Gopher football Mount Rushmore

Some guy

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You only get four



It seems hard at first; but then all of a sudden it seems incredibly easy to get the first 3

Bierman
Nagurski
Smith


Who is number 4?
 







You only get four



It seems hard at first; but then all of a sudden it seems incredibly easy to get the first 3

Bierman
Nagurski
Smith


Who is number 4?
Really tough to choose, I think yours looks good and I'd add Sandy Stephens.

Could break it down by era, too.
Minnesota Coaches Mount Rushmore:
Henry Williams
Bernie Bierman
Murray Warmath
Glen Mason

Pre-1960s Players Mount Rushmore:
Bronko Nagurski
Bruce Smith
Paul Giel
Ed Widseth

1960s Era
Sandy Stephens
Bobby Bell
Carl Eller
Tom Brown

1970s Era
Tony Dungy
Jeff Wright
Marion Barber Jr.
Steve Stewart

1980s Era
Rickey Foggie
Darell Thompson
Bruce Holmes
Mike Hohensee

1990s Era
Tyrone Carter
Cory Sauter
Sean Lumpkin
Lamanzer Williams

Mason 2000s Era
Laurence Maroney
Marion Barber III
Asad Abdul Khaliq
Darrell Reid

Brewster Era
Adam Weber
Eric Decker
Nate Triplett
Kyle Theret

Kill/Claeys Era
Mitch Leidner
David Cobb
Briean Boddy-Calhoun
Eric Murray

Fleck Era
Tanner Morgan
Antoine Winfield Jr.
Tyler Johnson
Carter Coughlin
 

Well if you want a Minnesota Coaches Mount Rushmore it would be:
Bierman
Marriucci
Herb Brooks
Robinson

Football really hasn’t had coaches worthy of Mount Rushmore.

Players:

Old School (1970 & earlier):
Nagurski
Smith
Bobby Bell
Sandy Stephens

Modern Era:
Darrel Thompson
Greg Eslinger
Tyrone Carter
Antoine Winfield Jr.
 

You only get four



It seems hard at first; but then all of a sudden it seems incredibly easy to get the first 3

Bierman
Nagurski
Smith


Who is number 4?
Amusing to suggest guys playing and coaching 75 years ago are remotely in the league of elite athletes today.
 



Amusing to suggest guys playing and coaching 75 years ago are remotely in the league of elite athletes today.
What does that have to do with anything?
PS Obama has a better jump shot than teddy Roosevelt and Washington and Jefferson owned slaves


Mount Rushmore has to do with legendary status, not athletic ability.

Sure the third string inside backer in on 2021 Illinois was probably a better player than Dick Butkus But for some reason he would probably be on Illinois’ mt Rushmore
 


Amusing to suggest guys playing and coaching 75 years ago are remotely in the league of elite athletes today.
They only had to be dominant against peers to make the Hall of fame. Pretty dame impressive.
 





Nagurski
Stephens
Bell
Giel

Giel > Smith. Giel was the first two-time Big Ten MVP, an award given since 1924, and one of five currently to win it twice. Smith was not selected as Big Ten MVP, unlike every other Big Ten Heisman Award winner (though Griffin was Big Ten MVP in 1973-74, and Heisman winner in 1974-75). Giel was AP and FWAA First Team All American in both 1952 and 1953, and consensus AA in 1953. Giel finished 3rd for the Heisman in '52, and 2nd in '53, when UPI selected Giel as College Player of the Year (an award given from 1950-1991). He achieved that while playing on teams that went 4-3-2 and 4-4-1.

Smith was AA (consensus) in 1941 and won the Heisman for the National Champion Gophers. He did not double to win the Maxwell Award, as Kinnick and Harmon had done in 1939-40. Perhaps you had to be there in ‘41 to appreciate Smith, because the stats seem to tell a different story. He was the team’s third leading rusher:

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Of course, Smith had the legendary 80-yard TD run in 1940 against a great Michigan team in a 7-6 Gopher victory. That made him the pre-season Heisman favorite for 1941. Smith is an all-time great Gopher from stacked National Champion teams. But I would put Giel on the Gopher Mount Rushmore.
 

What does that have to do with anything?
PS Obama has a better jump shot than teddy Roosevelt and Washington and Jefferson owned slaves


Mount Rushmore has to do with legendary status, not athletic ability.

Sure the third string inside backer in on 2021 Illinois was probably a better player than Dick Butkus But for some reason he would probably be on Illinois’ mt Rushmore
Just for the record, wimp Obama had a better jump shot than a grand total of nobody and he could throw a baseball 12 feet on one bounce. Recorded for posterity.
 

According to Jalen Rose, we shouldn't be using "Mount Rushmore" to describe all-time greats, and you guys are all racist:

I agree with Jalen. Growing up as a kid I wasn’t aware… as an adult I am aware, and I choose to be cognizant of facts, so it’s easy to know the difference between right and wrong.
 





Fun list of former greats but how about Bud Wilkinson. Played guard and then quarterback on three straight national championship teams and then of course became a legendary coach. Side note he also stands as a tribute in the incompetence of Minnesota leaders when they failed to hire him.
 




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