KSTP: Gophers’ Morgan enjoying reunion with Ciarrocca

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Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan enjoyed his best season in 2019 when he threw 30 touchdown passes in 13 games. His offensive coordinator that season was Kirk Ciarrocca. Ciarrocca left Minnesota after that season for a job a Penn State but now he’s back as the Gophers offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

“I think its very open, very honest,” Morgan said of his relationship with Ciarrocca. “The one thing about Ciarrocca is he knows how to push my buttons – to get me to be at my best.”

As with most training camps, the Gophers are experimenting with what works best with the talent they have.

“Finding different ways to get the ball in guys’ hands who can be explosive and keep people honest,” Morgan said after Monday’s practice. “That’s really what it’s all about.”

kstp.com

Gophers' Morgan enjoying reunion with Ciarrocca

Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan enjoyed his best season in 2019 when he threw 30 touchdown passes in 13 games. His offensive coordinator that season was Kirk Ciarrocca. Ciarrocca left Minnesota after that season for a job a Penn State but now he's back as the Gophers offensive coordinator and...
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Go Gophers!!
 

If Morgan can get to even 75% of his 2019 performance and Rossi's defense continues to perform then this is at least a 10-win team. He doesn't need to put up all-B1G numbers. He just needs to be B1G average to make this a very special season.
 
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How many TDS will he throw in 15 games this year?
 





FullBanana said:
If we do truly play 15 games this season it has to be over. I’d say Morgan needs to throw 40+ for us to get to the CFP final.
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If Morgan is throwing that often then something has gone terribly wrong with the defense.
 

Don’t expect Morgan to top 35 tds. We ran the ball 60% of the time last year, expect that to be closer to 50/50 but we aren’t going to become Purdue and why would we want too?
We still have an offensive line with over 1500 lbs and some damn fine rbs. Running the ball helps control the clock and keeps the defense fresh making them better. This is PJ’s style and it works!
The best hope for Morgan is that his completion % gets close to 2019 level. We didn’t pass that much that year either but when you complete 76% of your passes to NFL TALENT, you get results. CAB and Wright should be able to provide close to that if they can master the routes and we get adequate protection.
But remember, we pass to prevent loading the box so we can grind it out. Control the clock and keep the other offense off the field.
That’s what I’m looking for this year from Morgan is the return of we can score through the pass any where and any time.
So load the box at your risk.
 



This could be a really special final season for Morgan, which would be great. I was looking back at some other senior quarterbacks who went out with a bang and I'm hoping we can have something similar.
  • Andy Dalton, 2010, 2,857 yards, 27 TDs, 6 Ints. Horned Frogs won MW title, won Rose Bowl, finished 13-0 and ranked 2.
  • Kirk Cousins, 2011, 3,316 yards, 25 TDs, 10 Ints. Spartans won division, lost B1G title game, won Outback Bowl. Finished 11-3 and ranked 10/11.
  • Brandon Wheeden, 2011, 4,727 yards, 37 TDs, 13 Ints. OK State won the Big 12 title, the Fiesta Bowl. Finished 12-1 and ranked 3.
  • Collin Klein, 2012, 2,641 yards, 16 TDs, 9 Ints. Kansas State won the Big 12 title, lost the Fiesta Bowl. Finished 11-2 and ranked 11/12
  • Jordan Lynch, 2012, 2,892 yards, 24 TDs, 8 Ints. Northern Illinois won the division, lost MAC title game, lost the Poinsettia Bowl, finished 12-2
  • Tajh Boyd, 2013, 3,851 yards, 34 TDs, 11 Ints. Clemson won the Orange Bowl, finished 11-2 and ranked 7/8.
  • Connor Cook, 2015, 3,131 yards, 24 TDs, 7 Ints. Michigan State won the division, the B1G title game, and lost in the CFP semi-final. Finished 12-2, No. 6
  • Joshua Dobbs, 2016, 2,946 yards, 27 TDs, 12 Ints. Tennessee won the Music City Bowl, finished 9-4 and ranked 22/24
  • Jake Browning, 2018, 3,192 yards, 16 TDs, 10 Ints. Washington won the division, the Pac 12 title game and lost the Rose Bowl. Finished 10-4 and ranked 13.
 

Here is a question for those of you that love digging up obscure info.

Has a player ever started and finished their career with the same OC but had a gap in the middle with a different OC at the helm?

KC returning to Minnesota is already a rare situation that doesn't happen all that often in coaching but adding the element where the QB he left is the same QB when he returns has to be extremely rare and maybe has never happened in college.

Can anyone come up with a similar example from somewhere else?
 

2:1 TD/INT ratio, I think we'll see more balance but still run heavy

if he can get be in 18-22 TD range, I think we're in good shape
 

Here are season passing attempts for the four teams in the CFP in 2021:

Alabama: 571 attempts in 15 games (38.0 attempts/game)

Cincinnati: 400 attempts in 14 games (28.5 attempts/game)

Michigan: 395 attempts in 14 games (28.2 attempts/game)

Georgia: 407 attempts in 15 games (27.1 attempts/game)

National Champions: Georgia Bulldogs
 



Weren't we pretty run heavy in 2019? People just didn't complain because our passing game was very effective.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Here is a question for those of you that love digging up obscure info.

Has a player ever started and finished their career with the same OC but had a gap in the middle with a different OC at the helm?

KC returning to Minnesota is already a rare situation that doesn't happen all that often in coaching but adding the element where the QB he left is the same QB when he returns has to be extremely rare and maybe has never happened in college.

Can anyone come up with a similar example from somewhere else?
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Josh McDaniels comes to mind in the NFL, and Tom Brady turned out OK. Totally even comparison, I know.
 

Gophers1992 said:
Weren't we pretty run heavy in 2019? People just didn't complain because our passing game was very effective.
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True to a point but our passing game was a key part of the offense in 2019 whereas in 2021 it looked far more like a Kill passing offense and was painful to watch at times.

2019 - 34 pts a game - 2614 rush yards - 3293 passing yards
2021 - 25 pts a game - 2870 rush yards - 2106 passing yards

So while the rushing yardage was about the same the 2019 scored nearly 10 more points a game and had an additional 1000+ yards of passing.

That 2019 offense was fun to watch because they would take advantage of whatever the defense was giving them. We lost that ability under Sanford, hopefully it returns now that KC is back at the helm.
 

fmlizard said:
Josh McDaniels comes to mind in the NFL, and Tom Brady turned out OK. Totally even comparison, I know.
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I would bet it has happened a few times in the NFL where guys can have careers that last more than 10 years. Much tougher in college with the shorter window of time guys have. And the reality is it is only happening for us because of the free Covid year since in the old days last year would have been it for Morgan.
 

MNVCGUY said:
True to a point but our passing game was a key part of the offense in 2019 whereas in 2021 it looked far more like a Kill passing offense and was painful to watch at times.

2019 - 34 pts a game - 2614 rush yards - 3293 passing yards
2021 - 25 pts a game - 2870 rush yards - 2106 passing yards

So while the rushing yardage was about the same the 2019 scored nearly 10 more points a game and had an additional 1000+ yards of passing.

That 2019 offense was fun to watch because they would take advantage of whatever the defense was giving them. We lost that ability under Sanford, hopefully it returns now that KC is back at the helm.
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Agreed I was only talking about the % of run vs pass plays, meaning I think we'd all be fine running 65% of the time IF that 35% of pass plays was highly effective, which was not the case in 2021.
 

Slant routes were a big part of KC's 2019 offense. Jackson and Wright were inconsistent and I thought hesitant at times to catch balls in the middle of the field. Possibly afraid of contact? Hopefully they've grown in that regard.
 

Gophers1992 said:
Weren't we pretty run heavy in 2019? People just didn't complain because our passing game was very effective.
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LMAO. People always complain. Not throwing to the TE...arguing what RPO actually is vs a read option...always room to complain.
 

pharmacygopher said:
LMAO. People always complain. Not throwing to the TE...arguing what RPO actually is vs a read option...always room to complain.
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Ha! That's true - our offense was great, but imagine if we utilized the great Jake Paulson even more!
 

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