BleedGopher
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 62,396
- Reaction score
- 19,236
- Points
- 113
per The Gazette:
There wasn’t much left to Minnesota’s 2015 football carcass by season’s end.
Entering Minnesota’s bowl trip last December, 24 two-deep players lost 119 games because of injuries. At times the injury epidemic allowed Minnesota coaches to waffle between reasons and excuses, especially midseason onward. But there’s no doubt starters missing games played a significant role in the Gophers’ 6-7 campaign.
The Gophers’ starting defensive tackles hardly played in the team’s final four regular-season games. That includes competitive losses to Ohio State, Iowa and Wisconsin. Damarius Travis and Jalen Myrick opened the season as starting defensive backs and combined to miss 14 games. Iowa City native Ace Rogers, a top reserve at defensive back, played in only two games. The offense wasn’t immune, either, with several offensive linemen out and original starting tight end Lincoln Plsek losing his senior season.
But a byproduct of 2015’s pain is 2016’s gain. Nearly every primary skill position player — save receiver K.J. Maye — returns. The secondary lost three NFL-caliber players but brings back last year’s wounded. Travis, who had 7.5 tackles against TCU in the opener, received a medical redshirt and is a team captain. Former Coach Jerry Kill, who retired midway through the season, called Travis “the most underrated player in the Big Ten” last September.
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/2015-injuries-could-vault-2016-gophers-20160706
Go Gophers!!
There wasn’t much left to Minnesota’s 2015 football carcass by season’s end.
Entering Minnesota’s bowl trip last December, 24 two-deep players lost 119 games because of injuries. At times the injury epidemic allowed Minnesota coaches to waffle between reasons and excuses, especially midseason onward. But there’s no doubt starters missing games played a significant role in the Gophers’ 6-7 campaign.
The Gophers’ starting defensive tackles hardly played in the team’s final four regular-season games. That includes competitive losses to Ohio State, Iowa and Wisconsin. Damarius Travis and Jalen Myrick opened the season as starting defensive backs and combined to miss 14 games. Iowa City native Ace Rogers, a top reserve at defensive back, played in only two games. The offense wasn’t immune, either, with several offensive linemen out and original starting tight end Lincoln Plsek losing his senior season.
But a byproduct of 2015’s pain is 2016’s gain. Nearly every primary skill position player — save receiver K.J. Maye — returns. The secondary lost three NFL-caliber players but brings back last year’s wounded. Travis, who had 7.5 tackles against TCU in the opener, received a medical redshirt and is a team captain. Former Coach Jerry Kill, who retired midway through the season, called Travis “the most underrated player in the Big Ten” last September.
http://www.thegazette.com/subject/sports/2015-injuries-could-vault-2016-gophers-20160706
Go Gophers!!