SB Nation User Blog: HutchLeaderGuy

Two words: Quarterback Controversy?

HutchLeaderGuy — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 22:54:20 -0000

Sure, Adam Weber is coming off arm surgery and has been the starting quarterback the past two seasons for the University of Minnesota football team.

But after watching freshman MarQueis Gray dazzle the crowd in three-plus quarters with the second-team offense Saturday, one can wonder whether this summer the Gophers will have a quarterback controversy?

"(MarQueis) is great player, and over the spring has become a better student of the game. He has a great arm, and he has a great quarterback to learn from in Adam Weber," Gophers coach Tim Brewster said. "It’s always great to learn from other players, and Adam has been great at showing how to be a leader and how to play the game at this level. I think this will help MarQueis really become a great player. We will have packages every game where he is involved.”

Gray threw for two touchdowns, including a 59-yard strike down the right sideline to lead the White team to a 17-17 tie with the Maroon squad. Gray connected with Broderick Smith midway through the fourth quarter on a pass that Smith caught in stride and galloped into the end zone to tie the score.

Gray also made a fantastic pass on a pump-fake, back corner pass to Smith earlier in the quarter for a 17-yard touchdown. Remember, the second-team offense was going against the first-team offense.

Gray led the way completing 8-of-10 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Smith caught four passes for 98 yards.

Weber also had a strong showing, making a number of 8-10 yard passes to move the first-team unit, which included 6-7, 375-pound Jeff Wills at right tackle, Matt Stommes at left tackle and Matt Carufel at a guard position.

“I was satisfied. But there were too many mistakes. I didn’t know how much I was going to be able to do this spring, so I was happy just to be out there," Weber said. " I don’t think we were near 100 percent (as an offense), but it’s a process and come September 5th, when we play Syracuse, it’s my job as the quarterback to get everyone at that level.”

The returning starter completed 9-of-12 passes for 77 yards. Freshman Kevin Whaley had 12 carries for 63 yards and a score to lead the Gophers on the ground. Whaley had the most carries, but DeLeon Eskridge and Duane Bennett also saw extended playing time.

Fullback Jon Hoese had a great lead block on the Whaley touchdown, which went off-tackle down the left sideline.

While Gray was the star, Troy Stoudmire wasn't too far behind him. He accounted for 274 all-purpose yards. The sophomore ran for 63 yards on two carries, including a 54-yard scoring scamper in the fourth quarter. He returned three kickoffs for 143 yards, including a 60-yard return in the third quarter. Stoudermire also snagged three passes for 31 yards and returned two punts for 37 yards.

"Troy is good player and last year we saw that. He is a dynamic player, who can really make some plays with the football. I think it is a sign of things to come, and he’s really going to do some good things for us this season. At receiver, defensive back, or in the return game, we are just glad he’s a Gopher,” Brewster said.

“As soon as I got the ball I was thinking about going straight to the end zone," Stoudmire said. "When I saw my block come out in front of me I thought ‘oh yea, I’m going straight to the end zone’. There was only one man to beat, and I beat him.”

While I was impressed with Gray and Stoudmire and some of the younger receivers in Smith and Eric Lair (caught a nice pass down the middle), the defense at times was poor.

The middle of the field was wide open from the line to the secondary. Whaley was able to gain yards up the middle in bunches of 6-7 yards. Weber and Gray worked a lot of shorter 8-10 yard passes, going at slower linebackers like Nate Triplett and Lee Campbell over the middle.

“This is the fourth defense we’ve installed in the four years I have been here and I feel like we are way ahead of schedule compared to where we’ve been in the past coming out of spring, " Gophers linebacker Lee Campbell said. "I feel like this defense has great schemes. I feel like we have great chemistry so far, but there’s still a lot of room for improvement. The offense is out there making plays and we need to take the time this summer to work as hard as we can to get bigger, faster, and stronger.”

Traye Simmons, Ryan Collado, transfer Kim Royston and Kyle Theret started in the defensive backfield.

The biggest positive from the defense was tackling. There wasn't many missed tackles and a number of Gophers were in on almost every tackle.

“I think this team has a real edge to it," Brewster said. "Physical toughness is a big part of that. This spring there was a big emphasis on being able to run the football. We showed that we can run the football and that we’re going to be good at doing it. We still have a lot of work to do, but we really improved as a team this spring.”

All-in-all, a great day for Gophers football. The weather was perfect and St. Thomas was a great host. I have plenty of photos that I will send to PJS and Gophernation for them to use and post.

Other notes:

< Eric Ellestad connected on both field goals and all four extra points. His long came on a 47-yard kick with the wind at his back. Senior punter Blake Maudan also had a punt of 64 yards in the same direction.

< Senior defensive end Cedric McKinley was dominant, racking up six tackles, four of which were for losses. He recorded three sacks as well. To protect quarterbacks, only a simple touch stopped the play.

< Sam Maresh played with the second-team defense in the middle, wearing No. 17. He still looked like he was getting back into game-shape. He is built.

< John Nance was the only other quarterback to play. He played two series for Weber in the fourth quarter.

< Receiver Ben Kuznia did not play due to a hamstring strain.

< An overflow crowd of more than 7,700 fans showed up at O'Shaughnessy Stadium on the campus of the University of St. Thomas for the contest.

< Saturday's spring game was the last of 15 practices allowed by the NCAA. The Gophers open the 2009 season Sept. 5 at Syracuse University. Minnesota's home opener and first game ever at TCF Bank Stadium will be played Sept. 12, when the Gophers host the United States Air Force Academy 6 p.m. CT.

Safety Tramaine Brock leaves the U

HutchLeaderGuy — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:20:06 -0000

From Kent Youngblood at the Star Tribune

Gophers starting safety Tramaine Brock has left school, apparently for academic reasons, and likely won't return.

Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi confirmed that Brock is no longer enrolled, but would not comment further. Gophers head coach Tim Brewster declined comment.

Brock, a native of Long Beach, Miss., came to the Gophers from Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College before last season. He started all 13 games. The hard-hitting safety finished third on the team with 73 total tackles. He also had an interception and forced three fumbles.

''As of now he's not in school,'' Maturi said.

Brock did not apply to be included in the 2009 NFL draft. The defensive back did not respond to text messages requesting an interview.

First Curtis Thomas last season and now Tramaine Brock. Boy, not good for a defensive backfield that needed to improve next year. Theret is average; Rallis is not a Big 10 safety.

GN EDIT:

Official relase from U of MN

In addition to the six aforementioned student-athletes, Brewster announced that defensive back Tramaine Brock is not enrolled at the University for the Spring semester.

“Tramaine Brock will not be a part of our team this spring,” Brewster said. “But we fully anticipate that he will re-join the team this summer and be a part of our program in the fall.”

Of course he is expecting him to be back. Hopefully Mr. Brock can get things taken care of before practice in August. I'm not holding my breath but hopefully he'll get his academics straightened out.

Gopher football to play USC

HutchLeaderGuy — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 20:47:13 -0000

From Marcus Fuller at the Pioneer Press:

The Gophers are finalizing a contract to play a two-year, home-and-home football series against national power Southern California. Minnesota would travel to Los Angeles to play the Trojans in 2010, and USC would face the Gophers at TCF Bank Stadium by 2016.

Boy, that is the year Justin Conzeimus said we were going to the Rose Bowl to Paul Allen. He wasn't kidding. It's just a regular season game.

Michael Carter commits to ... West Virginia

HutchLeaderGuy — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 19:53:00 -0000

Michael Carter, the 6-0 cornerback from Florida narrowed his choices to Florida, West Virginia and Minnesota, but chose the Mountaineers a few minutes ago during the third quarter of the All-American Army Game.

The 4 star recruit sounded like WVU was his choice all along. Bummer. Brewster spent a lot of time on Tyrone Carter's little (edit: cousin). Come on, look what the U did for TC!

Bryce McNeal, 4 star WR recruit from Breck, who is leaning toward Oregon, has yet to reveal his choice today.

Gopher hockey moves up to No. 1

HutchLeaderGuy — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 00:27:35 -0000

The University of Minnesota hockey team moved up to No. 1 in the nation in this week's USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll released today.

The Gophers (6-0-4), who were ranked No. 2 last week, received all 34 first-place votes to reach the top spot for the first time since Jan. 22, 2007.

Minnesota is coming off a 2-2 tie and 3-0 win over Michigan Tech this past weekend. Goaltender Alex Kangas recorded his first career shutout in Sunday's win.

Tubby Q & A with PP's Marcus Fuller

HutchLeaderGuy — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:20:20 -0000

Tubby Q & A with PP's Marcus Fuller

Tubby's Tip-off

HutchLeaderGuy — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:44:35 -0000

If you weren't there, and you wish you were (me), these four links have you covered on what you missed. Sounds like a good time was had by all in attendance.

PP version: http://www.twincities.com/ci_10750752?nclick_check=1

Star Trib version: http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/31215019.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUjc8LDyiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU

Myron's blog has some good stuff pre tip-off: http://blogs2.startribune.com/blogs/gophersbb/

Gophersports: http://www.gophersports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=38661&SPID=3302&DB_OEM_ID=8400&ATCLID=1606214

Gettin' Willie With It

HutchLeaderGuy — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:23:05 -0000

(Promoted by PJS):

HutchLeader Note: Here is my story on Gophers senior defensive end and captain Willie VanDeSteeg - he is from the Silver Lake area (five miles east of Hutchinson) - enjoy:

Wherever Willie VanDeSteeg has played football, success has followed him. Whether it was youth football or high school football at Glencoe-Silver Lake, he was a part of a winning team.

Even his first two seasons as an active member of the University of Minnesota team, the team managed winning seasons and trips to bowl games.

So when the Gophers squad went 1-11 last year, it was a different feeling for VanDeSteeg, who was in his first year as a captain.

“It is pretty much was the first year I wasn’t on a winning team or one that wasn’t successful. But that may have been a good thing for me personally. It only made me a stronger person and a stronger football player,” he said. “Adversity is something that everyone needs to go through in their life. You can bounce back and get on a roll again.”

Things were only worse when VanDeSteeg suffered a broken bone in his wrist prior to the season opener.

After recording a sophomore team-record 10 sacks and earning All-Big Ten second team honors, he collected only 29 tackles and one sack wearing a cast on his hand.

“When you’re going against a 315-320 pound offensive lineman at the top level of college football, and you only have one good hand — yeah, it was tough,” VanDeSteeg said. “You want to be healthy so you can make an impact.”

Not having one of its best players making plays hurt the defense, which ranked last in allowed yards. The Gophers managed only one win and the talk around town from the media and from the fans was only negative.

In the locker room, though, the team stuck together.

“We stayed as positive as we could. It’s hard when you lose. It really gets tough at times,” VanDeSteeg said. “We had four senior captains that helped us out tremendously. They kept everyone’s heads up and told the rest of us that we had to learn from the season.”

Ready for the Big Ten

With the addition of a number of talented junior college and true freshman recruits, the Gophers figured to rebound from the disastrous 2007 season. But not many put the Gophers on four wins in the non-conference schedule, even with the likes of Montana State, Bowling Green and Florida Atlantic.

Through four weeks, a perfect record is exactly what the Gophers have heading into the first week of the Big Ten Conference schedule. The opponent — Ohio State University.

The Buckeyes were predicted to top the conference standings with 20 starters back from a season ago. However, an injury to starting running back Chris Wells hampered their non-conference start.

Ohio State was blasted by No. 1 University of Southern California, while narrowly defeating lowly Ohio University and Troy.

“The big thing is we can’t beat ourselves this week. This weekend is going to be an eye-opener to some of these young guys. But, this is why you play in the Big Ten — playing in front of 100,000 people in stadiums like Ohio State, Penn State and Michigan,” VanDeSteeg said.

Last year at this time, no one would’ve given Minnesota a chance to win this Saturday. That was last year, and this is this year. The Gophers may be a 17 1/2 point-underdog, but nobody is buying an easy win for the Buckeyes.

“We always say a win is a win. No matter how we do it, that’s our goal for Ohio State,” VanDeSteeg said.

Ending career on winning note

There is no more next year for VanDeSteeg. This is his final year as a Gopher. The same can be said for 11 of his teammates, including reserve quarterback Tony Mortensen of Hutchinson.

No excuses. This had to be the year for the senior defensive end.

The season started with wins over Northern Illinois, Bowling Green State University and Montana State.

At times it has been pretty, at times it hasn’t. Still, the the team has been winning. For VanDeSteeg, his biggest numbers came in a 35-23 win over Montana State.

He led the defense with 10 tackles and 1 1/2 sacks, also blocking both a field goal and an extra point.

“A lot of things fell my way, I had a good game, but it was a full defensive effort and I give the credit to all the guys. Good coverage helps you get pressure on the quarterback,” he said.

“He was inspired and really got after it on defense,” Gophers head coach Tim Brewster said. “He was an inspiration for the guys on defense.”

The coach went on to point out that the two-year captain made a point to the team after the game that this year is for last year’s seniors too.

“We are going out there, playing football and trying to deal with the present game. You try and forget about last year, but it’s always in the back of your mind the feeling that you had after that loss and use that as motivation for playing today,” VanDeSteeg said. “It feels great as a senior and makes you feel bad for the guys who went out last year.”

Last weekend, Minnesota played perhaps its most complete game in at least two seasons in a 37-3 win over Florida Atlantic — a team that scored 42 points a season ago on the Gophers defense.

FAU head coach Howard Schnellenberger saw a different team this year.

“They’re a pretty good football team and they outplayed us in every aspect of the game. We were outplayed by a team that was on a mission to reestablish themselves as a big time football team. Minnesota is certainly going in the right direction,” he said.

“This program is going in the right direction. We have three more wins than we did a year ago. And with all these young guys playing and the new stadium helping with recruiting, I don’t see this program going anywhere but up,” VanDeSteeg said.

Van DeSteeg is also heading in the right direction — upward in the career rankings at the university.

His statistics for the season include a team-high six tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, 17 tackles, one forced fumble and recovery and one blocked kick and extra point.

For his career, his 12 1/2 sacks and 31 1/2 tackles for loss rank him eighth in both categories.

Still, to Willie, statistics are one thing and wins are another.

“At the beginning of the year, I stood up in front of the team and told them how much of an honor it was to be their captain. I said, ‘These are the fastest four years of your life. I only have 12, maybe 13 games left. Play these games like its your last too,’” Van DeSteeg said.

“Be the best football player you can be every time you step out on the field as a Gopher.”

Nohelty could miss time this spring

HutchLeaderGuy — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:25:39 -0000

A little birdie from my Gopher baseball insider is that Gophers star outfielder Matt Nohelty is likely to miss all of fall/winter ball, and could possibly be displaced from the lineup for some time with a shoulder injury.

He supposedly tore his labrum in his throwing shoulder this summer, and it wasn't discovered until this past week. He is supposedly going to have surgery later this week.

My source had heard that Nohelty may be used only as a designated hitter next spring. This would be a huge blow to the outfield.

For those not familiar with Nohelty, he was selected by the Twins in the 18th round of MLB draft. However, the money was not there and he came back to the U.

From Gophersports.com:

This past season, Nohelty was named First-Team All-Big Ten. He became the first outfielder in the Big Ten since Sam Steidl (in 2003 & 04) to receive First-Team All-Big Ten honors in back-to-back seasons. Nohelty also received First-Team Academic All-American honors last week for the Golden Gophers.

On the season, Nohelty batted .397 with 53 runs, 94 hits, four triples, 39 RBI, 24 stolen bases and a .438 on-base percentage. He finished third in the Big Ten in batting average, second in hits, tied for eighth in runs, tied for fourth in stolen bases and tied for sixth in triples. His 94 hits were the most by a Golden Gopher since 1999, and his .397 batting average was the highest by a Minnesota player since Sam Steidl batted .401 in 2001.

Dower not the only one to commit

HutchLeaderGuy — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:12:53 -0000

From Myron Medcalf at the Trib:

6-7 Hopkins forward Mike Broghammer became the fourth Division I player on his team when he committed Sunday to Notre Dame, after a weekend visit, according to rivals.com. Dower had received an offer from the Gophers after a stellar summer on the AAU circuit.

Minnesota also lost 7-foot center Trevor Williams of Colorado, when he committed to playing for Colorado State after a weekend visit, according to rivals.com.

The guys from Gonzaga earlier confirmed a report from Rivals that Sam Dower has made his decision on the Bulldogs as well.