BleedGopher
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Go Gophers!!
Based on intel from team sources, here are 10 Big Ten true freshmen in position to be factors this season. (Darius Taylor, MN)
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Go Gophers!!
Off-GridTNgopher
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He's gunna need to play or he gone... Evans, Tyler, Taylor your 3 headed monster... I see a "bucky" type role here... Kick returns and 6-10 touches wether catching passes or rushing attempts per game....
BilldGopher
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Agree on the touches and the Bucky-type approach.
BTW, his nickname can be Herky for all I care so lets not go down that gopher hole again...
We have had two guys with playing time leave and one of the two play in the last 10 years.
Or have their been more than those two?
hungan1
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I think middling programs should be concerned about poaching. Something needs to change with the way the Transfer Portal and NIL are set up.
Bob_Loblaw
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Probably. We recruit the position well and there will likely be good players buried on the depth chart at times.
I think we will likely continue to be DL U for poachers too. PJ gets it and continues to recruit the hell out of the DL.
The simply solution to fix that is to end the one free transfer.
To beat an already very dead horse some more, the NCAA had its ass burned by the Supreme Court over this issue and is not going to change anything about the portal rules for a long, long time.
The ncaa has not had its “ass burned” on the transfer rule.
They have decided not to fight NIL due to Supreme Court precedents. The transfer rule has not been touched by the courts. In fact, there is already rules about needing to sit out for transfers and Those rules aren’t currently being legally challenged. For instance, Ky Thomas is likely going to have to sit out to transfer to Kent state this year.
And what I said has nothing to do with “the portal”
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hungan1
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They are doing wonderfully at constantly recruiting and replenishing the Running Back Room.
The number of DLs on the roster reflects the constant need for adding adequate depth. It provides room for player development and covers the losses from out-transfers.
The Gophers are upfront being player-centric. I am sure the players appreciate the difficult breakfast conversations and candor from time to time. They probably have an idea who may want to transfer out for better chances of playing time, etc.
PJ Fleck has a ton of energy and superlative skills. He has accomplished a lot for the football program and the University in the first seven years of his tenure.
Are the Gophers going to be better than their best accomplishments? Only time will tell.
True frosh Greg Johnson from Prior Lake (listed at 6'6" and 300 lbs) enrolled early and more than held his own at left guard. He will push 6th year guy Karter Shaw (who started at Utah State before transferring here) and 5th year guy Tyler Cooper (the pride of St. Croix Falls).
We've got a good kick returner coming back. No need to to risk injury to a running back.
GophersInIowa
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And we hardly ever return kicks anyways. Might as well just have someone back there that can just concentrate catching kicks and punts most of the time.
That's no longer true on kickoffs. PJ changed his best last year and took advantage of the kick return weapon. He found a return man in Quentin Redding and special teams worked on return blocking teams in practice.
Redding brought the 2nd half opening kick from Purdue back 80 yards. He had a long one to help beat Whisky. He had several others that gave us improved field position.
The kickoff return game is a definite advantage if employed reasonably (from the 4-5 yard line and better). We'll see it again this year in the balanced attack.
It actually has less to do with what yard line kicked to and more the expected value of the return.
Not sure what you mean by expected value of the return. If you mean a coaching decision before the return that calls for a fair catch based on game situation, it makes sense. Late in the game with a two-score lead you would do that in order to not risk a fumble or worsened field position.
If you mean the return man factoring value while the ball is in the air, he would need Derek Falvey or Rocco in his headset telling him what the computer says.
If you decide pre-season that you are going to return returnable kicks, you give the return man the discretion to to decide when to go and when not to go. More important than the depth of the kick is the hang time. He has to count down from the kickoff and decide both based on yard line and time the ball is in the air allowing coverage guys to get down field.
With normal height on the kick he can generally go outside the 3-4 yard line. The toughest job for the return man is a low ball that hits the ground over by the sideline. He has to decide whether to pick it up and make something out of it or hope it goes out of bounds or into the endzone.
Expected value of the return factors everything you just said into it
GophersWin!
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i agree. no more sitting guys for a year if they have major talent unfortunately or like you say they will be gone. Different day in football now.