Well, by golly, we did end up losing exactly seven guys off the D.

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Section2 said:
Kamal was just ok his sophomore and junior years. He was much improved this year for sure, but not healthy.
Barber was the opposite, pretty damn good as a soph and seemed to get worse over time, assuming injuries or something. I'm sure he was good at the unseen things, leading the defense, calls, etc. But in terms of play, pretty invisible.
Carter took a big step back this year, and we can be confident that was because of injuries. Still very good, but had he made noticeable improvement this year, should have been a force.
Renner was the best of the bunch this year, and was really disruptive and will be the biggest loss from the front 7.
Devers and Winston were serviceable but not standouts.
Boye is more explosive than Carter was this year IMO. And still young and growing.
Count me as excited to see Schad, who really flashed this year and could take a big step.
Sori Marin and Oliver both improved immensely by the end of the year. Oliver is really explosive. And the strength of our recent recruiting might be LB. Not at all worried at that position. Rush kind of disappeared but got the most praise from Fleck.

Bottom line, the guys we are worried about missing, are guys in general who either regressed this past year, or improved substantially from the previous year. No reason the guys behind them can't make a similar leap. And the guys who regressed have productivity that won't be hard to replace.
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Barber was the anchor and rock over the past three years. Very, very good. His play didn't drop off, those around him improved.
 

zman said:
Some forum fan from the past?
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Yes, but typically just PMs. Likes to insult my wife and family. Funny Stuff. This is screen name 5 or 6. I’m sure his parents are beaming with pride.
 

Penn State went up and down the field on us........close to 600 yards. Luckily, we got a few turnovers.

Against Iowa in the first half, we did not exist. Probably partly due to a PSU hangover, but we looked like schit that first half defensively down in Iowa.

Wisconsin rolled us up also.

Against the good teams, this team was not good defensively.

I think we are going to be putting better athletes out on the field from here on out. I actually expect us to be better defensively and awfully dam good the following year.
 


Spoofin said:
The rub is all year we have sung the praises of Martin, Coughlin, Renner -- now, they are all easily replaceable - and weren't all that great this year anyway.
Our OC is a genius all year - now we hear all about his issues and the new guy being as good or even an upgrade.
I know some people are eternal optimists and have to put a positive spin on everything, but it just gets so darn silly sometimes......
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To me, it’s just as puzzling that some try so hard to convince everyone that we’re fucked because we lost a few starters. That’s what happens in college football! Anyway, I think we have more depth at the DL and LB positions than we do at corner, which is why I think it would have been more difficult to replace SJ or CD. They already have to replace Williamson. I don’t trust T. Smith yet. Hopefully, one of the true freshman can step up and provide some reliable depth.
 

Goldteam said:
Penn State went up and down the field on us........close to 600 yards. Luckily, we got a few turnovers.

Against Iowa in the first half, we did not exist. Probably partly due to a PSU hangover, but we looked like schit that first half defensively down in Iowa.

Wisconsin rolled us up also.

Against the good teams, this team was not good defensively.

I think we are going to be putting better athletes out on the field from here on out. I actually expect us to be better defensively and awfully dam good the following year.
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Yikes. Surprised Gophs were able to pull out a victory...let alone 11.
 

Spoofin said:
The rub is all year we have sung the praises of Martin, Coughlin, Renner -- now, they are all easily replaceable - and weren't all that great this year anyway.
Our OC is a genius all year - now we hear all about his issues and the new guy being as good or even an upgrade.
I know some people are eternal optimists and have to put a positive spin on everything, but it just gets so darn silly sometimes......
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Hey, Gophs have had guys step up year after year and fill the voids over the past seven years. 2020 will be no different.
 

PitinoFan said:
To me, it’s just as puzzling that some try so hard to convince everyone that we’re fucked because we lost a few starters. That’s what happens in college football! Anyway, I think we have more depth at the DL and LB positions than we do at corner, which is why I think it would have been more difficult to replace SJ or CD. They already have to replace Williamson. I don’t trust T. Smith yet. Hopefully, one of the true freshman can step up and provide some reliable depth.
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I really don’t think anyone is saying we are f**ked, but rather they are not dismissing the loss of key players with a yawn.

Also, it doesn’t need to be puzzling. I’ll explain:
- positive feedback, predictions, opponent evaluation, future thoughts, coach analysis, etc. and all is good. Great Fan. Love the post.
- negative? Not so much.
Like sand through the hour glass......
 









The defense loses a ton of production, eg over 50% of tackles so really hard to say whether the defense will be definitely better or worse. Nobody knows right now.

IMO (obviously) good chance MN is better along the DL in 2020. Excited to see Schad, Carter, Teague, Mafe, Otomewo, and maybe one of the redshirts make an impact. Excited to see Chidi’s son Mayan - good bloodline. There also seems to be one guy that comes out of left field a little bit eg Renner.

Count me in tentative prove it made with the LBs. Love Oliver’s athleticism, MSM had some production this year but seemingly gave up explosive plays just about every game second to biting on misdirection - obviously that should improve as time goes on. Behind those two not sure? One of the Minnesota homegrowns? Some of the redshirts? Highly rated Brown?

Question marks at DB. Nubin, Smith are exciting athletes. Winfield is a huge loss. St Juste is a stud. Is Sapp ever going to emerge? Brown? True freshman Glaze...
 

This board is a little bit schizophrenic at times.

On signing day, all we hear about is how great all these recruits are.

But, when the seniors graduate, it's "how are we going to replace the seniors?"

Well, if the recruits are as good as everyone says on signing day, then hopefully they will be ready to move into the starting lineup.

The biggest thing you lose with seniors is experience and knowledge of the system. BUT - if the recruiting is that good, then you should have quality athletes waiting in the wings. AND, if the coaches are doing a good job of teaching those young players the system, there should not be a big drop-off from one season to the next. It's not like the Gophers are losing a dozen players who will be 1st or 2nd-round draft picks.

According to the B1G Coaches all-conf teams, Gophers are losing

1 1st-tm all-conf on offense (Johnson) and 1 2nd-team (Smith.)
1 1st-tm all conf on defense (Winfield), 1 2nd-team (Coughlin) and 2 HM (Renner, Martin)
 

Pompous Elitist said:
The defense loses a ton of production, eg over 50% of tackles so really hard to say whether the defense will be definitely better or worse. Nobody knows right now.

IMO (obviously) good chance MN is better along the DL in 2020. Excited to see Schad, Carter, Teague, Mafe, Otomewo, and maybe one of the redshirts make an impact. Excited to see Chidi’s son Mayan - good bloodline. There also seems to be one guy that comes out of left field a little bit eg Renner.

Count me in tentative prove it made with the LBs. Love Oliver’s athleticism, MSM had some production this year but seemingly gave up explosive plays just about every game second to biting on misdirection - obviously that should improve as time goes on. Behind those two not sure? One of the Minnesota homegrowns? Some of the redshirts? Highly rated Brown?

Question marks at DB. Nubin, Smith are exciting athletes. Winfield is a huge loss. St Juste is a stud. Is Sapp ever going to emerge? Brown? True freshman Glaze...
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Agree that the DL should be improved next year if guys keep improving. Lot of size and experience along the line.

LB is definitely the biggest questionmark.

Replacing Winfield will be difficult, time to find out what kind of player Nubin can be.
 

Pompous Elitist said:
The defense loses a ton of production, eg over 50% of tackles so really hard to say whether the defense will be definitely better or worse. Nobody knows right now.

IMO (obviously) good chance MN is better along the DL in 2020. Excited to see Schad, Carter, Teague, Mafe, Otomewo, and maybe one of the redshirts make an impact. Excited to see Chidi’s son Mayan - good bloodline. There also seems to be one guy that comes out of left field a little bit eg Renner.

Count me in tentative prove it made with the LBs. Love Oliver’s athleticism, MSM had some production this year but seemingly gave up explosive plays just about every game second to biting on misdirection - obviously that should improve as time goes on. Behind those two not sure? One of the Minnesota homegrowns? Some of the redshirts? Highly rated Brown?

Question marks at DB. Nubin, Smith are exciting athletes. Winfield is a huge loss. St Juste is a stud. Is Sapp ever going to emerge? Brown? True freshman Glaze...
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I must have missed MSM constantly biting on misdirection to give up big plays.
 

btowngopher said:
I must have missed MSM constantly biting on misdirection to give up big plays.
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Weakest link on defense in 2019 but as Bob pointed out is/will improve. He’s stout, physically. Liked how he blew up the RB getting to the QB a couple t8mes.
 

MSM is an inside the box, old school Mike LB. He can't get isolated in space, due to lack of agility. I was critical of him throughout the year, but I thought he played very well in the bowl game. He was sound and physical. The coaching staff will scheme up ways to take advantage of his strengths, and limit the chances of him being exploited.
 

Polski said:
MSM is an inside the box, old school Mike LB. He can't get isolated in space, due to lack of agility. I was critical of him throughout the year, but I thought he played very well in the bowl game. He was sound and physical. The coaching staff will scheme up ways to take advantage of his strengths, and limit the chances of him being exploited.
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Much like Barber. Except MSM is still bigger and more athletic than Barber.
 




PitinoFan said:
MSM is gonna be a good player. (y)
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I think so, eventually. I thought he was pretty bad and slow early this year - but improved a lot. I’m reminded after watching Sam Schlueter this year that college kids can improve a lot in a short time.
 

Spoofin said:
I really don’t think anyone is saying we are f**ked, but rather they are not dismissing the loss of key players with a yawn.

Also, it doesn’t need to be puzzling. I’ll explain:
- positive feedback, predictions, opponent evaluation, future thoughts, coach analysis, etc. and all is good. Great Fan. Love the post.
- negative? Not so much.
Like sand through the hour glass......
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The best teams replace players, and that's expectation of many. We're losing several good players.
 

Spoofin said:
I think so, eventually. I thought he was pretty bad and slow early this year - but improved a lot. I’m reminded after watching Sam Schlueter this year that college kids can improve a lot in a short time.
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I think the “slow” part was due to inexperience. This is his 247 scouting report. They have him down for a 4.77 40 and 34” vertical. Those aren’t “elite” numbers, but still decent for someone of that size. Note the bolded part about needing to read and diagnose plays more quickly. I think that’s what we saw earlier in the year.

Fast, athletic linebacker prospect who tested well and then had a good senior season. Missed time as a sophomore and junior, so he has played a relatively small amount of football compared to his peers. As a result, he still needs work on reading and diagnosing plays more quickly, but there is no doubt that he gets to the football in a hurry. He also has all the athletic tools necessary to play in space and coverage.
 

Spoofin said:
I think so, eventually. I thought he was pretty bad and slow early this year - but improved a lot. I’m reminded after watching Sam Schlueter this year that college kids can improve a lot in a short time.
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Sam Renner as well.
 

Spoofin said:
Did you miss the first half of the season?
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I’d have to go back and watch to really evaluate him, but if he wasn’t making the same mistakes in the second half then he wasn’t constantly messing up. It’s not like Barber had a standout year.
 

PMWinSTP said:
I believe he had the most tackles over the past three years.
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Possibly, but I don't consider his production and impact as one that'll be struggle to replace......but he's been solid player for MN
 

salzie said:
Possibly, but I don't consider his production and impact as one that'll be struggle to replace......but he's been solid player for MN
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Barber had a really quiet year in 2019. He was one of those guys that played a ton but you rarely noticed him either in a positive or negative way. Just a good solid all around player, not a game changer but also someone that won't hurt you on most plays either.

Great kid from a great family. Not sure how much of a look he will get from the NFL but hopefully he can find a way to get on a roster somewhere. The Barber family will always be legendary in terms of Gopher football.
 

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