2018 SPRING PREVIEW: LINEBACKERS
March 29, 2018
2018 Season Tickets // Spring Game Introduces New Twist
The Gophers linebacker core has been one of its strongest units in recent years. Minnesota has less depth at the position this spring but the group is still loaded with playmakers.
There are twelve true linebackers on the roster and five of them have game experience. The unit has two seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and seven redshirt or true freshmen.
Blake Cashman and Julian Huff have both been impact players throughout their careers with a combined 74 games of experience. Cashman has made 79 tackles including 16 for a loss and 9.5 sacks in his career. After emerging as a special team’s standout, Cashman recorded 45 tackles with a team leading 7.5 sacks and one forced fumble as a sophomore. That season he earned one Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Award and was named Holiday Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player.
Last season Cashman finished the season with 30 tackles including five tackles for loss and two sacks after a slow start due to injury. He has been honored with the team's Gary Tinsley Award, as the player who best embodied the underdog spirit of the late former Gopher Gary Tinsley, in back-to-back seasons.
Huff has seen action in 38 career games, the most by any Gopher linebacker. He has made 63 tackles including seven for a loss and has 2.5 sacks. He has also forced two fumbles and has recovered three.
The Gophers have two elite junior linebackers from Minnesota in Thomas Barber and Kamal Martin (three if you count Carter Coughlin but we put him in our defensive line preview as a rush end.)
Barber was named All-Big Ten Third Team (media) and All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (coaches) after wreaking havoc on opposing offenses all year last season. He finished first on the team with 115 tackles (76 solo), forced three fumbles, recovered two fumbles and recorded one interception. He recorded double-digit tackles in seven Big Ten games. He became the first Gopher with 15 or more tackles in a game since Damien Wilson had 15 versus Northwestern in 2014 and was the first Gopher sophomore to have over 100 tackles since Tyrone Carter in 1997.
Martin keeps offensive coordinators up at night with his 6-foot-three, 229-pound frame. He has played in 25 games with 52 tackles including seven for loss and 2.5 sacks. He has also forced two fumbles and recovered three and has two interceptions. He went on a three-game hot streak last season with seven tackles and an interception against Purdue, eight tackles, a forced fumble and pass breakup against Michigan State, and five tackles including one for a loss and a forced fumble against Illinois.
Bailey Schoenfelder is the lone sophomore on the roster. He redshirted in 2016 before seeing action in nine games on special teams last season.
Danny Anderson, Trenton Guthrie and Joe Russell all redshirted last season. The Gophers signed Braelen Oliver, Thomas Rush and Mariano Sori-Marin to their highest ranked signing class in the internet era. Rush is already enrolled in classes and attending spring practices. Ty Barron was added to the roster for the 2018 season as a preferred walk-on.
March 29, 2018
2018 Season Tickets // Spring Game Introduces New Twist
The Gophers linebacker core has been one of its strongest units in recent years. Minnesota has less depth at the position this spring but the group is still loaded with playmakers.
There are twelve true linebackers on the roster and five of them have game experience. The unit has two seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and seven redshirt or true freshmen.
Blake Cashman and Julian Huff have both been impact players throughout their careers with a combined 74 games of experience. Cashman has made 79 tackles including 16 for a loss and 9.5 sacks in his career. After emerging as a special team’s standout, Cashman recorded 45 tackles with a team leading 7.5 sacks and one forced fumble as a sophomore. That season he earned one Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Award and was named Holiday Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player.
Last season Cashman finished the season with 30 tackles including five tackles for loss and two sacks after a slow start due to injury. He has been honored with the team's Gary Tinsley Award, as the player who best embodied the underdog spirit of the late former Gopher Gary Tinsley, in back-to-back seasons.
Huff has seen action in 38 career games, the most by any Gopher linebacker. He has made 63 tackles including seven for a loss and has 2.5 sacks. He has also forced two fumbles and has recovered three.
The Gophers have two elite junior linebackers from Minnesota in Thomas Barber and Kamal Martin (three if you count Carter Coughlin but we put him in our defensive line preview as a rush end.)
Barber was named All-Big Ten Third Team (media) and All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (coaches) after wreaking havoc on opposing offenses all year last season. He finished first on the team with 115 tackles (76 solo), forced three fumbles, recovered two fumbles and recorded one interception. He recorded double-digit tackles in seven Big Ten games. He became the first Gopher with 15 or more tackles in a game since Damien Wilson had 15 versus Northwestern in 2014 and was the first Gopher sophomore to have over 100 tackles since Tyrone Carter in 1997.
Martin keeps offensive coordinators up at night with his 6-foot-three, 229-pound frame. He has played in 25 games with 52 tackles including seven for loss and 2.5 sacks. He has also forced two fumbles and recovered three and has two interceptions. He went on a three-game hot streak last season with seven tackles and an interception against Purdue, eight tackles, a forced fumble and pass breakup against Michigan State, and five tackles including one for a loss and a forced fumble against Illinois.
Bailey Schoenfelder is the lone sophomore on the roster. He redshirted in 2016 before seeing action in nine games on special teams last season.
Danny Anderson, Trenton Guthrie and Joe Russell all redshirted last season. The Gophers signed Braelen Oliver, Thomas Rush and Mariano Sori-Marin to their highest ranked signing class in the internet era. Rush is already enrolled in classes and attending spring practices. Ty Barron was added to the roster for the 2018 season as a preferred walk-on.
