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Together, four fresh faces of Gophers football — quarterback Zack Annexstad, receiver Rashod Bateman, running back Bryce Williams and cornerback Terell Smith — are showing that the future can be now.
“It’s not that you are younger at three or four positions and these are insignificant [positions],” coach P.J. Fleck said. “These are incredibly important roles for our football team to have success.”
The Gophers are 2-0 with a 48-10 blowout of New Mexico State and the tense win over a veteran Fresno State team. Mostly because of necessity, Fleck has played 28 freshmen (16 true and 12 redshirt), and that will continue Saturday afternoon, when the Gophers play host to Miami (Ohio) in their final nonconference game. If the Gophers get to their Big Ten opener in Maryland on Sept. 22 at 3-0 as expected, they’ll have their teenagers to thank.
It’s not rare that true freshmen play in college football, but excelling right away is a challenge. Two former Gophers who turned quick starts into long-term success have been impressed.
“I know it’s difficult to learn a little bit when you’re a freshman, but that’s usually not the most difficult part,” said Darrell Thompson, the school’s career rushing leader who now is a radio analyst. “The most difficult part for me when I was a freshman was just the physicality. The game is much more physical in college, and the things I did in high school, they did not work in college.”
Thompson made his debut in the 1986 opener against Bowling Green and rushed for four touchdowns and 205 yards, a yardage record at the time for a first game. “My first game was pretty good,” the former Rochester John Marshall star deadpanned.
Greg Eslinger, a center who started as a true freshman in 2002, recalled his first game, the opener against Southwest Texas State.
“I was extremely nervous but extremely excited, too,” said Eslinger, whose only FBS scholarship offer out of Bismarck (N.D.) was the Gophers. “I call it a dream in fast forward for me. I came in hoping I would see some playing time my junior or senior year. To get thrown in there right away was certainly a shock for me, but I was so excited.”
http://www.startribune.com/true-fre...ving-thriving-for-gophers-football/493331661/
“It’s not that you are younger at three or four positions and these are insignificant [positions],” coach P.J. Fleck said. “These are incredibly important roles for our football team to have success.”
The Gophers are 2-0 with a 48-10 blowout of New Mexico State and the tense win over a veteran Fresno State team. Mostly because of necessity, Fleck has played 28 freshmen (16 true and 12 redshirt), and that will continue Saturday afternoon, when the Gophers play host to Miami (Ohio) in their final nonconference game. If the Gophers get to their Big Ten opener in Maryland on Sept. 22 at 3-0 as expected, they’ll have their teenagers to thank.
It’s not rare that true freshmen play in college football, but excelling right away is a challenge. Two former Gophers who turned quick starts into long-term success have been impressed.
“I know it’s difficult to learn a little bit when you’re a freshman, but that’s usually not the most difficult part,” said Darrell Thompson, the school’s career rushing leader who now is a radio analyst. “The most difficult part for me when I was a freshman was just the physicality. The game is much more physical in college, and the things I did in high school, they did not work in college.”
Thompson made his debut in the 1986 opener against Bowling Green and rushed for four touchdowns and 205 yards, a yardage record at the time for a first game. “My first game was pretty good,” the former Rochester John Marshall star deadpanned.
Greg Eslinger, a center who started as a true freshman in 2002, recalled his first game, the opener against Southwest Texas State.
“I was extremely nervous but extremely excited, too,” said Eslinger, whose only FBS scholarship offer out of Bismarck (N.D.) was the Gophers. “I call it a dream in fast forward for me. I came in hoping I would see some playing time my junior or senior year. To get thrown in there right away was certainly a shock for me, but I was so excited.”
http://www.startribune.com/true-fre...ving-thriving-for-gophers-football/493331661/