More offseason competition than ever bolsters Gophers' depth

[BleedGopher]

Per Nolan:

There’s a common refrain in sports that you can never have enough depth. Perhaps there can always be more, but the Gophers football team is feeling pretty good about the pieces it has leading into its season opener against North Carolina on Aug. 29 at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

“We have more competition this year in 2024 than we’ve had since I’ve been the head coach here at Minnesota,” coach P.J. Fleck said at a media availability on Monday. “And that’s a credit to our staff, our recruiting, our players, the way they’ve kind of taken on this whole year.”

More offseason competition than ever bolsters Gophers' depth

'We have more competition this year in 2024 than we've had since I've been the head coach here at Minnesota,' P.J. Fleck said.

www.si.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[99Gopher]

Speaking of depth, I just recently became aware of this site and it will be interesting to see how good their intel is on the depth chart.

2024 Minnesota Golden Gophers Football Depth Chart | Ourlads.com

The most respected source for NFL Draft info among NFL Fans, Media, and Scouts, plus accurate, up to date NFL Depth Charts, Practice Squads and Rosters.

www.ourlads.com

 

[GopherMarroon]

Speaking of depth, I just recently became aware of this site and it will be interesting to see how good their intel is on the depth chart.

2024 Minnesota Golden Gophers Football Depth Chart | Ourlads.com

The most respected source for NFL Draft info among NFL Fans, Media, and Scouts, plus accurate, up to date NFL Depth Charts, Practice Squads and Rosters.

www.ourlads.com

View attachment 32995

It wasn't very good for NFL depth charts when I followed it for that. It's a draft website so maybe they are better at college talent.


College football is a lot of information for one person to grasp to this level for many teams.

Like you said, will be interesting to find out... it looks good.

 

[99Gopher]

It wasn't very good for NFL depth charts when I followed it for that. It's a draft website so maybe they are better at college talent.


College football is a lot of information for one person to grasp to this level for many teams.

Like you said, will be interesting to find out... it looks good.

There may be a few names flipped around here and there, but it does give you a feel for the entire team by position.

 

[Gopher_Devil]

Speaking of depth, I just recently became aware of this site and it will be interesting to see how good their intel is on the depth chart.

2024 Minnesota Golden Gophers Football Depth Chart | Ourlads.com

The most respected source for NFL Draft info among NFL Fans, Media, and Scouts, plus accurate, up to date NFL Depth Charts, Practice Squads and Rosters.

www.ourlads.com

View attachment 32995

They are my go to source for depth charts and match ups. I don’t think they have any serious back channel info for most teams though but they make a consistent and up to date product.

This is a good looking roster btw.

 

[GopherEnEspaña]

PJ has said he hasn't had a competitive fall camp like this during his 8 years here. We'll see how that turns out

 

[GophersInIowa]

I assumed Lewis would be the starter at RT but this shows Daniels ahead of him.

 

[TwistingMyMelon]

Speaking of depth, I just recently became aware of this site and it will be interesting to see how good their intel is on the depth chart.

2024 Minnesota Golden Gophers Football Depth Chart | Ourlads.com

The most respected source for NFL Draft info among NFL Fans, Media, and Scouts, plus accurate, up to date NFL Depth Charts, Practice Squads and Rosters.

www.ourlads.com

View attachment 32995

The footnotes at the bottom of the page say that the information to compile this chart predominately came from two Ryan Burns articles published on 247 in May.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

just scanning through the depth chart, I see a lot of FR, RS FR and SO listed on the 2nd team or 3rd team.

it may be depth, but at a lot of positions, it's not experienced depth. that's what hurt the defense last year. when a starter went out, they were playing backups with little or no experience, and there were a lot of breakdowns. maybe some tweaks in scheme will help - but one way or another, the coaches have to find a way to get the backups prepared so that if they do have to play, it's not a Chinese Fire Drill like it was at times last year at LB and in the secondary. I don't know if it was mental, physical, or schematic, but they had people on the field last year who just flat-out were not ready to play at that level.

 

[99Gopher]

just scanning through the depth chart, I see a lot of FR, RS FR and SO listed on the 2nd team or 3rd team.

it may be depth, but at a lot of positions, it's not experienced depth. that's what hurt the defense last year. when a starter went out, they were playing backups with little or no experience, and there were a lot of breakdowns. maybe some tweaks in scheme will help - but one way or another, the coaches have to find a way to get the backups prepared so that if they do have to play, it's not a Chinese Fire Drill like it was at times last year at LB and in the secondary. I don't know if it was mental, physical, or schematic, but they had people on the field last year who just flat-out were not ready to play at that level.

Your thoughts align with comments I have heard from Ryan Burns in that Rossi's scheme had basically taken on complexity over the years and takes experienced guys to run it effectively. So when you throw young players in there they end up thinking too much and hesitating. As a result, guys like Baranowski found themselves slightly out of position last year and they ended up reaching for tackles. It's hard to make a living trying to make arm tackles on B1G running backs. So, it sounds like Hetherman was simplifying things as he wanted the guys moving and thinking fast. Cody basically said that at Media Days regarding Hetherman's scheme.

 

[Dakota2]

The footnotes at the bottom of the page say that the information to compile this chart predominately came from two Ryan Burns articles published on 247 in May.

We are a bit thin at long snapper.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Your thoughts align with comments I have heard from Ryan Burns in that Rossi's scheme had basically taken on complexity over the years and takes experienced guys to run it effectively. So when you throw young players in there they end up thinking too much and hesitating. As a result, guys like Baranowski found themselves slightly out of position last year and they ended up reaching for tackles. It's hard to make a living trying to make arm tackles on B1G running backs. So, it sounds like Hetherman was simplifying things as he wanted the guys moving and thinking fast. Cody basically said that at Media Days regarding Hetherman's scheme.

I think this was the approach Rossi initially took after replacing Robb Smith. Simplified things so the players could just play and react instead of having to think too much.

 

[Scott R Fisher]

I assumed Lewis would be the starter at RT but this shows Daniels ahead of him.

If a RS Freshman is starting over an experienced upper classman, the future is bright

 

[GophersInIowa]

If a RS Freshman is starting over an experienced upper classman, the future is bright

Absolutely. It's hardly an official depth chart but just found it interesting.

 

[Stuff]

Speaking of depth, I just recently became aware of this site and it will be interesting to see how good their intel is on the depth chart.

2024 Minnesota Golden Gophers Football Depth Chart | Ourlads.com

The most respected source for NFL Draft info among NFL Fans, Media, and Scouts, plus accurate, up to date NFL Depth Charts, Practice Squads and Rosters.

www.ourlads.com

View attachment 32995

I'm surprised to see Darius Green not listed as a starter and Gousby & Bryson starting at the safety positions.

 

[jonnyganas]

I'm surprised to see Darius Green not listed as a starter and Gousby & Bryson starting at the safety positions.

He just got back from injury days ago. He's missed most of off-season. I bet he's starting by the Iowa game.

 

[MNVCGUY]

just scanning through the depth chart, I see a lot of FR, RS FR and SO listed on the 2nd team or 3rd team.

it may be depth, but at a lot of positions, it's not experienced depth. that's what hurt the defense last year. when a starter went out, they were playing backups with little or no experience, and there were a lot of breakdowns. maybe some tweaks in scheme will help - but one way or another, the coaches have to find a way to get the backups prepared so that if they do have to play, it's not a Chinese Fire Drill like it was at times last year at LB and in the secondary. I don't know if it was mental, physical, or schematic, but they had people on the field last year who just flat-out were not ready to play at that level.

Inexperienced depth is a major byproduct of the transfer portal era. I would bet you would see a very similar pattern across most teams as the guys who would have provided experienced depth jump ship at a much higher rate these days.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

If a RS Freshman is starting over an experienced upper classman, the future is bright

that's one way to look at it. hopefully, the RS FR is starting because he is really freakin' good.
as opposed to starting because the other guys at that position are not as good. it cuts both ways.

it seems clear that the coaches want Carroll playing Guard, so we can infer that they think Carroll is a better Guard than Lewis. and instead of sliding Lewis to tackle, they would apparently rather start a RS FR. that is not a ringing endorsement of Lewis.

 

[MNVCGUY]

that's one way to look at it. hopefully, the RS FR is starting because he is really freakin' good.
as opposed to starting because the other guys at that position are not as good. it cuts both ways.

it seems clear that the coaches want Carroll playing Guard, so we can infer that they think Carroll is a better Guard than Lewis. and instead of sliding Lewis to tackle, they would apparently rather start a RS FR. that is not a ringing endorsement of Lewis.

All this of course assumes that Our Lads is correct in how they have it listed. Given that Fleck does not release an official depth chart they are just making educated guesses as to how the depth chart is going to look leading up to the first game.

 

[jonnyganas]

He just got back from injury days ago. He's missed most of off-season. I bet he's starting by the Iowa game.

I think in one of the video clips from camp, I saw #12 lay the boom on a poor WR or RB.

 

[99Gopher]

All this of course assumes that Our Lads is correct in how they have it listed. Given that Fleck does not release an official depth chart they are just making educated guesses as to how the depth chart is going to look leading up to the first game.

Actually, there is no confusion/questions about the move to guard for Carroll. You can forward to 18:05 in the video to hear his comments.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Actually, there is no confusion/questions about the move to guard for Carroll. You can forward to 18:05 in the video to hear his comments.

Thanks for sharing the video. My comment was less about Carroll and more about the depth chart as a whole. There are definitely spots on the depth chart that are locked in but on others they are just making an educated guess based on whatever limited info is out there.

 

[Five Toes]

If having players speak and interview well gets you a spot in the Football Playoffs we are a shoe in. I realize they are no longer kids but, they get what PJ is trying to instill in the program.

 

[99Gopher]

Thanks for sharing the video. My comment was less about Carroll and more about the depth chart as a whole. There are definitely spots on the depth chart that are locked in but on others they are just making an educated guess based on whatever limited info is out there.

Agreed, I hear you. I didn't notice it myself, but I guess if you look closely at the site there's an asterisk that cites a lot of the content comes from articles from Ryan Burns. I assume that these articles are behind the paywall for Gopher Illustrated so many haven't seen them. Just like everything now you have to pay that $$$.

 

[Gopher_Devil]

All this of course assumes that Our Lads is correct in how they have it listed. Given that Fleck does not release an official depth chart they are just making educated guesses as to how the depth chart is going to look leading up to the first game.

When that depth chart comes out I’m expecting to be filled with “OR”s, maybe even “OAR”s if you will.

Setting the O/U for “OR”s at 7.5