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MNVCGUY

MNVCGUY

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Someone else started one on the D so I will try and start one on the O.

QB - This will be a huge off season for Gray. He goes into it as the clear cut #1 guy. He will have time to digest all of Limegrover's playbook and hopefully develop some chemistry with his receivers through off-season workouts and spring ball. He needs to take the next step in development and become a more consistent passing threat. If he can it will only make him more dangerous as a runner. Shortell should be the #2 next year however it might be interesting to see how he handles Nelson coming on board. If he feels like he is going to get passed over by Nelson he may explore his options at another school.

RB - No clear cut number one guy here. Kirkwood has shown flashes of being decent, coaches seemed to like Cobb. There are a couple of 3 star recruits coming in and one of them is a JC guy who hopefully is ready to compete right away. It would really help Gray to have a threat next to him in the backfield so that defenses can't just key on him in the running game.

WR - Not sure what to expect here. Someone has to step up and lead this group whether it is DCT or Green or someone else. Jones is an x-factor if he can develop into a consistent receiver though it won't shock me to see him end up back at DB at some point. McKnight was clearly Gray's favorite target so someone else needs to become that guy. DCT has great speed but it takes more then that to be a great WR. Green has shown flashes of ability but has never lived up the the expectations that followed him in as a 4 star recruit back in 2008. Maybe he can finally take that next step next season. A committee approach is fine but you need that guy you can look to on that key 3rd down that you know will make the play if you go his way.

TE - No clear cut guys here and not really sure how big a factor the TE is in the offense that Limegrover runs. Rabe caught two TD's but that is about the only time I noticed him all year.

OL - For the first time in a long time we might actually be ok at O-Line. We have a clearly defined offense and lots of bodies to work with. The trick in the off-season will be finding the best 5 for next year and getting them a chance to work together in the spring to develop chemistry. With all the injuries we had on the line this year a lot of young guys got some valuable experience so I really feel like this has the chance to be a position of strength next year.

Overall I can see the potential for this offense but it has to get better in the passing game if we want to be competitive against the top teams in the conference. Gray also needs to find away to avoid some of the big hits he takes so that he can not get so banged up. He is going to take a lot of hits as a runner but he can get out of bounds or slide to avoid some of the punishment.
 


and there is NO WAY that jones is moved to db... he was one of the few play makers to start the season
 

agree with most of your post

QB- Gray should be fun to watch next year, I saw alot of improvement from him this year and hopefully that carries over through the off season camps and workouts.
RB- I think Kirkwood takes over out of camp next year, i've always liked his running style and hopefully the Juco RB can add some speed and shiftiness to the position.
WR- just catch the damn ball! to be fair to Gray there were at least 3 drops in yesterdays game that would have had kept drives alive. McKnight had 2 of them and he seemed to not really give a crap anymore, Moulton had the other obvious drop which was a theme for him in the second half of the season. Green although not putting up big numbers seemed to catch what was thrown his way and I think he has to become a big contributor next year along with the Juco WR and the transfer WR.
TE- Could be wrong but isn't lair a SR. either way we have a few experienced TE's coming back and should be fine there.
OL- agree with your take, redshirt the freshman.
 

The key for the offense, is a healthy, quicker more powerful offensive line. The season ended with some pretty good talent on the bench. Tommy Olson, Josh Campion, and Jimmy Gjere. The first order of business is....... find your starting center. Is it Epping, or my choice Olson. This player must be a solid snapper, quick and strong at the point of attack. Must stop inside pass rush. We have candidates, but that is the starting point. Ed Olson Jr. at one tackle and now you can fill in the other peices. If the offensive line is set early, gets reps in winter conditioning, and goes into the spring intact all the better. If you don't have an offensive line you have problems. Coach Limegrover did a heck of a job, patching players into the line under the most trying conditions. The players played as well as anyone could expect. Caleb Bak, who had him on your two deep? More than anything else Limegrovers experience kept this from being an absolute train wreck. Now with depth and some big time talent coming in, 300 days till next year, I have faith in Matt Limegrover getting the job done.
 


Zach Mottla will probably get the first shot at being the center.

I don't think anyone is guaranteed a starting spot. Both the Olson brothers were benched the last few games in favor of Marek and Caleb Bak (Ed continued to rotate).
 

Gopherprof said:
Zach Mottla will probably get the first shot at being the center.

I don't think anyone is guaranteed a starting spot. Both the Olson brothers were benched the last few games in favor of Marek and Caleb Bak (Ed continued to rotate).
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Didn't start due to injury...not "benched". Big difference.
 

The last two games, Ed was healthy (not sure about Tommy) and was on the bench. Maybe there were still lingering health issues, but Ed was able to play, and he wasn't starting.

But you're right, the initial reason was due to injury. Not sure if that was the sustained reason. Should have been more specific.
 

Eddie is still fighting a quad injury, and not healthy enough to take the starting spot. He can fill in for short periods.
 



I was at the game the Olson brothers both started you can pencil them in for next year as starters. The other three positions should be very competitive. Foster Bush will be in the mix from what Coach Kill says so it'll be interesting in the spring.
 

I think the O-line will be GOOD next year, but being great or even an area of strength might be a stretch. There won't be a Senior in the bunch and the only Juniors will be Ed O and Mottla (I think?). It's great that so many underclassmen got meaningful minutes this year. I said in an earlier thread that there should be a raffle/pool to who can guess what the exact starting O-Line will be next year; at this point, there could be more than a dozen possible combinations.

My only regret with the O-Line this year is that Gjere's injury cost him a chance to gain some VALUABLE experience in conference play. Hopefully it doesn't cost him too much.

I may be in the minority but I'm not that worried about the WR position. I think it will sort itself out by fall camp. There are enough candidates, decent combination of returning experience (Green) and youthful potential. All it will take is for 2, maybe 3 guys to step up their games. A little confidence for guys like Jones, DCT, and/or Moulton could go a long ways.

Second year with the offense, after the second full offseason with the staff will go a long ways.
 

The offensive line will be extremely interesting....

Tommy Olson was our best OL before he got injured and I expect him to be one of the few FOR SURE starters next season.

There is going to be a ton of competition for those starting spots, and this is the best i've felt about our OL since the Mason years, (and we are STILL really young). I don't think we'll have a SR or a 4th year JR in the rotation.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I think the O-line will be GOOD next year, but being great or even an area of strength might be a stretch. There won't be a Senior in the bunch and the only Juniors will be Ed O and Mottla (I think?). It's great that so many underclassmen got meaningful minutes this year. I said in an earlier thread that there should be a raffle/pool to who can guess what the exact starting O-Line will be next year; at this point, there could be more than a dozen possible combinations.

My only regret with the O-Line this year is that Gjere's injury cost him a chance to gain some VALUABLE experience in conference play. Hopefully it doesn't cost him too much.

I may be in the minority but I'm not that worried about the WR position. I think it will sort itself out by fall camp. There are enough candidates, decent combination of returning experience (Green) and youthful potential. All it will take is for 2, maybe 3 guys to step up their games. A little confidence for guys like Jones, DCT, and/or Moulton could go a long ways.

Second year with the offense, after the second full offseason with the staff will go a long ways.
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I agree with this. My biggest concern on offense next year by far is at RB. We need someone to step up. I think that would take a lot of pressure off of Gray in the running game.
 



My biggest concern is Gray's accuracy. That's not to say it's the worst part of the offense, but it's certainly the most important.
 

Good Point. Gray is much improved and will be much better next year with off season and spring ball to work on his accuracy. When he gets this down watch out with the threat of run or pass. Bring the safeties up and let it fly. His best days are ahead. Exciting to see him progress. The O line will help so much more next year.
 

Gopherprof said:
My biggest concern is Gray's accuracy. That's not to say it's the worst part of the offense, but it's certainly the most important.
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No doubt.

Did anybody else think that on many occasions over the second half of the season (when Gray played his best), that the receivers bailed him out on numerous occasions by reeling in difficult catches on poorly thrown balls but then dropped as many or more of the most catchable balls? Wow. There were some great catches on some really bad throws but there were almost more DROPS on easily catchable balls.

I can't believe Q almost missed Rabe on that TD in the Illinois game. He could have thrown it underhand more accurately. I think he could have run it in but I'm glad he chose to throw it. Another good example of his continued commitment to being a passer and not a runner.

Might be a kneejerk reaction but seeing McKnight drop a few in his last game, along with some of his moments where he seemed completely disintereted, makes me think they won't miss him all that much after all. There are a host of guys who COULD step up next year; all it takes is for one or two guys to do just that.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
No doubt.

Did anybody else think that on many occasions over the second half of the season (when Gray played his best), that the receivers bailed him out on numerous occasions by reeling in difficult catches on poorly thrown balls but then dropped as many or more of the most catchable balls? Wow. There were some great catches on some really bad throws but there were almost more DROPS on easily catchable balls.

I can't believe Q almost missed Rabe on that TD in the Illinois game. He could have thrown it underhand more accurately. I think he could have run it in but I'm glad he chose to throw it. Another good example of his continued commitment to being a passer and not a runner.

Might be a kneejerk reaction but seeing McKnight drop a few in his last game, along with some of his moments where he seemed completely disintereted, makes me think they won't miss him all that much after all. There are a host of guys who COULD step up next year; all it takes is for one or two guys to do just that.
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Ogee-

I watched every minute of every game and I remember FAR more drops than difficult catches. Beyond the McKnight catch against NMSU, I really do not remember any difficult catches. I do remember SEVERAL key drops for all sorts of receivers this year and for me I disagree with the posters above and think WR is a much greater concern next year than RB. You can find RB's much easier.
 

Concerning Gray's accuracy...

Gopherprof said:
My biggest concern is Gray's accuracy. That's not to say it's the worst part of the offense, but it's certainly the most important.
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I think a big part of it is the amount of running he's doing. Kind of like a singer who dances a lot while on stage. With continued reps and conditioning, I think he'll get much better at this. The reason I am thinking this is it reminds me a bit of Weber. Some of Webers passes were fantastic. Some after great runs were a little off. I saw a little of this in Gray yesterday.

IMO His decision making has been very, very good. I think we have yet to see the best of Gray.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
No doubt.

Did anybody else think that on many occasions over the second half of the season (when Gray played his best), that the receivers bailed him out on numerous occasions by reeling in difficult catches on poorly thrown balls but then dropped as many or more of the most catchable balls? Wow. There were some great catches on some really bad throws but there were almost more DROPS on easily catchable balls.

I can't believe Q almost missed Rabe on that TD in the Illinois game. He could have thrown it underhand more accurately. I think he could have run it in but I'm glad he chose to throw it. Another good example of his continued commitment to being a passer and not a runner.

Might be a kneejerk reaction but seeing McKnight drop a few in his last game, along with some of his moments where he seemed completely disintereted, makes me think they won't miss him all that much after all. There are a host of guys who COULD step up next year; all it takes is for one or two guys to do just that.
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When McKnight missed those passes, I could not help but think his draft status dropped, possibly to UDFA. Though they would have been pretty good catches, at the same time his not catching them basically put him as average or less.

As for Gray, though obviously he is the man, at the same time I hope others step up as well and that everything does not depend solely on him. If he gets hurt, the offense takes the chance of tanking.

Gotta agree on the WRs...hard to read right now. To many drops on catchable throws. At this time, they really need another Decker... or two WRs who are reliable.

OL should be good, though the patchwork done this year due to injuries may cause them to take a few games to gel next year.
 

Hopefully the coaches will be able to identify a starting 5 on the o-line as soon as possible. The sooner they can get that unit together the sooner they can learn how to play together and gel as a unit. I know that will be a huge priority for Limegrover this offseason as he looks at who he has and evaluates what they can do.
 

olson-olson-hayes-marek-bush.... my pronostication for the starting ol
 

No offense, but I think there is very little chance that Hayes doesn't RS. He's good, but we have some depth now, and when you have depth, you have the luxory of RSing these players.

My guess:
LT: Olson / Bush
LG: Olson / Bak
C: Epping / Mottla
RG: Gjere / Bjorklund
RT: Lenkiawicz / Ferguson

I've heard Christenson has looked good (from some article on here), and I haven't heard anything about the McAvoys, so I didn't know what to make of them. I also think that one of the (Gjere, Lenkiawicz, Bush) will move inside to guard.
 

I will be comfortable with any combination on the OL that doesn't start a true freshman. That would say that we do not have the depth we think. We need to redshirt Hayes and Pirsig.
 

I have faith in Limegrover to identify the 5 he needs to run his offense successfully. That is the one advantage he has going in that he has a clearly defined system and he knows what attributes he needs in a lineman to be effective. I see Limegrover being similar to the Browning/Shaw combo under Mason where they had the full support of the head coach and they knew exactly what they were looking for. Those years under Mason we never had highly ranked guys on the line but it was always a strength for the offense.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
I will be comfortable with any combination on the OL that doesn't start a true freshman. That would say that we do not have the depth we think. We need to redshirt Hayes and Pirsig.
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i do agree we should redshirt thoes 2, its just my opinion tht hayes will win the starting center position
 

Stan The Caddy said:
Ogee-

I watched every minute of every game and I remember FAR more drops than difficult catches. Beyond the McKnight catch against NMSU, I really do not remember any difficult catches. I do remember SEVERAL key drops for all sorts of receivers this year and for me I disagree with the posters above and think WR is a much greater concern next year than RB. You can find RB's much easier.
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I've refrained from commenting on this after a few previous posts but your man-love for the current starting QB is borderline creepy.

I have a hard time saying WR is one of the main concerns for next year when Gray averaged 17 pass attempts per game in BT play (excluding the MSU game which saw an inordinate 32 attempts). In the last three games, when the Gophers arguably played their best football, Gray himself averaged 24 carries and just 16 pass attempts.

I'm just saying that between how often Limegrover THROWS the ball with Gray at QB and how many WR's the Gophers have on the roster that could potentially step up, I'm just not as concerned about that position next year. Among Green, Moulton, DCT, Jones, Harris, and the newcomers, I'd be shocked if one or two doesn't separate themselves as a more than servicable WR.

If Gray goes down at some point and the Gophers have to go with a QB that is more of a throwing threat (which at this point would be anybody), WR will definitely be more of an area of concern.
 

Moulton had the demons like Oreseske. You would think Gray was throwing him a live grenade and yet, he was back receiving the KO. Go figure
 

Are any of our O-linemen candidates for a switch to the dark side? We seem to be in line to have serious depth at the position, not so sure about the D-line yet
 

when the wr core is as young and as inexperianced in the b10 as ours were i think they feel like they are going to get popped. DCT, Moulton, Jones, and Harris need to start playing with reckless abandonment... they need to sit down and watch some of this guys highlights and how he played the game, its the b10... the pinnacle of college football in my opinion.. worry about catching the ball and only catching the ball


i dont know how to attach youtube videos but here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtTh_FNIkP8&feature=player_detailpage
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I've refrained from commenting on this after a few previous posts but your man-love for the current starting QB is borderline creepy.

I have a hard time saying WR is one of the main concerns for next year when Gray averaged 17 pass attempts per game in BT play (excluding the MSU game which saw an inordinate 32 attempts). In the last three games, when the Gophers arguably played their best football, Gray himself averaged 24 carries and just 16 pass attempts.

I'm just saying that between how often Limegrover THROWS the ball with Gray at QB and how many WR's the Gophers have on the roster that could potentially step up, I'm just not as concerned about that position next year. Among Green, Moulton, DCT, Jones, Harris, and the newcomers, I'd be shocked if one or two doesn't separate themselves as a more than servicable WR.

If Gray goes down at some point and the Gophers have to go with a QB that is more of a throwing threat (which at this point would be anybody), WR will definitely be more of an area of concern.
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I like Gray a lot and was one of his strongest supporters this season when some were calling for a switch to Shortell, but it's pretty obvious that he is not the ideal QB for the system Kill and Limegrover had at their previous stops. Gray needs to improve his accuracy and his ball skills and he can do that with a strong off-season. He has the arm strength and his delivery is okay, but I wouldn't say he throws the most catchable ball I've seen.

Bottom line is he's a stud and Limegrover is a smart enough guy to be able to dream up a few wrinkles over the off-season that will increase Gray's on-field production even more, especially if Marquise can hit more receivers in their comfort zones.
 

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