Caleb Bak not returning to the Gophers

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This according to twitter. Sorry no link, received this via my Bleacher Report app.
 

Bak won't return for senior season

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Gophers starting RG Caleb Bak announced via Twitter he won't be returning to the field for his senior season.Has been dealing w/ concussions</p>— Nate Sandell (@NSandell) <a href="https://twitter.com/NSandell/statuses/471426679248678913">May 27, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>big thanks to everyone that has supported me over the last 4 years. Sad to say I won't be returning for my final year of football <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23GoGophers&src=hash">#GoGophers</a></p>— Caleb Bak (@0xluc1d) <a href="https://twitter.com/0xluc1d/statuses/471411887960117248">May 27, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Sad to see. I wish the young man well in his future!
 

Gopherocious said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Gophers starting RG Caleb Bak announced via Twitter he won't be returning to the field for his senior season.Has been dealing w/ concussions</p>— Nate Sandell (@NSandell) <a href="https://twitter.com/NSandell/statuses/471426679248678913">May 27, 2014</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>big thanks to everyone that has supported me over the last 4 years. Sad to say I won't be returning for my final year of football <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23GoGophers&src=hash">#GoGophers</a></p>— Caleb Bak (@0xluc1d) <a href="https://twitter.com/0xluc1d/statuses/471411887960117248">May 27, 2014</a></blockquote>
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Sad to see. I wish the young man well in his future!
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Fug Us Again...Glad we have depth but losing Caleb is a big deal for our line...when do we get some good news?
 

GopherinPhilly said:
Fug Us Again...Glad we have depth but losing Caleb is a big deal for our line...when do we get some good news?
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Most years this would be a disaster. However, with the depth in the interior line--Epping, Bjorklund, Bush, Hayes and Tommy Olson--I ain't worried. Christensen and Bobek returning to active duty is the good news. Good luck, Mr. Bak.
 

He was an All Big Ten honorable mention last year along with Campion and Epping BUT if Pirsig is able to beat out Campion at RT which from spring practice reports seems to be a pretty good chance then this won't be nearly as big of a loss as it will enable us to move Campion to OG along with Epping. I think Bak would have been the odd man out if that were to happen which i hope it does.
 


highwayman said:
Most years this would be a disaster. However, with the depth in the interior line--Epping, Bjorklund, Bush, Hayes and Tommy Olson--I ain't worried. Christensen and Bobek returning to active duty is the good news. Good luck, Mr. Bak.
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And Campion if Pirsig wins the starting RT job.
 


Too bad. Kind of felt like this was a strong possibility. Good luck to Bak. Anyone heard how Christensen is progressing?
 

It's brutal in the B1G trenches. We'd almost have to recruit two or three linemen a year to keep a stockpile of 5th year OL.
 



quite well by reports

Breakin' The Plane said:
Too bad. Kind of felt like this was a strong possibility. Good luck to Bak. Anyone heard how Christensen is progressing?
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Got married over the weekend and is expected to be ready to practice August 1st... according to Coach Kill.
 

Bummer! Bak was a walk-on who truly earned the right to play. Met his parents once and they really seemed like a class act. Good luck Caleb and best of luck in your future endeavors! Thanks for being a Golden Gopher!!!

Go Gophers!
 


Caleb, we'll miss you. Best of luck to a fine young man. Proud that you wore the Maroon and Gold.
 



Crap, sh!t, fk. This news really put a sour end to the day. Bak had put in the work over the last several years to be a really, really good B1G offensive lineman. Easily one of my favorite stories in Kill's tenure

A young man who can take an opportunity and advance it as far as Bak did, there's not a doubt in my mind that he will find success in the near future. I have true respect for people who can achieve what Caleb did in his relatively short time in the program.

Good luck, young man!
 

Sorry to hear, I always pull for the walk-ons. Concussions are nothing to be messed with though, I'm guessing we see this more and more going forward. Best of luck Cabeb!
 

Best of luck to Caleb going forward in life. The skills that allowed him to go from walk-on to solid Big Ten player will take him far in life. Always cool to see a kid overachieve to the level Caleb has, and it's a shame that he won't be able to play his Senior season.

The Gopher team has had some rough luck with concussions over the past 4-5 years, especially with offensive lineman.
 

EG#9 said:
Best of luck to Caleb going forward in life. The skills that allowed him to go from walk-on to solid Big Ten player will take him far in life. Always cool to see a kid overachieve to the level Caleb has, and it's a shame that he won't be able to play his Senior season.

The Gopher team has had some rough luck with concussions over the past 4-5 years, especially with offensive lineman.
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^Must be our damn dirty playing opponents.


Seriously though, Caleb leaving the program hurts our depth at the line. He was quite good at picking up blocking assignments.

I hope his concussion symptoms subside in the future and he can lead the overachieving life that he should.

And also hope the next man up is just as good him.

Sent from my MUCH i5 using Tapatalk
 


die hard gopher said:
He was an All Big Ten honorable mention last year along with Campion and Epping BUT if Pirsig is able to beat out Campion at RT which from spring practice reports seems to be a pretty good chance then this won't be nearly as big of a loss as it will enable us to move Campion to OG along with Epping. I think Bak would have been the odd man out if that were to happen which i hope it does.
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Bak was one of the best OL in the conference last year and would have been a 5th-year senior. He wasn't going to be beaten out by anyone. If Pirsig beats out Campion at RT (which he might), Campion would be a super-sub given that he can play all 5 positions on the line. I wouldn't be surprised to see this happen, and see Hayes, Bjorklund, or Bush take Bak's old spot.
 

Are Lauer and Epping pretty much locked in on the left side? Is anyone pushing Lauer?
 

dpodoll68 said:
Bak was one of the best OL in the conference last year and would have been a 5th-year senior. He wasn't going to be beaten out by anyone.
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That was my assessment as well. Sad news, and so sorry to hear that Mr. Bak has had to struggle with head trauma. Glad he's taking the steps to continue his life without further putting his brain and quality of life at risk on the football field.

Our rash of concussed linemen exiting the program is concerning to me. Bad luck, better diagnosis, or more aware players? I'm guessing its a combo of all 3.
 

Will Bak stay on the team as a non-participant that still receives his scholarship for this academic year? It'd be great to see him recognized at Senior Day and be around the team all year to help out the younger guys.
 

Gopherocious said:
Will Bak stay on the team as a non-participant that still receives his scholarship for this academic year? It'd be great to see him recognized at Senior Day and be around the team all year to help out the younger guys.
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Behind you 100% on that one.
 

I remember a few years ago when whoever our starting guard was got hurt and I was fully expecting Tommy O to come in and Bak came in the game. I had literally never heard of him before then. Nobody had talked about him during camp, he wasn't mentioned in any 2 deeps, nothing. He was a literally anonymous walk on to most of us and then popped up and played well.
 

oleboy41 said:
I remember a few years ago when whoever our starting guard was got hurt and I was fully expecting Tommy O to come in and Bak came in the game. I had literally never heard of him before then. Nobody had talked about him during camp, he wasn't mentioned in any 2 deeps, nothing. He was a literally anonymous walk on to most of us and then popped up and played well.
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Minnesota has its limitations from a recruiting standpoint in terms of overall talent but the one thing you an find here are big guys that with good coaching can turn into pretty solid offensive linemen. Mason made a living on lightly regarded Minnesota guys along the O-Line. Kill has had some success with that as well.
 

Gopher Bandanna Guy said:
Our rash of concussed linemen exiting the program is concerning to me. Bad luck, better diagnosis, or more aware players? I'm guessing its a combo of all 3.
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That's two by my count, Gjere being the other. Awareness and the fear of being sued along with better diagnosis.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Bak was one of the best OL in the conference last year and would have been a 5th-year senior. He wasn't going to be beaten out by anyone. If Pirsig beats out Campion at RT (which he might), Campion would be a super-sub given that he can play all 5 positions on the line. I wouldn't be surprised to see this happen, and see Hayes, Bjorklund, or Bush take Bak's old spot.
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Campion was our best O-lineman last year and guard seems to me him more natural position. Plus Josh is 6-5 326 and Caleb is only 6-3 302.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Bak was one of the best OL in the conference last year and would have been a 5th-year senior. He wasn't going to be beaten out by anyone. If Pirsig beats out Campion at RT (which he might), Campion would be a super-sub given that he can play all 5 positions on the line. I wouldn't be surprised to see this happen, and see Hayes, Bjorklund, or Bush take Bak's old spot.
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During a meeting earlier this year Kill called Bak their best offensive lineman. LG described him as NFL caliber. The team opinion was that Bak would have been 2013 2nd team AC and possibly 1st team had he not missed almost half of the conference season.

B1G coaches concurred that Bak was top-tier. For 2013 they awarded AC recognition to only 1 OL underclassman - Bak (Epping, Campion were media selections only. only Bak was consensus).

The loss of Bak is a hit and the coaches know it even if some fans and most media types don't. But Caleb will recover from this and move on to greater things as will the team.
 

die hard gopher said:
Campion was our best O-lineman last year
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Not according to the team's internal grading or awards handed out by the conference and its coaches. And if he was the best, why would Pirsig beat him out?

die hard gopher said:
guard seems to me him more natural position.
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I'd tend to agree, so how is it that he was the best O-lineman last year if he was playing out of position? He'll be a 1st round draft pick playing at guard?

die hard gopher said:
Plus Josh is 6-5 326 and Caleb is only 6-3 302.
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Randall McDaniel played at 275-280 and was one of the best OL in the history of the NFL. Size isn't everything.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Not according to the team's internal grading or awards handed out by the conference and its coaches. And if he was the best, why would Pirsig beat him out?



I'd tend to agree, so how is it that he was the best O-lineman last year if he was playing out of position? He'll be a 1st round draft pick playing at guard?



Randall McDaniel played at 275-280 and was one of the best OL in the history of the NFL. Size isn't everything.
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Campion was an all conference honorable mention just like Bak and Epping. Was also the undisputed leader among the O-line. Pirsig has the highest ceiling of anybody on the O-line and maybe on O. I mean he is 6-9 325 and has ideal size and length of an NFL RT plus even if he isn't better than Campion at RT they could still move him to OG anyways. Also no one on the line was first or second team all conference so its not impossible. Lastly Wisconsin averaged 6-6 320 this passed year. They rushed for 3,500 yards. In 2011 and probably most years only 2 NFL teams had bigger offensive lines. They have had easily had the most dominating run blocking O-line in the conference for the past 5 or so years. Plus Kill and Limegrover always prefers bigger, slower, stronger O-lineman than smaller quicker ones. This isn't exactly a spread O to say the least.
 

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