That's just an absolute bizarre tweet. Sometimes I don't mind Doogie, but then he has a tweet like this and it just makes you scratch your head. It's not only unnecessary but it's just flat out illogical.
#1: Hageman was on the team last year. If Kirksey and Jacobs were really "holding us back", shouldn't he be blasting the staff for not playing Hageman more last season.
#2: Michael Carter was on the team last year but he didn't have his head on straight. Wouldn't this year's version of Michael Carter have been awesome on our team last year? We didn't have him and that hurt a lot, what does Doogie do...blame the guys who played hard for 4 years for the Gophers. Now, i'm not saying to blame Carter, I'm thrilled he turned it around.
#3: Wilhite was on the team last year....was it Kirksey or Royston's fault that Wilhite is a considerably better player today than last year at this time?
#4: Stoud was hurt last season and he plays demanding position on our defense.
In my opinion, our defense is better for a variety of reasons...we have way better cornerback play (see #2 and #4), Wells has emerged as one of our best defensive players in years and our pass rush is great (see #1 and #3). Our defense is better because our younger players have really stepped up and some of the veterans have either stayed healthy or gotten their act together.
If Doogie feels the need to bash former Gopher players, why would he blast the starters? I mean for as much as Kirksey, Jacobs, Royston and Lewis held us back, they were 11 of the best defensive players on the team. If they weren't, he should be blasting the coaching staff. His tweet is a joke, it's his de-evolution into being Reusse-light and generating tweets through absurdity.