PP: Can freshman sensation Koi Perich also play offense?

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DCinOK said:
We are the Minnesota Gophers...take chances, play him all over, play him as much as you can...my gosh, what have we got to lose?
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I suppose he could get injured???
 

Jack jones said:
He has enough on his plate. Being a Freshman just trying to find his way around campus. Doesn’t need more football schemes. Plus who would he replace on offense? Playing more won’t keep him as a Gopher - at least for the first year.
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He finished his plate is demanding more! He's hungry.
 


jonnyganas said:
Any player can get injured at any time. I suppose we shouldn't play football anymore?
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I knew it wouldn't take long for someone to make this sort of reply.

Someone asked "what have you got to lose?" so I threw out the main thing you could lose as a response. One could argue that playing double the minutes would make the chance of injury at least double (possibly more than double if you subscribe to the theory oft-spouted on here that fatigue is what has led to all our running back injuries).

It's the same reason Winfield wasn't used on special teams after his freshman year. It's also probably why players like Hunter at CO are so rare - most coaches agree it's an issue. Ultimately a coach has to decide is it worth the risk to get him injured or fatigued, not to mention the practice time he would lose with the defensive side of the ball. Koi is a great defensive player - another question is would he really be that big of an upgrade as a WR compared to what we have.
 

PMWinSTP said:
I say take him off the kick-offs. Put him on defense and have him return punts and kicks.
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Geez, can you make up your mind? One sentence it's take him off kick offs and the next sentence you want him returning punts and kick offs....

;)
 


Physical conditioning isn’t the main factor in determining if Perich should/could play both ways.

Big difference between playing both ways in HS and College.

Even I played 100% of the snaps in HS!

College defenses are way more complex and you have to understand multiple packages to ensure you don’t have blown coverages. This is also true in HS just going from class A up to the highest level. He wasn’t in the Lake Conference with a college level defense.

That’s just the defensive side.

College offense is the same, blocking packages, audibles, changes at the line are all very dynamic.

Add in that all the players are very high level athletes and the mental game is magnified to create a separation.

Don’t expect a freshman to be able to master all aspects of college football 5 games into their freshman season.

He may be smart and sponge up information at a high rate, but playing a major role on defense and being situationally aware on special teams at the most important position for punt returns is already asking a lot.

He seems to be handling it at an elite level so far.

And he sure is fun to watch.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Not the experience I have witnessed from Fleck. He's ready and the secondary has thinned and needs a spark.
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And you know he is ready how exactly? Because at his position if he makes a mistake it leads to 6 points for the other team.

They are playing him as a true freshman which means they like what they see out of him. They aren't going to hold him back if they feel he is ready to be the starter, that wouldn't make any sense at all.
 


DCinOK said:
We are the Minnesota Gophers...take chances, play him all over, play him as much as you can...my gosh, what have we got to lose?
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If he gets hurt we will hear about it too.

OMG WHY YOU PLAYING HIM LIKE THAT!?!!??
 



A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
If he gets hurt we will hear about it too.

OMG WHY YOU PLAYING HIM LIKE THAT!?!!??
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A few people have tossed out the "what have you got to lose" line. Some have said that in relation to playing Lindsey as well.

I mean I get that we aren't making the playoff or winning the Big Ten this year but there is still a lot of season left and plenty to play for. It isn't time to kick the vets to the curb and just start playing young guys whether they are ready or not.

Not sure why some fans here are so ready and willing to just throw in the towel right away.
 



MNVCGUY said:
A few people have tossed out the "what have you got to lose" line. Some have said that in relation to playing Lindsey as well.

I mean I get that we aren't making the playoff or winning the Big Ten this year but there is still a lot of season left and plenty to play for. It isn't time to kick the vets to the curb and just start playing young guys whether they are ready or not.

Not sure why some fans here are so ready and willing to just throw in the towel right away.
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On the flipside, why are you so risk averse and conservative? Tyrone Carter, Eslinger and Setterstrom…..Alabama has a 17-year-old kid running wild. We and college football in general have history of true freshman starting in playing just fine. There are true freshmen all over the country playing a ton and doing just fine. I’m not calling for the kid to play offense, but he’s ready to go. There’s really no downside 16 isn’t playing well enough to, help us win so Let’s let the big dog eat. The kid has it and we need some more it. Right now he’s probably playing 15 plays a game on D. That’s not enough.
 



Gopherchase said:
On the flipside, why are you so risk averse and conservative? Tyrone Carter, Eslinger and Setterstrom…..Alabama has a 17-year-old kid running wild. We and college football in general have history of true freshman starting in playing just fine. There are true freshmen all over the country playing a ton and doing just fine. I’m not calling for the kid to play offense, but he’s ready to go. There’s really no downside 16 isn’t playing well enough to, help us win so Let’s let the big dog eat. The kid has it and we need some more it. Right now he’s probably playing 15 plays a game on D. That’s not enough.
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It isn't about being risk averse is about trusting that the people around him everyday know more about what he is ready for then those of us behind keyboards acting like we know best.

Has been well documented that he was a little behind due to an injury over the summer. They are playing him so they are not trying to save his year of eligibility and everyone can see he is a gifted athlete. But just being a gifted athlete doesn't mean he is ready to be out there for every snap right now. He is making a massive jump from small town Minnesota football to the Big Ten.

I fully expect to see his role continue to expand as the season goes on and won't shock me one bit if he is starting within a few weeks. Unlike some of you I am willing to trust that the coaches actually have some idea what they are doing and are giving Koi as much as they believe he can handle right now.
 






PMWinSTP said:
The kid is special
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I mean that was easy to see right from the get go. But that pick was next level. If Brown is healthy they are going to have some decisions to make with Brown, Perich and Gousby because all 3 play at a really high level.
 


DCinOK said:
What was he doing on the field making that game-clinching interception??!!! He could have been injured!!
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How do you easily spot the trolls.....they are the ones still being negative after a big win because it is all they have.....seriously.....you have nothing better to do then post crap like this after the game? Pathetic.
 

MNVCGUY said:
I mean that was easy to see right from the get go. But that pick was next level. If Brown is healthy they are going to have some decisions to make with Brown, Perich and Gousby because all 3 play at a really high level.
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Good problem to have, don't you think? Koi will not come off the field going forward. Had some great tackles as well. No more kick-off coverage for him.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Good problem to have, don't you think? Koi will not come off the field going forward. Had some great tackles as well. No more kick-off coverage for him.
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Great problem to have....will be interesting to see how they manage the playing time going forward.
 

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