2019 Projected Depth Chart from GI

John Galt

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They cover the entire roster: https://247sports.com/college/minne...ers-football-depth-chart-131634243/#131634243

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- With Minnesota's spring ball come and gone, we have a pretty good idea what the roster will look like come fall practice. Today we break down the projected depth chart at each position entering spring football.
Publisher Ryan Burns provides his thoughts at each position and outlines the expected depth chart to begin spring practice. Let's discuss below.
Quarterback


Starter: Zack Annexstad, sophomore
Second string: Tanner Morgan, redshirt sophomore
Backups: Jacob Clark, freshman; Cole Kramer, freshman
Comment: Welcome to ambiguity for arguably the most important position in football, and for Kirk Ciarrocca and this offense, there's going to a competition that'll continue into fall camp.
The reality is for whomever the signal caller is in 2019, they really don't need to be more than a game-manager. Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks return as 22 and 23-year-old Big Ten running backs, of which nearly have 5,000 rushing yards between them in their Minnesota careers. Yes, they'll both be coming off major knee surgeries, but they'll both have nearly a year to get back to 100% for fall camp. You also have Mo Ibrahim who rushed for over 1,000 yards in his 10 games, plus future top-100 NFL draft pick Tyler Johnson at wide receiver, Rashod Bateman looks to have taken another step forward this spring, Demetrius Douglas and Chris Autman-Bell are another year older, and Brevyn Spann-Ford / Seth Green / Jake Paulson will factor more into the passing game as well.
Throughout the spring, I held the opinion that Annexstad is slightly ahead of Morgan going into the summer, and I'll still stand by that opinion being accurate today.
Sources indicate that Zack and Tanner improved on their biggest weaknesses, as Tanner became more consistent from rep to rep this spring, and Zack got "smarter" within Ciarrocca's offense. Both improved with going through their reads, but I will say that sources are in agreement with me that the ceiling between the two quarterbacks is higher with Annexstad. His physical attributes with his arm and aggressive mindset being the separator. Bottom line is Minnesota's offense will be designed around whichever wins the job. Again, by no means is this race settled, as it'll go into fall camp, but I do believe Annexstad to be ahead right now.
As far as Jacob Clark and Cole Kramer, I don't foresee either really factoring into the picture for 2019. Both made strides this spring, but sources indicate that Clark has to keep adjusting to the speed of Big Ten Football, as windows close much faster here than in high school, and with Kramer, it's all about learning a 21st century offense. By no means does Minnesota think they missed on either, but unless they come along quickly over the summer, I foresee redshirt years for both.
 


Surprising, but not completely unexpected.

Based on last year, I thought Morgan deservedly had the inside track (in a very tight race) ... but the guys who work with 'em everyday may think differently.

I'd be happy to have either one on my team. Having both is a luxury.

JTG
 

The biggest thing that jumps out to me is that there aren't really any huge surprises. It seems like every year we have to depend on a true freshman or redshirt freshman to play since there are typically some huge gaps on the roster. Dunlap probably fits this description the most, but he was able to play 4 games last year and looks like he has tons of potential. Any true freshman or even redshirt freshman that play this year will be doing so because they are damn good, not because we need a body. DT would have been in this position, but getting a grad transfer in Dew-Treadway and JUCO in Schad really helped fill a void.
 

What a difference in tone a year makes coming out of the Spring Game. Good things are ahead.
 


If he’s right PJ is playing with fire benching a proven starter and the situation could go south if ZA underperforms expectations and/or TM decides to take his talents elsewhere. Definitely a calculated risk if that’s really what they’re going to do...I liked jacob Clark during the spring game but will he be ready for the Big Ten by the fall?

TJ is a stud but IMO both CAB and DD have similar athleticism to Johnson and CAB particularly seems to have good hands. Bateman is special and in a league of his own already. I expect him to be the leading receiver this fall.

I’m excited to see the tight ends get involved. Plenty of seam passes and jump balls for the big guys to haul in during the spring game. This offense could get really scary really quickly if they start mixing things up even more.

Chances are good at least one and probably two running backs are going to miss time just based on the running style of Mo and Brooks. It was striking seeing how diminutive Mo was standing next to Rod Smith.

Interested to see Rush and Oliver at LB.

The safety position gets a little dicey if Winfield goes down again. Hopefully the young guys are up to the task and Howden continues his quick learning curve.

CB seems...almost deep? Plenty of talent there in the top group.
 
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Good read. Thanks for posting.

4th year Coughlin, 5th year Treadway, 5th year Renner, and 5th year DeLattiboudere up front.

Fourth year Barber and 4th year Martin in the middle with 5th year Williamson at nickel.

4th year Winfield, 4th year Thomas, and 4th year Durr mixing in with 2nd year Howden, 2nd year Smith, and 2nd year Sapp. Unless 3rd year jucos Owens and Clemmons or 4th year Swenson step up. Or frosh Nubin.

Fifth year punter.

Gotta like how old and experienced the defense is.

On offense, we get older at qb, a lot older at rb, older at te, older at lt if it’s Dickson, Andries, Olson, Faalele all older. Dunlap would be one younger piece...article says he is most athletically gifted.

All the WRs get older. Geary really flashed is Spring game. 4th year guy looks big, fast, polished.
 

What a difference in tone a year makes coming out of the Spring Game. Good things are ahead.

Here here! I’ve had a skip in my Gopher football step this offseason. Some friends that casually watch are excited as well. It won’t be easy as the Big ten schedule has a way to surprise with a clunker game vs a team that we all figured for a win, but I really believe that this will be the best Gopher team to take the field for a season opener at TCF.
 

The Gophers can't fall asleep on any team in the supposedly weak schedule. They've got a chance to make some noise.
 



I wish we had a clearer picture of what's going to happen with the offensive line. But it at least appears we have the pieces. (Nice to hear they're so high on Dunlap.) Just a question of how they fit together best. It looks like there's a fair amount of flexibility and perhaps even a bit of depth.

Surprised there was no mention of Guedet. (I said Guedet to you, sir!) I thought reports were positive from spring ball. Perhaps headed for a RS?

JTG
 

If he’s right PJ is playing with fire benching a proven starter and the situation could go south if ZA underperforms expectations and/or TM decides to take his talents elsewhere. Definitely a calculated risk if that’s really what they’re going to do...I liked jacob Clark during the spring game but will he be ready for the Big Ten by the fall?

The great thing about having both Annexstad and Morgan is that there is no pressure on Clark to be ready by the fall. Very few true freshmen are ready for college ball their first year and that is especially true for QBs. Best case for those guys is to be able to come in and learn without feeling like they have to be the savior.
 

If he’s right PJ is playing with fire benching a proven starter and the situation could go south if ZA underperforms expectations and/or TM decides to take his talents elsewhere. Definitely a calculated risk if that’s really what they’re going to do...I liked jacob Clark during the spring game but will he be ready for the Big Ten by the fall?

The opposite could happen though as well if ZA isn't the starter & he decides to take his talents elsewhere. I think all the coaches can do is put in whoever they feel gives them the best chance to win.
 

The opposite could happen though as well if ZA isn't the starter & he decides to take his talents elsewhere. I think all the coaches can do is put in whoever they feel gives them the best chance to win.

Agreed. In this era of transfers, if there's a clear cut winner of this QB battle at seasons end I'm guessing that the other won't be on the roster for fall camp 2020. Just my $0.02
 



The QB that doesn't start is more than likely going to transfer anyways. Washington just lost two 4 star QBs from the same class yesterday.
 

The QB that doesn't start is more than likely going to transfer anyways. Washington just lost two 4 star QBs from the same class yesterday.

Yeah, it appears the days of having depth at QB are quickly coming to an end in this new free agent QB era. What we have right now in Annexstad and Morgan would be a luxury on most teams.
 

The QB that doesn't start is more than likely going to transfer anyways. Washington just lost two 4 star QBs from the same class yesterday.

Yep, now more often than not. I do think with ZA being from MN and his brother being on the team make him more sticky with the Gophs.
 

If he’s right PJ is playing with fire benching a proven starter and the situation could go south if ZA underperforms expectations and/or TM decides to take his talents elsewhere. Definitely a calculated risk if that’s really what they’re going to do...I liked jacob Clark during the spring game but will he be ready for the Big Ten by the fall?

TJ is a stud but IMO both CAB and DD have similar athleticism to Johnson and CAB particularly seems to have good hands. Bateman is special and in a league of his own already. I expect him to be the leading receiver this fall.

I’m excited to see the tight ends get involved. Plenty of seam passes and jump balls for the big guys to haul in during the spring game. This offense could get really scary really quickly if they start mixing things up even more.

Chances are good at least one and probably two running backs are going to miss time just based on the running style of Mo and Brooks. It was striking seeing how diminutive Mo was standing next to Rod Smith.

Interested to see Rush and Oliver at LB.

The safety position gets a little dicey if Winfield goes down again. Hopefully the young guys are up to the task and Howden continues his quick learning curve.

CB seems...almost deep? Plenty of talent there in the top group.

I agree that Bateman is special. Regarding the rest of the Receivers, my take is that Johnson is in a league of his own. Demetrius might be faster, and CAB might have some of the speed that Demetrius has and some of the vertical Johnson has, but stating the obvious, Johnson is a very refined receiver with adequate speed. He does so many little things right that the others are still learning, and his hands are like glue. I don't even remember if he had the early in the game drop toward the end of the season. QB's have to have the upmost confidence in him. Bottom line, Johnson is money. It is so nice to have the receivers our team has because teams won't be able to go too crazy on shutting Johnson down, because Bateman, CAB, Douglas, and the rest have the ability to make defenses pay if they do.

Safety could be a concern, but I think/ trust that the staff can be creative to mask any potential weaknesses.
 

The QB that doesn't start is more than likely going to transfer anyways. Washington just lost two 4 star QBs from the same class yesterday.

In theory your statement has merit, but it's not like if either of these guys transfers they are guaranteed playing time somewhere else. As the second string QB you are one injury away from the field on any given play. I think both ZA and TM will see playing time this year regardless of who becomes the starter. I don't see either of these guys transferring after this year as Fleck will do a good job of managing that situation and getting both QB's a fair amount of snaps.
 

In theory your statement has merit, but it's not like if either of these guys transfers they are guaranteed playing time somewhere else. As the second string QB you are one injury away from the field on any given play. I think both ZA and TM will see playing time this year regardless of who becomes the starter. I don't see either of these guys transferring after this year as Fleck will do a good job of managing that situation and getting both QB's a fair amount of snaps.

Yeah, I think if both/either of these guys impress, Clark would be the more-likely candidate.

Both ZA and TM, even if backups, can see a clear path to likely playing time in the near future.
 

I think both ZA and TM will see playing time this year regardless of who becomes the starter. I don't see either of these guys transferring after this year as Fleck will do a good job of managing that situation and getting both QB's a fair amount of snaps.

Or to look at it another way: If one of these guys feels he's frozen out at the end of the season and decides to go, that's probably a good sign. It means the other guy must have played impeccably and stayed healthy.

I agree that it's highly likely both stay. But if we have to roll into 2020 with ZA or TM and a couple promising redshirt freshmen, I could live with that.

JTG
 


Tanner knew the offense better than DA last year, that's what an extra spring of practice will get you. If DA is physically more gifted, and there is room for argument, he should be closer to Tanner in understanding the offense. I don't think it's as easy as handing off to Smith/Brooks as the write-up stated. Anyway, I've thought DA would be the starting qb this fall. And yes swingman, the quarterbacks are a year older. You made me smile, thank you.
 

Tanner knew the offense better than DA last year, that's what an extra spring of practice will get you. If DA is physically more gifted, and there is room for argument, he should be closer to Tanner in understanding the offense. I don't think it's as easy as handing off to Smith/Brooks as the write-up stated. Anyway, I've thought DA would be the starting qb this fall. And yes swingman, the quarterbacks are a year older. You made me smile, thank you.

I'm assuming you mean ZA.
 

Yeah, I think if both/either of these guys impress, Clark would be the more-likely candidate.

Both ZA and TM, even if backups, can see a clear path to likely playing time in the near future.


Clark would be on pace to start his Junior year if he wins the job


Not shabby
 

In theory your statement has merit, but it's not like if either of these guys transfers they are guaranteed playing time somewhere else. As the second string QB you are one injury away from the field on any given play. I think both ZA and TM will see playing time this year regardless of who becomes the starter. I don't see either of these guys transferring after this year as Fleck will do a good job of managing that situation and getting both QB's a fair amount of snaps.

How do you figure? He’s on record as not wanting a rotation and giving a long leash to the starter. We witnessed that a year ago when ZA was virtually one-legged and PJ wouldn’t pull him.

Obviously I could be wrong and he’s all in on rowing the boat but I suspect if spurned twice by PJ TM either transfers immediately and early in the late summer (if still eligible to play) or early this fall or the wheels are turning about transferring come Jan. If ZA comes out and blows the doors off then no matter, particularly if one or the other two freshmen develop enough to play this fall. Given what we’ve seen on the field I’m not totally comfortable with that prediction but obviously many of you are.
 

Tanner knew the offense better than DA last year, that's what an extra spring of practice will get you. If DA is physically more gifted, and there is room for argument, he should be closer to Tanner in understanding the offense. I don't think it's as easy as handing off to Smith/Brooks as the write-up stated. Anyway, I've thought DA would be the starting qb this fall. And yes swingman, the quarterbacks are a year older. You made me smile, thank you.

Not following you here. The exact opposite happened last year. Morgan had a full year of experience in the program as of Spring 2018, Annexstad had a couple months. The big surprise that Spring was how close they were in performance. Annexstad had learned in a couple months what Morgan had a full year to learn. By Fall 2018, Fleck decided Annexstad had surpassed Morgan in performance, and named him starter.
 

Not following you here. The exact opposite happened last year. Morgan had a full year of experience in the program as of Spring 2018, Annexstad had a couple months. The big surprise that Spring was how close they were in performance. Annexstad had learned in a couple months what Morgan had a full year to learn. By Fall 2018, Fleck decided Annexstad had surpassed Morgan in performance, and named him starter.

My thought is that Tanner was a bit more decisive than Zach (formerly known as D). An outcome from the extra year in the system. ZA, with another year of experience, should demonstrate better decision making.
 

My thought is that Tanner was a bit more decisive than Zach (formerly known as D). An outcome from the extra year in the system. ZA, with another year of experience, should demonstrate better decision making.

Your quote, If DA is physically more gifted, and there is room for argument, he should be closer to Tanner in understanding the offense. I'd argue Annexstad knew it as good better, and that is why Fleck picked him as starter. As for game performance last year, Morgan had an edge in completion %, otherwise they were pretty much even. Morgan's stats in the last four games were very average. The defense, Oline, and run game all were much improved and clicking in those games.

Don't get me wrong, I like them both, and Annexstad will need a lot of separation in performance from Morgan y the start of the season for Fleck not to go with Morgan as the starter.
 

ZA is from Minn, brought Faalele and Dunlap with him, and both on paper and in person he looks the part, physically, of a Big Ten starting QB.

They want Zach to reach up, take the starting job by the horns, and own it.

But to date he has not been able to do that. Is simply the truth of it. We will see in fall ...
 

Your quote, If DA is physically more gifted, and there is room for argument, he should be closer to Tanner in understanding the offense. I'd argue Annexstad knew it as good better, and that is why Fleck picked him as starter. As for game performance last year, Morgan had an edge in completion %, otherwise they were pretty much even. Morgan's stats in the last four games were very average. The defense, Oline, and run game all were much improved and clicking in those games.

Don't get me wrong, I like them both, and Annexstad will need a lot of separation in performance from Morgan y the start of the season for Fleck not to go with Morgan as the starter.

All good points.
 




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