Kill and Streveler say they expect Leidner to play Saturday at TCU

[Killjoy]

By Joe Christensen

The Gophers continued to insist Wednesday that Mitch Leidner will be back from his knee injury for Saturday's game at TCU.

"Mitch is going to play," Coach Jerry Kill said after watching Leidner practice for the second straight day. "He's a tough kid. ... He practiced, and he practiced hard [Wednesday]. He ran around good."

Kill added: "I’m pleasantly surprised after the shot he took [against Middle Tennessee State]."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/blogs/Gridiron_Gold.html

 

[BleedGopher]

Nate Sandell: Gophers saying Leidner will play; is it a smokescreen?

But from all accounts on the team's side, both coaches and players are confident Leidner will play.

The possibility remains, however, that this is all a smokescreen. Kill's staff has done this before. When last year's starting quarterback, Philip Nelson, was injured in the third game of the season, it was tough to get a firm grip on the Gophers' plan at QB for several weeks. A year earlier, all signs pointed to backup Max Shortell remaining the starter until MarQueis Gray was healthy enough to return. But less than 24 hours before kickoff against Wisconsin, word leaked out that Nelson would start as a true freshman.

In other words, when it comes to injuries, sometimes you never truly know what a team has in mind until game time.

Leidner was not made available to the media this week, which is reason enough to remain skeptical. However, backup quarterback Chris Streveler did talk with reporters on Wednesday.

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/...g_Leidner_will_play_is_it_a_smokescreen091014

Go Gophers!!

 

[Dr.Don]

I guess we will find out in a few days. In the meantime, let's