Damien Wilson, best Gophers MLB since?

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GophersInIowa said:
I wonder if Lynn may get moved to the outside next year so he can get on the field more often. If they feel he is on of the top LB on the team, he very well could. Then move back to MLB when Wilson is gone.
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Just wanted to revive some positive talk about Damien in the middle. He has looked great the first two games and Gophers in Iowa you were right about Lynn's move to the outside. I thought Lynn had a nice game against MTSU as well. If the Dline can hang in there and not suffer any more injuries this could still be a very good defense in the B1G.
 

Wilson looks great. Lynn looks fast. I was very worried about our backups until I saw JC13 play last week. DL1 looked pretty good too. This staff seems to be very good at identifying LB talent.
 

Wilson is giving himself an outside chance to be looked at at the next level somewhere. has a knack for making big plays and getting to the ball.
 

MLB is not a very dynamic position in most schemes these days.

I thought Wilson was below average last year. He did not move super well and didn't have great instincts.

He seems to be more comfortable this year, especially against the run. The weight loss seems to have really helped.

Campbell has been a bit disappointing. He's a liability against the run right now. And when you add in bad safety support in the run game, we've been gashed a little bit.

Hoping Wilson and Campbell both get better over the course of the season. But right now, Campbell simply cannot play downhill. Nor can he tackle.

Wilson is pretty good when the game is front of him.
 

Studwell55 said:
MLB is not a very dynamic position in most schemes these days.

I thought Wilson was below average last year. He did not move super well and didn't have great instincts.

He seems to be more comfortable this year, especially against the run. The weight loss seems to have really helped.

Campbell has been a bit disappointing. He's a liability against the run right now. And when you add in bad safety support in the run game, we've been gashed a little bit.

Hoping Wilson and Campbell both get better over the course of the season. But right now, Campbell simply cannot play downhill. Nor can he tackle.

Wilson is pretty good when the game is front of him.
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Campbell has been hit or miss so far. I think you're being a little too hard on him. He has made some good plays and just needs to be more consistent.
 


jaymil said:
Campbell has been hit or miss so far. I think you're being a little too hard on him. He has made some good plays and just needs to be more consistent.
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Campbell still hasn't played all that much. I'm still definitely bullish on him.

Compare him to Brandon Owens, who went from "not belonging anywhere on the field" to "definite NFL career" over two seasons.
 

Studwell55 said:
MLB is not a very dynamic position in most schemes these days.

I thought Wilson was below average last year. He did not move super well and didn't have great instincts.

He seems to be more comfortable this year, especially against the run. The weight loss seems to have really helped.

Campbell has been a bit disappointing. He's a liability against the run right now. And when you add in bad safety support in the run game, we've been gashed a little bit.

Hoping Wilson and Campbell both get better over the course of the season. But right now, Campbell simply cannot play downhill. Nor can he tackle.

Wilson is pretty good when the game is front of him.
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Disagree on Wilson last year, but agree on Campbell. He's not a very good tackler, but as crazy as it might sound I think he might catch on with an NFL team next year. The NFL is a league that A) Loves measurables & athletic ability. They can teach the rest. & B) is full of specialists these days. I could see him being a 3rd down coverage linebacker & playing special teams or something. He can cover step-for-step with just about any TE in the country I think.
 


dpodoll68 said:
Are you predicting that he leaves early for the draft?
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Speaking of My Worst Gopher Nightmare.

It goes like this: we Max get a paltry 25 catches this year and he leaves with a whopping career 30 plus receptions--and untapped potential coming out the wazoo. (He can leave this year, right?)
 



Studwell55 said:
we Max get a paltry 25 catches this year and he leaves with a whopping career 30 plus receptions--and untapped potential coming out the wazoo. (He can leave this year, right?)
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Can you repeat this in English? And with actual facts?
 

Tim Riggins said:
I'd go back to Sean Hoffman, it was a different game back then. He was a tough, old school LB but would have struggled facing all of the spread offenses now.
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I think Wilson is a senior this year, isn't he?
 

husker70 said:
Another linebacker who needs recognition. Noel Jenke. He not only was a great linebacker, but possibly the best Athlete to ever play at the U of Minnesota. Now you say come on, man. But Noel was a 3 sport Letterman. Football, Hockey, and Baseball. Played linebacker on the 1968 team. He certainly needs to be on the list of linebackers to be used to measure Wilson.
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Jim Carter and Bob Stein from the same era, although I'm not sure who played in the middle.
 

If Wilson were playing for any of the big names, he would be first team All Big Ten. He's played that well.

Campbell was decent if not solid, but Wilson is head and shoulders above.
 



Yes Campbell is only a Junior.

I think he (Scott Studwell) was trying to say he is concerned that Maxx might leave early for the NFL after his Sophomore season having only amassed 30 catches as a Gopher
 

nsmike said:
Right now Wilson is a good as Najarian was. The thing is Wilson is still getting better he could be 1st or 2nd team B1G next year after a few better known MLBs graduate. Shazier will be the biggest competition after Bulloch, Borland and Morris graduate
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Najarian was 2nd Team All big 10 three years 1983,1984,1985. Has Damien even been honorable mention?
 

Here is a list of the linebackers from the 1970's.
All Big 10
Bill Light
Jim Farnhorst
Bruce Holmes
Jon Leverenz

2nd Team All Big 10
Najarian
Hoffman

From what I have found Hoffman was the last ALL Big 10 Linebacker from Minnesota.
 

nsmike said:
Right now Wilson is a good as Najarian was. The thing is Wilson is still getting better he could be 1st or 2nd team B1G next year after a few better known MLBs graduate. Shazier will be the biggest competition after Bulloch, Borland and Morris graduate
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But will he star in a season of Brick by Brick 20 years from now?
 

husker70 said:
Najarian was 2nd Team All big 10 three years 1983,1984,1985. Has Damien even been honorable mention?
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No Husker, I don't believe he was honorable mention last year. It was arguable a strong year for LBs in the conference with Iowa starting 3 good seniors, Borland in Wisconsin, MSU's guy, and others. I would have to think he is on pace this year to make it, if the Gophers have a respectable W L record in the conference.
 

My point is not to degrade Wilson. He is definitely a big plus in the middle after last 10 years, but to say he is better than Najarian is way out of bounds.
 

husker70 said:
You are absolutely correct. Leverenz was excellent and certainly deserves to be on the list of Measuring Sticks of Middle Backers.
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Completely agree with the two of you on Najerian and Leverenz. Those mid 80s LBs were very good and do not the get the credit they deserve. I still say Najerian, Joyner, and Holmes with Leverenz and Dusbabek coming off the bench were probably the best set in the last 40 years.
 

Jon Leverenz is the best Gopher MLB I can remember, Pete Najarian was very good too. As for Damien Wilson, I like what I've seen so far, I'd say best since Gary Tinsley's senior year, with both being slightly ahead of Lee Campbell.
 

I wish we had another year of Wilson. I love watching him play.
 

Eagan said:
Jim Carter and Bob Stein from the same era, although I'm not sure who played in the middle.
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Jim Carter was the Fullback on the 1967 and 1968 team. The linebackers were Noel Jenke and Bob Stein. Now that was a benchmark. Stein I think was All American.
 

While Bill Light was all Big 10, I cannot remember his running mate at LB. But moving beyond another great Linebacker, Ollie Bakken we come to 1977 and the pair of Steve Stewart and Michael Hunt. The second bench mark in Gopher Line Backers.
 

The next group was probably one of the best trios. Bruce Holmes, Larry Joyner, Bruce Holmes, and Mark Dusebabek. Seems the last two have something in common. They beat Michigan.
 

Najarian. Pete N. was fast, tough and smart. He actually played like an OLB, but was quick enough to survive in the middle anyway.
 

xyz1 said:
Husker, no one knows Gopher history better than you, but I would respectfully suggest that Jon Leverenz in 1987 was as good as anybody on that list. I always wondered what kind of NFL career he might have had if he hadn't shredded his knee in the 1988 season opener.
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Absolutely right, best linebacker I ever saw in maroon and gold, and he was a freshman. If I remember right he had a bad knee injury as a soph and was never the same. He could cover the whole field and his tackling was devastating. If modern surgery techniques had been around then I think he would have recovered most of his ability and would have had an amazing career.
 

1987 Jon Leverenz I think played with Dusbabek and Holmes, and Joyner. That was a group to model after.
 

We haven't had a ton of great linebackers.

Heck, we haven't had a ton of great defensive players.

Leverenz and Najerian were memorable to me as a kid.

We actually had a couple good ones under Brewster too. Not so many with Mason.

Triplett was a perfect example of the pleasant surprises you get when hard-working kids stick around for 5 years.

If memory serves, Triplett didn't even have a cup of coffee with anybody. Too bad. Simoni Lawrence was pretty athletic, but too small.
 


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