Why is 2022 a "tough rebuild year"?

We had some nice years in the 50s and 60s too, not sure what that has to do with anything.

I think MSU will be decent I just don't know that the 10-2 this year is an accurate reflection of where that program is really at. Tucker brought in a ton of transfers, hit a grand slam with Walker, and had a really soft schedule to rack up wins against.

I won't be shocked if they come back to the pack some next year. Their fans and admin however are going to expect 10 win seasons based on what they are paying Tucker, so for his sake he better keep winning at a really high level or they are going to want to run him out of town pretty quick.
I'm going to be pretty interested to see how B10 teams look in the postseason games. there really weren't many top flight OOC wins for the B10 (MI over Wash who finished 4-8, MN over Colorado who finished 4-8, OSU beat no one, Mich St over Miami who finished 7-5, PSU over 6-6 Auburn, MD over 6-6 WVU, Rutgers no one, Indy no one, Iowa over 7-5 Iowa State, WI no one, Purdue 7-5 Or St, Ill no one, NE no one, NW no one). How much talent any of these teams truly has is going to remain to be seen
 

Next year will be tough as we are losing a number of 5th and 6th year seniors. We have talked about this quite a bit but remember, there are a lot of other schools in the same boat and they will be losing a number of players, too. The transfer portal will be bursting with players and coaches will be watching it closely to see what holes they need to fill.

I think Fleck is very good at utilizing this as a major weapon. I am very interested to see who he brings in. Also on a separate topic - I would expect a few blue chips to come in as a result of the big Wisconsin win. They can show the recruits the axe -- and tell them it's right next to the Governor's Bell when we beat Penn St.!!
 



I'm going to be pretty interested to see how B10 teams look in the postseason games. there really weren't many top flight OOC wins for the B10 (MI over Wash who finished 4-8, MN over Colorado who finished 4-8, OSU beat no one, Mich St over Miami who finished 7-5, PSU over 6-6 Auburn, MD over 6-6 WVU, Rutgers no one, Indy no one, Iowa over 7-5 Iowa State, WI no one, Purdue 7-5 Or St, Ill no one, NE no one, NW no one). How much talent any of these teams truly has is going to remain to be seen
But the B1G is the only conference that gets excited to go Bowling.
 


Schedule is never easy, it is the Big Ten.

To the OP, good breakdown. You forgot about Wright in the WR section. I also agree that the O-Line is going to look different but doesn't mean we are in for a big dropoff there.

Transfers could be the big X-Factor the way they were in 2021. Fleck has proven very good at identifying guys in the portal that can come in and help us. He has found some real gems in the portal and hasn't missed often on those guys.
thank god we're not in the brutal missouri valley conference
 


They should've this year too

lets get the monkey off our back

AND beat Bert (not as important too me, but come on guys)
I meant Penn St should have beat Iowa! But also, yes!
 




way too many variables at this point.

How many players with 'extra' eligibility return? How many leave? ---This is true for the Gophers AND for every other team in the league.

What happens with the transfer portal - both incoming and outgoing? Also true for every team in the league.

How well does Ibrahim return from his injury? big difference if he's 90% vs 70%.

like it or not, with the extra year of eligibility and the new transfer rules, rosters will continue to be very fluid for a few years until all of the covid-era players have washed through their respective programs.

In short, we may not know what the 2022 Gopher roster really looks like until sometime next Spring or Summer.
 


The 2022 crossover schedule appears to be comparable, if not slightly favorable, for the Gophs compared to IA and WI, but finishing the season with 4 of 5 games on the road including MSU, PSU and WI will be brutal. On the bright side, PJs teams have been decent on the road.

Side note (could be different thread): how in the hell does Iowa get Rutgers as a crossover every year for the next four years? Similarly, the Fadgers get OSU each year for the next four. I'm guessing Cheeseland is upset about that.

https://bigten.org/documents/2018/8/29//FUTURE_FOOTBALL_SCHEDULES_2022_25.pdf?id=6057

Rutgers is improving under Schiano and will likely continue to get better. They are also recruiting well. That won't be an easy W for Iowa every year.
 

Rutgers is improving under Schiano and will likely continue to get better. They are also recruiting well. That won't be an easy W for Iowa every year.
Nobody in the big ten is uncompetitive right now except Indiana post injury bug

Even northwestern played Iowa tough.

There are 14 pretty solid coaches in the big ten.
 



The schedule next year seems substantially more daunting. 5 of last seven on the road, including games at Illinois, Neb, MSU, PSU, and WI.

Would be thrilled to see the Gophs maintain strong trajectory but given the program’s patterns over the past few decades, I would expect a strong start with a choppy finish.
PJ tells me we're not going back
 

Brutal last 5 games and lack of starters on OL and DL, and need to figure out the lack of talent at WR
We really don't know about the lack of starters yet until everyone confirms their plans for next season.

Andries
JMS
Ruschmeyer
Mafe
Otomewu
Rush

-- These guys all have eligibility remaining. If I had to bet, Mafe and Andries move on. I think JMS is a crap shoot but the rest of them I think will be back.

On the OL, Nathan Boe played a ton of football. I actually think the Dunlap transfer had to do with Boe passing him in the rotation. He will be solid for us next season.
 

It's really a win-win as far as what happens with Andries and JMS. If they get drafted (along with Big Dan) and we have 3 OL picked in the same year, that's great for recruiting. If one or both comes back, that's great for 2022.

Either way, my confidence in Callahan's ability as an OL coach and the overall direction of the Minnesota Movers is quite a bit higher than it was 2-3 years ago!
 


I saw this mentioned on another thread and I know a few weeks ago, some were chalking 2022 up to a rebuilding year. But I'd like to lay out the position groups and what we KNOW we have back but also what we THINK we may have back too.

QB - We know what we have and Tanner is at the very very least a guy capable of winning more Big Ten games than he loses. Has won 7 and 6 conference games in two of his last three seasons.

RB - Mo is back and we already have two young guys who proved themselves well this year - not even factoring in Potts or Williams.

WR - I still think it's more likely CAB comes back (TBD). Jackson was hurt this year, but has shown upside. MBS had a bit of a breakout year. (EDIT: Forgot about Wright originally!) Boyd played, Brockington redshirted, Emilien may get healthy at some point. Hoskins coming in. Obviously CAB is the big swing piece here, but hard to think we won't see continued development from the young WRs.

TE - BSF is back. Geers has already been talked up PJ. Kallerup should take over the blocking role. Henderson could be a factor.

OL - I think this is where people are most concerned. But I think a lot of assumptions are being made. Sure, we lose Big Dan, Schlueter and Olson for sure. I'm nearly certain Ruschmeyer will be back for an extra year. I also think it's likely we get at least one of JMS or Andries back. Even without them, it's not like we'd be playing redshirt freshmen on the line. Karter Shaw, JJ Guedet, Nathan Boe and Ersery have all played games and have been waiting their turn. Martes Lewis has also been mentioned as a bright spot. That doesn't even factor in any moves PJ makes in the portal this offseason. While it *could* be a lot of turnover, these are not guys who haven't played meaningful snaps.

K - I think Trickett comes back for another year and we still have Kesich for kickoffs.

P - Crawford is only a sophomore next year (if he doesn't count 2020).

DL - We lose Mafe and Nyles, but I think Big O and/or Rush may come back for another year. Behind them, we have Joyner, Logan-Redding, Striggow and Booker coming up at DE. DT has been one of our best recruited positions in recent years. Carter will be back. Richter has played. Schuster has gotten a lot of good buzz. McCoy and Eastern coming up. Plus our two best recruits this year are on the DL. Again, doesn't factor in any moves we make in the portal.

LB - Oliver is back for sure. We lose Gibbens, but I'm calling it now and I think MSM returns too. All that said, still have Burns, Willis, Lindenberg, Finnessy developing. Also Devon Williams has been getting nice buzz for his work this year. Not seeing a huge dropoff at LB.

DB - Durr, Howard and Harris are gone. Smith will be an extra year decision. I think Howden comes back for an extra year. Nubin returns. Walley returns. Dixon returns. Ortiz redshirted. Jalen Glaze, Miles Fleming and Darius Green have also gotten a lot of good buzz from the staff.

So overall, yeah, there are some spots where we will have some potential turnover (OL and DL, maybe DB), but I think with Tanner and Mo returning, we are going to see more seniors (especially the guys who aren't sure NFL guys) taking their extra year. We also have to remember that we have been recruiting some young guys with lots of upside in recent years. Just cause they haven't played behind a very veteran team doesn't mean they aren't going to be good players.

The next week or two will be very interesting with extra year announcements and seeing how we do in the portal, but for people assuming that 2022 is a massive rebuild, I think you may be jumping to conclusions too quickly.

What are your thoughts? What players did I miss calling out on the roster?
Wish this was true.

But there's a reason Mich St has an 80k stadium and fills it more often than not.

And can pay a coach $9.5M/yearppp.
 


I saw this mentioned on another thread and I know a few weeks ago, some were chalking 2022 up to a rebuilding year. But I'd like to lay out the position groups and what we KNOW we have back but also what we THINK we may have back too.

QB - We know what we have and Tanner is at the very very least a guy capable of winning more Big Ten games than he loses. Has won 7 and 6 conference games in two of his last three seasons.

RB - Mo is back and we already have two young guys who proved themselves well this year - not even factoring in Potts or Williams.

WR - I still think it's more likely CAB comes back (TBD). Jackson was hurt this year, but has shown upside. MBS had a bit of a breakout year. (EDIT: Forgot about Wright originally!) Boyd played, Brockington redshirted, Emilien may get healthy at some point. Hoskins coming in. Obviously CAB is the big swing piece here, but hard to think we won't see continued development from the young WRs.

TE - BSF is back. Geers has already been talked up PJ. Kallerup should take over the blocking role. Henderson could be a factor.

OL - I think this is where people are most concerned. But I think a lot of assumptions are being made. Sure, we lose Big Dan, Schlueter and Olson for sure. I'm nearly certain Ruschmeyer will be back for an extra year. I also think it's likely we get at least one of JMS or Andries back. Even without them, it's not like we'd be playing redshirt freshmen on the line. Karter Shaw, JJ Guedet, Nathan Boe and Ersery have all played games and have been waiting their turn. Martes Lewis has also been mentioned as a bright spot. That doesn't even factor in any moves PJ makes in the portal this offseason. While it *could* be a lot of turnover, these are not guys who haven't played meaningful snaps.

K - I think Trickett comes back for another year and we still have Kesich for kickoffs.

P - Crawford is only a sophomore next year (if he doesn't count 2020).

DL - We lose Mafe and Nyles, but I think Big O and/or Rush may come back for another year. Behind them, we have Joyner, Logan-Redding, Striggow and Booker coming up at DE. DT has been one of our best recruited positions in recent years. Carter will be back. Richter has played. Schuster has gotten a lot of good buzz. McCoy and Eastern coming up. Plus our two best recruits this year are on the DL. Again, doesn't factor in any moves we make in the portal.

LB - Oliver is back for sure. We lose Gibbens, but I'm calling it now and I think MSM returns too. All that said, still have Burns, Willis, Lindenberg, Finnessy developing. Also Devon Williams has been getting nice buzz for his work this year. Not seeing a huge dropoff at LB.

DB - Durr, Howard and Harris are gone. Smith will be an extra year decision. I think Howden comes back for an extra year. Nubin returns. Walley returns. Dixon returns. Ortiz redshirted. Jalen Glaze, Miles Fleming and Darius Green have also gotten a lot of good buzz from the staff.

So overall, yeah, there are some spots where we will have some potential turnover (OL and DL, maybe DB), but I think with Tanner and Mo returning, we are going to see more seniors (especially the guys who aren't sure NFL guys) taking their extra year. We also have to remember that we have been recruiting some young guys with lots of upside in recent years. Just cause they haven't played behind a very veteran team doesn't mean they aren't going to be good players.

The next week or two will be very interesting with extra year announcements and seeing how we do in the portal, but for people assuming that 2022 is a massive rebuild, I think you may be jumping to conclusions too quickly.

What are your thoughts? What players did I miss calling out on the roster?
In general, I agree with your point.

I am comfortable with our DEs and I'd be ecstatic about them if Mafe came back (I know, small chance). OL and WR depend upon who comes back as well.

If I had to give a realistic guess. . . I think CAB, JMS, Ruschmeyer, Howden, T.Smith, and MSM will return. I think PJ will likely add 3-4 difference makers from the portal and I expect them to be DT, CB, OL and WR (only because PJ can't help himself).

There are a couple wildcards with the season that I think will really be enormous:

(1) Does Dylan Wright emerge consistently? Good Dylan Wright is an NFL playmaker. If he comes back and buys in, that's huge. Morgan's best throw is the back shoulder fade (he threw it constantly to TJ), and just putting Wright out there on an island and letting him work, could be HUGE for us. Low risk, high reward type of play.

(2) Who do we have at CB? I believe we need to add someone through the portal. Justus Harris, Phil Howard and even Bishop McDonald played a ton for us.

(3) Do we get good Tanner or not-so-good Tanner? If we have the Tanner Morgan who played against Wisconsin (not perfect but good), we are going to be a pretty damn good football team.

(4) Who is going to play next to Trill?

- I'm less worried about our OL than I am DT. Ersery looked really good last year and I think end up being one of our better OL in the near future. The GHer who did the breakdown of his game really showed how athletic he is. I think we'll get some folks back. We might not roll out as many 7 OL sets, but I don't think it will be a weakness next year.
 

In general, I agree with your point.

I am comfortable with our DEs and I'd be ecstatic about them if Mafe came back (I know, small chance). OL and WR depend upon who comes back as well.

If I had to give a realistic guess. . . I think CAB, JMS, Ruschmeyer, Howden, T.Smith, and MSM will return. I think PJ will likely add 3-4 difference makers from the portal and I expect them to be DT, CB, OL and WR (only because PJ can't help himself).

There are a couple wildcards with the season that I think will really be enormous:

(1) Does Dylan Wright emerge consistently? Good Dylan Wright is an NFL playmaker. If he comes back and buys in, that's huge. Morgan's best throw is the back shoulder fade (he threw it constantly to TJ), and just putting Wright out there on an island and letting him work, could be HUGE for us. Low risk, high reward type of play.

(2) Who do we have at CB? I believe we need to add someone through the portal. Justus Harris, Phil Howard and even Bishop McDonald played a ton for us.

(3) Do we get good Tanner or not-so-good Tanner? If we have the Tanner Morgan who played against Wisconsin (not perfect but good), we are going to be a pretty damn good football team.

(4) Who is going to play next to Trill?

- I'm less worried about our OL than I am DT. Ersery looked really good last year and I think end up being one of our better OL in the near future. The GHer who did the breakdown of his game really showed how athletic he is. I think we'll get some folks back. We might not roll out as many 7 OL sets, but I don't think it will be a weakness next year.

Nice breakdown. Do you think there is a chance Eastern is ready to go next year? He already has the measurables and I know he was a spring enrollee too. Regardless, I do expect PJ to go hard after a good DT in the portal.
 

Nice breakdown. Do you think there is a chance Eastern is ready to go next year? He already has the measurables and I know he was a spring enrollee too. Regardless, I do expect PJ to go hard after a good DT in the portal.
I hope so. We have recruited DT hard but I haven't really seen anyone outside of Trill and Richter. Eastern is like 1.14 Mike Morrises, so you know he has the size :).

But no, he looks huge in the photos with the axe. Schuster's tap was super impressive. If PJ doesn't go and grab a DT (or 2), it should be a sign that the staff really likes these young guys.
 

I hope so. We have recruited DT hard but I haven't really seen anyone outside of Trill and Richter. Eastern is like 1.14 Mike Morrises, so you know he has the size :).

But no, he looks huge in the photos with the axe. Schuster's tap was super impressive. If PJ doesn't go and grab a DT (or 2), it should be a sign that the staff really likes these young guys.

I know Rossi called out Schuster specifically in his presser last week, so I think that's a good sign. Kid is also already very big. I also feel like I remembered hearing that they may expect Logan-Redding to move inside eventually.
 


More fans show up to stadiums of recent-ish winning programs, on average.

You're not really going to be this obtuse, are you?
Your comment was worded in such a way that it seemed like you were implying that with a stadium with a higher capacity for fans they could pay a coach more and would have more wins. I doubt it really works that way.
 


Nice breakdown. Do you think there is a chance Eastern is ready to go next year? He already has the measurables and I know he was a spring enrollee too. Regardless, I do expect PJ to go hard after a good DT in the portal.
I saw him several times in HS and saw him on the sidelines at the Maryland game. From a strictly physical standpoint, it looks like his development is going very well.
 

What do we make of this?

All I can do is LOL! 'Tis the season for analyzing tweets! Used to be from commits/recruits, but in the era of the transfer portal it's grown to include our own players. Love it and look forward to epic threads on the order of private jet tracking.
 

Your comment was worded in such a way that it seemed like you were implying that with a stadium with a higher capacity for fans they could pay a coach more and would have more wins. I doubt it really works that way.
My bad for the poor wording.

The idea I was trying to (briefly) express, is that stadiums were expanded to take on the need for larger crowds, and larger crowds tend to come for winning teams. And with larger crowds comes more money (and usually more donors willing to give more big donations).

Not a thing where if you have a 50k stadium with 30k fans, but you decide to expand it to 80k anyway, it's not like that's going to force all those things to then happen. It's the other way around.


I was noting that MSU has a 75k stadium, and averages (so not just the big game) nearly filling it up when they have a good team. They have some history of winning.
 




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