Today was the Gopher’s first open practice, and it was a beautiful day for football. Plenty of fans came out to witness what a fall practice was going to be like under P.J. Fleck, and of course, to see how this year's team is going to be.
For most of the practice I was focused on the defensive side of the ball, so that’s where I will start.
First Team Defense:
Line: Winston DeLatiboudere, Merrick Jackson, Steven Richardson, Carter Coughlin
Linebackers: Jonathan Celestin, Thomas Barber, (Kamal Martin)
Cornerbacks: Antonio Shenault, KiOndre Thomas
Safety’s: Duke McGhee, Antoine Winfield Jr., (Jacob Huff)
The first team defense looked solid some of the time, and really held their own against an offense that is still adjusting to a new offensive coordinator, and two quarterbacks splitting time. One thing to note, would be the dominance of Steven Richardson. When he wasn’t double teamed up the middle, it was very hard to keep him from getting into the backfield. Merrick Jackson was the other defensive tackle getting reps with the first team, and he impressed me as well. He really clogs the middle up, and is a good run stopping compliment to Richardson. Looks to have taken a step up from last year. I didn’t focus on the defensive end’s too much today, which was a big mistake given the question mark that they bring in the run game. I did however see a few sacks from Coughlin, and how hard he was to block coming off the edge in passing situations. The linebacking core is very solid, and that goes without saying. Celestin and Barber were inserted into the first team, along with Martin on run situations, and they flew around the ball and always found a way to be near the play in the end. Winfield Jr. is listed as a safety in my depth chart, but he really does everything. He’ll go from playing a linebacker type spot, to safety, to playing the nickel in quick succession and not miss a beat. Very impressive for a sophomore. McGhee looks to have improved his zone coverage ability a bit, but it really wasn’t a large enough sample size to determine that yet. He looks a little more natural and comfortable sitting back and watching the quarterback than in year’s past. Huff was listed with the first team just like Martin, because the two would interchange in a pass/rush situation. Antonio Shenault looks to have taken a much needed step up. How much of a step up? We’re not quite sure yet. During one-on-one’s, Still caught him on his heels, changed directions into a slant, and Shenault hit the ground making the other receivers go crazy. Right after that during team drills, he bounced back and had two broken up passes when the ball was thrown his way. Seems to have improved his cover skills over the last time TGR saw him perform in the spring. KiOndre Thomas also had a solid day, and there isn’t really too much to report on him from what I saw. And for a cornerback, that is a good thing. His length and natural ability gives him the chance to be very good down the road after he gains much needed game experience.
Note: This sounds like a really good report from Minnesota’s secondary, but there is still a very long way to go. There will be more ups than down this year, and they will most likely struggle against good passing teams.
Second Team Defense:
Line: Jerry Gibson, Andrew Stelter, Royal Silver, (Gary Moore), Tai’yon Devers
Linebackers: Cody Poock, Blake Cashman
Cornerbacks: Zo Craighton, (Coney Durr), Justus Harris, Brady Wieland
Safety’s: Kunle Ayinde, Ken Handy-Holly
This group went with three cornerbacks, and had Harris in the slot with Wieland and Craighton out wide. Harris is a true freshman, and he has a long way to go from what I saw today. He has some very good athletic ability, but his technique, hips, and overall man coverage ability are not up to par with that of a Big Ten corner. He is one that would benefit greatly from a redshirt year, but might not get one because of lack of bodies at that position. Craighton struggled at times when in one-on-one coverage, but did a solid job on his recovery when he got beat. A few times he got beat, but got back just in time to make a play. Wieland was in there, but just isn’t the athlete to be a Big Ten cover corner. He plays hard and has solid technique, he’s just a half-step behind physically. Durr will slide into that three or four spot in the defensive backfield when he is fully back and ready. Gibson was the true defensive end in the group, with Devers being the rush end. Stelter looked good to me today, and he will surely get plenty of time with Steven in the first team this year. Gary Moore was splitting a bit of time with Royal Silver in the second group, and both did an alright job. Poock and Cashman were the linebackers in this group. Cashman is still getting eased in, so there was no hitting for him obviously. (Practice was at tempo TAG, which means just hit and stop. No tackling.) Ayinde is back at safety, as corner was not going to be the spot for him like they tried out in spring. Handy-Holly impressed me with his knowledge of the game and being in the right spot more often than not. Still needs improvement but I believe he’s going to be the best freshman defensive back this season.
Offense:
I didn’t take as thorough notes on the offense as I could have because of focus on the defense, but I did notice a few things here and there.
Quarterbacks:
In the QB battle, I was hoping that I would see Demry come out and prove he was alpha of the two, and to grab hold of the job. That didn’t happen. Although he displayed better touch on the ball, and speed while running with it, Rhoda won the day between the two in my opinion. Croft missed too many throws, but did look solid on his deep balls. With Rhoda, you know what you’re going to get, and that consistency showed today.
I would put Morgan at number three right now over Green. He just looks more natural in the pocket. Green has the size and measurables, but it doesn’t seem like he really has the feel for the game that Morgan and the others ahead of him do. Also with Green, his release looks slightly better, but still a bit funky. Green looked as good as I have seen him, however.
Runningbacks:
If Kobe McCrary is the third string running back on your football team, you’re in very good shape. I came away unsurprisingly impressed with the vision possessed by all three backs. Highlight of the day for this position group was Shannon Brooks breaking a long run after a couple cuts.
Wide Receivers:
This group has some question marks, but I liked what I saw from some of them today. Tyler Johnson is the top receiver in my opinion. He runs the best routes, and probably has the best hands out of the group. Still will be the other guy on the outside. I believe he improved his footwork at the line, and route running ability from the last time I saw him practice. He needs to improve his tenaciousness in jump ball situations, which still has not improved too much. Number three, I think could go to one of three options (they will all get time). Option one, that I would like to see, is Melvin Holland. He had a very good day. Runs very clean routes, is fast coming out of his cuts, and has the size to be a solid option. Option two, would be the senior Eric Carter. He needs to improve in many areas, but what you see from him is what you are going to get, and that’s a decent Big Ten receiver. Third option, which could be the most exciting, is Demetrius Douglas. From what I saw today, the hype was real. He is lightning in a bottle (too soon?) when the ball was in his hands. He just makes plays when he touches it. He broke a big run after catch on a screen, and made two cuts upfield through traffic where he might have gone untouched. Very impressed with his performance. Another young wideout I was impressed with was Chris Bell. He ran solid routes, and might be the most ready freshman to play along with Douglas. Bell had the highlight of the day however, as he beat his man on a slant, made a guy miss after he got the catch, and then ran over the safety (who we will not name for his sake) as he limped his way to the end zone. Bell bumped knees with the safety as this happened, but looked to be fine later on.
Final Thoughts:
The up-tempo practice lasted about 1 hour and 43 minutes. It was a lot of running for the whole team, but no real “conditioning”. It looked like the team has made some strides in some areas that they needed to, but there is still a ways to go. Not sure when the QB situation will get resolved, as neither has been able to set themselves apart from the group. As Rhoda got more first team reps today, Demry most likely will tomorrow, as they did in the spring.
Tomorrow’s practice is open, and at 3:30 PM at Gibson Nagurski.
For most of the practice I was focused on the defensive side of the ball, so that’s where I will start.
First Team Defense:
Line: Winston DeLatiboudere, Merrick Jackson, Steven Richardson, Carter Coughlin
Linebackers: Jonathan Celestin, Thomas Barber, (Kamal Martin)
Cornerbacks: Antonio Shenault, KiOndre Thomas
Safety’s: Duke McGhee, Antoine Winfield Jr., (Jacob Huff)
The first team defense looked solid some of the time, and really held their own against an offense that is still adjusting to a new offensive coordinator, and two quarterbacks splitting time. One thing to note, would be the dominance of Steven Richardson. When he wasn’t double teamed up the middle, it was very hard to keep him from getting into the backfield. Merrick Jackson was the other defensive tackle getting reps with the first team, and he impressed me as well. He really clogs the middle up, and is a good run stopping compliment to Richardson. Looks to have taken a step up from last year. I didn’t focus on the defensive end’s too much today, which was a big mistake given the question mark that they bring in the run game. I did however see a few sacks from Coughlin, and how hard he was to block coming off the edge in passing situations. The linebacking core is very solid, and that goes without saying. Celestin and Barber were inserted into the first team, along with Martin on run situations, and they flew around the ball and always found a way to be near the play in the end. Winfield Jr. is listed as a safety in my depth chart, but he really does everything. He’ll go from playing a linebacker type spot, to safety, to playing the nickel in quick succession and not miss a beat. Very impressive for a sophomore. McGhee looks to have improved his zone coverage ability a bit, but it really wasn’t a large enough sample size to determine that yet. He looks a little more natural and comfortable sitting back and watching the quarterback than in year’s past. Huff was listed with the first team just like Martin, because the two would interchange in a pass/rush situation. Antonio Shenault looks to have taken a much needed step up. How much of a step up? We’re not quite sure yet. During one-on-one’s, Still caught him on his heels, changed directions into a slant, and Shenault hit the ground making the other receivers go crazy. Right after that during team drills, he bounced back and had two broken up passes when the ball was thrown his way. Seems to have improved his cover skills over the last time TGR saw him perform in the spring. KiOndre Thomas also had a solid day, and there isn’t really too much to report on him from what I saw. And for a cornerback, that is a good thing. His length and natural ability gives him the chance to be very good down the road after he gains much needed game experience.
Note: This sounds like a really good report from Minnesota’s secondary, but there is still a very long way to go. There will be more ups than down this year, and they will most likely struggle against good passing teams.
Second Team Defense:
Line: Jerry Gibson, Andrew Stelter, Royal Silver, (Gary Moore), Tai’yon Devers
Linebackers: Cody Poock, Blake Cashman
Cornerbacks: Zo Craighton, (Coney Durr), Justus Harris, Brady Wieland
Safety’s: Kunle Ayinde, Ken Handy-Holly
This group went with three cornerbacks, and had Harris in the slot with Wieland and Craighton out wide. Harris is a true freshman, and he has a long way to go from what I saw today. He has some very good athletic ability, but his technique, hips, and overall man coverage ability are not up to par with that of a Big Ten corner. He is one that would benefit greatly from a redshirt year, but might not get one because of lack of bodies at that position. Craighton struggled at times when in one-on-one coverage, but did a solid job on his recovery when he got beat. A few times he got beat, but got back just in time to make a play. Wieland was in there, but just isn’t the athlete to be a Big Ten cover corner. He plays hard and has solid technique, he’s just a half-step behind physically. Durr will slide into that three or four spot in the defensive backfield when he is fully back and ready. Gibson was the true defensive end in the group, with Devers being the rush end. Stelter looked good to me today, and he will surely get plenty of time with Steven in the first team this year. Gary Moore was splitting a bit of time with Royal Silver in the second group, and both did an alright job. Poock and Cashman were the linebackers in this group. Cashman is still getting eased in, so there was no hitting for him obviously. (Practice was at tempo TAG, which means just hit and stop. No tackling.) Ayinde is back at safety, as corner was not going to be the spot for him like they tried out in spring. Handy-Holly impressed me with his knowledge of the game and being in the right spot more often than not. Still needs improvement but I believe he’s going to be the best freshman defensive back this season.
Offense:
I didn’t take as thorough notes on the offense as I could have because of focus on the defense, but I did notice a few things here and there.
Quarterbacks:
In the QB battle, I was hoping that I would see Demry come out and prove he was alpha of the two, and to grab hold of the job. That didn’t happen. Although he displayed better touch on the ball, and speed while running with it, Rhoda won the day between the two in my opinion. Croft missed too many throws, but did look solid on his deep balls. With Rhoda, you know what you’re going to get, and that consistency showed today.
I would put Morgan at number three right now over Green. He just looks more natural in the pocket. Green has the size and measurables, but it doesn’t seem like he really has the feel for the game that Morgan and the others ahead of him do. Also with Green, his release looks slightly better, but still a bit funky. Green looked as good as I have seen him, however.
Runningbacks:
If Kobe McCrary is the third string running back on your football team, you’re in very good shape. I came away unsurprisingly impressed with the vision possessed by all three backs. Highlight of the day for this position group was Shannon Brooks breaking a long run after a couple cuts.
Wide Receivers:
This group has some question marks, but I liked what I saw from some of them today. Tyler Johnson is the top receiver in my opinion. He runs the best routes, and probably has the best hands out of the group. Still will be the other guy on the outside. I believe he improved his footwork at the line, and route running ability from the last time I saw him practice. He needs to improve his tenaciousness in jump ball situations, which still has not improved too much. Number three, I think could go to one of three options (they will all get time). Option one, that I would like to see, is Melvin Holland. He had a very good day. Runs very clean routes, is fast coming out of his cuts, and has the size to be a solid option. Option two, would be the senior Eric Carter. He needs to improve in many areas, but what you see from him is what you are going to get, and that’s a decent Big Ten receiver. Third option, which could be the most exciting, is Demetrius Douglas. From what I saw today, the hype was real. He is lightning in a bottle (too soon?) when the ball was in his hands. He just makes plays when he touches it. He broke a big run after catch on a screen, and made two cuts upfield through traffic where he might have gone untouched. Very impressed with his performance. Another young wideout I was impressed with was Chris Bell. He ran solid routes, and might be the most ready freshman to play along with Douglas. Bell had the highlight of the day however, as he beat his man on a slant, made a guy miss after he got the catch, and then ran over the safety (who we will not name for his sake) as he limped his way to the end zone. Bell bumped knees with the safety as this happened, but looked to be fine later on.
Final Thoughts:
The up-tempo practice lasted about 1 hour and 43 minutes. It was a lot of running for the whole team, but no real “conditioning”. It looked like the team has made some strides in some areas that they needed to, but there is still a ways to go. Not sure when the QB situation will get resolved, as neither has been able to set themselves apart from the group. As Rhoda got more first team reps today, Demry most likely will tomorrow, as they did in the spring.
Tomorrow’s practice is open, and at 3:30 PM at Gibson Nagurski.
