Official 2012 Gopher Fall Camp Thread: Updates, Analysis, Links, etc.

Donate To GopherHole


per Shama:


DiNardo: U Done Losing to NDSU’s
August 14, 2012 - (0) comments



The Big Ten Network football crew including commentators Gerry DiNardo and Howard Griffith was in Minneapolis last weekend to evaluate the Gophers as part of a 12-campus tour of Big Ten football programs. DiNardo and Griffith are impressed with coach Jerry Kill and the improvement of the Minnesota team.

“I think we’re all gonna see (in 2012) why Minnesota hired Jerry Kill,” DiNardo said on the network’s Gophers preview show. “He’s a guy that maximizes his (player) personnel. We’ll see him do that. He maximizes his staff because they’ve been with him so long.

“The biggest surprise to me a year ago is when Minnesota lost to New Mexico State and North Dakota State. That won’t happen again. Minnesota will win every matchup opponent. Matchup opponent is someone that’s a little better or a little less personnel than you do (have). He’ll win every one of those games. …It’s taken him maybe a little bit longer here than some of the other places he’s been.”

The Gophers were 3-9 last season including those surprise nonconference losses to the Aggies and Bison. If DiNardo is correct, the Gophers will sweep their 2012 nonconference games against UNLV, New Hampshire, Western Michigan and Syracuse. Then Minnesota has to find two wins among eight conference opponents to reach the qualifying six victories to be eligible for a bowl game.

Minnesota is a second-year rebuilding program under Kill, and Griffith thinks the Gophers are still going to “take their lumps.” Griffith likes the direction of the program with Kill and said the players “have bought into the message that he’s talking about from the front of the room.”

No Gopher discussed on the preview show received higher praise than junior defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman. Griffith doesn’t believe any center in the Big Ten can block Hageman who was outstanding in Minnesota’s final game last season against Illinois and has continued to progress. “In my mind he’s going to be tough to block for anybody,” Griffith said.

Defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys told the Big Ten Network that Hageman, a former tight end, is now understanding the demands of his position. “There’s not a better athlete in the United States playing d-tackle than what Ra’Shede Hageman is,” Claeys said. “The more he continues to learn the game, the better off I think he will be.”

Griffith thinks senior quarterback MarQueis Gray can have a “tremendous year.” DiNardo said proven running skills and improved passing could make Gray the best “dual-threat” quarterback in the conference.

Asked to identify “newcomers” of note this season, Griffith selected redshirt freshman defensive end Theiren Cockran, a promising pass rusher whom Kill has praised in the off-season. DiNardo chose true freshmen Jamel Harbison, a wide receiver that has shown athleticism in practice this month, and converted quarterback KJ Maye, an exceptionally quick athlete who could play both receiver and running back for the Gophers.

http://shamasportsheadliners.com/

Go Gophers!!
 




GophersInIowa said:
Click to expand...

This was cool. We went out here in early July and played laser tag with the family. 8 of us. Great fun and did create some good memories with the cousins and uncles. No doubt it did the same for the football team.

Can't wait for the great results vs UNLV. Basically 2 weeks away!

GM
 

Hageman going with a big cage on the helmet:

319471_488292934517133_1887574395_n.jpg
 













Sam from MPLS writes: Just read your specialists list. Maybe he's not the best, of the group, but he could be: Troy Stoudemire. The guy has the most kickoff return yardage in B1G history. If he's not at the top, that's understandable, but he's on the list. Not including him is a huge miss. As a side note, Marcus Jones for MN housed one last year, and would have been two if not for a penalty call - a penalty that did not impact Jones' return. Did I mention he was a true freshman? These two are dangerous, and may be the best two-man combo of KR specialists in the B1G.

Brian Bennett: You're right that Stoudermire is an accomplished return man, but I'm taking a little bit of a wait-and-see approach with him. It's really been two years since he was a standout kickoff return guy; he averaged 21.6 yards on his eight returns before the injury last year, which would not have ranked him among the best in the Big Ten. But if he can recapture his 2010 form, he could be a Top 10 specialist.

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/55604/big-ten-thursday-mailbag-49

Go Gophers!!
 






Great pic of some of our guys taking a soak in tubs!...though they look like they are out of the movie "Major League."

SoakingInTubs.jpg

Go Gophers!!
 




Formo said:
I love the video. I especially love how they honor GT.
Click to expand...

I love seeing this...but I bet they filtered for what they want to let UNLV to see. Williams won't be the star of the game. Hope we can RS him.

GM
 



I'm really like the athleticism of the Gophers LB's. Cooper, Edwards & Manuel can all cover a lot of ground.
 


You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom