Gopher portal visits and signings

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MNVCGUY said:
They like to rotate the DE a lot to keep them fresh. Having 4 really good options is great.

I also would not be shocked to see them run some 3 DE packages with Smith sliding inside from time to time. He has the size to do it and his speed could be really disruptive up the middle in certain passing situations.
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Have all 4 of them rushing the passer on obvious passing situations.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
Let me say that I think TJ Bush is a very good player and a great "get" in the portal. I'm happy to have him on the team. But am I the only one a little confused by this? The Gophers already have Smith, Menz and Howard back as DE's. Very good core. Now we add Bush as a one-and-done.

I mean, he seems like a good get. I just never thought DE would be a position of need unless you went after a guy with multiple years. Getting a one and done guy for that spot was not on my portal bingo card.
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How about getting home w/ just 3-4 rushers, and not letting all 3 opponents reads run free in route to getting boatraced by 30+ on the road. I’ll take, and appreciate, the “any and ‘all the above’ “ addressing of our ‘25 D.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
Let me say that I think TJ Bush is a very good player and a great "get" in the portal. I'm happy to have him on the team. But am I the only one a little confused by this? The Gophers already have Smith, Menz and Howard back as DE's. Very good core. Now we add Bush as a one-and-done.

I mean, he seems like a good get. I just never thought DE would be a position of need unless you went after a guy with multiple years. Getting a one and done guy for that spot was not on my portal bingo card.
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I'm with you. I think this solidifies that Karmo is a linebacker, not a rush end as he was deployed from time to time last year. I'm hopeful they are still interested in an additional DT from the portal.
 




Scottsdale Gopher said:
I'm with you. I think this solidifies that Karmo is a linebacker, not a rush end as he was deployed from time to time last year. I'm hopeful they are still interested in an additional DT from the portal.
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Assuming we keep going with a 4-2-5 look on D I like the idea of Mav and Karmo as primary LB with Kingsbury and Marshall as primary backups/additional LBs
 

GophersInIowa said:
Have all 4 of them rushing the passer on obvious passing situations.
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I think the idea is to rotate fresh and effective rush ends to try and keep the QB in the pocket and funnel everything toward the interior, which makes effective DT/ILB play crucial. Problem with that strategy is that there will be more blockers than defensive players on the inside which can open up the quick-hitting run game (which we saw this season). Good to see them land a good DT and maybe some of the younger guys take a step forward to build a consistent interior wall.
 

MNVCGUY said:
They like to rotate the DE a lot to keep them fresh. Having 4 really good options is great.

I also would not be shocked to see them run some 3 DE packages with Smith sliding inside from time to time. He has the size to do it and his speed could be really disruptive up the middle in certain passing situations.
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I was thinking the same thing. Do you think that is what the coaching staff is thinking. We could move Smith around a bit to create some mismatches. Smith is pretty versatile and could dominate at any spot in 2026. This will be interesting. I like the fact that we have options.
 

Lifeleadership said:
I was thinking the same thing. Do you think that is what the coaching staff is thinking. We could move Smith around a bit to create some mismatches. Smith is pretty versatile and could dominate at any spot in 2026. This will be interesting. I like the fact that we have options.
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It probably won’t happen but I hope it doesn’t just lead to Anthony Smith’s most valuable skill being wasted playing the interior too often.

This team still needs to have at least two B1G caliber starting DTs.
 



Lifeleadership said:
I was thinking the same thing. Do you think that is what the coaching staff is thinking. We could move Smith around a bit to create some mismatches. Smith is pretty versatile and could dominate at any spot in 2026. This will be interesting. I like the fact that we have options.
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No clue what the coaches would do. Assume it would help Smith's NFL profile if he showed and ability to line up all over the D-Line. At 285 Smith is big for a DE which might give him the ability to move inside sometimes.
 


DarrenTheGreek said:
Let me say that I think TJ Bush is a very good player and a great "get" in the portal. I'm happy to have him on the team. But am I the only one a little confused by this? The Gophers already have Smith, Menz and Howard back as DE's. Very good core. Now we add Bush as a one-and-done.

I mean, he seems like a good get. I just never thought DE would be a position of need unless you went after a guy with multiple years. Getting a one and done guy for that spot was not on my portal bingo card.
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I am thinking Howard bulks up and moves inside
 




The Deliberate Stranger said:
I am thinking Howard bulks up and moves inside
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He’s going to have to put 20-30 lbs on to do that. Also, I’m not sure Howard was really that stout against the run either. I assume if he “moved down” it would be from Rush end to DE. He’d probably only need to add 10-15 in that case.
 



MNVCGUY said:
No clue what the coaches would do. Assume it would help Smith's NFL profile if he showed and ability to line up all over the D-Line. At 285 Smith is big for a DE which might give him the ability to move inside sometimes.
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He’s big for a DE in a 4-3 but exactly the right size for one in a 3-4 which multiple NFL teams run now. Being able to line up inside is even better for him.
 

DarrenTheGreek said:
Let me say that I think TJ Bush is a very good player and a great "get" in the portal. I'm happy to have him on the team. But am I the only one a little confused by this? The Gophers already have Smith, Menz and Howard back as DE's. Very good core. Now we add Bush as a one-and-done.

I mean, he seems like a good get. I just never thought DE would be a position of need unless you went after a guy with multiple years. Getting a one and done guy for that spot was not on my portal bingo card.
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PJ always plays a lot of DEs. Lawrence and Finnessy both played quite a bit last year and I think it's just a rotation thing (and Redding provided depth there because he played more outside as a Fr/SO). Smith is also versatile, he can move around a bit on passing downs.

It's a nice bridge of depth to give that pretty loaded DE class of 2025 another year to mature.
 

USAF said:
Holy fuck that's an idiotic take.
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You're the king of fucking idiotic takes! He's 6'5"260 he could easily add another 20 lbs to his frame, that's what Kill.did with Rasheed Hageman. Hi onward not the most fleet of foot for an EDGE, that frame and potential to add muscle is what gave him his borderline five star status in high school
 

GreasyGopher said:
He’s going to have to put 20-30 lbs on to do that. Also, I’m not sure Howard was really that stout against the run either. I assume if he “moved down” it would be from Rush end to DE. He’d probably only need to add 10-15 in that case.
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He's 6:5" he has the frame to put 20 lbs on, he's already added 20 from high school. The ability to add to his frame is why he was rated so high. Same thing Kill did with Rasheed when he took over from Brewster
 


The Deliberate Stranger said:
He's 6:5" he has the frame to put 20 lbs on, he's already added 20 from high school. The ability to add to his frame is why he was rated so high. Same thing Kill did with Rasheed when he took over from Brewster
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Hageman was 6'6" 295 as a RS FR.

Howard is 6'4" 250 as RS SO.
 

Gassed up to think we could have 10+ combinations of legit pass rushing threats on the DL at any given point in time. LB/DB looks solidified. On the O I like the OT we got but 1 more would be nice. Otherwise I think we’re set every at every other position.

Except for TE/iDL. Yet these are the two spots we seem to have the least traction on. I like the guys we have coming up at both spots but I’d much rather take a solid TE/DT than another WR or OL even really. What’s the hold up there?
 

The Deliberate Stranger said:
He's 6:5" he has the frame to put 20 lbs on, he's already added 20 from high school. The ability to add to his frame is why he was rated so high. Same thing Kill did with Rasheed when he took over from Brewster
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Rashede Hageman was a mountain of a man and despite all of his physical gifts struggled his first few years at DT. Rashede is more physically gifted than Jaxon.

Jaxon is listed at 250 and adding 20-30 lbs still puts him on the small side for a B1G. Rush end to DT is a big move. There’s likely better candidates if that’s what is needed. JLR went from a DE to DT and still struggled despite weighing 295.
 







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