BleedGopher
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per Sandell:
Ask any member of the Minnesota Gophers' secondary if they were put off by the low ranking the unit has been given in several preseason publications, and you'll receive a sly smile.
They don't need to say anything. It's obvious they disagree.
And a strong argument can be made that Minnesota's secondary is being overlooked. The Gophers lost only one starter in their defensive backfield, which helped anchor a defense that ranked fourth in the Big Ten in points allowed and fifth against the pass (215 passing yards per game) in 2013.
That starter was standout corner-safety Brock Vereen, who went on to be drafted by the Chicago Bears. But even with Vereen gone, the Gophers return six players in the secondary who have started at least two games (safety Cedric Thompson, 19 starts; cornerback Derrick Wells, 16; corner Eric Murray, 13; safety Antonio Johnson, 7; safety Damarius Travis, 2; corner Briean Boddy-Calhoun, 2) and three others with viable in-game experience (senior Grayson Levine, sophomore Jalen Myrick and senior Marcus Jones).
"It's even more motivation," Boddy-Calhoun said of the "negative" reviews. "Because we lose one guy in the secondary and we're still ranked 10th. That just goes to show that we have to do even more to show guys that we can be a good secondary."
http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/..._defensive_backfield_getting_underrated081214
Go Gophers!!
Ask any member of the Minnesota Gophers' secondary if they were put off by the low ranking the unit has been given in several preseason publications, and you'll receive a sly smile.
They don't need to say anything. It's obvious they disagree.
And a strong argument can be made that Minnesota's secondary is being overlooked. The Gophers lost only one starter in their defensive backfield, which helped anchor a defense that ranked fourth in the Big Ten in points allowed and fifth against the pass (215 passing yards per game) in 2013.
That starter was standout corner-safety Brock Vereen, who went on to be drafted by the Chicago Bears. But even with Vereen gone, the Gophers return six players in the secondary who have started at least two games (safety Cedric Thompson, 19 starts; cornerback Derrick Wells, 16; corner Eric Murray, 13; safety Antonio Johnson, 7; safety Damarius Travis, 2; corner Briean Boddy-Calhoun, 2) and three others with viable in-game experience (senior Grayson Levine, sophomore Jalen Myrick and senior Marcus Jones).
"It's even more motivation," Boddy-Calhoun said of the "negative" reviews. "Because we lose one guy in the secondary and we're still ranked 10th. That just goes to show that we have to do even more to show guys that we can be a good secondary."
http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/..._defensive_backfield_getting_underrated081214
Go Gophers!!