BleedGopher
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per Randy:
They came from Blaine and Wayzata and Owatonna, from Georgia and Florida and Indiana and from Illinois and Iowa and Kansas. On Saturday afternoon, 16 Gophers seniors will fight No. 5 Wisconsin for Paul Bunyan's Axe in their final home game, while also playing for bowl eligibility and the chance to spoil to their rival's playoff aspirations.
Also at stake for those 16 seniors is one more chance to add a lasting memory to careers that have had more unforgettable moments than any class in recent Minnesota history.
"Time does fly," said senior linebacker Jonathan Celestin, who joined the program in 2014, a year after the outgoing fifth-year seniors. "… I feel like I just came for my visit four years ago in January. It's been a long journey."
Along that journey, the Gophers saw the highs of a Citrus Bowl appearance, the lows of a losing season, the turmoil of a boycott that put a bowl game in jeopardy and the head-spinning that comes with three different head coaches in a three-year span.
"Whenever there's a coaching change, the hardest change that has to be made is by those seniors because they're so close to graduating," said first-year coach P.J. Fleck, who took over in January after the firing of Tracy Claeys. "… Those who have stayed have been absolutely amazing in terms of their buy-in to the culture, their buy-in to the change, their belief system, their leadership. It means a lot, and I'm really, really proud of the group."
http://m.startribune.com/gophers-se...613/?section=sports/gophers&interstitial=true
Go Gophers!!
They came from Blaine and Wayzata and Owatonna, from Georgia and Florida and Indiana and from Illinois and Iowa and Kansas. On Saturday afternoon, 16 Gophers seniors will fight No. 5 Wisconsin for Paul Bunyan's Axe in their final home game, while also playing for bowl eligibility and the chance to spoil to their rival's playoff aspirations.
Also at stake for those 16 seniors is one more chance to add a lasting memory to careers that have had more unforgettable moments than any class in recent Minnesota history.
"Time does fly," said senior linebacker Jonathan Celestin, who joined the program in 2014, a year after the outgoing fifth-year seniors. "… I feel like I just came for my visit four years ago in January. It's been a long journey."
Along that journey, the Gophers saw the highs of a Citrus Bowl appearance, the lows of a losing season, the turmoil of a boycott that put a bowl game in jeopardy and the head-spinning that comes with three different head coaches in a three-year span.
"Whenever there's a coaching change, the hardest change that has to be made is by those seniors because they're so close to graduating," said first-year coach P.J. Fleck, who took over in January after the firing of Tracy Claeys. "… Those who have stayed have been absolutely amazing in terms of their buy-in to the culture, their buy-in to the change, their belief system, their leadership. It means a lot, and I'm really, really proud of the group."
http://m.startribune.com/gophers-se...613/?section=sports/gophers&interstitial=true
Go Gophers!!