BleedGopher
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per Joe:
Former Gophers safety Tyrone Carter won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back in 1999, yet he can’t remember the program having a complete secondary quite like this.
“I think we’ve got the best secondary in the Big Ten,” Carter said. “Eric Murray is a lockdown corner. Briean Boddy-Calhoun — his athletic ability is off the charts. Damarius Travis is a taller safety from Florida who can do everything. And Antonio Johnson — he’s a hitter.”
Carter might be biased, but this senior foursome has drawn praise elsewhere, too. The Big Ten Network ranked the Gophers secondary as the best in the Big Ten West. ESPN ranks Wisconsin’s secondary No. 1 in the conference, with the Gophers tied for second with Ohio State.
With any other group, Gophers coaches might worry about the hype going to players’ heads. Not these four. They arrived in the same recruiting class after drawing little interest from other major colleges.
They have also spent three-plus years reporting to defensive backs coach Jay Sawvel, who is not one to offer faint praise.
“The ratio, I would say, is about 20-to-1,” Boddy-Calhoun said, smiling. “So 20 times he’ll tell you what you did wrong, and then one time, he’ll tell you what you did right. And that’s from a fifth-year senior, so you can only imagine the ratio for a young guy.”
http://www.startribune.com/all-senior-secondary-strength-of-gophers/322599911/
Go Gophers!!
Former Gophers safety Tyrone Carter won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s top defensive back in 1999, yet he can’t remember the program having a complete secondary quite like this.
“I think we’ve got the best secondary in the Big Ten,” Carter said. “Eric Murray is a lockdown corner. Briean Boddy-Calhoun — his athletic ability is off the charts. Damarius Travis is a taller safety from Florida who can do everything. And Antonio Johnson — he’s a hitter.”
Carter might be biased, but this senior foursome has drawn praise elsewhere, too. The Big Ten Network ranked the Gophers secondary as the best in the Big Ten West. ESPN ranks Wisconsin’s secondary No. 1 in the conference, with the Gophers tied for second with Ohio State.
With any other group, Gophers coaches might worry about the hype going to players’ heads. Not these four. They arrived in the same recruiting class after drawing little interest from other major colleges.
They have also spent three-plus years reporting to defensive backs coach Jay Sawvel, who is not one to offer faint praise.
“The ratio, I would say, is about 20-to-1,” Boddy-Calhoun said, smiling. “So 20 times he’ll tell you what you did wrong, and then one time, he’ll tell you what you did right. And that’s from a fifth-year senior, so you can only imagine the ratio for a young guy.”
http://www.startribune.com/all-senior-secondary-strength-of-gophers/322599911/
Go Gophers!!