MN Daily: Gophers look to replace key players on defense

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per the Daily:


Here is what the depth chart could look like come Oct. 24 in the season opener against Michigan.

Defensive Line

After losing key contributors Carter Coughlin, Winston DeLattiboudere and Sam Renner, the Gophers will turn to returning players to step up on the defensive line. Redshirt juniors Esezi Otomewo and Boye Mafe look to be the starting defensive ends after both were second on the depth chart last season. Both played in every game last season, with Otomewo finishing with 22 tackles, five of which were for loss, and Mafe added 14 tackles and three sacks.

At defensive tackle, the Gophers bring back three players who contributed in 2019, two of whom transferred into the program. Senior Keonte Schad started his career at Ellsworth Community College and recorded 21 tackles last season with the Gophers, while graduate transfer Micah Dew-Treadway had 13 tackles throughout the season. Junior Jamaal Teague also should be a factor on the defensive line as he played in all 13 games and had 16 tackles last season.

Linebackers

For the past few seasons, the Gophers have had great continuity at the linebacker position with Kamal Martin and Thomas Barber. Replacing the defensive production from Martin and Barber will be challenging, as the two combined for 451 career tackles in the past four seasons.

Juniors Mariano Sori-Marin and Thomas Rush both saw playing time last season, with Sori-Marin starting seven games and finishing with 42 tackles. Redshirt sophomore Braelen Oliver also should see some more snaps at the position, after recording 22 tackles in 2019.

Defensive Backs

The Gophers lose arguably their most valuable defensive player from 2019 in Antoine Winfield Jr. along with another key contributor in Chris Williamson but return plenty of experienced players to rotate through the defensive backfield.

Redshirt senior Coney Durr will look to continue the individual success he had last season, recording 33 tackles and tying the team lead with 10 pass breakups. Durr also had a 72-yard interception return for a touchdown against Maryland. Graduate student Benjamin St-Juste also had 10 pass breakups and added 45 tackles.

Minnesota also has a trio of juniors in Jordan Howden, Terell Smith and Benny Sapp III, who all saw game action throughout the season. Howden had the biggest impact of the three, recording 57 tackles and breaking up six passes with one interception. Redshirt seniors Calvin Swenson and Phillip Howard also look to play roles on the team.

mndaily.com

Gophers look to replace key players on defense

The Gophers lost a number of key contributors on the defensive end, including star safety Antoine Winfield Jr. and defensive end Carter Coughlin, and will call on returners to fill the void in 2020.
mndaily.com mndaily.com

Go Gophers!!
 


The player turnover on the defensive side from last year is a concern to me. I don't believe there will be a drop off in athleticism, but I fear there may be some rookie mistakes from lack of playing experience.

Anyone know if Braelin Oliver is recovered from his injury?

I thought they would of mentioned Tyler Nubin as well.
 

This article is lazy writing.

Oliver is injured and likely will not play this fall. Expect some combo of Willis and Gordon next to MSM.

Thomas Rush moved to DL, and he’ll likely be backing up Mafe at rush end.

Howden and Nubin are basically locked in as the putative starters at safety.

Nickel is open, but expect Justus Harris to get first crack, with Sol Brown and Jalen Glaze supporting.
 



Mitu said:
This article is lazy writing.

Oliver is injured and likely will not play this fall. Expect some combo of Willis and Gordon next to MSM.

Thomas Rush moved to DL, and he’ll likely be backing up Mafe at rush end.

Howden and Nubin are basically locked in as the putative starters at safety.

Nickel is open, but expect Justus Harris to get first crack, with Sol Brown and Jalen Glaze supporting.
Click to expand...
I really hope that Justus Harris has improved. Nickel is the one position were I think we will get exposed.
 

noamfromm said:
I really hope that Justus Harris has improved. Nickel is the one position were I think we will get exposed.
Click to expand...
Same, makes me nervous. Williamson was a super underrated player for us and his loss will be felt.
 

Stuff said:
The player turnover on the defensive side from last year is a concern to me. I don't believe there will be a drop off in athleticism, but I fear there may be some rookie mistakes from lack of playing experience.

Anyone know if Braelin Oliver is recovered from his injury?

I thought they would of mentioned Tyler Nubin as well.
Click to expand...
Normal course of turnover. Gophs have been able to consistently reload key spots over the past 8 years.
 




Stuff said:
The player turnover on the defensive side from last year is a concern to me. I don't believe there will be a drop off in athleticism, but I fear there may be some rookie mistakes from lack of playing experience.

Anyone know if Braelin Oliver is recovered from his injury?

I thought they would of mentioned Tyler Nubin as well.
Click to expand...

What is Oliver’s injury?
 

Durr was literally the most underrated back in Division I last year and with St. Juste back there as well, i think people are overlooking this unit. Howden can do some good things, i think he had 6(?) PB last year. Nubin has nice length, with a reasonable second year leap he might be talked about a lot this year. Antoine is a big loss, but this is DB U, there are people ready to step up!
 

WhoFellDownTheGopherHole? said:
Durr was literally the most underrated back in Division I last year and with St. Juste back there as well, i think people are overlooking this unit. Howden can do some good things, i think he had 6(?) PB last year. Nubin has nice length, with a reasonable second year leap he might be talked about a lot this year. Antoine is a big loss, but this is DB U, there are people ready to step up!
Click to expand...

Good post - both Durr and St. Juste may be able to get paid to play in the future.
 




WhoFellDownTheGopherHole? said:
Durr was literally the most underrated back in Division I last year and with St. Juste back there as well, i think people are overlooking this unit. Howden can do some good things, i think he had 6(?) PB last year. Nubin has nice length, with a reasonable second year leap he might be talked about a lot this year. Antoine is a big loss, but this is DB U, there are people ready to step up!
Click to expand...
I totally agree that if both Durr and St. Juste stay healthy, our starting CB's are near the top of the B1G. Both are definitely NFL prospects. Howden is also pretty experienced, so yes, this Gophers secondary isn't in horrible shape. Winfield and Williamson were HUGE parts of that unit, however, so there will obviously be a little drop off. I don't think anyone can deny that. It won't be a disaster, but I'd expect more big plays in both the running and passing game directly attributable to the DB's being out of position of "out-athleted."
 

I think Williamson will be the most difficult to replace. He played as a hybrid DB/LB. Sounds silly, but guys like Cal Swenson or Josh Aune might help in that hybrid position, as both have had cover experience and also have some size. Alex Strazzanti, too, shifted from DB to LB. Has cover training and size. I know two of the three are w/o's, but physically they seem to be more in the Williamson mold. Maybe they aren't fast enough for the coverage piece? Whoever starts there, we need some solid depth, in case it isn't working out as planned with guy #1. Sometimes the depth can surprise: JMS.
 

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