Brewster press conference: Decker out for regular season

Gopher head coach Tim Brewster held his weekly press conference today, where he revealed that star Gopher WR Eric Decker will miss the remainder of the regular season with a sprained arch in his foot. Brewster was hopeful that Decker could return for a possible bowl game, but they are unsure yet if he will need surgery. Here are some of Brewster’s other comments from this afternoon.

Decker’s injury

“¢ The only player that is completely out is Eric Decker. He has a sprained foot and will be out for regular season, he will hopefully be back for a bowl game. He may or may not need surgery.

“¢ Dajon McKnight will step up in his place.

“¢ Decker’s injury is unfortunate, but it’s exciting for the younger players to step up and try to replace his production. It will be hard replacing him; he’s the best wide receiver in college football.

“¢ Decker’s injury was not ongoing ““ it was a different injury than last year. This injury is a sprain in his arch, last year it was a high ankle sprain.

“¢ It will be a cumulative effort to replace Decker, it doesn’t just come from the receivers.

“¢ He’s had the same conversation about Jeff Tow-Arnett that he’s had about Decker, they both mean a great deal to the football program.

Other team notes

“¢ At QB, they are going to continue to do the things they do, Adam Weber will be the starting QB, MarQueis Gray will get opportunities like he did like against OSU. Weber threw the ball very well early in the game, but the team didn’t do a good job of supporting him. He will continue to be our starter, and will play very well on Saturday night.

“¢ Cedric McKinley will move up the depth chart.

“¢ Troy Stoudermire ““ he has done some really great things, had a great catch at OSU on the last drive, we’re getting a lot of good production out of him.

“¢ The secondary did some decent things last week , we need to continue to do a good job on 3rd down and keep their conversion rate under 50%.

Michigan State

“¢ MSU runs the football very well, that’s their identity. Kirk Cousins, the QB, does a great job, completes over 60% of his passes. They are a well coach team, fundamental, and have a strong defense and special teams

“¢ Similarities between MSU and MN ““ they improved last year and went to a bowl game as we did. Both in somewhat of a similar place this year, with the W-L record. Both want to establish a running game. Some of the same philosophical thoughts are there.

“¢ Describes MSU’s defense as tough and physical ““ they are a physical football team. You know exactly what type of game you’re getting into when you play MSU

“¢ MSU has speed, size and athleticism with their wide receivers.

Night games

“¢ Brewster’s favorite start time for games is at night. The environment is different, and there’s an electricity for the night games. The only people that don’t like it are coaches, because they go to work directly after the game to prepare for the next week.

“¢ The routine for night games is to have a game-day walk through. They really enjoy that because they are able to focus in, have film study, and walk through which they don’t have a chance to do with a 11 am game. They can have really excellent game-day prep.

Talk about how the Gophers will replace Decker on Brew’s Crew message board.