Posts tagged Minnesota

Photo credit: Jesse Johnson / US Presswire
When last place might not matter: Here’s why college football’s National Signing Day’s rankings matter and where they might be wrong

1. On Jan. 25, a high school senior named Nate Andrews from Fairhope, Ala., decided to attend Florida State University, where he would also play Division I football. Previously, he verbally committed to Minnesota, but as teenagers are wont to do, he changed his mind. Andrews hadn’t put ink to paper and even if he had, that might not have mattered. One teenage recruit this year tattooed the Auburn logo on his forearm, before ultimately deciding to rescind his commitment to attend Alabama.

It happens. According to the Andrews’s high school football coach, Andrews decided to pick Tallahassee because it was a bit closer to home and he also struck up a good relationship with FSU’s defensive coordinator, who had previously coached defensive backs at Alabama. Good enough reasons – not to mention that Florida State has a more prestigious football program than Minnesota. The change was met with frustration from the Twitter feeds and message boards relevant to Minnesota college football, but many expected Andrews to switch schools, particularly after he attracted some late interest from Alabama.

Two themes emerged from Florida State and Minnesota fans though. Gopher fans bemoaned the idea that their coach couldn’t bring in talented recruits; Florida State fans cried that their coach was bringing in too many untalented recruits. Mr. Andrews was, at the exact same time, seen as either the one who got away or the one who shouldn’t have been invited.

College football recruiting can be kind of stupid at times.

2. Meanwhile, as Mr. Andrews made his collegiate decision, another teenager named Reggie Spearman debated what school would be best for his future. In August, the linebacker prospect picked Illinois, but as he continued to visit other schools, he wasn’t so sure anymore about attending school in Champaign, Ill. Schools started swarming. Iowa offered him a scholarship, as did Minnesota, Purdue, Syracuse, Indiana and seven other schools.

When asked about his recruitment, Spearman once said, “I’m still committed to Illinois but Iowa really opened up things and I am really just undecided.” He visited a few of the schools, each place jockeying position on Rivals’s recruiting pages.

When it came time to make a decision, Spearman took out a Syracuse hat, but then dropped it and picked up an Iowa Hawkeyes cap and put it on his head. Again, that’s pretty standard in recruiting. That isn’t the disgusting part. That came from Spearman’s Twitter feed, when he retweeted the messages he received from adult men trying to convince him to attend their favorite university.

A sampling of the messages he received after choosing Iowa (everything sic):
- “lmao this dude pathetic. you are a goddamn joke son.”
- “LOL..U picked 3 losers…good luck with that.”
- “HAHAHA.. Are you delusional? Good luck. You can’t even beat Iowa State.”

There are pages more of similar stuff, although most of it is congratulatory by now.

Keep in mind, Mr. Andrews and Mr. Spearman are three-star recruits; that is, they are not considered to be among the top tier, five-star players who command the most attention. That’s when the crazy gets turned up to 11. Five-star defensive end recruit Chris Jones of Houston received death threats from fans of Ole Miss and Mississippi State when he was rumored to be picking between the schools.

Again, grown men are harassing 17 and 18-year-olds over the Internet about what college the teens should attend – to the point where they are threatening bodily harm. If reading that doesn’t give make your eyebrows and nose scrunch together – and it should – try this. Take the phrase “17-year-old boy” out of the above sentence and place “17-year-old girl” in its place.

Several writers – Spencer Hall and Adam Kramer, for example — have written about the inherent creepiness of college football recruiting, but it’s worth repeating. SB Nation’s Black Heart Gold Pants even labels all recruiting posts “Caring Is Creepy.”

Again, 17- and 18-year-olds are being hounded by grown men who they have never met in person or even talked to on the phone. They are being repeatedly told that they should attend STATE U and when these teens decide a school that isn’t Johnny Crazyperson’s favorite, the crazies let their freak flag fly.

I bristle when people compare professional sports to slavery, but I’ve much more troubled when I overhear people brashly yelling about college football recruiting like this: “Yeah, we got that boy coming to town! Locked him up!” This insanity is not evidence of how competitive college football is. It’s evidence of how many crazy people like college football.

College football recruiting is nearly always creepy.

Read more …

Photo credit: Joseph Tobianski / AnnArbor.com

Jerry Kill has landed his first running back for next year’s recruiting class, as Rivals’s Gopher Illustrated has reported that Michigan running back Berkely Edwards has committed to the maroon and gold. What can we expect from him?

Edwards, the younger brother of former Michigan Wolverine and NFL receiver Braylon, rates as a three-star prospect according to both Rivals and Scout. The experts from Rivals, ESPN and Scout have scouted Edwards to be on the high end of three stars; Edwards’s scout grade of 77 ranks on the high end of ESPN’s “good prospects” range.

For perspective, rare, amazing prospects rank 100-90, and 89-80 is for outstanding prospects. Issac Hayes, Jamel Harbison and Andre McDonald all ranked 80 last year, while KJ Maye received a 76. 

The high school senior currently measures 5-foot-9, 190 pounds and reportedly received a scholarship offer from California, among several other non-automatic qualifier schools. Iowa had been rumored to be interested in him, but apparently decided that they didn’t want to seal the young man’s fate in crushing knee injuries, questionable drug-related arrests and the general wrath of the Angry Iowa Running Back Hating God. (Iowa reportedly recently pulled its offer.)  

In talking on Twitter with GopherIllustrated’s Matt O’Connell and The Daily Gopher’s MV, Edwards’s speed should get him on the field during his freshman season, as should the fact that the Gophers aren’t exactly talent rich at the position. 

Donnell Kirkwood wrapped up a productive 2012 campaign, one that admittedly overshot my meager expectations for him. But while Kirkwood’s 4.26 yards per carry and 848 yards were a pleasant surprise, the play of James Gillum was a complete letdown. After totaling 14 carries in the season opener against UNLV, Gillum only had a carry in three other games, and never toted the rock more than five times when he did.

True freshman Rodrick Williams, Jr, “Nugget,” was a nice surprise, too, but at 5-foot, 11-inches and 228 pounds, he’s meant to run into people more than run away from them.

Enter Edwards, the speed back that can hopefully add another weapon to the Gopher offense. After watching some of his 2012 game film, the hope is that he can replicate what Chad Spann did for Kill and Co. at Northern Illinois. 

Kirkwood, Williams and Gillum are not to blame for the team’s offensive struggles, though. The offensive line again battled injuries last year and the passing game was awful. Nationally, the Gophers ranked 108th out of 124 teams in passing yards per game. On third down, the Gophers’ quarterbacks had the third-worst completion percentage.

When teams can manhandle your patchwork offensive line — filled with the second and third names on the depth chart – and can also all but ignore your passing game, there isn’t much to suggest that your running backs are going to have a huge amount of success. If Edwards is successful running the ball in 2013, a large reason will be an offensive line receiving large contributions from upperclassmen for the first time in two years. If injuries continue to press younger linemen into duty earlier than desired, we can expect more of the same struggles up front.

While Edwards certainly shouldn’t be expected to be a program changer, he certainly brings a level of speed that the Gophers backfield has lacked during the last two years. Rivals ranks him as an all-around back, one who can play on third down and catch some passes out of the backfield. An ability to catch passes hasn’t figured much into the Kill-Limegrover system for running backs though, at least dating back to 2008. The highest reception total in five years for a running back in the Kill-Limegrover offense was 11, by Kyle Skarb in 2009. In 2012, Donnell Kirkwood led running backs with seven catches; in most screen plays, KJ Maye was used instead. He caught 11 passes on the year.

But again, Edwards’s speed is something that the program simply hasn’t had in several years and with relatively little running back depth of value currently on the roster, we should expect Edwards to figure squarely into the Gophers’ plans when the team begins fall camp.

1. MarQueis Gray | QB | Senior | 6'4” 245 lbs.
Passing: CMP    YDS    YPA   TD  INT
         50.7   1,495  7.02  8   8
Rushing: ATT    YDS    AVG   TD
         199    966    4.9   6
Photo credit: Chris Polydoroff/Pioneer Press 

If the Golden Gophers reach a bowl this year, it will be because MarQueis Gray lead them to one. Plain and simple, he’s the centerpiece of the offense, the team’s most talented player and starts at the most important position in all of football. Likewise, if he gets hurt, the reigns are thrown to sophomore Max Shortell, who still needs time to develop into a Division I starting quarterback. Ranking Gray at No. 1 should be a surprise to no one. We don’t advocate violence, but we surely don’t endorse abject stupidity: If someone says the Gophers should move Gray to wide receiver or just bench him outright, go punch them in the face. Here’s why.

There’s no doubt that Gray needs to improve his accuracy – likewise, his receivers will have to make the most of their chances – but once Gray decides to tuck the ball and run, there aren’t many other quarterbacks who can match his mix of speed and power. His 174 rushing yards against Illinois set the school’s single game rushing record for quarterbacks and, even with missing a game, his 966 rushing yards last year set the team’s single-season record for quarterbacks, as well.

Gray rushed for the third-most yards among quarterbacks at the FBS-level last year, although Jerry Kill and Co. would like for the team’s running backs to contribute more to the running game in 2012. Gray was forced into often fleeing the pocket in 2011 due to little protection from a young offensive line that was also battered by injuries. Those absences up front caused several untested and undersized underclassmen into playing time, negatively impacting the running game, leaving Gray as the team’s only real rushing threat. As I wrote in James Gillum’s write-up, the rushing game needs to take a step forward, which in turn should help Gray’s passing and allow him to pick his spots in rushing the ball. Last year’s “scrambling for your life” approach wasn’t exactly by design. Although Denard Robinson and Gray are very different types of mobile quarterbacks, a more ideal situation would be like at Michigan in 2011, where running back Fitzgerald Toussaint complimented Robinson.

Football is a team sport and no one player can be completely responsible for the result of an entire game, but the fact of the matter is that when Gray played well, the team played well and when Gray left the game, the Gophers ended up playing poorly on offense. Without breaking things down to a play-by-play basis and citing somewhat generalities, the one game Gray completely missed ended horribly, a 58-0 drubbing at the hands of Michigan. On the flip side, when Gray played well, the Gophers beat Iowa and Illinois. (Somehow, the Hawkeyes beat the Wolverines. Conventional wisdom and the Sid Hartman Transitive Property of Sports suggested that any team the Gophers beat would have lost to Michigan by an amount somewhere between 50 and 3,000 points.)

Gray also needs to have his hands all over 2012’s offensive game plan because his backups are untested. Max Shortell moved the ball well at first in the season opener against USC, but as the season went on, he was just as inconsistent throwing the ball as Gray and he wasn’t nearly the running threat. When the coach is brand new you can’t necessarily call for his head without sounding completely ridiculous, so the lazy fans’ onus falls onto to the QB when things are going right.  As a true freshman, Shortell ended up compiling a passer efficiency rating and completion percentage that were both worse than Gray’s numbers. Kill likes to switch up his quarterbacks at times and Shortell has the tools to be a decent quarterback eventually, but at this point, he should be no more than a solid backup who only sees the field due to injury.

In 2011, the Gophers were a football team with many issues and several major issues. Gray’s passing accuracy was an issue, but major issues were things like defensive back play, the performance of the offensive line and little help from the running game. Gray has the tools and talent to be the most dynamic quarterback the Gophers have had in at least 20 years.

He will need to be if the maroon and gold hope to reach a bowl in 2012.

2. James Gillum| RB | Junior | 5'11” 204 lbs.
Junior College Transfer
Photo credit: University of Minnesota Athletic Department

The Golden Gophers return four players who scored a rushing touchdown last year. One is the starting quarterback, one is a walk-on kicker who scored on a trick play and one is now a linebacker. The last player, the lone running back of the four, totaled 229 yards on the season.

So, uh, fire up that rouser!

To say the team lacks depth at running back is an understatement. The team returns sophomores Donnell Kirkwood, David Cobb and Devon Wright, but all three had trouble either staying healthy or breaking through the depth chart last year. So far, those guys have been just as unlucky this spring and summer: Cobb injured his knee in spring practice and Kirkwood is returning from a hamstring injury, although both seem healthy again. For now. Still, in Jerry Kill and Matt Limegrover’s run-heavy offense, those kind of reviews don’t inspire much confidence.

In the three years Kill spent at Northern Illinois University, the offense ran the ball about 64 percent of the time. Last year, the Gophers ran the ball 63 percent of the time, remarkable still, considering they were often behind as soon as their opponents’ first drive was completed. With the uncertainty surrounding the position, junior college transfer James Gillum immediately steps into a starting spot and lead running back role for the Gophers.

Gillum comes to the program after spending two years Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, where in 2011 he was named a preseason junior college All-American. In high school, his teams mainly ran basic wing T type stuff, but he learned the spread and blitz pickup in college, according to The Times-Picayune in New Orleans. That experience should allow him to step in immediately in regard to blocking schemes and blitz pickup.

Looking at the Kill and Co. offensive scheme, we can predict that MarQueis Gray will again tally a lot of rushing attempts. As far as the running back position, the coaching staff would prefer to have a smaller scatback split carries with a bruising short-yardage guy, but as things currently reside, it’s unknown if the team can count on the running backs outside of Gillum. There are two newcomers who have promise; Rodrick Williams, Jr. looks like a beast, while fellow incoming freshman K.J. Maye brings a level of agility that none of the other running backs possess, but it’s unclear how much the pair will play as true freshmen or if they will redshirt.

As Limegrover told 1500ESPN’s Darren Wolfson in 2011, they would prefer to have a third-down back and divide the workload. But the depth chart this year might not allow them to do so, especially if they decide to redshirt Maye. As MV showed in his list of junior college running backs that Kill has previously recruited, this staff has a talent for plucking junior college kids from the ranks. This staff expects Gillum to play.

Watching Gillum’s tape, he takes every single carry to the house for a touchdown he doesn’t have blazing speed and is obviously not a bruiser, but Gophers coaches have continually pointed to his shiftiness and his ability to make tacklers miss. The junior will play early and will be looked upon to play often. Limegrover told BTN’s Tom Dienhart this summer that the Gophers could give the ball to Gillum 22 to 25 times a game.

“He’s durable. He’s tough,” Limegrover told Dienhart. “He has a knack for hitting the hole. He’s our kind of guy. There also are some young kids in the mix.”

As Limegrover said, Gillum is the main guy, the other running backs are in the mix. The starting job is Gillum’s to take.

Not so fun stat: The Gophers’ last 1,000-yard rusher came in 2006, as Amir Pinnix rushed for 1,272 yards. Before that, the Gophers had at least one 1,000-yard rusher each year going back to 1999. By the end of 2012 we could be singing the praises of Kirkwood or Cobb, but their inability to contribute last year – granted, it wasn’t all their fault – underscores how vital Gillum is to the Gophers offense.

Expect Gillum to be a workhorse back, given every chance to carry the ball 20 times a game. He will have to if the Gophers expect to succeed offensively in 2012.

3. Troy Stoudermire | CB | Senior | 5'10” 200 lbs.
G  TK   Solo  TFL INT  PD  FF
4  24   20    3   2    3   0 
Photo credit: Marisa Wojcik / Minnesota Daily

Troy Stoudermire walks into 2012 as the leader of the Gophers’ defensive backfield, if not the defense as a whole.

Defensive coordinator Tracey Claeys has an affinity for leaving his cornerbacks on an island, particularly the primary outside corner, or “boundary” corner in the Gophers defense. At the onset of 2011, that position belonged to Stoudermire. Highlighting his agility and also his strength, Stoudermire could play press coverage on an island without getting beaten like a rented mule, allowing a safety to cheat up in run coverage, take the place of a blitzing linebacker or help in deep zone.

If you remember the USC game, Robert Woods was able to get free on bubble screens and slants early in the game, taking advantage of man coverage and at other times, a soft cushion when he was lined up against Brock Vereen. In the second half though, Claeys was able to disguise coverages between man and zone, confusing Matt Barkley a bit, as he brought a cornerback on a blitz or cheated a safety toward the box. Stoudermire’s ability allowed Claeys to try and hide a glaring hole at safety across from senior Kim Royston. However, Stoudermire snapped a bone in his left forearm against Miami (Ohio) and wasn’t able to make it through the first quarter of the following week’s game against North Dakota State University. It was the last he played in 2011 and the thin defensive secondary unraveled thereafter, before rallying a bit near the end of the year.*

* - I should take a moment to say the pass defense wasn’t the biggest problem in 2011. On passing downs, the Gophers ranked 45 out of all 120 teams in Football Outsiders’ defensive S&P ranking. The Passing S&P as a whole was 63rd, while the rushing S&P ranked 93. The defense as a whole ranked 89th. Granted, the Gophers played from behind a lot and didn’t have nearly as many passing downs as rushing downs, but it is an important distinction nonetheless. MV also pointed these statistics out in his 2012 defensive back preview.

So what is S&P? S&P is a stat combination, similar to OPS in baseball. It is literally defined as the combination of a defense’s efficiency (“Success Rate”) and its explosiveness (“Equivalent Points Per Play). Taken simply, a team that has a good defense stops offenses a lot and doesn’t give up a lot of big scoring plays. Here is a more in-depth definition: A defensive success rate is defined by the percentage of plays targeting a defense in which the offense did not have a “successful” play. Equivalent Points Per Play gives each yard line a point value based on the average amount of points that a team can expect to score from that position on the field. The actual stats are then given a point value compared to that assigned point value. For more information about these terms, check out the Football Outsiders glossary.

When Stoudermire went down, the cornerbacks who stepped in were not able to play press coverage as well without the help of a safety. However, the run defense often needed an extra defender in the box and, well, you should be able to see the dominoes starting to fall.

Although the Gophers have brought in three junior college cornerbacks to provide depth, everyone knows who is No. 1. The better Stoudermire is on the corner, locking down opponents’ best receiving targets, the better the defense will be as a whole. He has returned this spring fully healthy, reportedly looking strong throughout spring and fall practice.

I have to admit I’m surprised to see Stoudermire in this position. In September 2010 he was suspended indefinitely by then-coach Tim Brewster. Stoudermire made a Facebook post about leaving the team, but was reinstated and moved back to defense, where he had started his Gopher career in 2008. Midway through his freshman year in 2008, Brewster moved the speedy corner to wide receiver, in order to capitalize on his playmaking ability. He continued as a kick returner and wide receiver in 2009.

(Important footnote: It was this year against Iowa when Jedd Fisch and Brewster famously called for the Weber to Stoudermire jump ball on the two-yard line on third down, in the fourth quarter. The 5-foot, 10-inch Stoudermire was unable to reel in the pass.)

As Stoudermire’s progress at receiver seemed stagnant, he instantly responded to playing cornerback near the end of 2010 and entered 2011 as the unquestioned No. 1. After last year’s season-ending injury, the NCAA granted him a fifth-year, and he’s now the leader of a young defensive secondary.

If Troy Stoudermire does nothing else in his Gopher career, he will at least be remembered for several years for his brutal fumble-causing hit on Marcus Coker in 2010, a play that guaranteed the Floyd of Rosedale would return to Minnesota. The hit put an exclamation point on the end of the Gophers’ three-year winless streak in rivalry trophy games.

In 2012, the Gophers need him to display more of that flair for the big moment.

4. Ra'Shede Hageman | DT | Junior | 6'6” 300 lbs.
G   TK  Solo  TFL   SK   FF
12  13  10    3.5   2.0  1
Photo credit: Chris Polydoroff/Pioneer Press 

Last November at TCF Bank Stadium, Ra’Shede Hageman crouched in his four point stance as Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase barked out signals and adjusted his offense. The QB snapped the ball and Hageman bull rushed past Illinois center Graham Pocic with a combination of power and speed that would fit in perfectly on a high school recruit’s highlight tape.

Looking at the clip now, there’s no need to put a red circle around Hageman. It’s impossible to ignore him once the play starts. Hageman tosses Pocic out of his way, fends off a desperate flail from a second lineman, Alex Hill, and wraps his arms around Scheelhaase, tossing him to the turf and causing the QB to fumble the ball.

Maybe there was a blocking mishap and Hill was late to his double team. Maybe Hageman was finally realizing the potential he brought to Dinkytown when he enrolled in 2009. Recruiting expert Tom Lemming named him the No. 1 tight end prospect in the nation coming out of Washburn High School, but Hageman was quickly moved to defensive end. He struggled with picking up the techniques of defensive line in his first two years in Minnesota, but stood out near the end of last year with two sacks against Illinois and four tackles against Iowa. Worth noting, his two sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and 12 of 13 total tackles came within the last six games of the year.

Talent and size will never be an issue with Hageman. It will be technique, football IQ and desire that defines his career. Call him the football team’s version of Rodney Williams. There’s a reason that MV dubbed him “Optimus Prime.”

Can Hageman put it together this year as a junior? So far, reports from the spring are an emphatic “Yes.” But legends are not judged by how well they dominated their teammates in spring practice. Hageman was suspended in 2010 by then interim coach Jeff Horton for academic troubles. Also of note, Hageman was arrested this spring for disorderly conduct, although some blog postings at the the time said that he was trying to break up a fight, rather than start one. The charges were eventually dropped June 11. Hopefully that’s a sign of his progress.

Again, it’s clear Hageman has the potential. The Gophers need him to translate that into consistent production like the Illinois game and the second half of last season, with Hageman wreaking havoc on the opposing offensive line, disrupting both the running and passing games. If Hageman reaches his potential, gone are the days of quarterbacks like Zac Dysert scrambling around like Fran Tarkenton, waiting for receivers to break free. The Gophers should also receive help up front from junior college transfer Roland Johnson.

Some fans have said that Hageman could be the second-most important player on the Gophers this year and I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with them. It’s up to Hageman to finally fulfill that promise.

5. Ed Olson | LT | Junior | 6'7” 305 lbs.
G    ST
12   10
Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota Athletic Department

While the Gophers lose three seniors on the offensive line from 2011, they return Olson, who is entering his third year of starting at left tackle for the Gophers. The redshirt junior will again be tasked with guarding quarterback MarQueis Gray’s blindside, but he also becomes the undisputed leader of the offensive line.

Olson is one of two upperclassmen (both juniors) on the Gophers’ very young line and at left tackle, will need to set the tone for the entire group. Last year, injuries hit the offensive line, pushing guys who would have benefitted from another year of seasoning into larger roles; Olson’s brother Tommy started three games as a true freshman due to injuries and a lack of depth. By the end of 2011, only two linemen who started against USC ended the season playing the same line position. Olson was not one of those players.

The idea this year is that hopefully enough depth exists to redshirt the incoming freshmen, that hopefully those returning have matured in Eric Klein’s offseason program — that the reported 20 pounds that each lineman has added will translate on the field and that overall, hopefully the offensive line will be much improved.

It’s probably a bad sign that I used “hope” so much in that paragraph.

Even though he stands 6-foot, 7-inches tall, Olson is not the biggest or most heralded lineman in the Gophers’ stable. He certainly isn’t among the conference’s left tackles – college football blogger Adam Jacobi ranked Olson 10th among the Big Ten’s starting left tackles. However, Olson needs to play as though he is the Gophers’ brightest star up front, especially while the more heralded but younger Jimmy Gjere continues to develop his pass protection. Olson undoubtably brings the most experience to the squad as a two-year starter. If he remains healthy, the Gophers will be able to keep some of the younger linemen on the sidelines. If Olson gets hurt or loses his position, an undersized and unprepared underclassman gets thrown into the unenviable position of trying to block William Gholston.

The offensive line will be the engine for this year’s offense. Without strong play up front, quarterback MarQueis Gray will end up with little time to throw and the running backs will again fail to make much of an impression. For Jerry Kill and Matt Limegrover’s offense to gain traction, they need the offensive line to make some room.

Olson leads that group up front.  

6. Mike Rallis | LB | Senior | 6'2” 245 lbs.
G   TK  Solo  TFL  SK   FF  PD
12  83  53    5    1.5  0   2
Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota Athletic Department

Mike Rallis will start the 2012 season as the Gophers middle linebacker, moving from the outside, where he played for the last two years. Rallis has been a solid player in his career and tallied the third-most tackles on the team in 2011, the most of any returning player. He has grown into a decent linebacker from defensive back, his original position.

First, the good. He’s a dedicated and tireless worker, a player who became a scholarship starter after coming to campus as a preferred walk-on. It’s become regular for him to impress after his offseason workouts; he bulked up once to become a linebacker and now has added another 10 or so pounds to move inside. His acclimation during the spring earned praise from teammate Spencer Reeves and also the player he is replacing, the late Gary Tinsley.

“He’s never played there, but he’s smart enough,” Tinsley told 1500ESPN’s Nate Sandell in March, weeks before Tinlsey’s untimely death. “He’s gotten way bigger. He looks like a middle linebacker.”

But will Rallis be able to seamlessly transition to middle linebacker? As Reeves told 1500ESPN, Rallis probably knows the defense as well as the coaching staff, but Rallis’s problem won’t be knowing where to go, it will be getting there. Will he be able to shed blocks, something he had trouble with as an outside linebacker?

In an ideal world, Brendan Beal would be crushing running backs like pop cans for the Gophers and Rallis would be solid on the outside. In an ideal world, Beal’s knee ligaments wouldn’t be held together with masking tape and wishes granted from pennies thrown into park fountains. Of course, we do not live in an ideal world. We live in a world where last year Purdue – PURDUE! - went to a bowl, Michigan beat the Gophers by nearly 60 points and Wisconsin went to their second consecutive Rose Bowl. Beal has had to deal with several serious, season-long injuries: a torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2008, neck and elbow injuries in 2009 and another knee injury in 2011. To add to the litany of awful luck, he separated his shoulder in his last high school game. Seriously, I don’t know how Beal has the resolve to come back to the football field. I hope he is able to finish at the University with a degree and find success in his eventual career. It’s wishful thinking to expect much from Beal on the field.

* Note: I wrote this a few weeks ago, when Beal’s status was still unknown. He has since been medically cleared for practice, although it’s still unknown what toll his injuries have had on his body. If he can play, I’d expect him to regularly rotate through a few snaps, but I still wouldn’t expect him to be the sole contributor at middle linebacker.

If anyone can make the transition from outside linebacker to middle, Rallis has the right make-up to do so. Again, he’s a dedicated player who senses the importance of senior leadership. More importantly, if he can’t make the transition, the roster is awfully thin at this point of players who could step in. If Minnesota’s defense can continue the improvement it made during the second-half of last season, Rallis will figure to be a large part of it.

7. Brock Vereen | CB | Junior | 6'0” 195 lbs.
G   TK   SOLO  INT  PDEF TFL  FF
12  67   46    1    7    3.5  1
Photo credit: Christy Aumer / Daily Iowan

In 2011, Brock Vereen emerged as a solid tackler and a dependable cornerback. This season, however, he sets out to prove himself again, this time at safety.

Vereen started out last season as the starting cornerback opposite Troy Stoudermire, but was pressed into the No. 1 spot early on after Stoudermire was lost for the season due to injury. There were times, often in the same game, when Vereen would make a bone-crushing hit, but then also bite badly on a double move or pump fake for a touchdown. By the end of the season though, Vereen settled in and provided steady play at corner. Moving to safety, the defense can take advantage of his tackling and ball skills, while taking him out of regular man coverage.

Vereen hails from California and was a three-star prospect (Rivals) coming out of high school. His older brother Shane plays running back for the New England Patriots and played college football for California. Vereen is a smart player and on a note unrelated to football, bears the distinction of being one of the few athletes worth following on Twitter. (His back and forth with teammates about the difference of “to, too, and two” is an example.)

Vereen is expected to earn the free safety spot in fall practice and start alongside sophomore Derrick Wells, who also moved over from cornerback this offseason after bulking up a reported 30 pounds. Also in the mix this year at safety is Cedric Thompson, although Vereen seems to have the inside track on a starting job. While Kim Royston provided strong play and leadership at safety last year, the other safety position was a revolving door. Shady Salamon was the starter at the beginning of the year, but the hard-hitter tended to cover like the former running back he was. By the Illinois game, the starting free safety was former walk-on cornerback Chase Haviland, who stood five-feet, nine-inches tall and weighed 179 pounds. This year, Vereen and Wells are expected to take a position of weakness last year and turn it into a positive.

One expects the defense to utter some growing pains as it moves from the sophomore Wells from Royston, but Vereen brings size, speed and skill into the position, which should allow the Gophers to rely more on the safeties to help out in both run support and pass coverage. Vereen didn’t practice this spring while recovering from a minor knee surgery this offseason, but he will be ready for fall two-a-days.

Defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys told 1500ESPN’s Nate Sandell that he expects some rough patches through the non-conference schedule, which makes the early season match-up with Western Michigan’s chuck-and-duck passing game particularly interesting.

“I’m a little uneasy with the secondary,” Claeys said told Sandell. “One thing I do like about having the non-conference games early is those kids will have a chance to get there feet underneath them and go. As far as their abilities and being able to do the job, I couldn’t be more pleased with those guys. But again, there’s going to be growing pains, because some of them haven’t played a lot of game snaps at the position they are at.”

The secondary should be a position of relative strength and depth this year; banking on Vereen being a solid contributor.

8. Keanon Cooper | LB | Senior | 6'0” 220 lbs.
G   TK  Solo  TFL  SK   FF  PD
12  77  34    6    1.0  2   2
Photo courtesy of the University of Minnesota Athletic Department

One of the most celebrated Gopher recruits in recent memory, much was made of Keanon Cooper’s switch to Minnesota on National Signing Day in 2008. Named to Rivals’ “Big Ten Signing Day Dream Team*” as a safety, Cooper redshirted a year and switched to linebacker.

He has since been a steady and solid presence for the Gophers. For a player who was highly touted coming to Minnesota and who has lettered three times, much has been written about his recruitment, his friendship with the late Gary Tinsley, even how he prefers to wear his jersey. But little has been written about Cooper’s on-field production.

That could change if the senior delivers a stand-out 2012.

* - A note about that “Dream Team”: It hasn’t exactly turned into a who’s who of the Big Ten’s best every Saturday. For example, here is the bulk of the offense (non-linemen):
   • Running back Michael Shaw passed the 1,000 yard by one yard at Michigan. In his entire career.
   • Fellow running back Terrance Robinson was moved to receiver and has two career catches entering his senior year at Michigan.
   • Wide receiver DeVier Posey had a very solid career with Ohio State until his senior year, when he was suspended for 10 games.
   • The other wideout, Michigan State’s Fred Smith, was moved to fullback before leaving MSU. 
   • Tight End Jake Stoneburner has been very good for Ohio State, but he was suspended from the team for the summer.
   • The team’s quarterback? MarQueis Gray.
There are some very good players on the list (Mike Adams from Ohio State, for one) and definitely a few guys who are at the least solid contributors. Still, it again shows the difficulty in tabbing 17- and 18-year-olds as future stars or clipboard carriers before they have even reached campus. Too many unknown variables exist. Also, it seems to show that if you go to Ohio State, you’re probably going to be suspended at some point in your career.

Playing through a wrist injury much of last year, Cooper totaled fourth on the Gophers in tackles with 77 and tallied the second-most tackles for loss. He has since undergone wrist surgery and was held out of spring practice as a precautionary measure. Cooper also dealt directly with the untimely death of Tinsley; Cooper was the person who found Tinsley unresponsive in his bedroom. Emotionally, I have no idea how a 22-year-old will handle such a tragedy and I’d rather not speculate. Instead, I’ll make an awkward transition back to football.

Cooper is one of the fastest Gophers on the team, if undersized a bit at linebacker. The preceding link directs to a blog entry by Phil Miller of the Star-Tribune in which Cooper bested all comers on the team in heads-up sprints. It seems Cooper may have gotten a bit of a Seinfeld head-start to win, but everyone seemed content with saying he was the team’s fastest player. If not, he’s a step behind Troy Stoudermire. Adding to his athleticism, Cooper is a smart player who has been twice named Academic All-Big Ten.

Cooper was sidelined so far this spring while he recovered from surgery, but he will be ready to play this fall. Even though he had to wear a non-contact jersey this spring, Cooper intently followed along at practice with defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys, said Nate Sandell of 1500ESPN, the senior acting as a leader and quasi-coach for fellow linebackers LaMonte Edwards and James Manuel. Cooper is a smart, fast player who will have a lot expected of him. With Mike Rallis moving over to the middle and learning that position, Cooper needs to be a player who is always in the right position and also someone who can help Rallis along with the transition. He will also need to help the rotating cast of Aaron Hill, Spencer Reeves, Edwards, Manuel and any other linebackers who might play the outside position on the other side of the field. Although Cooper is a bit undersized for run defense and one-on-one tackling, his speed allows him to be a great asset for both blitzing and coverage. More importantly, without the wrist injury this year and a hopefully improved defensive unit, Claeys should be able to utilize Cooper on blitzes more often.

The 2011 defense was decent in passing situations, but struggled against the run. Football Outsiders and Bill Connelly ranked* the Gophers rushing defense 93rd out of 120 teams, while the defense as a whole ranked 89th. With two young, underclassmen possibly starting at defensive end and a converted middle linebacker this year, the defense is going to need the few established players to step up in run coverage when possible.

Still, there is evidence that the Gophers’ defense should slightly improve compared to last year, mainly due to an overhauled secondary and more experienced front-four, specifically Ra’Shede Hageman, Ben Perry and Michael Amaefula. If that defensive improvement occurs, Cooper’s leadership on the field will need to be a large part of it.

* - One way Football Outsiders ranks defenses is by a statistic called “S&P,” which is a stat combination, similar to OPS in baseball. It is literally defined as the combination of a defense’s efficiency (“Success Rate”) and its explosiveness (“Equivalent Points Per Play). Taken simply, a team that has a good defense stops the opposing offense a lot and in turn, doesn’t give up a lot of big scoring plays. Here is a more in-depth definition: A defensive success rate is defined by the percentage of plays targeting a defense in which the offense did not have a “successful” play. Equivalent Points Per Play gives each yard line a point value based on the average amount of points that a team can expect to score from that position on the field. The actual stats are then given a point value compared to that assigned point value. For more information about these terms, check out the Football Outsiders glossary.