Updates to the roster

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Killjoy

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I was checking something on the official roster and notice the following two new additions:

Brian Bobek
Class: Sophomore Hometown: Inverness, Ill. High School: William Fremd Last College: Ohio State
Height / Weight: 6-2 / 285 Position: Center

2012 • Sophmore Season:
Practiced with team but could not compete due to NCAA transfer regulations

2011 • Freshman Season:
Lettered at Ohio State, while playing in a couple early season games • decided to transfer to Minnesota following the 2011 season.

High School:
Skilled offensive lineman who was a three-year starter for Coach Mike Donatucci at Palatine's Fremd High • U.S. Army All-American Bowl • Parade, RivalsHigh and Scout.com All-America • first team all-state from Chicago Tribune, Champaign News Gazette, Rivals, Daily Herald • Chicago Sun-Times all-area and Daily Herald all-area • Daily Herald Cook County 2010-11 Athlete of the Year • conference champion in shot put and discus • honor roll • son of Jeff and Terri Bobek • father played Linebacker at Iowa and mother played women's basketball for the Hawkeyes • brother Jeff is a fullback at Michigan State

Kyle Fodness
Class: Freshman Hometown: Bemidji, Minn High School: Bemidji HS Height / Weight:
5-11 / 165 Position: Kicker

High School:
Attended Bemidji High School •converted all 26 extra point attempts and 3 of 4 field goal attempts during his only year of high school football competition • set the school record for extra points in a single game with 6 • was twice named the team's Special Teams Player of the Week • was a 1st team All-State selection for soccer during his senior season • captain of the varsity tennis team.
 



Thanks station19 - I remember seeing the article but he wasn't on the roster until recently so I was worried that something had happened. Glad to see that he made it.
 




Killjoy....I can see station19 right now......... #48???????
 

Anyanwu has been listed on the official roster as an ATH and at 230 lbs. Kill called him a TE today and said that he's up to 255 lbs (with Williams up to 250). With Goodger, Plsek, Williams, and Anyanwu, our TE corps is going to be deep, talented, and athletic for the next several years. I thought we were going to be in trouble there after Rabe graduated, but these guys have been so good that they've practically relegated Rabe to the bench.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Anyanwu has been listed on the official roster as an ATH and at 230 lbs. Kill called him a TE today and said that he's up to 255 lbs (with Williams up to 250). With Goodger, Plsek, Williams, and Anyanwu, our TE corps is going to be deep, talented, and athletic for the next several years. I thought we were going to be in trouble there after Rabe graduated, but these guys have been so good that they've practically relegated Rabe to the bench.
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Very interesting! Right now I am probably most concerned about the strength of our linebackers for next year. Maybe we will need to move one of the guys above to linebacker.
 



Killjoy said:
Very interesting! Right now I am probably most concerned about the strength of our linebackers for next year. Maybe we will need to move one of the guys above to linebacker.
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I would not be surprised to see Plsek moved to DE (or more likely DT) before next season. He is already very large for a freshman, and is young for his grade (theoretically meaning lots of room left to grow), and has a defensive player's mentality. I don't see any of these guys moving to LB. They are all too big, and too tall in particular. I could see them fortifying the LB corps by growing out some more safeties over the summer.
 

Killjoy said:
Very interesting! Right now I am probably most concerned about the strength of our linebackers for next year. Maybe we will need to move one of the guys above to linebacker.
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Which brings up a question I have had... How is Edwards doing at LB? I have been wondering about his impact this year. Has he been getting more comfortable in a relatively new role?
 

dpodoll68 said:
I would not be surprised to see Plsek moved to DE (or more likely DT) before next season. He is already very large for a freshman, and is young for his grade (theoretically meaning lots of room left to grow), and has a defensive player's mentality. I don't see any of these guys moving to LB. They are all too big, and too tall in particular. I could see them fortifying the LB corps by growing out some more safeties over the summer.
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I'd be shocked to see Plsek move anywhere, they didn't start playing him as a true freshman at TE so they could move him to defense the following year. We have 4 freshman and sophomore DE's already in the rotation (Amaefula, Cockran, Perry, Keith) and 2 more on the way next year. We also return all of our DT's and have Hinojosa enrolling in January. The idea with Plsek is that he's going to be a blocking TE, almost like a 3rd OT. Put him next to E. Olson or Campion next year, and next to Pirsig the year after that, and there won't be many teams able to stop us from picking up a few yards when we need it.
 

I forgot about Bobek. I wonder how he has been doing in practice.
 



Bobek will be interesting to watch. Clearly had a lot of talent coming out of high school but sounds like he fell out of favor with Urban Meyer when he took over. Despite how Christensen played on Saturday it seems like we have a definite need at center. Guys like him usually have a chip on their shoulder because they feel like they got a raw deal so that could bode really well for us.
 

I am not at all surprised to see Duke be able to put on all that weight. It is one of the main reasons why I wanted the Gophers to offer him last year. He just turned 18 about a month ago. So he is more than just young for his grade, he should be a SR in HS right now. So the fact that he was able to make a big leap from 230 to 255 is not surprising at all.

He has good ball skills, played WR quite a bit in HS. However, he is a kid who I wouldn't be shocked to see make the switch to defense. I just don't see Williams, Plsek, Goodger, Anyanwu all staying at the TE position. I'm not sure it will be Duke who moves, only because I think he'll probably end up being the best receiver out of that group.
 

mnsports1 said:
Which brings up a question I have had... How is Edwards doing at LB? I have been wondering about his impact this year. Has he been getting more comfortable in a relatively new role?
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He's been playing quite a bit. I would say that he's been ok. All of our LBers have struggled some
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I am not at all surprised to see Duke be able to put on all that weight. It is one of the main reasons why I wanted the Gophers to offer him last year. He just turned 18 about a month ago. So he is more than just young for his grade, he should be a SR in HS right now. So the fact that he was able to make a big leap from 230 to 255 is not surprising at all.

He has good ball skills, played WR quite a bit in HS. However, he is a kid who I wouldn't be shocked to see make the switch to defense. I just don't see Williams, Plsek, Goodger, Anyanwu all staying at the TE position. I'm not sure it will be Duke who moves, only because I think he'll probably end up being the best receiver out of that group.
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Have there been any updates on Duke's rehab from the knee surgery?
 


Killjoy said:
I was checking something on the official roster and notice the following two new additions:

Brian Bobek
Class: Sophomore Hometown: Inverness, Ill. High School: William Fremd Last College: Ohio State
Height / Weight: 6-2 / 285 Position: Center

2012 • Sophmore Season:
Practiced with team but could not compete due to NCAA transfer regulations

2011 • Freshman Season:
Lettered at Ohio State, while playing in a couple early season games • decided to transfer to Minnesota following the 2011 season.

High School:
Skilled offensive lineman who was a three-year starter for Coach Mike Donatucci at Palatine's Fremd High • U.S. Army All-American Bowl • Parade, RivalsHigh and Scout.com All-America • first team all-state from Chicago Tribune, Champaign News Gazette, Rivals, Daily Herald • Chicago Sun-Times all-area and Daily Herald all-area • Daily Herald Cook County 2010-11 Athlete of the Year • conference champion in shot put and discus • honor roll • son of Jeff and Terri Bobek • father played Linebacker at Iowa and mother played women's basketball for the Hawkeyes • brother Jeff is a fullback at Michigan State

Kyle Fodness
Class: Freshman Hometown: Bemidji, Minn High School: Bemidji HS Height / Weight:
5-11 / 165 Position: Kicker

High School:
Attended Bemidji High School •converted all 26 extra point attempts and 3 of 4 field goal attempts during his only year of high school football competition • set the school record for extra points in a single game with 6 • was twice named the team's Special Teams Player of the Week • was a 1st team All-State selection for soccer during his senior season • captain of the varsity tennis team.
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Wrote these up myself :)
 



Killjoy said:
I am to lazy to do that. Instead I used my kindergarten skills and copied it and them pasted it to my comment.:)
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Don't feel bad, I did the same thing for Bobek's high school section from the Ohio State website
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I am not at all surprised to see Duke be able to put on all that weight. It is one of the main reasons why I wanted the Gophers to offer him last year. He just turned 18 about a month ago. So he is more than just young for his grade, he should be a SR in HS right now. So the fact that he was able to make a big leap from 230 to 255 is not surprising at all.

He has good ball skills, played WR quite a bit in HS. However, he is a kid who I wouldn't be shocked to see make the switch to defense. I just don't see Williams, Plsek, Goodger, Anyanwu all staying at the TE position. I'm not sure it will be Duke who moves, only because I think he'll probably end up being the best receiver out of that group.
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If I remember correctly, didn't Maxx play quite a bit of LB in high school? Could he be a potential MLB candidate with his size.

Even though all these guys are young, they will be spaced out well between classes: 1 jr, 1 soph, 2 fresh. With the amount of 2 TE sets that Limegrover likes to run, we should be set up pretty well for the next several years.
 

Here is a Q&A we did with Fodness in June when he decided to attend the U:

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/155803?referrer_id=394965


Kyle Fodness, a 5-foot-11, 165-pound kicker from Bemidji, will walk-on at Minnesota. Fodness and his father recently visited the camps and watched the Gopher summer football camp and toured the campus. Gopher Hole.com caught up with Fodness to learn more about his college choice and expectations with the Gophers.

Fodness has been a multi-sport athlete for the Lumberjacks. He was a Minnesota State High School Soccer Coaches Association Class A All-State first team selection as a senior. Fodness played tennis for his father, Mark, and advanced to the semifinals of the Section 8-2A doubles tournament. The fourth-place section finish was the third highest by a Bemidji doubles team during the past 25 years.

Lumberjacks kicker Jon Henry injured his knee prior to the season, leaving the team scrambling for a replacement. Fodness volunteered and made 27 of 27 extra points and all seven field goal attempts as he helped lead Bemidji to the Class 4A championship game.

Gopher Hole: What was the main reason you decided to be a walk-on at Minnesota?

Kyle Fodness: I’m just excited. I have always been a huge Gopher fan. It runs in the family. It was just a great, exciting opportunity. I love the staff here. I love the program.

Gopher Hole: What have they said about your chance of competing for the kicking job?

Kyle Fodness: They haven’t really said too much and I’m not that worried about that. I just want to come down and get better. I want to get into the program and get started working on my kicking. Just contribute to the program in any way possible when you are on a team like this. That is what you have to look at.

Gopher Hole: When are you planning on starting school?

Kyle Fodness: I am starting school the first day on classes, the day after Labor Day.

Gopher Hole: What do you see as your strengths as a kicker?

Kyle Fodness: I think right now, my strengths is how much I still have room to improve with not kicking a lot. I was kind of new to it and now I am just getting a lot of work with different coaches and looking at film. Improving my strength and flexibility.

Gopher Hole: What things are you working on to continue to improve yourself?

Kyle Fodness: As far as athletics, definitely, flexibility and leg strength. Technique. I kind of self-taught myself a little bit, but now that I have been working with different coaches, I have been able to change my technique and add some more distance.

Gopher Hole: Do you like the pressure of being the kicker because it can be a thankless job that you are often only notice when you don’t do what you are supposed?

Kyle Fodness: I like it. I like being in that pressure situation in soccer and tennis. That is why you play sports is to be in those situations and go for the win. Some you hit and some you don’t, but if you don’t hit it, you just get back up and kick the next one. If you hit it, that’s great. I love being in that position

Gopher Hole: Do you think having that soccer background helps you as a kicker?

Kyle Fodness: Yes. I took penalty kicks for our high school team, which is very similar, in the fact that you are the one up there and everyone is watching. I have been doing that for three years with my high school team. That helps with the mental aspect.

Gopher Hole: What college camps did you get a chance to go to last year?

Kyle Fodness: I went to a Kohl’s kicking camp at Iowa State.

Gopher Hole: What other schools were you hearing from besides Minnesota?

Kyle Fodness: I heard primarily from UND. That was the other one I was looking at going to until I heard from the Gophers and that worked out.

Gopher Hole: When did you start to hear from the Gophers?

Kyle Fodness: Originally in February and then they had period of no contact for recruits and then it heated up in April, which is when everything got finalized.

Gopher Hole: Was that tough not knowing where you are going to college when all your friends are saying that they are going to this school or that school?

Kyle Fodness: A little bit, but I think that I had it set through soccer or football. I had it narrowed down to a list of schools I was comfortable with and I knew that I had options to fall back on, whether it was UND for football or say Concordia with soccer. When the “U” offered, it was just one of those things where I was already secure, but right away, I knew that I wanted to do this.

Gopher Hole: The Gophers have had some kickers who started as a walk-ons and have done well and ended up getting scholarships. Have the Gophers talked to you about that and what you have to do to maybe earn a scholarship down the road?

Kyle Fodness: The great thing about this staff is when you come in, whether you are a scholarship player or a walk-on, different players have said that you can’t tell by the way the players are treated or anything like that. They are great. That will kind of take care of itself and that is how I kind of want to look at it. I am just going to come down and work and kick and work out.

Gopher Hole: Have you thought about a field of study yet?

Kyle Fodness: Looking at history. My dad teaches history at the middle school, so I am looking at that. We’ll see. I am going to go in undecided, but I really like that field of history or education.
 

Let the kid walk on and have a shot in Spring camp to be our kicker....in fact let any high schooler walk on if he\she can kick - we have obviously had bad luck with kickers recently. Next.......
 

Parski1 said:
Let the kid walk on and have a shot in Spring camp to be our kicker....in fact let any high schooler walk on if he\she can kick - we have obviously had bad luck with kickers recently. Next.......
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He has walked on, he's on the team.
 

John Galt said:
If I remember correctly, didn't Maxx play quite a bit of LB in high school? Could he be a potential MLB candidate with his size.

Even though all these guys are young, they will be spaced out well between classes: 1 jr, 1 soph, 2 fresh. With the amount of 2 TE sets that Limegrover likes to run, we should be set up pretty well for the next several years.
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Yeah, you're right that they are spread out a bit. I just think it's a position especially with Maxx and Anywanu where one of them could help just as much on defense. You're right though, they'd all get PT.

Maxx and Duke both played quite a bit of LB in HS. They actually both played just about every single position (WR, RB, QB, LB, DL). It'll be interesting to see what these two guys end up doing. They both are pretty tall with big frames. It wouldn't surprise me to see either of them end up at LB, TE or even DT.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
Yeah, you're right that they are spread out a bit. I just think it's a position especially with Maxx and Anywanu where one of them could help just as much on defense. You're right though, they'd all get PT.

Maxx and Duke both played quite a bit of LB in HS. They actually both played just about every single position (WR, RB, QB, LB, DL). It'll be interesting to see what these two guys end up doing . They both are pretty tall with big frames. It wouldn't surprise me to see either of them end up at LB, TE or even DT.
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Same with these two RS: Ben Holcomb 6/4 200lb and Cedric Dicke 6/3 200 both listed as DB's. Holcomb was a standout hurdler and Dicke was an all around athlete. No one talks about them and it will be interesting to watch their development.

Both could end up as tall and rangy safeties kinda like Brian Peters 6/3 215lb from NU who graduated last year. Or maybe one or both could be LB material.
 

Parski1 said:
Let the kid walk on and have a shot in Spring camp to be our kicker....in fact let any high schooler walk on if he\she can kick - we have obviously had bad luck with kickers recently. Next.......
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No sheeot. I would let Stevie Wonder kick if I felt he would make the kicks.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Same with these two RS: Ben Holcomb 6/4 200lb and Cedric Dicke 6/3 200 both listed as DB's. Holcomb was a standout hurdler and Dicke was an all around athlete. No one talks about them and it will be interesting to watch their development.

Both could end up as tall and rangy safeties kinda like Brian Peters 6/3 215lb from NU who graduated last year. Or maybe one or both could be LB material.
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I've got to think at least one of these 2 end up at LB, possibly one of Antonio Johnson/Demarius Travis too.

If I recall Holcomb is the bigger of the walk on duo, seemed to have a solid frame, Dicke to me looked thinner and leaner. FWIW

I could see Williams playing DE, by accounts he was a heck of a hitter in HS and with Anyanwu/Plsek/Goodger I think you've got a nice mix. Of course Williams could end up being all big ten at TE too, it's always fun to analyze the potential of these young guys isn't it!
 

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