BleedGopher
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Who is to blame for the problems in the Gophers secondary?
By Marcus Fuller
Gophers coach Tim Brewster and his staff appeared to have recruited better defensive talent since he was hired in 2007.
Minnesota had the worst defense in the nation three years ago. But it's tough to tell right now how much the unit has improved since then, especially after Saturday's 41-38 loss at home to South Dakota.
Brewster blames the issues on youth, inexperience and missing a couple of veterans (senor safeties Kyle Theret and Kim Royston). But what about blaming his recruiting, mainly in the secondary?
How good are the top guys that he brought in, really? Maybe it's too soon to judge them too harshly, but Brewster is throwing them into the fire. And he's demanding they step up, so I think it's fair to make some judgment on their talent.
First off, Brewster seems pretty disappointed in sophomore cornerback Michael Carter, who was a four-star recruit from Pompano Beach, Fla. Carter had an interception Saturday but was often beat deep and isn't the best tackler.
Brewster, who talked in fall camp about Carter needing to be more consistent, said his best defensive recruit to date still had "a lot of room to grow."
OK. I understand Carter isn't ready to be a shutdown corner like last year's senior, Marcus Sherels. But I didn't expect him to be a big liability in coverage either.
Another player I have a hard time ignoring is freshman safety James Manuel from Indianapolis. Sure, the kid is great at taking notes and trying to be a student of the game. Sure, he's a freak athlete. But why would Brewster hype him so much in camp when he knew it would be really tough for him to live up to it? (Nobody has lived up to Brewster's high praise, i.e. Harold Howell, David Pittman, Hayo Carpenter, Ra'Shede Hageman so far.)
Manuel, who had five tackles Saturday, is a hard hitter. He'll be a solid Big Ten player in a year or two, but he probably shouldn't be starting yet. Neither should junior college transfer Christyn Lewis, especially at the other safety spot. Lewis should be a cornerback.
"Certainly we miss our veteran leadership and their veteran experience," Brewster said about Royston and Theret being on the sideline. "But again, there are no excuses. James Manuel has to play better and Christyn Lewis has to play better, and I have to coach them better to help them more."
Brewster really lacks depth at safety, and it's not just because of Theret's suspension and Royston's leg injury. This was a problem a long time coming.
Lackawanna junior college standout Herschel Thornton, who was a possible starter, wasn't able to get admitted into school this fall. But Brewster also lost safety prospects from the 2007, 2008 and 2009 recruiting classes mostly when they left the program. Of course, Brewster couldn't get his son, Nolan, to pick Minnesota over Texas in 2008. But the list of safety departures includes, Texas Southern's Curtis Thomas and South Dakota's Shane Potter (both from 2007 class), Jackson State's Tim Dandridge (2008) and Kerry Lewis (2009). Dandridge was dismissed for violating unspecified team rules last year.
The Gophers also switched many of their safety recruits to linebackers, including Mike Rallis, Keanon Cooper and Brent Singleton. Rallis and Cooper are starting linebackers, so they obviously made the right choice there. But the secondary is still suffering badly partly because of it.
Maybe Theret and Royston can jump in and help settle things a bit eventually this year, but I really don't see that happening against Southern Cal. And I know I'm not in the minority there.
-- It would also relieve a lot of pressure from the secondary if the Gophers had some kind of pass rush. They weren't very good at sacking the quarterback last year (second to last in the Big Ten), and they might be worse this year (one sack in two games).
As much as I loved seeing 340-pound tackle Jewhan Edwards get a sack Saturday, it really was sad that he was the only one to get to South Dakota quarterback Dante Warren, who looked like a mini-Daunte Culpepper circa Central Florida mid- to late 1990s. Warren was a backup quarterback/special-teams holder last year though.
Sophomore D.L. Wilhite and redshirt freshmen Matt Garin, Kendall Gregory-McGhee and Hageman have potential. But you know what they say about potential. Too much on a team, or a defense in Minnesota's case, could get a coach fired.
http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/2010/09/who-is-to-blame-for-the-proble.html
Go Gophers!!
By Marcus Fuller
Gophers coach Tim Brewster and his staff appeared to have recruited better defensive talent since he was hired in 2007.
Minnesota had the worst defense in the nation three years ago. But it's tough to tell right now how much the unit has improved since then, especially after Saturday's 41-38 loss at home to South Dakota.
Brewster blames the issues on youth, inexperience and missing a couple of veterans (senor safeties Kyle Theret and Kim Royston). But what about blaming his recruiting, mainly in the secondary?
How good are the top guys that he brought in, really? Maybe it's too soon to judge them too harshly, but Brewster is throwing them into the fire. And he's demanding they step up, so I think it's fair to make some judgment on their talent.
First off, Brewster seems pretty disappointed in sophomore cornerback Michael Carter, who was a four-star recruit from Pompano Beach, Fla. Carter had an interception Saturday but was often beat deep and isn't the best tackler.
Brewster, who talked in fall camp about Carter needing to be more consistent, said his best defensive recruit to date still had "a lot of room to grow."
OK. I understand Carter isn't ready to be a shutdown corner like last year's senior, Marcus Sherels. But I didn't expect him to be a big liability in coverage either.
Another player I have a hard time ignoring is freshman safety James Manuel from Indianapolis. Sure, the kid is great at taking notes and trying to be a student of the game. Sure, he's a freak athlete. But why would Brewster hype him so much in camp when he knew it would be really tough for him to live up to it? (Nobody has lived up to Brewster's high praise, i.e. Harold Howell, David Pittman, Hayo Carpenter, Ra'Shede Hageman so far.)
Manuel, who had five tackles Saturday, is a hard hitter. He'll be a solid Big Ten player in a year or two, but he probably shouldn't be starting yet. Neither should junior college transfer Christyn Lewis, especially at the other safety spot. Lewis should be a cornerback.
"Certainly we miss our veteran leadership and their veteran experience," Brewster said about Royston and Theret being on the sideline. "But again, there are no excuses. James Manuel has to play better and Christyn Lewis has to play better, and I have to coach them better to help them more."
Brewster really lacks depth at safety, and it's not just because of Theret's suspension and Royston's leg injury. This was a problem a long time coming.
Lackawanna junior college standout Herschel Thornton, who was a possible starter, wasn't able to get admitted into school this fall. But Brewster also lost safety prospects from the 2007, 2008 and 2009 recruiting classes mostly when they left the program. Of course, Brewster couldn't get his son, Nolan, to pick Minnesota over Texas in 2008. But the list of safety departures includes, Texas Southern's Curtis Thomas and South Dakota's Shane Potter (both from 2007 class), Jackson State's Tim Dandridge (2008) and Kerry Lewis (2009). Dandridge was dismissed for violating unspecified team rules last year.
The Gophers also switched many of their safety recruits to linebackers, including Mike Rallis, Keanon Cooper and Brent Singleton. Rallis and Cooper are starting linebackers, so they obviously made the right choice there. But the secondary is still suffering badly partly because of it.
Maybe Theret and Royston can jump in and help settle things a bit eventually this year, but I really don't see that happening against Southern Cal. And I know I'm not in the minority there.
-- It would also relieve a lot of pressure from the secondary if the Gophers had some kind of pass rush. They weren't very good at sacking the quarterback last year (second to last in the Big Ten), and they might be worse this year (one sack in two games).
As much as I loved seeing 340-pound tackle Jewhan Edwards get a sack Saturday, it really was sad that he was the only one to get to South Dakota quarterback Dante Warren, who looked like a mini-Daunte Culpepper circa Central Florida mid- to late 1990s. Warren was a backup quarterback/special-teams holder last year though.
Sophomore D.L. Wilhite and redshirt freshmen Matt Garin, Kendall Gregory-McGhee and Hageman have potential. But you know what they say about potential. Too much on a team, or a defense in Minnesota's case, could get a coach fired.
http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers/2010/09/who-is-to-blame-for-the-proble.html
Go Gophers!!
