Kamal Martin, Carter Coughlin, Conner Olson, Phillip Howard, Eric Abojei, Gavin Blomberg, and Luke Schmidt were at practice today. De’Vondre Campbell was there as well. Blomberg spent a lot of time with Morgan Liggett and some other recruiting assistants. I wouldn’t expect much to happen there with the Gophers only taking 2-3 lineman this class and three in-state lineman already holding offers, but he seems to be talking to them a lot nevertheless.
Shannon Brooks, Dior Johnson, KiAnte Hardin, Ace Rogers, and Isaiah Gentry were all out. Walk-on safety Joey Gorgen was also out. He unfortunately tore his ACL recently, which is a big blow because he just joined the team as an unrecruited walk-on.
Mitch was throwing during drills. He took one set in 8v7 and none in 11v11. He had a rough time completing short- and mid-range passes (I don’t remember him attempting anything very long). His velocity wasn’t very good either, but I’m sure both issues are still largely because he’s still recovering from surgery on his plant foot. He did look more mobile than last practice, but is still limping a little bit when he jogs. The coaches don’t have him moving any quicker than a light jog to get to the line when they’re practicing at a high tempo.
Croft got a lot of reps. It seemed like he got even more reps than he usually does even with Leidner out, but maybe that’s just because I was watching other position groups when he wasn’t throwing. He was very crisp and accurate throwing ten and fifteen yard out routes and throughout the drill portion, but was a little less accurate (although not bad) in 8v7 and 11v11. Croft has always seemed to have a natural poise to him, but during the season it still seemed as if he’d get uncomfortable and indecisive when he was blitzed. He’s definitely improved in that regard. His decision making looked good today, too. There was only one throw I watched that he shouldn’t have made, and like I said, he took a lot of snaps.
Seth Green still has an odd, low release near his helmet, but his passes are always on a rope. He was probably the most consistent passer today.
Conor Rhoda was off-and-on in drills on short- and mid-range throws, although I think he’s better throwing in that range than deep. He did much better in 11v11 where he led the offense to a touchdown on the final drive. He also had a really nice run (quarterbacks can’t be hit but it was definitely still noteworthy).
The other thing I’ll say about the quarterback group is that Jay Johnson is a really positive guy. You can’t hear everything from the sideline, but I don’t remember him ever putting down a recruit and he gives a lot of encouragement.
Rodney Smith made several nice runs, but didn’t get as many reps as most other starters. One thing I was reminded of today was his pass blocking ability. He’s one of the better pass blocking backs in recent Gopher history.
Jonathan Femi-Cole had a great practice and was getting most of the reps with the 2s. Despite his upright running style, he has some wiggle and is able to get skinny through holes. He did drop a pass, though, and I think that’s an area of his game he’ll have to keep working on. I don’t think he caught very many passes out of the backfield at all in Canada. Johannesson didn’t get a whole ton of carries but did have a 20 or so yard run.
Nick Hart got reps in a fullback-ish role, which is interesting as I had always thought of him as more of a receiving tight end. He lined up in the backfield quite a bit.
The first team receiver group was Still, Carter, and Wolitarsky, with Woli usually in the slot. The 2s were Brian Smith, Chris Streveler, and Melvin Holland Jr.
Eric Carter made the catch of the day. He got up and extended far to snag a pass that was well thrown by Conor Rhoda between a flat and deeper zone. Wolitarsky also made a nice catch today -- a sliding grab near the sideline.
Holland had a deep pass fall between his arms. He’s a great route runner, so let’s hope he improves his hands, which I think he can.
Brian Smith made a couple of nice catches. It will be interesting to see if he ever gets playing time, as you probably remember me really talking him up in fall camp too.
The walk-ons impressed...Will Reger dropped an easy pass, but also made a couple plays today. He’s quicker now than I remember him being in the past. I can see why there’s been a lot of talk about Adam Mayer. He’s really quick in and out of his breaks. He can probably naturally create more separation in the slot on crossing routes than Wolitarsky, but I still don’t think he’ll be pushing for a whole ton of playing time. We’ll see, though. He’s definitely one to watch. Matt Morse put a nice move on Alex Starks and beat him deep in what was one of only two long receptions in drills that I remember. The other was Will Reger beating Ray Buford on a hitch-and-go and doing a nice job of going up and coming down with the ball.
Bart Miller told the media after the practice that he’s seen improvement in the line, and I certainly agree. Earlier in the spring the line particularly struggled in pass protection, but the first team looks much improved keeping Croft upright. The first team is opening up holes more consistently, too. The second team was still getting beat fairly regularly. The first team offensive line was Pirsig - Calhoun - Moore - Mayes - Fahning. In my notes, I have the second team being Wright - Stieber - Weyler - Dovich - Connelly.
Chad Fahning took all the reps with the 1s that I remember at left tackle and held his own for the most part. The strength is there, but he’ll need to work on his quickness.
Jared Weyler stands up too easily, but has a strong upper body. Weyler was taking reps at center with the second team. There were several bad snaps, but honestly I can’t remember if it was Weyler or Moore.
Connor Mayes had an excellent practice, as did Tyler Moore. Both were clearly the best lineman today. They’re physical and consistently getting push in the run game.
Both the JUCO tackles move reasonably well. Wright has pretty quick feet, and Calhoun looks a little more athletic than I expected, although he really struggled today, particularly in pass protection.
Nick Connelly looked great in 1v1s, and was up-and-down otherwise. I think he’s the most athletic tackle on the team. Bronson Dovich was the opposite, as I thought he held his own against the second string defensive line in the scrimmage portion but struggled in 1v1s. It will help him a lot if he’s able to improve his feet and quickness and become more physical.
Jonah Pirsig was excellent in pass protection. I don’t remember Gaelin Elmore and his other matchups getting by him. In the run game, he doesn’t really pop off the ball, but maybe that will come this fall. He played up to his All-Big Ten Honorable Mention status today.
On defense, the first team ran a lot of 3-4, while the other units stuck to a 4-3. I don’t anticipate there to be a real switch to 3-4 -- probably just a package the staff will use to get all of their linebacker talent on the field. There didn’t seem to be a ton of rhyme or reason to where the first team linebackers were put in the four. I think Rallis played some on the outside, and Huff played some on the inside, which I thought was interesting.
The news on the defensive line is that Mose Hall has moved back, after moving to offense for a while. He’s gained so much weight since the fall that I didn’t even recognize him. I thought he did well today. He shows a lot of effort and has violent hands.
Like I said, the pass protection was significantly better today than a couple weeks ago, and there were only a couple times where the d-line would have got a sack (They’re not allowed to hit the QB.), and Winston DeLattiboudere had two of those. He continues to impress. That might be partly because he’s not routinely going against the first team, but regardless I think it’s safe to say he’s one of the better pass rushers on the team.
Merrick Jackson had a great and made plays both rushing the passer and against the run. He’s very strong, although I think he could still lose some weight.
Thomas Barber is already very compact and at a ready-to-play weight. He’s still settling in and the game seems to be moving pretty fast for him.
At corner, Jalen Myrick shut everyone down. Antonio Shenault got a lot of time with the 1s and did well.
The safeties did a good job of limiting everything over the top. I particularly remember Kunle Ayinde doing a nice job breaking up a deep ball to Wozniak.
TLDR: Mitch Leidner was limited and didn’t have his best day, whereas Croft and Rhoda both had their moments. Seth Green did very well. Shannon Brooks was out and JFC was very impressive. Nick Hart is taking some reps at fullback. Mose Hall moved back to defense. Winston DeLattiboudere and Merrick Jackson both impressed. The first team defense played a lot of 3-4. Antonio Shenault got a lot of time with the 1s. Walk-on safety Joey Gorgen tore his ACL.
