Gopher Football
QB ““ Bryan Cuptio is obviously first string. Coach Mason hinted in his press conference today that Adam Ernst is still the backup, but it didn’t exactly sound like a ringing endorsement. Tony Mortensen is still nipping at his heels for the backup spot.
WR ““ In what may be a bit of a surprise, freshman Ernie Wheelwright is listed as a starting receiver opposite Jared Ellerson. (Jakari Wallace is listed as the backup to Ellerson) This could be either good news or bad news; I happen to think it’s good news. With Paris Hamilton having fully recovered from his knee injury and with a full year under his belt learning the Gopher system, Wheelwright must be turning some heads in practice to have earned a starting spot so early. Everything appears to be in place for the Gophers to have an excellent receiving corps this year.
OL ““ Brandon Harston is still holding his spot as the starter. The coaching staff has continued to rave about his progress as the fall practice has gone on. Backing up Harston is junior Mike Nicholson.
DE ““ According to coaches, Erick Clark has made nice progress this fall and has re-taken his starting spot from sophomore Mario Reese.
LB““ Dominique Sims is holding on to his starting linebacker spot. Linebacker is a deep position for Minnesota this year so there is a good chance Sims will need to be fighting challenges off for most of the year.
CB ““ According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Trumaine Banks has regained his starting spot from redshirt freshman Jamal Harris. The coaches were said to be happy with how Banks reacted with the competition from Harris.
Punter ““ Rhys Lloyd is apparently going to be the Gopher punter again this year. Mason has said that Lloyd has worked on his leg strength during the off-season and this has helped him with yardage on his punts.
Long Snapper ““ Coming out of nowhere, true freshman walk-on Robert McGarry (#44) of Stillwater H.S. has won the long snapper spot. Bryan Cupito is still listed as the holder.
Other personnel notes:
– There is no change in the return game from last year. Marion Barber is still listed as the #1 punt returner, and Barber & Laurence Maroney will again be handling kickoffs.
– Even though Leland Jones was listed as the #2 Will LB behind Terrance Campbell, Coach Mason has hinted that he is leaning towards redshirting Jones due to the depth at linebacker.
– Mason also threw out the possibility of true freshman Dominique Barber seeing some action this year as a defensive back, even if he doesn’t see action this weekend.
– The coaches are planning on playing Gary Russell.