FSN: Gophers season report card: Offense and special teams

[BleedGopher]

per FSN:

Punter: A

Hard to find much wrong in this department. Gophers punter Peter Mortell had an outstanding season, averaging 45.5 yards per punt during the regular season. That was tops among all Big Ten punters and was more than two yards better than the average of 43.3 yards per punt he had as a sophomore last year.

After his impressive season, Mortell was tabbed as the Big Ten Punter of the Year, another feather in the Gophers' cap in 2014. He finished with 21 punts of 50 or more yards and had 25 of his 67 punts downed inside the 20-yard line. Mortell, a redshirt junior, will be back for one more year, meaning Minnesota's punting game should be strong again in 2015.

Returners: B+

One of the more memorable moments of the year for the Gophers came on a special teams play in which speedy cornerback Jalen Myrick returned a kickoff 100 yards for a go-ahead touchdown against Northwestern. Myrick found room to run on the left side and sprinted all the way to the end zone for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. Myrick had a nice year overall returning kickoffs, finishing second in the Big Ten in kick-return average (28.2 yards per return). The Gophers as a team were fourth in the conference in that category, averaging 22.9 yards per return.

Freshman Craig James was Minnesota's primary punt returner this year, and he averaged 8.7 yards per punt on his 16 returns -- which ranked fifth among all Big Ten players in 2014. His longest punt return was only 32 yards, but he consistently helped gain yards on returns to give the Gophers better field position. Marcus Jones also returned seven punts, one of which came in the Citrus Bowl. Jones fumbled the punt and Missouri recovered, which proved to be a turning point in the game. Overall, though, Minnesota's punt and kick returners were solid throughout the season.

http://www.foxsports.com/north/stor...-report-card-offense-and-special-teams-010715

Go Gophers!!

 

[Iceland12]

Quarterbacks: C-
It was an up-and-down season for redshirt sophomore quarterback Mitch Leidner, who took over the offense as the full-time starter when Philip Nelson transferred this past summer. Accuracy was a big issue for Leidner, who completed just 51.5 percent of his passes this year -- a big reason why Minnesota's passing offense struggled throughout the season. Leidner did provide offense with his legs, rushing for 452 yards and 10 touchdowns. But he didn't take the steps forward in the passing game that Gophers fans hoped he would.

Leidner's best game of the year (at least in terms of passing the ball) might very well have been the Citrus Bowl. He racked up career highs in completions (21) and passing yards (258) while also adding a touchdown. At one point, Leidner completed 14 straight passes, which tied a school record previously set by former Gophers quarterback Adam Weber.

But Leidner also had some troublesome games along the way. He finished with just 95 yards on 5-of-18 passing in the regular-season finale against Wisconsin. Leidner also failed to crack 100 passing yards against Ohio State, going 7 for 19 for 85 yards with two interceptions and zero touchdowns.

Backup Chris Streveler saw time in a total of five games, mostly during nonconference play. He threw just 11 passes and completed four of them while also throwing an interception. Streveler was under center for Minnesota's game against San Jose State in which the Gophers won despite completing only one pass all day.

A lack of reliable targets at wide receiver -- though he did have tight end Maxx Williams to rely on -- certainly didn't help Leidner this year. If Minnesota wants to elevate its passing game next year, it will need Leidner to be more accurate, but it will also need to find some receivers to help Leidner.


Receivers: D
The fact that a tight end had more than twice the catches of the top two wide receivers combined tells you all you need to know about this position group in 2014. It was a disappointing year for Minnesota's wide receivers, which were expected to take a step forward this year. Sophomores Donovahn Jones and Drew Wolitarsky played last year as true freshmen and were being counted on as integral pieces of the passing game. Instead, Jones had just 11 catches in 11 games and was kicked off the team for violating a team policy just days before the bowl game. Wolitarsky, meanwhile, struggled with an injury and only played in eight games. When he was healthy, he didn't produce much -- 10 catches for 106 yards and zero touchdowns in those eight contests.
Senior Isaac Fruechte wound up as the Gophers' most productive receiver. He caught 18 passes for 292 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, KJ Maye had a decent year, too, as he came on strong late in the season. Maye finished the year with 16 catches for 298 yards and one touchdown. One of his biggest catches of the year came in Minnesota's win against Nebraska when he hauled in a sideline pass from Mitch Leidner on fourth down to keep the Gophers' eventual game-winning drive alive.

Minnesota's passing offense was one of the worst in the Big Ten, statistically speaking. While some of that blame falls on the quarterback, the wide receivers deserve some of it, as well. The Gophers struggled to find a playmaker at receiver, meaning Leidner didn't always have a ton of options to throw to. The wide receiver position is one of the bigger question marks Minnesota will have heading into the 2015 season.