Neal: Latest version of Gophers' Mohamed Ibrahim should be best one yet

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BleedGopher

BleedGopher

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per Neal:

The subject came up at times in talks with Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck and running backs coach Kenni Burns during the summer. Mohamed Ibrahim is going to get plenty of attention from opposing defenses this season.

"Just talking about what to expect. It's not going to be like last year or like two years ago when nobody knew who I was," said Ibrahim, the reigning Big Ten running back of the year. "People know who I am now. People know I need to take that next big step. They are going to want to stop me this year."

Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman have moved on to the NFL in recent seasons. Ibrahim headlines the offense now. And he's preparing to handle anything defenses throw at him.

Ibrahim gained 1,076 yards in only seven games last season, a school-record average of 153.7 yards a game. Math can be hard, which is why some of us are writers, but this is fun math. Over a 12-game season, that's a whopping 1,844 yards. He has 2,840 yards in 28 career games. But Ibrahim, a graduate student with a degree in business and marketing, is looking for more while helping the Gophers move on from a 3-4 season.

"He's worked his tail off to transform his body even more," offensive coordinator Mike Sanford Jr. said. "Even more stronger. Even more compact. Even more powerful. Even more twitchy. You're seeing a really, really good version of Mo."

www.startribune.com

Latest version of Gophers' Mohamed Ibrahim should be best one yet

The running back piled up 1,076 yards in only seven games last season. Opponents are plotting to stop him, but they'll face a stronger and faster model.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 

Mo has been awesome, if he has found a way to get even better....

Gotta believe he will benefit from even more stability and depth along the offensive line. He has proven to be extremely durable (knock on wood) so assuming he is back there all year he should have another great season. Key will be Morgan exploiting defenses when they load up to stop Mo. If the offense can make teams pay for stacking the box it will just make Mo's job easier and he can go out and do what he does so well.
 

What amazes me about good RBs are their choices.

They see space where I swear it is not... but after they make their move... there they are finding space and the alternate route is now closed.

It's like they can see the future ...
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
What amazes me about good RBs are their choices.

They see space where I swear it is not... but after they make their move... there they are finding space and the alternate route is now closed.

It's like they can see the future ...
Click to expand...
Yup. Some have it and some don't. You could tell almost right away that Mo had "it". Potts appears to have it. Wiley doesn't. Williams doesn't. Supreme athletes can still be very productive in run heavy HS and CFB offenses, but they're rarely special.
 

In Mo we trust! Mo is awesome to watch, he has the want to win mentality that I hope can carry this team to bigger and better wins this season. Everyone will be keying on him this season, I'm hopeful we can design some plays that he finds that crease and just explodes like he did against Nebraska last season. That dude has the will of a champion.
 



We really saw Mo's potential in the Bowl Game against Georgia Tech. The OL was doing its job that carried through into the next year. Mo in the next Bowl in Tampa was a force to be reckoned with.

We hope last year was an abberation and all oars are in the water at a manageable pace...say an average 4 yards per carry. That will win games.

Chili is pretty hot right now. 13 days and counting...
 

BilldGopher said:
We really saw Mo's potential in the Bowl Game against Georgia Tech. The OL was doing its job that carried through into the next year. Mo in the next Bowl in Tampa was a force to be reckoned with.

We hope last year was an abberation and all oars are in the water at a manageable pace...say an average 4 yards per carry. That will win games.

Chili is pretty hot right now. 13 days and counting...
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You lost me a little with your second paragraph. Mo averaged 5.4 yards per carry last year and the run game was just fine.

Unless you were going for holding other team to 4 yards a carry. which would be a nice improvement from last year.
 

He won't flirt with 2,000 yards but it would be fun if he did.
 




Let's keep him healthy. Give a little more rest by giving more playing time to the RBs who are heir-apparent.
 
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MNVCGUY said:
You lost me a little with your second paragraph. Mo averaged 5.4 yards per carry last year and the run game was just fine.

Unless you were going for holding other team to 4 yards a carry. which would be a nice improvement from last year.
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Good point. I think I was channeling the recent hype that everyone knows what Mo and our OL can do and will do all they can to slow him down. In this case dropping the average from last year by a yard or two.

Probably bigger was just what seemed to be a regression last year from 2019. There are hundreds of threads on that...

Regardless, we have the personel and schemes to make 3rd and short the most common phrase...second to "That's another Golden Gophers first down"...for the season.

BTW, really enjoy your comments and insights. Have no idea what MNVC stands for but to me it's "must see TV" on GH.
 

BilldGopher said:
Good point. I think I was channeling the recent hype that everyone knows what Mo and our OL can do and will do all they can to slow him down. In this case dropping the average from last year by a yard or two.

Probably bigger was just what seemed to be a regression last year from 2019. There are hundreds of threads on that...

Regardless, we have the personel and schemes to make 3rd and short the most common phrase...second to "That's another Golden Gophers first down"...for the season.

BTW, really enjoy your comments and insights. Have no idea what MNVC stands for but to me it's "must see TV" on GH.
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Thanks for the kind words. The VC is a reference to my days working on the Gopher football video staff back during the Wacker, Mason and Brewster years.
 



BilldGopher said:
Good point. I think I was channeling the recent hype that everyone knows what Mo and our OL can do and will do all they can to slow him down. In this case dropping the average from last year by a yard or two.

Probably bigger was just what seemed to be a regression last year from 2019. There are hundreds of threads on that...

Regardless, we have the personel and schemes to make 3rd and short the most common phrase...second to "That's another Golden Gophers first down"...for the season.

BTW, really enjoy your comments and insights. Have no idea what MNVC stands for but to me it's "must see TV" on GH.
Click to expand...
If Mo averages 4 yards per carry the gophers are going to be terrible.
 

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