STrib: Former North Dakota prep star James Johannesson shows off talent for Gophers

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per Joe:

Those who followed James Johannesson's prep career in North Dakota probably weren't surprised with his breakout performance in the Gophers annual spring game.

Johannesson, who rushed for 2,671 and 2,071 yards his final two years at Fargo South High School, had 22 carries for 130 yards and a touchdown Saturday, helping lead the Gold over the White 19-7.

The Gold had the more dominant offensive line, and Johannesson showed his speed and cutting ability as he burst through the holes and made defenders miss. He reeled off carries of 12, 6, 7 and 10 yards, setting up a field goal before halftime.

The redshirt freshman had a 7-yard touchdown run on his first drive after halftime and added a 44-yard burst later in the second half.

"He's somebody that keeps getting better and better," coach Tracy Claeys said. "... He’s maybe our most improved player on offense from the day we started [spring practice]."

http://www.startribune.com/former-n...esson-shows-off-talent-for-gophers/375280011/

Go Gophers!!
 


Jaylen Waters and JJ were the 2 most impressive players in the scrimmage IMHO. I tried watching the 2 JUCO OL transfers but it was tough to decipher their play in such a venue. JJ reminds me of the type of backs that Iowa brings in. He has a chance to make a big dent in the program before he graduates...unless TC moves him to LB. :)
 

Agree that Johannesson ran well. In another thread Claeys said that he needs to improve his blocking on pass plays. Have to agree there too, I saw JJ whiff on one blocking attempt. That being said, he's progressing well and could continue the connection of good North Dakota players who have played for the Gophers over the years: Mark Slater, Doug Beaudoin, Kirby Kuklenski, Justin Conzemius, Bob Stroup, and Greg Eslinger (more?).
 

denguegopher said:
Agree that Johannesson ran well. In another thread Claeys said that he needs to improve his blocking on pass plays. Have to agree there too, I saw JJ whiff on one blocking attempt. That being said, he's progressing well and could continue the connection of good North Dakota players who have played for the Gophers over the years: Mark Slater, Doug Beaudoin, Kirby Kuklenski, Justin Conzemius, Bob Stroup, and Greg Eslinger (more?).
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That was on a Barber blitz. Came through unimpeded at full steam. He would have demolished the QB if they were allowing hits on the QBs. Obviously this is why they practice, so he'll get better. Really good runner.
 


JJ did have the benefit of MASSIVE holes to run through in the spring game. I'm not going to get my tires too pumped up yet.
 

That's been the Wisconsin formula for as long as I can remember. Who knows if their RBs are really any good when a senior citizen could probably run for 5 yards a carry.

He's 6 foot 1, 225 with some shiftiness. We can use a back like that IMO, eventually if he gets his eyes checked to pick up the blitz. I don't expect we'll see him a whole lot this year until an injury occurs and even then maybe not with McCrary coming in.
 

Sean Hoffman was another favorite and Dan Kwapinski (sp?)was a contributor in recent years too.
denguegopher said:
Agree that Johannesson ran well. In another thread Claeys said that he needs to improve his blocking on pass plays. Have to agree there too, I saw JJ whiff on one blocking attempt. That being said, he's progressing well and could continue the connection of good North Dakota players who have played for the Gophers over the years: Mark Slater, Doug Beaudoin, Kirby Kuklenski, Justin Conzemius, Bob Stroup, and Greg Eslinger (more?).
Click to expand...
 

Pompous Elitist said:
That's been the Wisconsin formula for as long as I can remember. Who knows if their RBs are really any good when a senior citizen could probably run for 5 yards a carry.

He's 6 foot 1, 225 with some shiftiness. We can use a back like that IMO, eventually if he gets his eyes checked to pick up the blitz. I don't expect we'll see him a whole lot this year until an injury occurs and even then maybe not with McCrary coming in.
Click to expand...

JJ is ready to be an impact player. They find ways to get them on the field.
 



denguegopher said:
Agree that Johannesson ran well. In another thread Claeys said that he needs to improve his blocking on pass plays. Have to agree there too, I saw JJ whiff on one blocking attempt. That being said, he's progressing well and could continue the connection of good North Dakota players who have played for the Gophers over the years: Mark Slater, Doug Beaudoin, Kirby Kuklenski, Justin Conzemius, Bob Stroup, and Greg Eslinger (more?).
Click to expand...

Barry Mayer from Fargo was an outstanding running back (1968-1970)
 

denguegopher said:
Agree that Johannesson ran well. In another thread Claeys said that he needs to improve his blocking on pass plays. Have to agree there too, I saw JJ whiff on one blocking attempt. That being said, he's progressing well and could continue the connection of good North Dakota players who have played for the Gophers over the years: Mark Slater, Doug Beaudoin, Kirby Kuklenski, Justin Conzemius, Bob Stroup, and Greg Eslinger (more?).
Click to expand...

Barry Mayer from Fargo was an outstanding running back for Minnesota (1968-1970)
 


Pompous Elitist said:
Who knows if their RBs are really any good when a senior citizen could probably run for 5 yards a carry.
Click to expand...

I remember holes Wisconsin opened that you could score in a wheelchair.
 



Nomellini said:
Barry Mayer from Fargo was an outstanding running back (1968-1970)
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He was the first North Dakota guy to come to mind for me. Really great player.

Johannesson could give us a real sledgehammer in the backfield. I wonder if they would consider using him as a fullback periodically providing his blocking improves. I didn't see the game, but I see some comments about missed blocks.
 

Yeah JJ isn't a good enough blocker right now to play fullback I would say.

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk
 

I really liked all of our backs in the game. JJ had a better day than Femi-Cole, but he had some nice runs on the day as well. I wouldn't count him out either, I would say JJ ahead of him right now, but I think if it came down to it we could put any of these four on the field and feel good about it.
 

bemidjigopher said:
I really liked all of our backs in the game. JJ had a better day than Femi-Cole, but he had some nice runs on the day as well. I wouldn't count him out either, I would say JJ ahead of him right now, but I think if it came down to it we could put any of these four on the field and feel good about it.
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I liked how Femi-Cole ran.
I didn't like how Femi-Cole fumbled twice.
 

Spoofin said:
I liked how Femi-Cole ran.
I didn't like how Femi-Cole fumbled twice.
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I didn't like that either, although that hit by Rallis was a thing of beauty. He will need to work on his ball protection, only a RS frosh, plenty of time
 

bemidjigopher said:
I didn't like that either, although that hit by Rallis was a thing of beauty. He will need to work on his ball protection, only a RS frosh, plenty of time
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I thought he ran harder than JJ but had less to work with. If they had flipped teams, I think everyone would be talking about Femi-Cole.
 

Unregistered User said:
I thought he ran harder than JJ but had less to work with. If they had flipped teams, I think everyone would be talking about Femi-Cole.
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I was kind of thinking that as well, but like the backup qb battle, it'll get settled in Camp. Worst case I think both these guys can compete on special teams
 

bemidjigopher said:
I was kind of thinking that as well, but like the backup qb battle, it'll get settled in Camp. Worst case I think both these guys can compete on special teams
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Yeah. I don't want my comments to take anything away from Johannesson. They both have a great opportunity to prove themselves and provide depth. We kind of know what we have with Smith and Brooks, so it's natural to put more "scouting" into the new guys in the spring. I'm confident that they can both get some run starting this fall.
 

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