Iceland12
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In this corner, wearing the all-gold ensemble, you have Antoine Winfield Jr., the 5-10, 204-pound Gophers safety wearing No. 11 with a nose for the football and a history of making big plays.
In that corner, wearing royal blue and silver, you have Richie James, the 5-9, 176-pound wide receiver for Middle Tennessee sporting No. 3, who just might be the best college football player you’ve never heard of.
Come Saturday afternoon at TCF Bank Stadium, Winfield and James will match skills, with the Gophers sophomore shadowing the Blue Raiders junior playmaker in a middleweight title fight of sorts. Sure, it’s not Mayweather vs. McGregor, but it’s a matchup well worth savoring and one you won’t have to plunk down a $100 pay-per-view fee to see.
Let’s get ready to rumble.
“So far this season, he’s the best wide receiver I’ve seen,” said Winfield, sporting a grin and a twinkle in his eye when talking about his assignment. “This will be the biggest challenge so far.”
“I’ll line up anywhere to help my team win,” said James, admitting earlier this week that he didn’t know who’d be tasked to stop him. “If they need me to line up at quarterback, receiver, running back, I will.”
Gophers followers know all about Winfield, the son of former Vikings All-Pro cornerback Antoine Winfield. He’s picked up right where he left off from a solid freshman season by collecting 11 tackles, a sack, two pass breakups and a blocked field goal through two games this year.
But unless you follow the mid-majors or are a college fantasy football savant, you might not know about James. The Sarasota, Fla., native had a 108-catch freshman season, a 105-catch sophomore campaign and has 18 catches through two games this season. He’s on pace threaten NCAA career records for receptions (399 by East Carolina’s Zay Jones) and receiving yards (5,285 by Western Michigan’s Corey Davis).
“He’s just one of the best players I’ve ever watched on film, as the slot receiver,” said Gophers coach P.J. Fleck, who saw James amass 187 all-purpose yards and three TDs against his Western Michigan team in the 2015 Bahamas Bowl. “They’re going to get the ball to James. That’s a no-brainer. How they get the ball to James, that’s what we have to be able to defend and figure out.”...
http://www.startribune.com/this-gop...733/?ref=nl&om_rid=1635722697&om_mid=56473033
In that corner, wearing royal blue and silver, you have Richie James, the 5-9, 176-pound wide receiver for Middle Tennessee sporting No. 3, who just might be the best college football player you’ve never heard of.
Come Saturday afternoon at TCF Bank Stadium, Winfield and James will match skills, with the Gophers sophomore shadowing the Blue Raiders junior playmaker in a middleweight title fight of sorts. Sure, it’s not Mayweather vs. McGregor, but it’s a matchup well worth savoring and one you won’t have to plunk down a $100 pay-per-view fee to see.
Let’s get ready to rumble.
“So far this season, he’s the best wide receiver I’ve seen,” said Winfield, sporting a grin and a twinkle in his eye when talking about his assignment. “This will be the biggest challenge so far.”
“I’ll line up anywhere to help my team win,” said James, admitting earlier this week that he didn’t know who’d be tasked to stop him. “If they need me to line up at quarterback, receiver, running back, I will.”
Gophers followers know all about Winfield, the son of former Vikings All-Pro cornerback Antoine Winfield. He’s picked up right where he left off from a solid freshman season by collecting 11 tackles, a sack, two pass breakups and a blocked field goal through two games this year.
But unless you follow the mid-majors or are a college fantasy football savant, you might not know about James. The Sarasota, Fla., native had a 108-catch freshman season, a 105-catch sophomore campaign and has 18 catches through two games this season. He’s on pace threaten NCAA career records for receptions (399 by East Carolina’s Zay Jones) and receiving yards (5,285 by Western Michigan’s Corey Davis).
“He’s just one of the best players I’ve ever watched on film, as the slot receiver,” said Gophers coach P.J. Fleck, who saw James amass 187 all-purpose yards and three TDs against his Western Michigan team in the 2015 Bahamas Bowl. “They’re going to get the ball to James. That’s a no-brainer. How they get the ball to James, that’s what we have to be able to defend and figure out.”...
http://www.startribune.com/this-gop...733/?ref=nl&om_rid=1635722697&om_mid=56473033
