Writing from the Spring Game. Filled beyond capacity. Awesome turnout by Gopher fans!

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Bronko Nagurski Gopher

Bronko Nagurski Gopher

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O'Shaughnessy Stadium is packed. Maroon & Gold clad fans all over Cretin, Summit, Selby and Cleveland Avenues today. Apparently there is something about outdoor football in Minnesota that gets the fans out & about! Who would of thunk it?! Can't wait until this fall. :clap:

Stupid f-ing metrodome......what a waste of 27 years! :mad:
 

Bronko....keep us filled in with updates....Did anyone special stand out at all? GO GOPHERS!!!!!!!!!!!

BTW, I earned my MA from U of St. T, so I can about imagine the picture of it all. Thanks again. Dr.Don
 

Dr. Don

believe it or not, but one of the first positive things that i noticed today was our kicker eric ellestad. he is kicking for both the maroon and gold teams today. right off the bat he made a couple decent length field goals with relative ease. first one was 50 yards and was right down the middle with plenty of distance. second one was very solid as well. i always keep an eye on special teams play.

also, i am not a doctor like yourself (wink) but adam weber appears to have healed very well following his surgery this off-season. i know the surgery was on his left-shoulder (non throwing arm), but the ball is coming out with a lot of zip which is good to see.

also, a little gopher football "fun fact" i learned today. who is the school that the green bay pukers have drafted from the most in their long history? not michigan. not USC. not wisconsin. you guessed it folks. THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS. man, those drunken sconnies can't do anything worth remembering without at least a little help from the great state of minnesota can they?! ;)
 

Eskridge is looking great. Like he did near the beginning of the year last year before the line disappeared.
Stoudemire just made a 60 yard run for a TD. He's also had two kick returns for about 60-70 yards.
Gray has made a couple great throws but looks lost at times. He looks like he'll be great at some point but just needs time to develop. He has a cannon and also nice touch on the ball. He made a TD throw on a little fade.
Weber has been off and on. He's had a few awful throws but looks more in control of the game when he's in there than Gray does.
So far they've done one play with both Gray and Weber in at the same time. Weber lined up at receiver and went in motion, got the hand-off then threw back across the field (and across his body) to Gray. It was incomplete.

There are a lot of people at the game though. It's set up how they did at the Tommie-Johnny game and about the same turnout if you're familiar with that game.

As I'm finishing typing Gray just threw a 65 yard TD pass.

The team looks almost universally improved. The running game is back and is helping the pass game. Also, the starting D is looking great. Everyone's swarming to the ball, moving fast and hitting hard. Except for a few hiccups they've done very well.
 

You're right, Bronko our kicker is lookin good. Definately an improvement there. Not that a kicker injury is too common but we don't look deep at this position at all. The backup had a kickoff to the 15 yard line.

Endof game - tied - 17-17
 


Thanks for the updates! Keep them coming. Good to hear about Ellestad.
 

Thanks for the reports.....If you reporters were to grade the spring game, and various individual efforts...how would you rate on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being crap, 10 being super?
 

Dr.Don said:
Thanks for the reports.....If you reporters were to grade the spring game, and various individual efforts...how would you rate on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being crap, 10 being super?
Click to expand...

personally, i would say a solid 7, but only because it is very early being the spring game and they have a lot more time to develop, work in timing, etc. i am pleasantly surprised to be honest.
 

Thanks, Bronko... I shall now quote you... :cheer:, :cheer:. OK?
 



Man, Wills looks quick. He does look like he needs some serious weight room time though.
 

Troy Stoudamire was the MVP. He had three kick returns over 65 yards and a 54 yard Td run. Whaley was also a very bright spot and had a 16 yard TD run. Ellestad was perfect including a 48 yarder and some decent kickoffs. Had one play where Weber and gray we're on the field together and they almost connected for a long TD. Royston continues to be very impressive and McKinley is a beast and will put up big sack numbers this year. Maresh doesn't look as quick as he did in high school but had about three huge hits, one on Whaley at the goal line.

Great crowd, great to be outdoors again, alot of kids, well run game.
 





My spin on Bronko's spin

UST Gopher said:
Eskridge is looking great. Like he did near the beginning of the year last year before the line disappeared. Agree, also Whaley is raring to go, nice TD run.

Stoudemire just made a 60 yard run for a TD. He's also had two kick returns for about 60-70 yards. Actually, he appeared to have about 80 (two rets) plus another ret for 20-ish.

Gray has made a couple great throws but looks lost at times. He looks like he'll be great at some point but just needs time to develop. He has a cannon and also nice touch on the ball. He made a TD throw on a little fade. Gray was hampered by the no-QB run rule and the "touch sack" for the defense. He rolled out on a play at the 20 and would have easily scored, but he had to stop at the LOS and pass. The fade throw was perfect. A couple of other times he got touched "sacked" but would have easily gotten away in a tackle situation. He made some nice completions where he had to thread the needle. I think he is far ahead of what Weber was in 2007. He is also listed as 1" and 7 lbs. larger than Weber. He easily 2" and 15 lbs. larger. Huge, RB thighs.

Weber has been off and on. He's had a few awful throws but looks more in control of the game when he's in there than Gray does. Weber still does not look off the receivers.
So far they've done one play with both Gray and Weber in at the same time. Weber lined up at receiver and went in motion, got the hand-off then threw back across the field (and across his body) to Gray. It was incomplete. Out of bounds throw by Weber.

There are a lot of people at the game though. It's set up how they did at the Tommie-Johnny game and about the same turnout if you're familiar with that game.

As I'm finishing typing Gray just threw a 65 yard TD pass. Gray led Brodrick Smith in a man to man, Smith pulled away and then tip toed the sideline after catch. Our WR are much improved, even without the supposed starters, Decker and Carpenter. Stoudermire is monster fast. He pulled away from everyone on the TD run. Green made several catches, Xzavian Brandon had a couple, and Da'Jon McKnight looked like a starter as well. Eric Lair made a nice catch while covered, reached back and pulled a ball in that was behind him.

The team looks almost universally improved. The running game is back and is helping the pass game. Also, the starting D is looking great. Everyone's swarming to the ball, moving fast and hitting hard. Except for a few hiccups they've done very well.
Click to expand...

We are very deep at RB, WR, and Gray will make an impact. Stoudermire could be the sleeper star of this team as a slotback and RET specialist. The line was adequate, but with the incoming freshman, maybe just as deep. The LBs will make an impact, and may be deeper than expected if the Freshman come through even a little. DBs the same.

Eric Ellestad has a very strong and accurate leg (48 yard FG that was good from 60, XPs very high and right down the middle, KOs to 5 and goal line).

IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE A GOPHER FAN!!!!
 

Sounds like this will be the most talented, polished Gopher team in a few years. Nice to hear good reviews from the spring game, especially when reviews from the past two spring games didn't sound so favorable. Maybe DiNardo is right and we will have our best team in a few years this season.

I must admit to being cautiously optimistic, but it sounds like the guys played pretty well for the most part. Hopefully, that continues into the fall. :):):)

Question: Were any big recruits at the game? Any info would be appreciated!!!!
 

My thoughts

What a wonderful day! Weather, crowd, atmosphere and especially our team! They looked much more polished than any spring game in the last 5 - 10 years. My main concern, once again, depth....especially on the defense.

Gray is a special player. Brew has a tough decision in front of him. Marquis has that "it", the same thing you saw from Maroney in his first appearance, especially considering the fact that he was not allowed to use his running skills. I had the pleasure of meeting Brandon Green's father. He was saying "there's a new sheriff in town" and I think he may be correct.

It was also good to see the emergence of some of new guys (Whaley, Carufel, Cooper, Reeves, Wills, Ellested). Stoudamire is outstanding again, as was Lawrence and McKinley.

Then one must temper the optimism with the fact that everyone looks good this time of year. In my humble opinion, we are much improved. But we need more depth.

And finally, I can't wait for TCF!
 

Several thoughts:

**Great turnout. At least 7,000.
**Great weather. Weather guys missed the forecast, thank goodness.
**Enjoyed being outdoors. That's a nice stadium there.

**Great to see Sam Maresh in and playing well. He is a BIG linebacker.
**Gray played well. He does have "it."
**Weber looked game-rusty (shoulder surgery effects?), but got better as the game went on.
**Broderick Smith looks much improved.
**Stoudamire stole the show on offense and special teams.
**McKinnley stole the show on defense (he is an absolute physical specimen).
**Whaley and Eskridge both looked good
**Ryan Grant made several special teams tackles (good to hear his named announced)
**Ellestad two FGs (including 47-yarder) and 4X4 on PATs.
**Punter Hougand (??) was okay, too.
**WRs looked good. No drops that I remember. They took a couple of big shots, too. And, that was without Decker, Kuznia, Carpenter and any others coming in in the fall.
 

It sounds as though the Big Ten had better watch out because of all the new players in town! I'll be interested in seeing how this all plays out in the latter part of September, October and November. That is when Big Ten championships are won. Has anybody heard how any of the other Big Ten teams Spring Games went? Is the Conference going to be as weak overall as the confrence was in 2008? Or, are most teams looking vastly improved this spring over last fall?

It is going to be good to be entering TCF BANK STADIUM for the first time for a Game Day Saturday! I really can hardly wait!
 

Here are few of my thoughts from the game:

  • Gray was fantastic
  • Loved the applause for Maresh's first tackle when it was announced
  • Stoudermire surprised the heck out of me, he is a speedy and shifty runner.
  • Was a little worried about the offense at first, but as the game went on it seemed they found their rhythm.
  • It was very tough to hear the band down at the south end of the stands. Most people couldn't even hear the Rouser when it was played. Due to the echo, it sounded like they were playing from the loading dock across the field.
  • Great weather, great location. I wouldn't be bummed in the least if the spring game was held here every year.
  • So nice to have a solid kicking game, I still worry about XPs due to our recent history so I hope that will be a thing of the past.
  • I loved all the variety of touchdowns scored. 60+ yard bomb, pump fake and fade to the corner, running it in.
  • Worried about the kickoff coverage unit. I hope it was just that Stoudermire was that good!
 

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