Daniel Faalele listed as starter at Right Tackle

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Love that they are playing him, it's going to help everyone's development I think. Best guy should play unless not ready yet (which you could argue makes them not the best one). Plus going to be fun watching him!
 


WHB Brewer said:
Can we finish one game with a new starter before speculating about next season?


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YES! You can do that by avoiding this thread. For those of us interested in the future of the line and how it will shake out on this team that is pointed toward improvement in the coming years, we read and comment on it. Everybody wins!
 

Wish we could have redshirt him, but happy to see the progress he's made!
 

New rule. Daniel must be the first off the bus at any away game.

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They should of got him off the sideline at Maryland!
 

Otis said:
They should of got him off the sideline at Maryland!
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Yep. I feel for Sam who I’m sure is busting his tail and is doing as well as he can, but his first half against Iowa was one of the roughest I have seen for an offensive tackle. I know Iowa’s DE Nelson is good, but he went around Sam like he was standing still.
 

The most popular player on most teams is the backup quarterback. Here in Minnesota land its the backup right tackle :cool:
 

WorkingMyTailOff said:
Yep. I feel for Sam who I’m sure is busting his tail and is doing as well as he can, but his first half against Iowa was one of the roughest I have seen for an offensive tackle. I know Iowa’s DE Nelson is good, but he went around Sam like he was standing still.
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Question. Isn't Sam playing out of position to begin with? I heard from someone that he is really a guard. Or maybe they meant that he played guard before. Anyone know?
 



I think I changed my mind about red shirting Faalele.

We can't continue to see Annexstad get clobbered. We don't want to spoil his development if he is constantly on his buttinski.

IMHO, red shirt Schlueter next season and let him develop in the strength and conditioning program.
 

hungan1 said:
I think I changed my mind about red shirting Faalele.

We can't continue to see Annexstad get clobbered. We don't want to spoil his development if he is constantly on his buttinski.

IMHO, red shirt Schlueter next season and let him develop in the strength and conditioning program.
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Schlueter already reshirted.
 

STPGopher said:
Question. Isn't Sam playing out of position to begin with? I heard from someone that he is really a guard. Or maybe they meant that he played guard before. Anyone know?
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I believe he's played OT since he's been here.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Fleck seems to think having a high draft pick is a big selling point, given the number of times he's talked about where Corey Davis was picked.
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IMO you need some sustained success on the field and multiple draft picks for it to be a selling point. I don't remember high school tight ends deciding to become Gophers because Maxx Williams was picked in round 2.
 



hungan1 said:
I think I changed my mind about red shirting Faalele.

We can't continue to see Annexstad get clobbered. We don't want to spoil his development if he is constantly on his buttinski.

IMHO, red shirt Schlueter next season and let him develop in the strength and conditioning program.[/Q

I'm guessing I was wrong about this situation as well. Has to be a moral boost to the team as well.
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John Galt said:
Call me crazy, but I think it's better for us if he actually plays OT for us for all 4 years.

I also don't think Dan getting drafted in the 1st round will have any significant impact on recruiting.
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You're crazy. If he leaves early, that implies he's projected to be a first day pick, which implies he was dominant for us. If he plays all 4 years, that implies that he didn't end up developing like people thought he could and NFL scouts cooled on him.

I'd much rather have a dominant 3 year player than a solid/replaceable 4 year player.
 

Keyser Söze said:
You're crazy. If he leaves early, that implies he's projected to be a first day pick, which implies he was dominant for us. If he plays all 4 years, that implies that he didn't end up developing like people thought he could and NFL scouts cooled on him.

I'd much rather have a dominant 3 year player than a solid/replaceable 4 year player.
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Not to mention the fact that he is eligible for the draft at the same time regardless of whether or not he plays this year. So if he is ready, and clearly the coaches feel he is, there is no reason not to play him now. He is going to draw a ton of attention from the NFL based on his size alone if he shows he can play at all.

The most important thing for this offense right now is the continued development of Annexstad so if you can do something to solidify the protection in front of him and hopefully keep him upright more often it would be crazy not to.

I'm excited to see what Faalele can do. Dude is a beast physically, if he has the footwork and ability he could be a dominant force for us along the line.
 

John Galt said:
IMO you need some sustained success on the field and multiple draft picks for it to be a selling point. I don't remember high school tight ends deciding to become Gophers because Maxx Williams was picked in round 2.
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Corey Davis was the fifth pick in the draft on April 27, 2017. Six weeks later, Rashod Bateman committed to play for PJ Fleck. Do you believe that Fleck made no mention that a WR who he obviously had a hand in developing was just made a very high pick in the NFL Draft?
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Corey Davis was the fifth pick in the draft on April 27, 2017. Six weeks later, Rashod Bateman committed to play for PJ Fleck. Do you believe that Fleck made no mention that a WR who he obviously had a hand in developing was just made a very high pick in the NFL Draft?
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Exactly. I think Davis' success absolutely played into his recruitment. How much? Not sure but it certainly was a part of the conversation.
 

Breakin' The Plane said:
Corey Davis was the fifth pick in the draft on April 27, 2017. Six weeks later, Rashod Bateman committed to play for PJ Fleck. Do you believe that Fleck made no mention that a WR who he obviously had a hand in developing was just made a very high pick in the NFL Draft?
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I see your point but think that's a little different. The Davis story is that Fleck, a former WR, took a 2-star recruit at Western Michigan and turned him into a 1st round NFL draft pick.

Faalele was a high 3-star who had offers from Bama and others. It obviously won't hurt to have him as a 1st round pick, but I don't think the narrative will play quite the same way.
 

Keyser Söze said:
You're crazy. If he leaves early, that implies he's projected to be a first day pick, which implies he was dominant for us. If he plays all 4 years, that implies that he didn't end up developing like people thought he could and NFL scouts cooled on him.

I'd much rather have a dominant 3 year player than a solid/replaceable 4 year player.
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Agree 100%. But I'd rather have a dominant player for 4 years than for 3. The comment I replied to was about how much it would help recruiting if he went pro after 3 seasons.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Not to mention the fact that he is eligible for the draft at the same time regardless of whether or not he plays this year. So if he is ready, and clearly the coaches feel he is, there is no reason not to play him now. He is going to draw a ton of attention from the NFL based on his size alone if he shows he can play at all.

The most important thing for this offense right now is the continued development of Annexstad so if you can do something to solidify the protection in front of him and hopefully keep him upright more often it would be crazy not to.

I'm excited to see what Faalele can do. Dude is a beast physically, if he has the footwork and ability he could be a dominant force for us along the line.
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This. He is the best option. You redshirt avg players. DF is above average. He plays.
 

Thomasthetank said:
This. He is the best option. You redshirt avg players. DF is above average. He plays.
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I'm with you. If Daniel plays better than Sam then he should play. We are at a point where bowl game is in jeopardy. If we were 5-1 I would say RS him but we aren't, and our O line has been garbage. You see pro teams mixing it up all the time so I'm ok with this.
 

He has the body to be an NFL prospect in 3 years. The redshirt is meaningless if he doesn’t stay 5 years.


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fraternity2017 said:
He has the body to be an NFL prospect in 3 years. The redshirt is meaningless if he doesn’t stay 5 years.


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Exactly. If there is any player on the whole roster that could leave early, it's this kid. Play him now. He kept Nelson at bay the entire 2nd half
 

Rivals analyst Josh Helmholdt last spring said he thinks Daniel might have the highest ceiling out of any class of 2018 commit in the country including current Clemson QB Trevor Laurence who was the #1 rated player by Rivals.
 

Holy buckets guys. How many OMG he’s leaving early freshmen have gotten hurt, transferred, sucked, flunked out, or just not been in that nationally tiny group of guys to get picked high as an underclassman? Odds are low even with his physical talent.

That said if a guy that size is good the scouts will notice, and fast. If he’s legit it doesn’t matter if he redshirts cause they will find him and at least tell him he can play NFL early on.
 

I am indifferent on pulling the redshirt on Faalele, I think there are strong arguments on both sides. That said, I am disappointed that this decision wasn't made sooner if it was going to be made as it could have made a difference in the Iowa game. I also would prefer he doesn't get his first start at Ohio State in a game where the Gophers are 30 point underdogs and everybody is likely to struggle.
 

Antoine Winfield didn’t play significant minutes his freshman year until Penn State in 2016 and the rest is history. It’s also a cautionary tale - he had a great freshman year other than a certain overzealous EOAA investigator and has been a casualty case ever since. Sometimes old tyme wisdom is true - a bird in hand is better than two in the bush, or, life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans. Never count on tomorrow. Morbid but true.

Nobody is complaining about playing Bateman in the non-con. Or Brooks when he was a freshman. Those guys have been difference makers. There’s no doubt in my mind Faalele falls into the same group as those two. We need to win, we need some momentum to help recruiting and interest tick up.
 

I didn't see any of the game. How'd he do?
 

Did great- don't remember much pressure coming off the right side during the 1st half. Can't say in the second as I was listening on Sirius on the way to Seattle.


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