BleedGopher
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No Brock, no worries
By Marcus Fuller
The Gophers might have lost a dynamic athlete in the secondary with free safety Tramaine Brock failing to qualify academically to play for the team this fall, but members of the defense like who they have to replace him.
Senior linebacker Lee Campbell has complete confidence in Wisconsin transfer Kim Royston, a junior walk-on and former Cretin-Derham Hall standout.
"He's been doing really well this summer. He's working hard," Campbell said of Royston. "I'm excited to see Kim at camp when it gets here. I'm sure he'll get after it."
Campbell said the strength of the defense will obviously be up the middle with senior defensive tackles Garrett Brown and Eric Small. He also thought that it added another physical dimension to have two larger linebackers such as senior Nate Triplett and himself on the field together. Both players are listed at 6 feet 3 and between 240 and 245 pounds.
"I think it's going to be hard for teams to run on us," he said. "But I definitely think our emphasis for two-a-days is going to have to be stopping the pass. We definitely have to improve on that from last year."
That's where Royston's impact could make a big difference.
-- Senior linebacker Simoni Lawrence had two lines shaved into the side of his head Friday, bringing back an old-school hairstyle from the 1990s. He said it made him faster.
How fast? Lawrence joked about running a 40-yard dash under 4.3 seconds, which doesn't seem to be in his reach. He might be one of the fastest players on the team, but Lawrence's best 40 time is just under 4.6 seconds.
When asked about his individual goals for this season, Lawrence shot pretty high by saying he not only wanted to be a first-team All-Big Ten linebacker but also an All-American. He would be the first, because no Gophers linebacker has ever received All-America honors.
-- Coaches have compared redshirt freshman linebacker Keanon Cooper to Lawrence, because they both have tremendous speed and were safeties before coming to Minnesota.
Cooper and former Dallas Skyline High School teammate Spencer Reeves could be competing for immediate playing time at linebacker this season, according coach Tim Brewster on Friday.
Reeves is a bigger and more cerebral linebacker like Campbell. Although the physical comparisons are there, Lawrence said the 6-foot, 206-pound Cooper was his own kind of player.
"Keanon is Keanon; I don't want to put him in my shadow or anything," Lawrence said. "He's coming along pretty fast. He's doing well."
-- The Gophers are expecting 30,000 to 40,000 fans for their Aug. 22 scrimmage open to student and regular season-ticket holders at TCF Bank Stadium. It will be treated as an actual game-day experience with tailgating, parking, police, concessions and the victory walk.
Fans in attendance willing to wait their turn and for the locker room to be cleared will be able to take a tour of the stadium after the scrimmage.
Go Gophers!!
By Marcus Fuller
The Gophers might have lost a dynamic athlete in the secondary with free safety Tramaine Brock failing to qualify academically to play for the team this fall, but members of the defense like who they have to replace him.
Senior linebacker Lee Campbell has complete confidence in Wisconsin transfer Kim Royston, a junior walk-on and former Cretin-Derham Hall standout.
"He's been doing really well this summer. He's working hard," Campbell said of Royston. "I'm excited to see Kim at camp when it gets here. I'm sure he'll get after it."
Campbell said the strength of the defense will obviously be up the middle with senior defensive tackles Garrett Brown and Eric Small. He also thought that it added another physical dimension to have two larger linebackers such as senior Nate Triplett and himself on the field together. Both players are listed at 6 feet 3 and between 240 and 245 pounds.
"I think it's going to be hard for teams to run on us," he said. "But I definitely think our emphasis for two-a-days is going to have to be stopping the pass. We definitely have to improve on that from last year."
That's where Royston's impact could make a big difference.
-- Senior linebacker Simoni Lawrence had two lines shaved into the side of his head Friday, bringing back an old-school hairstyle from the 1990s. He said it made him faster.
How fast? Lawrence joked about running a 40-yard dash under 4.3 seconds, which doesn't seem to be in his reach. He might be one of the fastest players on the team, but Lawrence's best 40 time is just under 4.6 seconds.
When asked about his individual goals for this season, Lawrence shot pretty high by saying he not only wanted to be a first-team All-Big Ten linebacker but also an All-American. He would be the first, because no Gophers linebacker has ever received All-America honors.
-- Coaches have compared redshirt freshman linebacker Keanon Cooper to Lawrence, because they both have tremendous speed and were safeties before coming to Minnesota.
Cooper and former Dallas Skyline High School teammate Spencer Reeves could be competing for immediate playing time at linebacker this season, according coach Tim Brewster on Friday.
Reeves is a bigger and more cerebral linebacker like Campbell. Although the physical comparisons are there, Lawrence said the 6-foot, 206-pound Cooper was his own kind of player.
"Keanon is Keanon; I don't want to put him in my shadow or anything," Lawrence said. "He's coming along pretty fast. He's doing well."
-- The Gophers are expecting 30,000 to 40,000 fans for their Aug. 22 scrimmage open to student and regular season-ticket holders at TCF Bank Stadium. It will be treated as an actual game-day experience with tailgating, parking, police, concessions and the victory walk.
Fans in attendance willing to wait their turn and for the locker room to be cleared will be able to take a tour of the stadium after the scrimmage.
Go Gophers!!
