Donovahn Jones and Drew Wolitarsky will benefit much from spring practice

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diefirma said:
I thought if the bowl was Jan 1 or after then the red-shirt could play and not lose any eligibility because it is a new year.

I am not certain of this however so does anyone know for sure?
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I imagine players are redshirted according to academic year not calendar year.

I imagine its the same as a company that has a fiscal year that runs September-August. They can't move expenses to the next year just because the calendar reads Jan. 1.
 

Of course it would not hurt to get more talent at receiver; it's not like we have a lot of it, but, in my opinion, thinking that Jones and Wolitarsky can't be our #1 and #2 guys going forward is a bit of knee jerk reaction. I'm not sure what we were expecting of two true freshman (one who switched positions late) from Georgia and California to do in 16 degree weather in the biggest game of their careers when they found out less than a week before it that Engel was out and were playing a top 10 defense in the country. It seems like both of them have more raw talent than either Barker or Engel.

They have the chance not only to improve over the offseason (especially Jones - so much potential), but to improve during the bowl practices. But not only that, they can improve before the MSU game with the Wisconsin game under the belt and another week of practices knowing that they are the guys.
 

Then there is the potential trickeration using Jones & his QB skills at an opportune time...
 

Remember, Jones has been a receiver exactly 16 weeks (I think he was officially moved 2 weeks before the UNLV game).
 

Jones and Walatarsky will be fine as they mature as long as they get stronger AND LEARN TO COME BACK TO THE BALL. They need to go to Coach Patino's rebounding drills. Guarentee they will get better at going to the ball.
 


I haven't seen Wolitarsky do anything other than drop catchable passes this year -- is he supposed to be any good?

I wonder how much Kill is going after in-state recruits as walk-ons? Somebody like Mitch Felknor could be our next AJ Barker...without the drama.
 

MZBKA said:
I haven't seen Wolitarsky do anything other than drop catchable passes this year -- is he supposed to be any good?
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He holds the California state receiving record. I think we need to be patient -- you don't often hear about a true freshman WR having a breakout season.
 

positively4thstreet said:
He holds the California state receiving record. I think we need to be patient -- you don't often hear about a true freshman WR having a breakout season.
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I hope you're right. With our depth at WR right now, we don't have much choice anyways! I just wonder if he's nervous or has to work on having soft hands. . .trust the coaches I guess.
 

MZBKA said:
I haven't seen Wolitarsky do anything other than drop catchable passes this year -- is he supposed to be any good?

I wonder how much Kill is going after in-state recruits as walk-ons? Somebody like Mitch Felknor could be our next AJ Barker...without the drama.
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I've seen Wolitarsky do a couple things well. But I agree, he has struggled. Worse than the drops, he doesn't come back and fight for the ball. That play in the endzone should have been a TD. Very few college QBs throw perfect lasers, they often see one-on-one matchups throw to an area and hope the WR can make a play. Jones did it against Badgers. I have noticed Wolitarsky struggle with this part of the game. He also has the drops. Ideally, we wouldn't be in a situation where a true FR would be so counted on this year, so I can't blame him too much.

They go after the ones that they think can play, they signed Borchardt from Wayzata last year (I think he'll contribute) and they did sign Friesen from Mankato West (Friesen ended up enrolling at Mankato though).
 



positively4thstreet said:
He holds the California state receiving record. I think we need to be patient -- you don't often hear about a true freshman WR having a breakout season.
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Truthfully, I think there was not much competition in Canyon County considering he was a 4.67 receiver.
 

I think that the receivers will be fine they need to work on fundamentals and gain experience. Nelson could make it easier on the receivers, he canceled going to an elite quarterback camp, because he felt he needed to lead Captain's practices. This summer he needs to go to such a camp.
 

Guys - how many true Fr WRs make a huge impact. Give these guys some time. I firmly believe that DJ may be one of the most gifted athletes we have recruited in a long time. One of the main reasons Kill played these two this year is because it will make them better in '14, '15, and '16. Bowl practice will help, Weights in the offseason will help, spring practice will help; but nothing will help more than playing this year.

Patience. JuCo is not necessarily the solution. Finding a JuCo WR isn't easy. I'd like to see us try, but don't like our track record there (Hamilton, Palmer, Carpenter, Harris). I think you'll see big steps from DJ next year. That down-field catch against WI is a sign of what he can do.

Nelson will improve too. He is the real deal, not sure how folks can turn on him so fast after a bad game. He is a sophomore.

Eric Carter was red-shirted.
 

gopherveteran said:
ESPN said Gophers cant throw because they use an old ball. Is it really the ball's fault?
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As an ex-QB (HS level, so take this for what its worth) I'm fairly confident is saying that most/many QB's hate a new ball. The threads on new balls tend to be raised quite high and the ball has yet to get that tacky feel that sweat and dirt bring to it. In colder weather throwing an older ball with a little moisture from blowing on the hand is often effective. However, balls get a little smoother with use and in cold weather that can reduce the friction between the ball and the body, so it can be easier to fumble.
 



nsmike said:
I think that the receivers will be fine they need to work on fundamentals and gain experience. Nelson could make it easier on the receivers, he canceled going to an elite quarterback camp, because he felt he needed to lead Captain's practices. This summer he needs to go to such a camp.
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I thought I heard that the coaches wanted Nelson here to run the Captain's practices, so it wasn't really up to him. I could be wrong though.
 

Coaches wanted him here, but I agree it is good to get some outside looks in the offseason.
 

Studwell55 said:
Badly need to go juco fishing for a receiver.

Find the best kid available and ask him if wants to be the #1 receiver on a competitive B10 team.

We did this back in '03, but then the kid blew out his knee.
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Don't forget that the next top receiver can come from the ranks of PWOs. Jared Abbrederis was a HS QB, and was a PWO. He converted to WR and the rest is history.

I get it where Kill likes to recruit lots of QBs and RBs. They have potential to do something great playing other positions in college.
 


Nort73 said:
I thought I heard that the coaches wanted Nelson here to run the Captain's practices, so it wasn't really up to him. I could be wrong though.
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It was probably the right call at the time, the players have bought in and there's other leadership, it's time for Nelson to get coached up. A stint at the Manning's camp will help him develop as a QB.
 

The Gopher remain shorthanded at WR and it shows why teams have to recruit more than enough talent at every position. I think we all hoped by this time the Gophers starting WR's woud be Harbison and McDonald and neither guy was able to make an impact at all. The two freshman have contributed about as much as one could hope and both show promise. The key is building this position but the future looks a little scary with a small recruiting class coming up and zero WR's shown on the commit list and it looks like the team may not sign one. They have 6 spots left and are still looking at O-line, LBer, S, CB, and RB.
 

I'm won't be surprised if Leidner is the bowl game or at least next year's opener starter. I think he could be a more accurate passer. He was a high school pocket passer who surprised with his ability to run. Not a forcast or a hit on Nelson. Just thinking it could happen. We are lucky to have two good ones that fit Kill's scheme so well.
 

WolfontheProwl said:
I think we all hoped by this time the Gophers starting WR's woud be Harbison and McDonald and neither guy was able to make an impact at all.
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Was? So you're kicking Harbison off the team already?
 

diefirma said:
I thought if the bowl was Jan 1 or after then the red-shirt could play and not lose any eligibility because it is a new year.

I am not certain of this however so does anyone know for sure?
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Coach Kill talked about this with Sid & Dave Sunday. Said there is some discussion about it, but it hasn't happened yet. Also, talked about several other upcoming changes, perhaps paying scholarship athletes?
 

ncgo4 said:
I'm won't be surprised if Leidner is the bowl game or at least next year's opener starter. I think he could be a more accurate passer. He was a high school pocket passer who surprised with his ability to run. Not a forcast or a hit on Nelson. Just thinking it could happen. We are lucky to have two good ones that fit Kill's scheme so well.
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Unless there is an injury, it's not going to happen. Leidner & Nelson have both been healthy the last 5 games, and Nelson has clearly established himself as the starter. In fact, Leidner has taken no snaps in the last 2 games.
 

Ski U Mah Gopher said:
Unless there is an injury, it's not going to happen. Leidner & Nelson have both been healthy the last 5 games, and Nelson has clearly established himself as the starter. In fact, Leidner has taken no snaps in the last 2 games.
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Spot on. Philip struggled against WI and now folks forget how he played the previous 4 games. Nelson is our guy. Period.
 

A JUCO WR would need to be on campus in about 45 days, and last time I checked we haven't had one here for an OV. The odds of it happening are slightly better than Hayo being awarded an additional year of eligibility, coming back to the Gophers, and proving that he really was a big-time player...

Besides, how many JUCO wide receivers have we had in the last 20 years who have managed to catch 10 passess in a season?
 


John Galt said:
A JUCO WR would need to be on campus in about 45 days, and last time I checked we haven't had one here for an OV. The odds of it happening are slightly better than Hayo being awarded an additional year of eligibility, coming back to the Gophers, and proving that he really was a big-time player...

Besides, how many JUCO wide receivers have we had in the last 20 years who have managed to catch 10 passess in a season?
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Aaron Hosack had 29 catches in 2002 and 51 catches in 2003.
 

Misunderstood/overstated - the ball issue had to due with the cold weather impacting the grip/friction for the ouisiconsin game. For temps above 32 there should have been enough tackiness in the broken leather to not have any much less a significant impact.

Stronger arm and technique on both ends of the pass should have a much greater impact.

QUOTE=gopherveteran;806764]Need a quarterback with arm strength that can throw an accurate spiral. Ball cant hang and
be off target.

ESPN said Gophers cant throw because they use an old ball. Is it really the ball's fault?[/QUOTE]
 



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