hungan1
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Things I learned from Minnesota's 2022 spring football campaign
By Ryan Burns, Gopher Illustrated, April 30, 2022Minnesota's Spring Game today ended in a sudden death field goal competition that saw the Maroon team defeat the Gold, 19-16. I'm really not one to draw a ton of conclusions from a vanilla scrimmage, but the media was able to see four practices and today's spring game in the last month. That's a more healthy sample size to draw from, so here are a few thoughts as the Gophers wrap up their spring football season.
THE PASSING GAME HAS AN IDENTITY
After watching a passing game in 2020/21 that didn't know what it wanted to be, it's clear that back under Kirk Ciarrocca, Minnesota's going to get back to the RPO quick-hitting passing game, that'll have play-action deep shots mixed in. I like knowing the identity, which is important for this offense to continue building on heading into the summer and fall.It just felt like the passing offense tried to be a lot of different things at times the last two seasons, just attempting to see what would stick. And now with Ciarrocca back, it's been the quick, timing passing game that Tanner Morgan thrived in back in 2019.
I'm well aware that a section of the fan base isn't thrilled that Morgan is back for his sixth year, but having an offense more suited to what he does well than what he doesn't seems to be a key here in his final season. At the handful of open sessions I was at, I can't remember more than maybe one interception from Morgan. He was steady, and I'll take a steady Morgan in 2022.
It was also a lot of fun to see the flashes from freshman Athan Kaliakmanis this spring. He's got as high of a ceiling at the quarterback position as I've seen in my 10+ years now on the Gopher beat. The word "potential" comes to mind, but he's still got a ways to go to continue to reach that. The more reps that Athan takes, the better. The size, athleticism and arm talent are all there, but it's just about becoming more consistent. And that'll come with time, but make no mistake. This is Tanner Morgan's team in 2022, but Athan is putting himself in prime position for 23'.
EVEN WITH THE TRANSFER DEPARTURES, RUNNING BACK WILL BE JUST FINE
Is it ideal that Ky Thomas (Kansas) and Bucky Irving (TBD) entered the portal searching for greener pastures? No. But that's just the reality of the NIL / transfer portal era.But after seeing what the room looks like going into the summer, I'm not worried about it in the short or long term.
2020 Big Ten running back of the year Mo Ibrahim didn't take any hits this spring but watching him run around practice after practice, I don't have concerns about his rehab from the Achilles injury. He looked like he did the last few years prior. The big thing for him will be just taking some hits this fall to get the rust off before the non-conference season.
If you were to have told me in January that I'd have watched Trey Potts run around at practice for a month, I'd have never believed you. But Potts' come back from that scary injury against Purdue that saw him spend nearly a week in the hospital afterwards is well underway. He's added mass to his lower body, and while he's still yet to be cleared for contact, it's expected that he will be before fall camp. He'd be a great compliment to Mo Ibrahim's north-south caliber of play.
Bryce Williams was back from his lower-leg injury and taking contact, and then Minnesota's got something in true freshman Zach Evans as well. Anyone who got in front of the media would rave about Evans being a guy that should be going to prom next week, and yet, he's picking up things most freshmen don't at his age.
That's four viable backs that can all help you in 22' if need be.
I'M LESS WORRIED TODAY ABOUT DEFENSIVE TACKLE THAN I WAS A MONTH AGO
There's still a lot of development that has to happen between today and New Mexico State, but I like Minnesota's defensive tackle room. There are a lot of different skill sets in there that can help Joe Rossi's defense. Trill Carter will be the guy that leads that room in snaps as he's the only experienced player there, but even with the more inexperienced guys, we've seen the flashes.Against the Wisconsin's and Iowa's of the world, you can plug in 340 lb nose tackle Logan Richter in his fourth year and have him eat up space. He's been in the program now long enough to have the necessary strength to go with his size.
You've also got second-year guys in Deven Eastern and Jacob Schuster, who had strong springs. Eastern has flashed consistently this spring after a redshirt year where Minnesota moved Eastern from five-technique to defensive tackle. He's a legitimate 6-5+ and 295 lbs. He's got a lot to learn technique-wise, along with keeping that pad level down, but he's an incredibly powerful player with great length. You saw that in the spring game today with a couple tackles for loss. On the flip side, you've got Jacob Schuster at 6-1 and 300 lbs, but may be the best defensive tackle that the Gophers have with his hands. He's a guy that you can slide between nose and three-technique as well.
Gage Keys made it through spring healthy, which is huge for him to accumulate reps. The size, length, and athleticism are there for the Ohio native, but it's been about staying on the field after missing time in 21'. He was able to do that this spring and he likely played himself in a on-field role this fall at the three-technique spot. You've also got guys like Luther McCoy in his second season who showed some this spring and Clemson transfer Darnell Jefferies is also working there. Plus, Minnesota is bringing in Kyler Baugh from Houston Baptist in a few weeks.
It'll be an inexperienced room in 2022, but it's a room that has a lot of different skill sets that make me believe that Rossi and Brick Haley can mix and match depending upon the opponent.
THE SECONDARY HAS A CHANCE TO BE SPECIAL
I think if you asked Joe Rossi about his 2021 defense (I did, and that'll be out soon), he'd say that the secondary needed to be more consistent last year and that the front seven was the strength of 21' unit. I believe in 2022, that'll flip flop as the secondary looks to be the strength.So how did we get here?
Abilene Christian transfer Ryan Stapp and Western Kentucky transfer Beanie Bishop look as advertised. They're going to be guys who'll see many snaps for Minnesota this fall, and you plug them in with PFF true freshman All-American Justin Walley.
You return Jordan Howden and Tyler Nubin at safety, and this will be their third year working alongside together back there. Both turned the corner last season and were much more consistent than 2020.
You add in Michael "Flip" Dixon as a Rover type player that can line up at safety, linebacker or nickel. Dixon had an interception in the bowl game, but he appears to be destined for a more prominent role here in 2022, and that'll be at a multitude of spots.
Plus, you've got guys like Sol Brown and Miles Fleming that appear ready to help at nickel, and Minnesota will also get Terell Smith back from an injury that cost him most of this spring.
There's talent here and plenty of depth.
IF THEY CAN STAY HEALTHY, IT'LL COME DOWN TO THE FINAL TWO GAMES OF THE SEASON (AGAIN)
I don't believe there's a way you can convince me that Minnesota doesn't have as good of a shot at the 2022 Big Ten West title as Wisconsin or Iowa do.On paper, they have a more manageable crossover schedule.
Minnesota: @Michigan State, @Penn State and vs. Rutgers
Iowa: vs. Rutgers, vs. Michigan and @Ohio State
Wisconsin: @Ohio State, @Michigan State and vs. Maryland
23COMMENTS
Essentially, they avoid the Big Two of Michigan and Ohio State, and I understand that Michigan State or Penn State will obviously be tough games, but playing on the road in the Horseshoe aint' great.
Let's also take a look at the comparison between the three quarterbacks. I'm sure this information may gobsmack some Gopher Football fans, but Tanner Morgan was MUCH better than Graham Mertz or Spencer Petras last season. And it wasn't particularly close.
Above, I've attached the quarterback EPA's from all 130 FBS teams in 2021. The theory behind Expected Points Added (EPA) is simple. The statistic is used to try and define how many points a player or play is worth to a team. Every play is considered with context in mind, meaning down distance and field position are used to evaluate the amount of EPA compared to the actual result of the play. These statistics can be added to create a cumulative EPA over the course of a time period or season, or it can be viewed by EPA/play.
And Tanner Morgan was actually slightly above-average in EPA last season coming in at 57th of the 130 quarterbacks. But look how ugly it was for Mertz and Petras at 121st and 122nd respectively.
And if this holds again in 22', it'll come down to what it has two of the last three seasons. How does Minnesota do against Wisconsin and Iowa?
If this isn't the year where Minnesota can finally get over the hump against Iowa, I'm not sure when it'll happen. You get them at home, on Senior Day, and the opponent before their trip to the Twin Cities is Wisconsin.
We've also seen Minnesota make the Wisconsin game an actual rivalry as the Gophers have taken two of the last four from Madison.
All of this to try and say, it's okay to get excited again, Gopher fans. This 2022 team looks to be pretty damn good. I'm not sure if that'll equate to their first Big Ten West title, but it'll make for an entertaining 2022 season.
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