John Galt
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Right now there appears to be great expectations about the direction of Gopher football under coach Kill. My guess is 90+% on here are very optimistic and feel that we will see significant improvement this year. With that in mind, I was thinking about what we might be missing and how we could end up struggling this year.
1. QB depth. Nelson should be really good by the time he's an upperclassman, but he's still only a true sophomore. If he struggles or gets injured we could be in a world of hurt. Shortell was never going to be a great QB in this system, but his transfer was still a big loss because of the depth he provided. If we're relying on Leidner, Foreman, and Streveler for an extended period of time, it could get ugly.
2. WR play. Who can get open and make plays downfield consistently? Engel, Fruechte, and DCT would have been 3rd WRs on a good passing team last year. Do we have someone that can step up and catch 40-50 balls this year? We need McDonald to get back on the team and be an outside threat.
3. O-line. Lots of potential and they have looked good against the weak B1G teams and Texas Tech, but they still need to get better. The turning point will be when we can rush the ball all game long against a good B1G team. The line is still relatively young with only one senior starter (E. Olson) and might still be a year away from prime time.
4. Stopping the run. We wore down and couldn't do it in the 2nd half in all of our B1G losses except NW. What will be different this year? Can the D-line learn to both rush the passer and contain the run? Who is our MLB? The fact that the top two guys on the depth chart have never played a minute of college football at the D-1 level might be the biggest cause for concern on the entire team.
5. Special teams. Since I've learned to never expect anything from a true freshman, my money is on Hawthorne kicking this year and Eldred punting. Neither instills a lot of confidence, so if they can both be average it should be a pleasant surprise.
6. Senior leadership. Good teams win with seniors, and we don't have many again. Hageman, Hill and Vereen will be the senior starters on Defense. Olson and Engel on offense.
If we can get good results in these 6 areas, the Gophers could surprise this year and make it to 8 wins. I still think 2014 is the year where it should all come together and we should see significant improvement with wins and losses.
1. QB depth. Nelson should be really good by the time he's an upperclassman, but he's still only a true sophomore. If he struggles or gets injured we could be in a world of hurt. Shortell was never going to be a great QB in this system, but his transfer was still a big loss because of the depth he provided. If we're relying on Leidner, Foreman, and Streveler for an extended period of time, it could get ugly.
2. WR play. Who can get open and make plays downfield consistently? Engel, Fruechte, and DCT would have been 3rd WRs on a good passing team last year. Do we have someone that can step up and catch 40-50 balls this year? We need McDonald to get back on the team and be an outside threat.
3. O-line. Lots of potential and they have looked good against the weak B1G teams and Texas Tech, but they still need to get better. The turning point will be when we can rush the ball all game long against a good B1G team. The line is still relatively young with only one senior starter (E. Olson) and might still be a year away from prime time.
4. Stopping the run. We wore down and couldn't do it in the 2nd half in all of our B1G losses except NW. What will be different this year? Can the D-line learn to both rush the passer and contain the run? Who is our MLB? The fact that the top two guys on the depth chart have never played a minute of college football at the D-1 level might be the biggest cause for concern on the entire team.
5. Special teams. Since I've learned to never expect anything from a true freshman, my money is on Hawthorne kicking this year and Eldred punting. Neither instills a lot of confidence, so if they can both be average it should be a pleasant surprise.
6. Senior leadership. Good teams win with seniors, and we don't have many again. Hageman, Hill and Vereen will be the senior starters on Defense. Olson and Engel on offense.
If we can get good results in these 6 areas, the Gophers could surprise this year and make it to 8 wins. I still think 2014 is the year where it should all come together and we should see significant improvement with wins and losses.
