Responses and comments by Coach Tracy Claeys on today’s Sports Huddle following last night’s defeat to the Iowa Hawkeyes – 40 to 35.
1) Sid said he thought the Gophers played great in defeat. He also ranted briefly about the officiating. He cited four straight penalties against the Gophers, according to Sid, when Iowa was at Minnesota’s one-yard line:
Tracy Claeys did not respond to Sid’s comments about the officiating.
However, Coach Claeys spoke in positive terms about the Gophers effort in last night’s game: “Kids played hard . . . came up a little short . . . not catching a lot of breaks . . . Must make things go our way!”
2) Sid asked for Claeys’ appraisal of the Gopher defense:
Claeys briefly mentioned the plethora of injuries on defense and that Minnesota’s front on defense was starting to wear down as the game progressed. “We didn’t control line of scrimmage on defense . . . Started to wear down in middle (of defensive line) . . . Proud of kids we put in to play . . . Back to work to put kids in position to play well.”
3) Sid mentioned Iowa’s running back Lashaun Daniels breaking a long run (51 yards near games end to go up by twelve points):
Coach Claeys said the play’s result was similar to the Ohio State game when the Buckeye’s quarterback broke a long run up the middle to seal their win. Iowa caught the Gophers running a defensive slant up front and Daniels cut back and broke a tackle for the long touchdown run. He credited the Iowa line for controlling the line of scrimmage for the run and much of the night. “They made the plays to win,” Claeys said.
4) Sid opined that Mitch Leidner answered his critics in last night game as well as the previous three tilts “ Nebraska, Michigan, and Ohio State:
“Mitch is making good decisions . . . Mitch has a lot of confidence,” Claeys answered. He also said because Iowa was squeezing down the middle, the outside was open for Mitch’s runs. (Although Mitch rushed the ball 11 times for only thirty-two yards, one of his rushes resulted in a big sack by Iowa’s linebacker Jewell.)
5) Sid brought up the topic of trick plays that worked in the passing game:
In response to Sid’s query/comment, Claeys cited the touchdown pass thrown by Shannon Brooks. “You always try to have a couple (trick plays) with each game,” Claeys replied.
Claeys closed the question by once again expressing his appreciation for the team’s effort in the 40-35 loss, “Proud of the kids.”
6) In his opinion, Sid said if the Gophers were to play the Hawkeyes again they’d “beat ‘em:”
Claeys response to Sid’s statement focused on the difficulty of playing on the road in the Big !0. According to Claeys, playing at home is a big advantage and if you’re on the road you must have a lead of a couple touchdowns to overcome some of the opponent’s advantages and obstacles that can occur in the game.
7) Sid wanted to know if some of the injured players will be back next week for the Fighting Illini:
Claeys was succinct and in tone with his response, “I don’t think so.”
He then turned his remarks to this year’s situation with injuries: “This year’s (injured) kids miss multiple games . . . (you) play kids you have healthy.”
One silver lining, young players (freshmen and redshirt freshmen) are gaining valuable experience with the amount of playing time, according to Claeys.
8) Dave Mona raised the question of medical redshirts due the number of injuries this year:
Coach Claeys said a medical redshirt is a gray area; hard to determine what the NCAA will decide on who gets a medical redshirt. Claeys said they’re trying to get medical redshirts for three or four players – specifically, they’re hoping that Damarius Travis is a player who will be granted a medical redshirt.
9) In a follow-up, Dave Mona asked if Ace Rogers is another player that they’re trying to attain a medical redshirt:
“Yeah, we’re going to try,” Claeys replied.
Claeys spent a brief time talking about depth at safety and the injuries that have occurred in the secondary. By the tone in his voice, Claeys sounded positive about the future of the Gopher secondary – the redshirts and the young payers who have seen the field this year.
However, in a serious tone, Claeys said they’re presently in a bind because of injuries and that they must keep the ones playing, healthy.
Go Gophers!!
1) Sid said he thought the Gophers played great in defeat. He also ranted briefly about the officiating. He cited four straight penalties against the Gophers, according to Sid, when Iowa was at Minnesota’s one-yard line:
Tracy Claeys did not respond to Sid’s comments about the officiating.
However, Coach Claeys spoke in positive terms about the Gophers effort in last night’s game: “Kids played hard . . . came up a little short . . . not catching a lot of breaks . . . Must make things go our way!”
2) Sid asked for Claeys’ appraisal of the Gopher defense:
Claeys briefly mentioned the plethora of injuries on defense and that Minnesota’s front on defense was starting to wear down as the game progressed. “We didn’t control line of scrimmage on defense . . . Started to wear down in middle (of defensive line) . . . Proud of kids we put in to play . . . Back to work to put kids in position to play well.”
3) Sid mentioned Iowa’s running back Lashaun Daniels breaking a long run (51 yards near games end to go up by twelve points):
Coach Claeys said the play’s result was similar to the Ohio State game when the Buckeye’s quarterback broke a long run up the middle to seal their win. Iowa caught the Gophers running a defensive slant up front and Daniels cut back and broke a tackle for the long touchdown run. He credited the Iowa line for controlling the line of scrimmage for the run and much of the night. “They made the plays to win,” Claeys said.
4) Sid opined that Mitch Leidner answered his critics in last night game as well as the previous three tilts “ Nebraska, Michigan, and Ohio State:
“Mitch is making good decisions . . . Mitch has a lot of confidence,” Claeys answered. He also said because Iowa was squeezing down the middle, the outside was open for Mitch’s runs. (Although Mitch rushed the ball 11 times for only thirty-two yards, one of his rushes resulted in a big sack by Iowa’s linebacker Jewell.)
5) Sid brought up the topic of trick plays that worked in the passing game:
In response to Sid’s query/comment, Claeys cited the touchdown pass thrown by Shannon Brooks. “You always try to have a couple (trick plays) with each game,” Claeys replied.
Claeys closed the question by once again expressing his appreciation for the team’s effort in the 40-35 loss, “Proud of the kids.”
6) In his opinion, Sid said if the Gophers were to play the Hawkeyes again they’d “beat ‘em:”
Claeys response to Sid’s statement focused on the difficulty of playing on the road in the Big !0. According to Claeys, playing at home is a big advantage and if you’re on the road you must have a lead of a couple touchdowns to overcome some of the opponent’s advantages and obstacles that can occur in the game.
7) Sid wanted to know if some of the injured players will be back next week for the Fighting Illini:
Claeys was succinct and in tone with his response, “I don’t think so.”
He then turned his remarks to this year’s situation with injuries: “This year’s (injured) kids miss multiple games . . . (you) play kids you have healthy.”
One silver lining, young players (freshmen and redshirt freshmen) are gaining valuable experience with the amount of playing time, according to Claeys.
8) Dave Mona raised the question of medical redshirts due the number of injuries this year:
Coach Claeys said a medical redshirt is a gray area; hard to determine what the NCAA will decide on who gets a medical redshirt. Claeys said they’re trying to get medical redshirts for three or four players – specifically, they’re hoping that Damarius Travis is a player who will be granted a medical redshirt.
9) In a follow-up, Dave Mona asked if Ace Rogers is another player that they’re trying to attain a medical redshirt:
“Yeah, we’re going to try,” Claeys replied.
Claeys spent a brief time talking about depth at safety and the injuries that have occurred in the secondary. By the tone in his voice, Claeys sounded positive about the future of the Gopher secondary – the redshirts and the young payers who have seen the field this year.
However, in a serious tone, Claeys said they’re presently in a bind because of injuries and that they must keep the ones playing, healthy.
Go Gophers!!
