Gopher Football
With the exception of larger than average group of returning players, just about everything surrounding the Gopher football program can be characterized as new. This first spring practice for “œBrew and crew” will likely be less about trying to field a lineup as it will be about the coaches diligently trying to implement the new schemes as quickly as possible. Even though one player may have excelled in a Glen Mason coach scheme, that may not automatically mean they will also excel under the Brewster/Dunbar/Withers ones. With that in mind, here are five things I hope to see from the Gopher football team over the next few weeks.
1. Start to learn the new schemes. The new offensive and defensive schemes are likely the topic that Gopher fans are most excited about heading into spring. As I mentioned above, the new coaches bring with them new ways of doing things. That means they’ll need to teach the Gopher players many parts of the game all over from scratch, so for the first time in 10 years Gopher football could look radically different on the field. Because of all of the learning that will be going on, I find it unlikely Brewster would be comfortable naming a lineup he thinks will be set in stone for the fall. What I expect to happen is for the coaches to start teaching the new offense & defense, see how the players react through the spring and maybe into the summer, and then by the time fall comes around the real competition to win the starting spots should begin. Brewster has stated that every starting job on the team is up for grabs, but I think we all can agree that’s not entirely true. Still though, I do think it will take some time for all of the positions to shake themselves out and for the best players to emerge.
2. Make a good first impression. We’ve already seen several stories of Gopher players talk about how they were impressed by Brewster after the first meeting with him. Impressing them in a team meeting is one thing, but impressing them on the field is another. These particular spring practice sessions will be the coaching staff’s first extensive time with the players in teaching them the game of football. Let’s hope the coaches can keep up the momentum they’ve started in the meeting rooms and carry that onto the practice field. Players who want to win for their coach will play with more effort than those that don’t.
3. Instill the winning attitude. To quote a line from The Natural“¦ “œLosing is a disease. As contagious as polio, as contagious as syphilis, as contagious as bubonic plague. Attacking one, but infecting all”¦ but curable.” I couldn’t help but think of this after watching the Gophers collapse in the Texas Tech game. To succeed in sports, you have to expect to win. After all of the late game collapses suffered by the football team the past several years, you got the feeling the players were in a mental funk where a “œhere we go again” attitude takes over. Rather than expecting to win, you begin to expect to lose. Brewster has been a great talker when it comes about instilling the winning attitude in his players, and now will really be his first chance to put a new, winning attitude into them.
4. Make the defense better. The Gopher defense is a large problem to which there is no short term fix. It will take all of spring, summer and fall practice to get the Gopher defense moving in the right direction. As several Gopher fans have pointed out on The Hole, it seems to be much easier to create a good offense than to create a good defense in this day and age of college football. This is the situation the Gophers have found themselves the past several years, and everyone knows (and Brewster has spoken openly about it) that the team is not going to get any better unless the defense does. Hopefully by the time the spring game comes around the coaches will at least have identified several players they think can be moved from offense (or moved to a different position on defense) that will create a positive impact on the defensive side of the ball. Then hopefully with a summer for those new players to figure out their spots they’ll be ready to start contributing come August.
5. Alex Daniels ““ find him a home. There may not be a Gopher football player with a better blend of strength & athleticism than Alex Daniels. He has a ton of potential, but the previous coaching staff had a hard time finding the right position for him. Hopefully a position does exist, and hopefully the new coaching staff will be able to find the right one. In an ideal world Alex would think about using his redshirt so he could potentially learn his position and then put in two strong years, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.
Sure there are other issues out there like improving the special teams, finding the right mix in the secondary and replacing Bryan Cupito at quarterback, but I think those types of concerns are going to be projects that will require more time to fix than spring practice allows. What I really hope to see this spring is for the foundation of the “œBrewster era” of Gopher football to be laid, and for the players to respond to it.
Players Notes:
Seniors Lost: 9
Starters Returning: 16 of 22 (6 on offense, 9 on defense, both kickers)
New faces: 28 (approx 22 redshirt freshmen, 1 transfer, 5 JC transfers)
Key Dates:
March 1: Spring Practice begins
April 7: Spring football game (Metrodome)
Talk about the 2007 Gopher football team Gopher Football Message Board.