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Rosemountian

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Some underclassmen non-offensive line players I should get excited about.

Lets be honest, if kill had a chance to be successful there has to be some freshmen and sophomores we can start getting excited about.

I haven't seen any offensively. Which names should I be looking for the second half of the season?
 

Rosemountian said:
Some underclassmen non-offensive line players I should get excited about.

Lets be honest, if kill had a chance to be successful there has to be some freshmen and sophomores we can start getting excited about.

I haven't seen any offensively. Which names should I be looking for the second half of the season?
Click to expand...

I agree. Where are the studs.
 

I think they should fold up the program altogether. Seems like a big waste of time and money.

But to answer the question, I've seen a few guys like 88, 55, 26, 31, 11, 82, 35, 7, 4, and maybe even #9?

But then again, a year or two ago there wasn't much reason to be excited about 99 either.

But what the heck, whatever you're looking for by firing up a post like this, I wish you the best of luck in getting it.
 


Ogee Oglethorpe said:
I think they should fold up the program altogether. Seems like a big waste of time and money.

But to answer the question, I've seen a few guys like 88, 55, 26, 31, 11, 82, 35, 7, 4, and maybe even #9?

But then again, a year or two ago there wasn't much reason to be excited about 99 either.

But what the heck, whatever you're looking for by firing up a post like this, I wish you the best of luck in getting it.
Click to expand...

+1
 


Maxx Williams
Roderick Williams and Berkely Edwards combination
 

OddStack said:
Maxx Williams
Roderick Williams and Berkely Edwards combination
Click to expand...

Maxx Williams is absolutely the answer to this question. Just MHO, but I haven't seen anything out of Williams to "excite" me, and we obviously haven't seen anything at all out of Edwards due to the injury and RS. I'd like to add that I'm actually somewhat excited about Wolitarsky. Physical looking kid who seems to have a knack for getting open.

OP's point is well taken, as there isn't some secret stash of eye-popping talent at skill positions being held in reserve. I mean, those guys would be playing if they were on the team. The Kill et al. plan is obviously to continue developing the O-Line talent in the hopes of being able to physically pound on people, a la Wisconsin, Iowa, MSU. I believe the thinking is that you only need to add 1 or 2 very good skill players to that mix in order to really have something -- rather than needing the 5 or 6 really physically gifted athletes required by a spread scheme. Anyway, I'm as frustrated as anyone with the results to this point, but even I realize that it's all about the O-Line in this scheme...and as much as it sucks (and it does...it really, really does hurt to watch), we need to be patient while the likes of Persig, Hayes, Lauer, and Mayes develop.
 

Max Williams has definitely looked the best.

Hard for me to get fired up about Roderick Williams because every time he has a good game it seems like the coaching staff doesn't give him carries the next week.
26 carries for 204 yards against New Mexico State and western Illinois.

The other four games he has 34 carries for 128 yards.
If the staff isn't excited enough to get him carries every week I find it hard to get excited,



I like how everyone gets offended someone actually wants to talk some personnel.
Do we have any young wideouts who might make some plays? Is harbison still hurt or is he just not good enough at this point?
 

I also think Maxx is the answer at this point. D. Jones makes me curious, but we have not seen anything to this point. I was disappointed in his lack of fight for the long ball against Michigan, but he is adjusting to the WR position at this point. I do not think we can say B. Edwards because we have not seen him play. Most of the time we are always intrigued by the unknown.

I find it funny how thin skinned some of you are. Rosemountain may agitate some, me included at times, but it is a legit question and a discussion of actual football and personal...which seems to be rare around here lately.
 



I'm looking forward to seeing Wozniak, B. Edwards, D. Jones, and Wolitarsky get more playing time. Maxx Williams is solid.
 

Roderick Williams and Maxx. I would love to see someone with some quickness like KJ Maye make some big plays.
 

Stan The Caddy said:
I also think Maxx is the answer at this point. D. Jones makes me curious, but we have not seen anything to this point. I was disappointed in his lack of fight for the long ball against Michigan, but he is adjusting to the WR position at this point. I do not think we can say B. Edwards because we have not seen him play. Most of the time we are always intrigued by the unknown.

I find it funny how thin skinned some of you are. Rosemountain may agitate some, me included at times, but it is a legit question and a discussion of actual football and personal...which seems to be rare around here lately.
Click to expand...

Point well taken. I find it refreshing to be discussing players instead of epilepsy and complaining about local reporters.

To the original question, I think Maxx is the answer. He seems like a guy with a nose for the ball and and eagerness to make plays. I think "hungry" is the right word for him.

Additionally, I would like to repost my earlier suggestion that we start calling Maxx "dos equis".
 

I'd personally look at these guys

Maxx Williams: The one young guy that has made a few plays. Seems to catch the ball naturally and moves well. Time will tell if he's truly a match up problem in the B1G. At worst, he's a solid TE and at best he's a difference maker. He's show about as much as you could hope for from a RS Fr.

Donovahn Jones: Showed some real speed going down the sidelines against Michigan. The question with him is whether he can adapt to the WR position as he's obviously very raw. A guy like D'Jon McKnight was very similar in size/lack of WR experience and he turned in to a solid player.

Phil Nelson/Mitch Leidner: I don't think anyone is comfortable saying either is "the guy" or either is "not the guy". Both have shown flashes of being very good and also had moments where they don't look like B1G QB's. Hopefully by the end of the year one of these guys is someone to be excited about.

Nate Wozniak: Hard not to be intrigued by a 6'9 TE. This could be the case of a guy simply being too tall to be effective (tallest TE I remember in the NFL was Leonard Pope who played at Georgia and I believe was listed at 6'8), but I think there is some reason to be excited there.

Berkley Edwards: Outside of Maxx Williams, probably the guy you should be most excited about. We haven't had a back that could take it to the house since Maroney and Edwards has the potential to be that guy.
 



MGGopher said:
Maxx Williams is absolutely the answer to this question. Just MHO, but I haven't seen anything out of Williams to "excite" me, and we obviously haven't seen anything at all out of Edwards due to the injury and RS. I'd like to add that I'm actually somewhat excited about Wolitarsky. Physical looking kid who seems to have a knack for getting open.

OP's point is well taken, as there isn't some secret stash of eye-popping talent at skill positions being held in reserve. I mean, those guys would be playing if they were on the team. The Kill et al. plan is obviously to continue developing the O-Line talent in the hopes of being able to physically pound on people, a la Wisconsin, Iowa, MSU. I believe the thinking is that you only need to add 1 or 2 very good skill players to that mix in order to really have something -- rather than needing the 5 or 6 really physically gifted athletes required by a spread scheme. Anyway, I'm as frustrated as anyone with the results to this point, but even I realize that it's all about the O-Line in this scheme...and as much as it sucks (and it does...it really, really does hurt to watch), we need to be patient while the likes of Persig, Hayes, Lauer, and Mayes develop.
Click to expand...

If the touchdown catch against Mich to cap of a 10 minute drive didn't excite you then:
1. You aren't a gopher fan?
or
2. You should stop watching football because it is inherently boring to you?
or
3. You missed that catch?
or....

Maxx is the man. That toss and catch got me off my couch yelling and my reaction scared my dog so bad he ran and hid in his kennel... usually he gets to sleep peacefully when I watch minnesota (vikes or gopher) football games...
 

underclassmen

all three QBs are underclassmen and have some nice skill-sets...look forward to competition between three

WRs: Harbison, Woli and Jones are frosh and excite me (Decker redshirted, did little as red-shirt frosh)...soph KJ Maye has flashed some big plays...frosh Eric Carter had great hands, speed and shift in fall camp...needs some size

TEs: Maxx obviously but I also love Plsek's physicality as a true soph...Anyanwu and Wozniak are intriguing prospects

RBs: obviously Berkley...Roderick has run over some guys...

secondary: Boddy calhoun has two years left, I like him; I like the two safeties, Travis and Johnson, who are true sophs; Murray is a true soph and has some good speed, size, agility...learning by fire so far but competes hard; true frosh Myrick is very, very fast and has a good frame...true frosh McGhee looked big and fast in fall camp

linebackers: Devondre Campbell is a sophomore and has very legit speed and size...red shirt frosh Rallis has good size and moves well; he excites me...Laster and Dixon looked good in fall ball...red shirt frosh Lynn looks like he could be good as an upper-classmen

d-line: Cockran and Keith both have two years left...the Ekpe's are still very young and competing well and gaining experience...I thought true frosh Peppers, Salzwedel and red shirt frosh Timms all looked good in fall camp...soph Hino intrigues me

soph Mortell is doing good...number of frosh kickers who intrigue me
 

bottlebass said:
If the touchdown catch against Mich to cap of a 10 minute drive didn't excite you then:
1. You aren't a gopher fan?
or
2. You should stop watching football because it is inherently boring to you?
or
3. You missed that catch?
or....

Maxx is the man. That toss and catch got me off my couch yelling and my reaction scared my dog so bad he ran and hid in his kennel... usually he gets to sleep peacefully when I watch minnesota (vikes or gopher) football games...
Click to expand...

or....
4. He may have been talking about R. Williams
 

We know the names, most of which have been listed here. Most of them are freshmen and sophomores, and we need to be patient. But I wonder if the coaches know how to get the ball into the hands of our supposed playmakers.

Jones, Harbison, Maye, etc., all played as true freshmen and have been trumpeted by the coaching staff as impact players. I know we are trying to become a running team and we have our issues in the passing game, but these guys are rarely even targeted (when they do happen to show up on the field). It's hard to have an impact when you don't have the ball. Of course Jones and Maye are learning new positions and Harbison had the injury. I hope most of it has to do with youth and inexperience. But we never seem to get these guys the ball in space and let them make a play.
 

mnsports1 said:
or....
4. He may have been talking about R. Williams
Click to expand...

That would make more sense. Although he has run over some guys this year in the nonconference games. His long touchdown in game 3 was nice.
 

Do people forget about our QB situation. We have a RFr and Soph with years of development ahead. Liedner looks pretty good on the field thus far, and Nelson has shown flashes. Not to mention that Nelson continues to garner trust from the coaching staff, even given Liedner's surge.

Most guys at college QB don't even play. The good ones usually don't play till they're Juniors. We have two, while pressed into service, that appear to be on a nice trajectory. Leidner's already showing some read progression development (a problem in the NFL for QBs). Some patience at the Position is always necessary. I think we're pretty set for for a couple of years.
 

Rosemountain have been anti Kill since he was named coach. He's on a fishing expedition.
 

Names have been rattled off like crazy already, but honestly, I don't think it's that hard to do because there are already a ton of underclassmen who are playing right now, which is part of our problem. Some of my top "excitement" players right now would be Maxx, Wolitarsky, Jones, Edwards, Murray, Boddy-Calhoun, and Campbell.

But players to get "excited" about? That's in the eye of the beholder. What one person sees are huge potential and something to be hyped for, another may see as nothing special, or they haven't shown enough on the field. A guy like Jones at receiver excites me. But I haven't seen much from him yet. Does that mean he can't be great? I don't think so, I'm patient enough to let it play out over the next couple years. I feel that way about a ton of guys, swingman listed off a bunch. But the hope is, at least a good percentage of them realize that "potential" we all think they may have.
 

bottlebass said:
If the touchdown catch against Mich to cap of a 10 minute drive didn't excite you then:
1. You aren't a gopher fan?
or
2. You should stop watching football because it is inherently boring to you?
or
3. You missed that catch?
or....

Maxx is the man. That toss and catch got me off my couch yelling and my reaction scared my dog so bad he ran and hid in his kennel... usually he gets to sleep peacefully when I watch minnesota (vikes or gopher) football games...
Click to expand...

LOL...probably should have clarified that I meant RODERICK WILLIAMS when saying I haven't seen anything out of Williams to excite me. If you re-read my post, you'll see that I quoted the person above me who said, "Maxx Williams, Roderick Williams, and Berkley Edwards." Maxx Williams -- YES. Roderick Willams -- NO. Edwards -- Jury is out.
 


Unregistered User said:
Rosemountain have been anti Kill since he was named coach. He's on a fishing expedition.
Click to expand...

Wrong.

maxwellsmart said:
You hit that nail squarely on the head.
Click to expand...

Wrong.

Rosemounted is anti-Minnesota Gophers Football. He's the worst kind of poster. A true in-state troll. Only posts when things are going "bad". I'd take wren over him any day. At least wren is entertaining. The Rose is just a bad...everything.
 

The thing is, unless Kill and Co. change their recruiting approach, it looks like these are the kinds of players the Gophers will be getting - decent 2* to 3* players with potential, but that magical 5* guy who transforms the program overnight is probably not walking through the door.

Kill seems to want to have a (slow) steady progression. The question is whether he will be given the time to show whether his approach will work in a major conference.

In a side note, Claeys said on Sid's show that he was watching some JUCO games in Kansas over the weekend. I wonder what positions they are targeting? (and does the JUCO route mean the staff understands they need a quicker fix to keep the fan base interested and show enough results for everyone to keep their jobs?)
 

short ornery norwegian said:
In a side note, Claeys said on Sid's show that he was watching some JUCO games in Kansas over the weekend. I wonder what positions they are targeting? (and does the JUCO route mean the staff understands they need a quicker fix to keep the fan base interested and show enough results for everyone to keep their jobs?)
Click to expand...

Probably just balancing classes. Hopefully they are looking at JUCO guys like D. Campbell who still have 3 years to play. They've done that a couple of times, but I don't recall off the top of my head the other JUCO players that fall into that category.
 

Unregistered User said:
Probably just balancing classes. Hopefully they are looking at JUCO guys like D. Campbell who still have 3 years to play. They've done that a couple of times, but I don't recall off the top of my head the other JUCO players that fall into that category.
Click to expand...

BBC and one of Engel/Fruechte had 3 years of eligibility when transferring.
 

Unregistered User said:
Probably just balancing classes. Hopefully they are looking at JUCO guys like D. Campbell who still have 3 years to play. They've done that a couple of times, but I don't recall off the top of my head the other JUCO players that fall into that category.
Click to expand...

Brien Bodde Calhoun would be another, and Freuchte.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
The thing is, unless Kill and Co. change their recruiting approach, it looks like these are the kinds of players the Gophers will be getting - decent 2* to 3* players with potential, but that magical 5* guy who transforms the program overnight is probably not walking through the door.

Kill seems to want to have a (slow) steady progression. The question is whether he will be given the time to show whether his approach will work in a major conference.

In a side note, Claeys said on Sid's show that he was watching some JUCO games in Kansas over the weekend. I wonder what positions they are targeting? (and does the JUCO route mean the staff understands they need a quicker fix to keep the fan base interested and show enough results for everyone to keep their jobs?)
Click to expand...

Kill and his staff have great connections in the Kansas JUCO ranks. They've always had great success there and picked up a few guys who wound up playing in the NFL.

There's zero chance they are recruiting there to "keep the fan base interested." Sorry ... you are not that important. :D
 


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