Luke and Ryan return to put a bow the 2022 spring football season
247sports.com
I never tire of listening to Ryan Burns. I thought I would jot down some notes for those who haven't listened to his podcast.
Gopher coaches are on the road recruiting for most of May.
He has a scathing review of Mike Sanford, Jr. as Offensive Coordinator.
"Athan Kaliakmanis is going to be something special."
Six Wide Receivers hit the portal. Only Brady Boyd would have played. IMHO, he was Mike Sanford, Jr.'s casualty. The ascendancy of Larry Wright probably caused Jonathan Mann to hit the Transfer Portal. Douglas Emilien, Brock Annexstad, Peter Udoibok, and Nnamdi Adim-Madumere would more likely not see playing time.
The Wider Receiver corps is somewhat of a concern. There is a drop-off from Rashod Bateman. He thinks that Tanner Morgan needs consistency from the pass catchers. Chris Autman Bell, Michael Brown-Stephens, Daniel Jackson Dylan Wright need to step up a notch with serious reps.
He is very high on Zack Evans.
There is less concern at Defensive Tackle.
Aireontae Ersery has the potential to get drafted higher than Daniel Faalele.
Starting Offensive Line has age and experience. The Right Tackle is a concern.
The Defense Tackle positions are deep and strong with different lengths, heights, strengths, and weaknesses.
The Gophers lost two good Defensive Ends to the NFL Draft in Esezi Otomewo and Boye Mafe. There are possibly at least six good Defensive Ends in rotation.
Ryn Burns' picks to be drafted next year are Thomas Rush, and Jon Michael Schmitz.
Danny Striggow and Austin Booker are going to get lots of snaps.
Jalen Logan-Redding is the probable starter at Strong Side Defensive End. He separated himself from the competition this Spring. His current Defensive Line Coach, Brick Haley, was the Missouri Defensive Line coach when he de-committed to sign with the Gophers.
Ryan Burns said not to worry about Defensive End. They have multiple good options depending on the opponents. What the Defensive Ends lack in experience, they have the necessary skills to help Jim Rossi's Defense. The Gophers DEs will have a good healthy rotation at the position to keep them fresh.
They have experience returning at Linebacker. Jack Gibbens is leaving a big void. The important thing is they made it through the Spring healthy. Braelen Oliver returned from injury last season and is gaining confidence. Cody Lindenberg returned from his injury this Spring. Mariano Sori-Marin is healthy. Linebackers did not shine as much in the Spring. Returning healthy and staying healthy is a concern. Braelen Oliver, Mariano Sori-Marin, Coddy Lindenberg, and Lucas Finnessy are going to be the four core guys in the rotation.
He is not worried at this point and has no substance to give.
The Gophers Secondary transfers looked good. The strength of the 2021 Defense was the front seven according to PJ Fleck, Jim Rossi, and others. Jim Rossi thinks the strength of the Defense in 2022 is the Defense Secondary. Ryan Burns concurs.
According to Daniel House, the hit rate for the DE transfers is 75% which is insane for a college football team.
Ryan Stapp and Beanie Bishop are going to be the "bee's knees". These two and Justin Wally are going to be great. You also have Flip Dixon and Terrell Smith. They have multiple options at Nickel Corner depending on whether opponents are run-heavy or pass-heavy. Miles Fleming also had a good Spring causing Solomon Brown to hit the Transfer Portal.
Cornerback is going to be a position of strength that will open more opportunities for man coverage. There will be more blitzing and stunts from the front seven. They don't have a Boye Mafe type of pass rusher yet. With a strong secondary, it opens up multiple options.
If you have to choose between the three different levels of Defense, it is the Defensive Line that has the most question marks. They do have adequate bodies there. They don't have enough data.
The uncertainty on the DL last season was answered with key transfers and players maturing and developing at the right moment.
At Safety, why wouldn't Tyler Nubin and Jordan Howden be considered one of the best starting Safety duos in the Big Ten?
The Defense is at least top twenty overall.
With Matthew Tricket and his holder, Brady Weeks as the Long Snapper, and Mark Crawford punting, Tricket feels that they have Special Teams down now. He said 90% of kicking is all mental.
In terms of expectations in the Big Ten West, he quoted PJ Fleck's answer to the 247Sports video interview question: "Why not us?". Oddsmakers are picking the Gophers as 4th in the Big Ten West. With the Gophers' schedule and the teams that they will face, he disagrees. He said Wisconsin and Iowa both have tough games against Big Ten East teams on their schedules.
Ryan Burns said that in his years of watching and observing the Gophers close-up, he thinks this is PJ Fleck's most talented team.
He asks if this is the year that Minnesota finally gets over the Iowa mental block. If it is not, it is never going to happen. PJ Fleck is 0-5 against Iowa already.
They have depth going into the 2022 campaign. The Gophers' schedule in November is favorable for the Gophers when they have Nebraska, Northwestern, Iowa, and Wisconsin. Why not Minnesota? It is laughable to look at sportsbooks now and say Minnesota should be 4th in the West.
The Official Visit season starts around June 10 this year.
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