We Are a Young Team

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Indi1006

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Below is our starting line-up with their eligibility year in football and their ages. We're not fielding a young team. If some want to argue the older kids aren't Kill's recruits or something else along those lines or maybe it matters to some that our second and third teams are young then knock yourselves out, but let's stop with overall this being a young team nonsense. The two 19 year olds on O are the Williams boys and both of them are physically quite able to compete in the B1G. We may have excuses as to why we're not very good but it's not because we're sending a ton of 18 and 19 year old kids out there to battle against older fellas from the other team.

Here are the years in school and ages of our starting lineup from Saturday:

Engel: RS senior 22 years old
Fruechte: RS junior 22 years old
Goodger: junior 21 years old
Williams: RS freshman 19 years old
Campion: RS Sophomore 22 years old
Bak: RS sophomore 21 years old
Christiensen: RS sophomore 21 years old
Epping: RS junior 21 years old
Lauer: RS freshman 19 years old
Nelson: Sophomore 20 years old
Williams, Jr: Sophomore 19 years old

Average age of O: 20.65 years old

Amaefula: Junior 20 years old
Bottecelli: RS junior 22 years old
Hageman: RS senior 23 years old
Cockran: RS sophomore 21 years old
Hill: RS senior 23 years old
Wilson: junior 20 years old
Campbell: RS sophomore 20 years old
Murray: Sophomore 20 years old
Thompson: Junior 20 years old
Vereen: Senior 21 years old
Well: Junior 20 years old

Average age of D: 20.90 years old
 

...and losing only three seniors.

I fully expect this time to (continue to) improve over the next two years based solely on players growing into their roles. And maybe I'm fooling myself, but I still think the offense is going to be a ton more effective as these underclassmen we've got along the offensive line continue to grow up.
 

I'll wait to comment until you do this for all the B10 teams and see how we stack up.
 

Good post. Our O line and RB's are not young. Ben Lauer got absolutely worked on almost every play. Iowa's D line absolutely manhandled our o line.
 

Yea add Ed Olson to the starting line 23 year old senior. He would be a solid sr starter
 


play hard said:
Yea add Ed Olson to the starting line 23 year old senior. He would be a solid sr starter
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This is like saying Jimmy Gjere would be a solid sr. starter. Injuries are part of the game and unfortunately cost Ed. There are 19 OL's on the roster and these are the best we have. Hope they get better as the year goes on or we might see more new (young) faces on the line next year.
 

I can try Iowa if you want a comparison. I really don't know if we're really all that young at our starting positions or not. Have a lot of FR-SO players in 2 deeps though

#68 Scherff OT RS JR Age:21
#70 Van Sloten OT SR Age:22
#59 Bofelli OG SR Age:22
#65 Walsh OG RS SO Age 20
#63 Blythe C RS SO Age 21

#15 Rudock QB SO Age 20
#45 Weisman RB JR Age 22
#11 Martin-Manley WR JR Age 20
#4 Smith WR SO Age 20
#86 Fiedorowicz TE SR Age 21
#38 Cox FB SO Age 21

#79 Alvis SR DE Age 22
#95 Ott SO DE Age 20
#71 Davis JR DT Age 21
#90 Trinca-Pasat JR DT Age 22
#31 Hitchens SR LB Age 21
#20 Kirksey SR LB Age 21
#44 Morris SR LB Age 22
#5 Miller SR S Age 22
#36 Lowdermilk JR S Age 21
#19 Lowery SR CB Age 22
#14 King FR CB Age 18
 

Our starting O line:
Campion - So
Bak - So
Christiensen - So
Epping - Jr
Lauer - Fr

In what football universe would this not be considered a young offensive line...much less in the big ten? Please read below and take this one opportunity to remove your head from your arse!

For comparisons sake, here are some starting O-lines for some of our future/past big ten competitors. Only Iowa, who is not considered a top echelon team this year has anything near our starting line and they still have years on us. The rest, we aren't even close.

Iowa:

Schaff - Jr
Boffeli - Sr
Blythe - So
Walsh - So
Slater - Sr

Sconnie:
Marz - So
Gray - Sr
Lewallen - Jr
Costiga - Jr
Haverston - Jr

OSU:
Mewhart - Sr
Norwell - Sr
Linsley - Sr
Hall - Sr
Decker - So

scUM:
Lewan - Sr
Glasgow - Jr
Miller - Sr
Kalis - So
Schofield - Sr

Nebraska:
Sirlas - Sr
Cotton - Jr
Pesick - Sr
Long - Sr
Rodriquez - Sr

Good Big Ten teams start Juniors and Seniors on their offensive line. Maybe one young guy filling in for an injury or a top recruit, but typically, 3, 4 of 5th year players across the front. It has been this way for as long as I have been watching football and I don't expect it to change.

You can keep ranting about how this isn't a young team, but where it counts, up front in the trenches, we are babies compared to the top teams!
 

huh?

Some Day...Is Coming! said:
Good post. Our O line and RB's are not young. Ben Lauer got absolutely worked on almost every play. Iowa's D line absolutely manhandled our o line.
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"not young" what is your definition? we have three sophomores, one junior and a freshman on the offensive line...that's young to me...age is meaningless in this context...experience and time weight training in the program is the difference factor

we have four seniors in our top 22...Iowa has 9 seniors...it's football...this makes a difference in this sport

we got outplayed...you are assuming this is the only game Iowa wins in the Big Ten?, they have a difficult schedule as do we..so they may not win many but they are better than last year and so are the Gophers

"manhandled" maybe but explain away that we won the second half? tell me there is no
hope...tell me you just don't really understand progress or the process involved here and can't see improvement year by year?
 



we've been hearing about how we're a "young team" for nearly 7 years now...
 

thailleagle said:
we've been hearing about how we're a "young team" for nearly 7 years now...
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Unfortunately, that's what happens when you keep firing coaches. If we keep this one for another two years, we probably won't hear it from him for a while.
 

GopherinPhilly said:
Our starting O line:
Campion - So
Bak - So
Christiensen - So
Epping - Jr
Lauer - Fr

In what football universe would this not be considered a young offensive line...much less in the big ten? Please read below and take this one opportunity to remove your head from your arse!

For comparisons sake, here are some starting O-lines for some of our future/past big ten competitors. Only Iowa, who is not considered a top echelon team this year has anything near our starting line and they still have years on us. The rest, we aren't even close.

Iowa:

Schaff - Jr
Boffeli - Sr
Blythe - So
Walsh - So
Slater - Sr

Sconnie:
Carimi - Fr
Kemp - Jr
Coleman - Sr
Urbik - Jr
Heuval - Jr

OSU:
Mewhart - Sr
Norwell - Sr
Linsley - Sr
Hall - Sr
Decker - So

scUM:
Lewan - Sr
Glasgow - Jr
Miller - Sr
Kalis - So
Schofield - Sr

Nebraska:
Sirlas - Sr
Cotton - Jr
Pesick - Sr
Long - Sr
Rodriquez - Sr

Good Big Ten teams start Juniors and Seniors on their offensive line. Maybe one young guy filling in for an injury or a top recruit, but typically, 3, 4 of 5th year players across the front. It has been this way for as long as I have been watching football and I don't expect it to change.

You can keep ranting about how this isn't a young team, but where it counts, up front in the trenches, we are babies compared to the top teams!
Click to expand...

Why did you use Wisconsin's starting line from 2007?
 




60's Guy said:
"not young" what is your definition? we have three sophomores, one junior and a freshman on the offensive line...that's young to me...age is meaningless in this context...experience and time weight training in the program is the difference factor
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You said it, experience is more important than age. While there are few seniors, there are a lot of 3rd and 4th year players who, because the team was so young when Kill arrived, have a ton of starts/game snaps under their belts. Probably more on average than 3rd and 4th year guys at Iowa.

Furthermore, the biggest gains in the weight room are going to be in the first 2 years. So a 3rd year player who has been starting for 1.5 seasons is not likely to make astronomical leaps in size, strength and skill under the same tutelage. I would expect the OL, if it remains intact, to continue to improve and gel as a unit though.
 

Having an experienced and mature OL doesn't automatically guarantee success. Look at our OL in 2010 when we managed to loose 9 in a row and ended up 2-6 and 3-9 overall.

Wills-Sr
Carufel-Sr
Burris-Sr
Bunders-Jr
Alford-SR or Olson RSFr

Add in Wynn, and Orton both Jr's who played a lot due to injuries.

Our current OL could be the starters for the next two seasons, minus Epping in 2015. That could mean that in 2016, we could see guys like Lauer, Pirsig, Mayes, Hayes, Bush as Sr.s & Jr.s. mixed in with some younger (Mayes) and possibly more talented younger guys.

Could this season be the end of claiming a young OL?
 


Bayfieldgopher said:
Having an experienced and mature OL doesn't automatically guarantee success. Look at our OL in 2010 when we managed to loose 9 in a row and ended up 2-6 and 3-9 overall.

Wills-Sr
Carufel-Sr
Burris-Sr
Bunders-Jr
Alford-SR or Olson RSFr

Add in Wynn, and Orton both Jr's who played a lot due to injuries.

Our current OL could be the starters for the next two seasons, minus Epping in 2015. That could mean that in 2016, we could see guys like Lauer, Pirsig, Mayes, Hayes, Bush as Sr.s & Jr.s. mixed in with some younger (Mayes) and possibly more talented younger guys.

Could this season be the end of claiming a young OL?
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Much of the fan base equates "hope it means success" to "it guarantees success".
 

scools12 said:
Much of the fan base equates "hope it means success" to "it guarantees success".
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Close, but the problem is for nearly 2 seasons now "hope it means success" translates into "hope he can hit that Receiver."
 

Agree with other posters. The O-Line is still young. Hard to believe but they are. The O-Line was the #1 problem on Saturday hands down.
 

badgergopher said:
Agree with other posters. The O-Line is still young. Hard to believe but they are. The O-Line was the #1 problem on Saturday hands down.
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True but tied with the Gophers Dline as they again were out of their lanes and failed to put pressure on the QB.
 

When it comes to winning conference games, we are young and not very talented compared to the competition. Losses ensue.
 

Bayfieldgopher said:
Having an experienced and mature OL doesn't automatically guarantee success. Look at our OL in 2010 when we managed to loose 9 in a row and ended up 2-6 and 3-9 overall.

Wills-Sr
Carufel-Sr
Burris-Sr
Bunders-Jr
Alford-SR or Olson RSFr

Add in Wynn, and Orton both Jr's who played a lot due to injuries.

Our current OL could be the starters for the next two seasons, minus Epping in 2015. That could mean that in 2016, we could see guys like Lauer, Pirsig, Mayes, Hayes, Bush as Sr.s & Jr.s. mixed in with some younger (Mayes) and possibly more talented younger guys.

Could this season be the end of claiming a young OL?
Click to expand...

No doubt. Many other factors come into play. Of course, the OP of this thread was a discussion on age and years so I stuck with that. Talent matters. Coaching matters. Luck, injuries & talent of skill positions matter. Time together as a line, consistency in scheme, etc and so on. It all matters.

That said, a line that has played together for a couple of years made up primarily of Jrs & Srs working with a solid coaching staff in the same system from the time they walked on campus will almost always out perform younger linemen regardless of stars. IMO>
 

I don't understand why some get so hung up on the team being young. They are. We don't have enough 4th and 5th year players. This is magnified by the fact that Kill's recruits are freshman and sophomores, with a few juniors thrown in. There was a lack of balance in classes, and positions recruited. It's not an excuse Jerry is making, just a reality.

Are they all freshman and sophomores? No. Is there enough balance of experience around the younger players? No. That will take time to develop.
 

For me the young team is used ad nauseam and loses any significant meaning it has. People understand the position the team is in. Iowa whipped up on the Gophers O-Line and D-Line. No shame in admitting that and just moving on. Yet people IMO use the young team card as if that is the only reason why they were whipped up on. Iowa played better and regardless if the lines are full of Freshmen and Sophomores compared to Juniors and Seniors they still can get beat up on at the line of scrimmage any given day.
 

Minnesotans are suckers for "Aw shucks" style humility. Kill inherited a much better situation than Brewster did & many of the same people saying Kill's team is "young" wanted Brewster gone by year two for not winning. Brew got 4 years, but people are willing to give Kill 7-10. I like Kill, I can see some of the good things he's doing, but the fact is we're no better than we were under Brewster or the end of the Mason regime. Next year no one can say "We're young", or the season after. The excuse at that time will be the schedule....and probably Brewster.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Minnesotans are suckers for "Aw shucks" style humility. Kill inherited a much better situation than Brewster did & many of the same people saying Kill's team is "young" wanted Brewster gone by year two for not winning. Brew got 4 years, but people are willing to give Kill 7-10. I like Kill, I can see some of the good things he's doing, but the fact is we're no better than we were under Brewster or the end of the Mason regime. Next year no one can say "We're young", or the season after. The excuse at that time will be the schedule....and probably Brewster.
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i agree
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Minnesotans are suckers for "Aw shucks" style humility. Kill inherited a much better situation than Brewster did & many of the same people saying Kill's team is "young" wanted Brewster gone by year two for not winning. Brew got 4 years, but people are willing to give Kill 7-10. I like Kill, I can see some of the good things he's doing, but the fact is we're no better than we were under Brewster or the end of the Mason regime. Next year no one can say "We're young", or the season after. The excuse at that time will be the schedule....and probably Brewster.
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Yep, nothing makes a Minnesotan happier than being told how "lousy" things are.
 

Costa Rican Gopher said:
Minnesotans are suckers for "Aw shucks" style humility. Kill inherited a much better situation than Brewster did & many of the same people saying Kill's team is "young" wanted Brewster gone by year two for not winning. Brew got 4 years, but people are willing to give Kill 7-10. I like Kill, I can see some of the good things he's doing, but the fact is we're no better than we were under Brewster or the end of the Mason regime. Next year no one can say "We're young", or the season after. The excuse at that time will be the schedule....and probably Brewster.
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How about this? If Kill starts next season 1-6 and his team looks like a flaming pile of crap, they fire his @$$.
 

Using the blanket term "young" is just not a very appropriate term to be throwing around. Saying a team is "young" is ridiculous without putting it into perspective. The issue is WHERE are you young?

Offensive Line in the Big Ten is a grown man position, and it helps to have a ton of game experience to go with the age. RS FR Ben Lauer was making the second start of his career, and this was his first taste of B1G action, and as some have said he got pushed around all day. Christenson got a little experience last year and some starts this year but is still a SO. Those are arguably the two most critical positions on the O-Line. The other OT position is also being held down by a SOPH.

As it's been said before, you don't have to look any further than Iowa. Last year they lost 3 starting O-linemen in midseason and started rolling out a line that looked a lot like what the Gophers are playing now, and they went in the tank and lost the last 6 games in a row.

I think the line has some good experience, but until they actually have more UPPERCLASSMEN than underclassmen starting, they're going to find the sledding pretty tough. In 2014, the line will resemble what a B1G O-Line should look like. If that group is getting manhandled next year, it could be time to seriously re-evaluate the situation.
 

Ogee Oglethorpe said:
Using the blanket term "young" is just not a very appropriate term to be throwing around. Saying a team is "young" is ridiculous without putting it into perspective. The issue is WHERE are you young?

Offensive Line in the Big Ten is a grown man position, and it helps to have a ton of game experience to go with the age. RS FR Ben Lauer was making the second start of his career, and this was his first taste of B1G action, and as some have said he got pushed around all day. Christenson got a little experience last year and some starts this year but is still a SO. Those are arguably the two most critical positions on the O-Line. The other OT position is also being held down by a SOPH.

As it's been said before, you don't have to look any further than Iowa. Last year they lost 3 starting O-linemen in midseason and started rolling out a line that looked a lot like what the Gophers are playing now, and they went in the tank and lost the last 6 games in a row.

I think the line has some good experience, but until they actually have more UPPERCLASSMEN than underclassmen starting, they're going to find the sledding pretty tough. In 2014, the line will resemble what a B1G O-Line should look like. If that group is getting manhandled next year, it could be time to seriously re-evaluate the situation.
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+1. This is spot on.
 

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