Adversity is something the Gophers are built to handle in a variety of different ways.
It’s something head coach P.J. Fleck said his team naturally responds to. It was on display during Saturday night’s dramatic 21-14 win over Fresno State. Despite a key injury and numerous up-and-down moments, the Gophers passed one of their first tests of the season.
“That was a hard fought game with a lot of adversity throughout the entire game. You have to give Fresno State stay a lot of credit – they’re a really good football team,” head coach P.J. Fleck said. “It’s a really good culture. At the end, I told our team, they beat a culture, they didn’t just beat a team.”
Now, the attention shifts to squaring off with an experienced Miami, OH (0-2) team at TCF Bank Stadium on Saturday. With the loss of senior running back Rodney Smith, the team will be relying upon youth to step up in the final non-conference game of the season.
Overcoming Rodney Smith’s injury
With Rodney Smith (left knee) out for the remainder of the season, the Gophers will turn to true freshman running back Bryce Williams and redshirt freshman Mohamed Ibrahim. Ibrahim missed last week’s game vs. Fresno State with an injury. Fleck said Ibrahim participated during today’s individual sessions and is expected to play this week. Whether he receives a significant amount of snaps is yet to be determined, though.
When Ibrahim isn’t on the field, Bryce Williams will see extended action. Williams carried the ball 25 times for 87 yards in last week’s game. Fleck said he thought Williams ran the ball better in the second half as he adjusted to the playing style.
“I thought his second half running was way better than his first half running,” Fleck said. “I thought he had his eyes down in the first half. I think he was just getting carries and running. That’s ok, he’s a true freshman, I get that. Second half, I thought he felt the game a lot more, he got into a rhythm.”
True freshman running back Nolan Edmonds is another player who could receive work during Smith’s absence. Veteran running back Shannon Brooks has a chance to return later in the season, too. Fleck said Brooks won’t play more than four games, but they have a plan in place to get him involved.
“I’m not going to play him more than the four games, I’ve made that very clear to him and his family. We might have to play him sooner, but I highly doubt it,” Fleck said.
Fleck noted player safety as one of the main priorities when determining a return date for Brooks. His health, combined with the depth chart situation will determine when he is ready to play. However, the coaching staff wants to make sure he is 100 percent healthy before introducing him to full contact.
“Today he got in some drills that was semi-contact for the first time…it’s going to take a little time,” Fleck said. “We have a plan and I’ll keep that plan to ourselves of what we’re going to do, but he’ll play four games by the end of the year.”
Even though Rodney Smith suffered a significant injury, he is still actively leading the team on the field. Fleck said Smith was on crutches guiding young players through drills at practice. He noted this type of adversity is something the team has overcome in the past.
“Any adversity we’ve had has brought us a lot closer together,” Fleck said. “Rodney Smith is incredibly selfless…he was back on the field, he was leading Bryce…he was talking to our young backs, talking to Femi-Cole, teaching them, along with Shannon Brooks. And then today’s practice – same thing – he has his crutches, he’s out there coaching.”
Smith could return for a sixth season if he can receive a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA. Fleck said the team will file paperwork and receive an official decision following the Wisconsin game. The staff is confident he’ll be granted another year of eligibility.
“With the way the new rules are stated, we feel very confident that it can happen,” Fleck said. “We have to file the paperwork at the end of the last game. That’s why we can’t sit there and say it’s 100 percent yet because the paperwork technically hasn’t been filed.”
Terell Smith makes an early impact for the Gophers
Cornerback Terell Smith has been thrust into a large role as a true freshman. P.J. Fleck said his speed and natural athleticism jump out. He’s still learning all of the technique with help from defensive backs coach Jahmile Addae, but his head coach has been impressed. Fleck particularly mentioned the improvements Smith made with his lead/locate technique when defending vertical throws.
“He’s very confident in his ability. One thing I like about him is he understands he has to get way better fundamentally with his technique,” Fleck said. “You can see him playing more aggressively and you can see him playing down the field better than he did in game one already.”
Smith has already tallied four pass breakups in two games, which is just one breakup short of last year’s season high. Safety Duke McGhee led the team in pass breakups in 2017 with five. Smith has nearly matched this total, while being one of the team’s top-two tacklers to open the season. His early impact has been important to the Gophers’ defensive success and he’ll only continue to develop with additional reps.
Miami (OH) brings an experienced roster to Minnesota
As Miami (OH) arrives to TCF Bank Stadium this weekend, the Gophers will face another experienced roster, especially on defense. The RedHawks lost five of their one-possession games in 2017 as they battled through inexperience. However, head coach Chuck Martin has spent another year developing players in his system. This is the third straight game where Minnesota’s offense has played against a defense with upper classmen prominently featured.
“[Miami has] played a lot of football together, they’re a senior dominated group, offensively and defensively. It’s another challenge, but for us, we have to focus on ourselves.”
Defensive backs Deondre Daniels and Joshua Allen are two of the top players on a RedHawks’ roster with experience featured at every level of the defense. Miami (OH) has dropped their first two games, most recently losing to Cincinnati, 21-0, at Paul Brown Stadium. Fleck noted wide receiver James Gardner and quarterback Gus Ragland as players the team must contain.
“They’ve got a good quarterback; Ragland is a really good player – keeps things alive,” Fleck said. “They do a lot of misdirection, they do a lot of things in backfield to get your eyes in the wrong spot. Very similar to option football.”
Annexstad’s late-game poise
True freshman quarterback Zack Annexstad continues to display his poise and confidence throughout games. It was especially apparent when he escaped the pocket, kept his eyes downfield and found wide receiver Tyler Johnson for a key third down connection in Saturday’s 21-14 win.
“That last play to Ty…he’s throwing the ball before Ty kind of even turns around or comes out of a break point and puts the ball on the money where only Ty can get it. He worked the scramble rules to perfection,” Fleck said. “He’s got great poise, he’s got great confidence, he can extend a play, he’s got good feel and he’s developed a really good relationship with the receivers already.”
Annexstad completed 16 of his 26 passes for 175 yards, leading the team to a victory in his second official start. Fleck said Annexstad’s poise not only shows up as a player, but leader of the team. It’s what stood out when the team recruited him at IMG Academy. Even though he has many areas he must improve, Fleck is impressed with his mindset as he continues to mature.
“He has natural leadership skills and he always has,” Fleck said. “That’s what we loved about him when he recruited him. He had that ‘it’ factor. Now he’s got a lot of room to grow and he needs to improve in a lot of areas, but he is better today than he was Saturday.”