?), plus three incoming freshmen likely to be redshirted, also all on scholarship. So that's 16 out of 85 scholarships dedicated to a 5 player position. That's 19% of the scholarships for 21% of the positions on the field (counting a punter and a kicker). That in and of itself doesn't seem too out of line, other than I know in the pros they usually have more defensive linemen than offensive on the roster because they are substituted more often. But when you break it down by class it does seem like they are very heavy in linemen over two classes, and they went and added another person to one of those classes.

I guess I can't argue picking up a player that improves the team, but it does seem like it further unbalanced the classes which is something they didn't need...
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you can't analyze it on this basis. if the class is overloaded with a particular type of player, we will have what happens at bigger programs. Transfers out. Also if we are winning games and someone gets recruited at that position and beats out the incumbent, well then its pretty likely he will transfer out as well. it will take several years until the classes balance out.
Haven't you ever played NCAA football on Xbox with a bad team??? lol ;)
 

GoAUpher said:
Oh for the love of...
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Joke.

Bob_Loblaw said:
I think there are two kinds of people who are curious about the scholarship count. First, I think there are people that bring up the number in the sense that they are second-guessing what the staff is doing. However, I think the vast majority of us, are simply curious about the number. It'd be just like how I'd be interested to know if our APR cost us scholarships (for a variety of reasons). It's simply that I like having a decent idea of how large our class is going to be next year. I don't pretend to question Kill and staff as they know more about football and the exact situation than I can pretend to know. However, it's just curiousity to know where the scholarships will be at next season. It's not much different than a variety of curiousities about the program that we all have and that we all have no control over.
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I guess that's where I was trying to get to. That's where I'm at--it's nice to know, but after that I don't care. All I care about is that we have 85 scholarships, and enough coming up the next year to fill our needs. I just don't worry about it.
 

It's not hard to look at the O linemen we have stockpiled now in the Fr, RSFr, SO, and Jr classes. One might be tempted to forgo signing many Olinemen in the next few classes and stock up on other positions, but that was a mistake Brewster made early on.

Also, I would not discount the Offensive coordinator also being the Oline coach.
Kill/Limegrover run a run first power spread requiring many types of runningbacks, wideouts, slotbacks, and dual threat QB's. The constant is the Oline.
If the Oline can maul other teams it will make everyone better from wideout to DE.
Chew up the clock, give the QB more time, open holes for the RB, make the play action pass that much more effective.
On D, the platoon style Claeys plays is all the more effective when everyone is fresh, it's hard to beat wisconsin when you've allowed their D to get off the field, and their Oline maul your DE's for 3/4 of the quarter.
Load up the beef and watch the team compete.
 

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