The heat felt great today at TCF Bank Stadium.
With the weather finally cooperating, the Gopher football team took the field at TCF Bank Stadium on a beautiful Saturday afternoon for the 2013 spring game. The Maroon team beat their White team counterparts by a final score of 24-17. The Maroon dominated offensively, outgaining the White Team in passing, rushing and total yards.
The Philip Nelson-led Maroon team started out the scrimmage, which drew an announced 8,400 spectators, with a long drive from the 35-yard line that included two fourth down conversions, culminating in a one-yard Donnell Kirkwood touchdown. Rodrick Williams gave the game its first big play earlier in the drive, breaking off a 30-yard run to the eight yard line.
Nelson didn’t slow down in the second half. He found a streaking Derrick Engel over the middle and hit him perfectly in stride for 39 yards on the first play of the fourth quarter. Two plays later, Engel was the recipient of another Nelson pass, this time for a 10-yard touchdown.
Nelson finished his strong Spring Game with 179 yards and the touchdown on 13-17 passing, chipping in 31 yards on the ground as well. The Mankato West product was a perfect 10 for 10 in the first half for 119 yards.
“I thought he operated pretty smooth for the most part,” said Coach Kill of Nelson’s performance. “We had a couple hiccups. I’m not really sure that’s his fault or not. We’ll have to go back on film. He got off to a good start.”
Quarterback Mitch Leidner performed admirably, amassing 118 yards and two touchdowns on 10-18 passing, primarily for the White team. Late in the third quarter, Leidner found Logan Hutton in the end zone to cut the White team’s deficit to 14-10. Then, Leidner capitalized on the short field provided by a Maroon team fumble to give the White a short-lived 17-14 lead on a 10-yard TD toss to Jamel Harbison.
Leidner believes he’s made big strides already this spring.
“I think I improved a lot. I feel way more comfortable with the offense and throwing the football and running the football,” said Leidner, a redshirt freshman from Lakeville, Minn. “It’s just been a great spring for me.”
The redshirt freshman Harbison showed that he’s recovered from an ACL tear suffered in last year’s season opener at UNLV. The North Carolina native carried the load for the White receiving corps, finishing with 52 yards on five catches.
“I had no problem cutting,” said Harbison. “My knee was not a problem.”
Derrick Engel and Maxx Williams also stood out in the passing game. Engel led all players with 74 yards receiving, including a touchdown from Nelson, and Williams continued his impressive spring with 54 yards of his own on three catches.
The rushing attack for both teams was spread out, but Rodrick Williams led the way with 49 yards. Kirkwood scored the two touchdowns and finished with 23 yards, while Cole Banham also showed flashes, breaking off a couple of big gains, including a 16-yard run.
On the defensive end, James Manuel led all players with seven tackles for Maroon, followed closely by Grayson Levine and Damien Wilson with six each for the White squad. Theiren Cockran reached the quarterback twice and five additional players each recorded a sack. Damien Wilson and John McKelvey picked up the only two turnovers of the game with a fumble recovery and interception, respectively.
With the Spring Game in the books, Minnesota will take a break as the team heads into a dead period. The team will resume practice in the fall as they ramp up to the season opener on August 29 vs. UNLV at TCF Bank Stadium.