This is the statement that makes the most sense. Unfortunately, the 2nd half of our schedule is just brutal.
Here are the likely candidates to see playing time on defense:
DE:
DL Wilhite - 11 total games played, 0 starts, 4 total tackles, 3 sacks
Anthony Jacobs - 23 total games played, 4 starts, 26 tackles, 2.5 sacks
Rashede Hageman - Never played
KGM - Never played
Matt Garin - Never played
TOTALS: 34 games played, 4 starts, 30 tackles, 5.5 sacks
DT:
Brandon Kirksey - 22 games played, 0 starts, 24 tackles, 1 FF
Jewhan Edwards - 24 games played, 1 start, 16 tackles, 1 FR
Eric Jacques - Never played
Harold Legania - Never played
TOTALS: 46 games played, 1 start, 40 tackles, 1 FF, 1 FR
Summary for DL experience: 4 projected starters have combined for 5 career starts. Every projected backup has never played
LB:
Keanon Cooper - 13 games, 0 starts, 43 tackles, 1 sack, 1 PD, 1 FF
Gary Tinsley - 13 games, 0 starts, 21 tackles, 1 sack
Spencer Reeves - 9 games, 0 starts, 1 tackle (most minutes were on special teams)
Sam Maresh - Never played
Brent Singleton - Never played
Mike Rallis - Never played LB in college (safety stats: 16 games, 26 tackles)
Aaron Hill - Never played
Ryan Grant - 11 games, but all at special teams
Totals: 35 games, 0 starts, 65 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 PD, 1 FF
Summary for LB experience: 3 projected starters have never started a game while Reeves has seen little time at the position. Every projected backup as played little or none at LB. Rallis is the only one with experience playing a position on defense and it was at safety
CB:
Michael Carter - 12 games, 2 starts, 11 tackles, 1 sack, 2 PD, 1 FF
Ryan Collado - 37 games, 20 starts, 107 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT, 6 PD, 1 FF
Christyn Lewis - Never played (JUCO)
Kerry Lewis - Never played
Dwight Tillman - Never played (JUCO)
Johnny Johnson - played only special teams
Totals: 49 games, 22 starts, 118 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 INT, 8 PD, 2 FF
Safety:
Kyle Theret - 38 games, roughly 32 starts (don't have exact number), 192 tackles, 9 INTs, 20 PDs
Kim Royston - (only listing Gopher stats) - 13 games, 13 starts, 86 tackles, 1 sack, 1 INT, 7 PDs, 1 FF
Hershell Thornton - Never played (JUCO)
Kenny Watkins - Never played
*** include Rallis here if you like but I've heard that he's probably moving to LB.
Totals: 51 games, 45 starts, 278 tackles, 1 sack, 10 INT, 27 PD, 1 FF
Summary of DB experience: 3 of the 4 projected starters have combined for 67 starts (more if you include Royston's couple of starts at Wisconsin). Every projected backup has never played.
Summary of the experience on defense: For the projected starters, almost all of the experience is in the defensive backfield. Of the front 7, they have combined to make 5 total starts.
The biggest thing: Every projected backup has NEVER PLAYED their position.
From an on outside observer, it's hard to take a leap of faith and not predict some major hurdles to overcome when projecting the 2010 Minnesota Gophers. The figures above basically state that the starting front 7 has little experience while every backup has never played their position.
I fully expect almost every preview article or mag to predict dire results for the Gophers. Thankfully the game isn't won on paper but don't act shocked by these types of predictions. The offense was pathetic last year and we now lose our top playmaker and our defense is about as green as it gets.
