For the first time in 4 years we are without the services of Eric Murray. Dude developed into one of my personal top 5 all-time favorite Gophers.
The consensus is that our DBs are gonna fall off hard. Listen to this passage complete with an anonymous quote from an opposing Big 10 Offensive Coordinator:
Secondary takes a step back: With so much of the spotlight last season on Iowa’s Desmond King and Michigan’s Jourdan Lewis, it was easy to lose sight of the Gophers’ talented pair of corners (Eric Murray and Briean Boddy-Calhoun). But they were some of the best in the nation, as evidenced by Minnesota’s No. 13 national ranking in pass defense. With their departures – along with safetyAntonio Johnson -- it’s not going to be easy for the Gophers to move on.
Said one B1G offensive coordinator: “Now that those players are gone, I think it’s going to be a challenge. Especially at corner, I’ll be surprised if the next group is quite as talented.”
I disagree. If we have better health than last year (I know I'm a broken record on that), I think our secondary will be just as effective this season as the past 3 have been. Eric Murray was unbelievable the past 3 years, but if healthy Myrick is nearly as good as Murray, and faster to boot.
1) Last year Murray and Myrick were incredible while BBC was still effective at times but he was a shell of his 2014 self. So the past 2 years we've had 2 great CBs each year--Murray/BBC in '14, Murray/Myrick in 15. Myrick is as close to Eric Murray as we could hope for, and I believe Sawvel will find one or two guys who can be effective across from JM.
2)If Damarius Travis is healthy, our Safety play will be better than it was in '15. Travis and Myrick could both be day 2 picks in next year's NFL draft.
3) As I said in another thread, I would bet my last dollar that Sawvel and Claeys have spent every spare waking moment since the end of the Wisconsin game trying to figure out how to finally develop an effective pass rush. We saw the beginnings of that in the Bowl Game and spring ball. It's July, I'm drunk on Kool-Aid, and I'm saying this is the year Minnesota finds a way to consistently get pressure on the QB.
So what say you, TGR? How good/bad will the Gopher secondary be in 2016?
The consensus is that our DBs are gonna fall off hard. Listen to this passage complete with an anonymous quote from an opposing Big 10 Offensive Coordinator:
Secondary takes a step back: With so much of the spotlight last season on Iowa’s Desmond King and Michigan’s Jourdan Lewis, it was easy to lose sight of the Gophers’ talented pair of corners (Eric Murray and Briean Boddy-Calhoun). But they were some of the best in the nation, as evidenced by Minnesota’s No. 13 national ranking in pass defense. With their departures – along with safetyAntonio Johnson -- it’s not going to be easy for the Gophers to move on.
Said one B1G offensive coordinator: “Now that those players are gone, I think it’s going to be a challenge. Especially at corner, I’ll be surprised if the next group is quite as talented.”
I disagree. If we have better health than last year (I know I'm a broken record on that), I think our secondary will be just as effective this season as the past 3 have been. Eric Murray was unbelievable the past 3 years, but if healthy Myrick is nearly as good as Murray, and faster to boot.
1) Last year Murray and Myrick were incredible while BBC was still effective at times but he was a shell of his 2014 self. So the past 2 years we've had 2 great CBs each year--Murray/BBC in '14, Murray/Myrick in 15. Myrick is as close to Eric Murray as we could hope for, and I believe Sawvel will find one or two guys who can be effective across from JM.
2)If Damarius Travis is healthy, our Safety play will be better than it was in '15. Travis and Myrick could both be day 2 picks in next year's NFL draft.
3) As I said in another thread, I would bet my last dollar that Sawvel and Claeys have spent every spare waking moment since the end of the Wisconsin game trying to figure out how to finally develop an effective pass rush. We saw the beginnings of that in the Bowl Game and spring ball. It's July, I'm drunk on Kool-Aid, and I'm saying this is the year Minnesota finds a way to consistently get pressure on the QB.
So what say you, TGR? How good/bad will the Gopher secondary be in 2016?
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