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Well, for the first time this spring, the Gophers actually went outside for part of their practice.
About half of Thursday’s practice was held outside — all the individual stuff. But then they moved inside for the team session. It’s only spring, but coach Tim Brewster is already thinking of next fall’s season opener in Syracuse, which plays in a domed stadium.
”We’ll do a lot of work in our indoor facility approaching that first game,” Brewster said. ”Syracuse has a smaller dome, very loud.”
Brewster has had music pumped into the facility during part of the practice.
Thursday’s practice was held in shells — helmets and shoulder pads — after a very physical practice Tuesday.
”Today was a teaching day,” Brewster said. ”We’ve had a lot of physical practices, so we took down the tempo a little bit, tried to get a little teaching done, and I felt we did.”
Here are some other Thursday notes:
–Brewster said he doesn’t think it’s all that unusual for the defense to be ahead of the offense at this point in the spring; he said he’s talked to a number of coaches across the country who are saying the same thing.
–Kevin Whaley continues to have a good spring and figures to continue to get a lot of work with Duane Bennett being held out of tackle drills.
–Cornerback Michael Carter and defensive lineman Eric Jacques — two Pompano Beach (Fla.) North Broward Prep athletes who signed with the Gophers to play this fall — were at practice today. Jacques was on his official visit. Carter had already made his official visit, so the trip was on his own dime.
–I talked with linebacker/special teams coach John Butler about the placekicking situation. In particular about Eric Ellestad, who is finally getting a chance to show what he can do.
It’s been a while since Ellestad felt the pressure. Years, actually. Ellestad will be a redshirt junior this fall and he has yet to play in his first college game.
Looks like he will this year, though. With Joel Monroe gone the Gophers are looking for a placekicker, and Ellestad is currently the best bet for the job — and the pressure that goes with it. That’s why, this spring, Minnesota coaches are trying hard to create pressure-like situations for him to kick in.
”We’re trying as best we can to put him in as many realistic game situations as we can,” Butler said. ”We didn’t do that in the past. But we do it now every day. That’s one reason we’re doing so many move-the-ball drills.”
It’s not like Ellestad hasn’t made big kicks before. At Robbinsdale Armstrong was named to at least one prep all-American team and was an all-state and all-metro player who handled both place-kicking and punting; At one point during his high school career he kicked extra points left-footed while nursing a sprained right ankle.
He converted on 69 percent of his field goals in high school, with a long of 47 yards. Despite missing some of his senior season with injuries, he earned a scholarship to Minnesota.
And then he waited. He redshirted in 2006 while Jason Giannini handled kicking duties. In 2007 Monroe beat out an inconsistent Giannini and held the job through last season.
But now, with Monroe gone, Ellestad is the only place kicker on scholarship. That’s why, when asked about Ellestad’s biggest competition, Butler said it was Ellestad himself.
”I’ve seen leg strength, I’ve seen solid accuracy — he hasn’t been perfect,” Butler said. ”The biggest thing with him, he needs to be more consistent, build his confidence.”
http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/gridirongold/2009/04/09/gophers-in-the-sun/
Go Gophers!!
About half of Thursday’s practice was held outside — all the individual stuff. But then they moved inside for the team session. It’s only spring, but coach Tim Brewster is already thinking of next fall’s season opener in Syracuse, which plays in a domed stadium.
”We’ll do a lot of work in our indoor facility approaching that first game,” Brewster said. ”Syracuse has a smaller dome, very loud.”
Brewster has had music pumped into the facility during part of the practice.
Thursday’s practice was held in shells — helmets and shoulder pads — after a very physical practice Tuesday.
”Today was a teaching day,” Brewster said. ”We’ve had a lot of physical practices, so we took down the tempo a little bit, tried to get a little teaching done, and I felt we did.”
Here are some other Thursday notes:
–Brewster said he doesn’t think it’s all that unusual for the defense to be ahead of the offense at this point in the spring; he said he’s talked to a number of coaches across the country who are saying the same thing.
–Kevin Whaley continues to have a good spring and figures to continue to get a lot of work with Duane Bennett being held out of tackle drills.
–Cornerback Michael Carter and defensive lineman Eric Jacques — two Pompano Beach (Fla.) North Broward Prep athletes who signed with the Gophers to play this fall — were at practice today. Jacques was on his official visit. Carter had already made his official visit, so the trip was on his own dime.
–I talked with linebacker/special teams coach John Butler about the placekicking situation. In particular about Eric Ellestad, who is finally getting a chance to show what he can do.
It’s been a while since Ellestad felt the pressure. Years, actually. Ellestad will be a redshirt junior this fall and he has yet to play in his first college game.
Looks like he will this year, though. With Joel Monroe gone the Gophers are looking for a placekicker, and Ellestad is currently the best bet for the job — and the pressure that goes with it. That’s why, this spring, Minnesota coaches are trying hard to create pressure-like situations for him to kick in.
”We’re trying as best we can to put him in as many realistic game situations as we can,” Butler said. ”We didn’t do that in the past. But we do it now every day. That’s one reason we’re doing so many move-the-ball drills.”
It’s not like Ellestad hasn’t made big kicks before. At Robbinsdale Armstrong was named to at least one prep all-American team and was an all-state and all-metro player who handled both place-kicking and punting; At one point during his high school career he kicked extra points left-footed while nursing a sprained right ankle.
He converted on 69 percent of his field goals in high school, with a long of 47 yards. Despite missing some of his senior season with injuries, he earned a scholarship to Minnesota.
And then he waited. He redshirted in 2006 while Jason Giannini handled kicking duties. In 2007 Monroe beat out an inconsistent Giannini and held the job through last season.
But now, with Monroe gone, Ellestad is the only place kicker on scholarship. That’s why, when asked about Ellestad’s biggest competition, Butler said it was Ellestad himself.
”I’ve seen leg strength, I’ve seen solid accuracy — he hasn’t been perfect,” Butler said. ”The biggest thing with him, he needs to be more consistent, build his confidence.”
http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/gridirongold/2009/04/09/gophers-in-the-sun/
Go Gophers!!