Gopher Football
The Gopher football team held Fun Fest today for a second year at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex. The event included free pizza and pop, kids games, Gopher gear, a scrimmage, and an autograph session. If this year’s Fun Fest is any indication, Gopher football fan interest is soaring. Seven years ago when Glen Mason was in his first season here you “˜d find a few media people, some interested parents of players, me and a few other Gopher crazies at a football practice. Maybe 20 spectators were present if you included the water boy, groundskeepers, and the referees. Having the approximately 3,000 people who showed up for today’s scrimmage was unthinkable in 1997. You would have had to offer more than free pizza to get that fan total up to 100 back then.
Coming off their 10-win season last year, the Gophers have gotten plenty of hype to pique that long dormant fan interest. Sport Illustrated was the first major media outlet to boldly predict the Gophers will win the Big Ten this year. This is not a misprint: Gophers in the Rose Bowl!!! ESPN analyst and former Ohio State coach John Cooper also went out on a limb and predicted a Rose Bowl bid for the Gophers.
The much-vaunted Gopher offense got off to a quick start in the scrimmage scoring a couple touchdowns on their first two series. The familiar suspects were the spark. On just the second play of the game Laurence Maroney broke free on a fake reverse for about a 65-year run for a touchdown — oh hum, just another day at the office for our Heisman hopeful. Ohio all-star Ernie Wheelwright looked like the real deal at his receiver position. He had a good grab on a pass across the middle that went for about a 15-yard TD. Wheelwright’s Ohio companion Bryan Cupito looked firmly in command of the offense, despite the fact he has only thrown one pass officially in his college career. Cupito’s backup Adam Ernst was good on some timing patterns across the middle but didn’t look ready to seriously challenge for the starting QB position.
Some others who stood out at the scrimmage were Gary Russell, who ran for a couple long TDs, Amir Pinnix, another of the many talented running backs on this team, Brandon Owens, who moved to linebacker, Jared Ellerson, the most experienced of the receivers, Justin Valentine, now a fullback who is a receiving threat, and Matt DeGeest, the freshman giant from South Dakota. I’m sure I missed numerous others as it was hard to see with all those pesky fans around.
Overall, the offense used a lot of misdirection in their running game and the defense was effective in putting pressure on the quarterback, something sorely lacking in 2003. I also had the impression that the linebackers looked quicker than what we’ve seen in recent years. Mason was all business on the field much of the time coaching one of the squads.
Nothing from today’s practice should sway any fan from high expectations this year. Anything less than a New Year’s Day bowl should be considered a disappointment this time around.