2021 First Glance Preview: Week Twelve (Minnesota Golden Gophers)
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Written by: Zach Greene (@zgreene650)
Week 12: Minnesota Golden Gophers
Date & Time: November 20, 2021. Time-TBA
Venue: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, IN
TV: TBD
The Golden Gophers at a Glance
Head Coach: P. J. Fleck
Entering his 5th season as the Golden Gophers head coach after spending time at Western Michigan and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Record vs. Minnesota:
Overall Record: 26-39. Minnesota currently has a three-game win streak against the Hoosiers.
Last game vs. Minnesota: 31-38 loss
Key Returners for the Golden Gophers
Passing: Tanner Morgan. Redshirt Senior out of Union, Kentucky Morgan is a four-year starter and will build his legacy at Minnesota. Currently is 18-8 as a starter, completed 405 passes for 6,028 yards and 46 touchdowns.
Rushing: Mohamed Ibrahim. Redshirt Senior out of Baltimore, Maryland Ibrahim will also be looking to add to his legacy. In 28 games, he has over 2,800 yards rushing with 31 touchdowns. Last season Ibrahim earned running back of the year honors in the B10 and All-Big Ten First Team.
Receiving: Chris Autman - Bell. Redshirt Senior out of Kankakee, Illinois. Autman was a highly recruited player. He was the No.17 prospect in Illinois and No.90 receiver in the nation. He has lived up to his potential. In 33 games at Minnesota, he has made 78 catches for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns. He has caught a pass in all 32 games.
Tackles: Mariano Sori-Marin. Senior out of Mokena, Illinois. Marin has played all four years in the program making 54 tackles last season. He had a crazy 18 tackles and one forced fumble in their 24-17 win against Nebraska in 2020.
Buckeyes Preseason Predictions
Athlon: 3rd in the Big Ten West. 7-5 record, 4-5 Big Ten. https://athlonsports.com/college-football/minnesota-football-golden-gophers-prediction-preview-2021
Sportsnaut: 4th in Big Ten West. https://collegefootballnews.com/2021/02/minnesota-football-schedule-2021-analysis-best-and-worst-case-scenarioshttps://collegefootballnews.com/2021/02/minnesota-football-schedule-2021-analysis-best-and-worst-case-scenarios
Phil Steele: No. 49 on his power rankings
CBS Sports Bowl Predictions: Minnesota vs. Kanas State in Guaranteed Rate Bowl
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/bowls/predictions/
Over/Under: 7 wins
Toughest Games
Week 1: VS Ohio State
Week 11: At Iowa
Week 12: At Indiana
Week 13: VS. Wisconsin
Impact Newcomers for the Buckeyes
● Deven Eastern. DE
○ Standing at an absurd 6-6 290 pounds, Eastern will play his first year in the Gophers program. 247 Sports ranked him as the No.16 strong defensive end in the country. He will cause havoc for offensive lines with his fast-twitch muscles and ability to beat people off the snap.
● Nyles Pickney. DT (Transfer from Clemson)
○ A Grad Student transfer from Clemson. Pickney is another guy who will help P.J. Fleck’s defense. In five seasons at Clemson, he tallied 98 tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, and three fumble recoveries. He redshirted his first year in the program, but he was a productive player every other year in Death Valley. He will pair nicely with Esezi Otomewo.
● Lemke Brockington. WR
○ A three-star recruit out of Moultrie, Georgia. Brockington is an incoming Freshman who put up historic high school football numbers. At Colquitt Country High School, he had over 2,000 yards receiving with 25 touchdowns and 106 receptions. With the departure of Rashard Bateman, Brockington will look to take his place out the outside and in the slot position. He displays terrific speed and agility. https://gophersports.com/sports/football/roster/lemeke-brockington/19565
Biggest Questions Facing the Golden Gophers
1. Will the Golden Gophers experience make them a team to be reckoned with?
2. Can the defensive step up after a historically bad defensive in 2020?
3. Will the Golden Gophers have enough firepower on the offensive to keep up in Big 10 West.
Program Preview
Going into his 5th season as the head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers will P.J. Fleck will be looking to take this team over the top and finish a season strong. 2019 was an excellent season for Fleck as he led their team to their first 11-win season and earned a spot in the Big Ten Championship. Last season, the Golden Gophers struggled mightily with the departure of many guys to the NFL and struggling with outbreaks from COVID-19. They finished 3-4, which was a huge step back from Fleck’s program. This season, Fleck will have a lot of experience in the program. Redshirt Senior’s Tanner Morgan, Mohamed Ibrahim, and Chris Autman-Bel will all have to step up and lead on offense this season. Who will be the other guys to step up, especially at wideout this season? Does the question remain to be seen? On the other side of the ball, Nyles Pickney and Deven Eastern are both guys who are plug-in players and weren’t previously in the program who will make a difference. They are both huge men and can ball. They will be a tandem to watch this upcoming season. Overall, this Golden Gophers team has the experience to take them to the top of the B10 West, but it will be interesting to see if they have enough depth to do that.
Offensive Preview
This will be the side of the ball to watch this season. They have three Redshirt Seniors who could all ball out this season and keep them in football games. Tanner Morgan, their starting Quarterback, has been slept his entire career. In the full 2019 season, there were only three guys that were more efficient than him. These QB’s include Justin Field, Joe Burrow, and Jalen Hurts. While he took a step back in 2020, it was an outlier year with the pandemic. Morgan can pretty much do everything on the football field well. He can lead, make quick reads, stay poised in the pocket, and complete the ball under pressure. The only thing lacking is the speed. Behind Morgan will Redshirt Senior Mohamed Ibrahim, who won 2020 running back of the year in the Big Ten. He will look to build off of this and put himself onto NFL draft boards. He displays great versatility and speed. He finished runs hard and always seems to stay on his feet. At receiver is Chris Autman-Bell, who has been highly efficient when on the field. It will be interesting to see if he can take his game to the next level. The unit is led by offensive coordinators Mike Sanford and Matt Simon, who develop a strong run game first and then take shots off play-action. Lastly, this season should be Fleck’s, Sanford, and Simon’s best offensive line in their five years, so don’t sleep on this Golden Gophers team.
Defensive Preview
The defensive cannot do much worse than last season. They weren’t good at anything. They could not rush the passer, wholes were wide-open in the secondary, and they failed to tackle. With the additions of Deven Eastern and Nyles Pickey, they should create at least some pressure on opposing quarterbacks this season. At linebacker, they have Mariano Sori-Marin, who led the team in teams. Other than him, the Linebacker position is very thin. To go along with the linebackers, the secondary position is also fragile. This is where teams will be looking to attack the Gophers. I would not be surprised if opposing teams develop a passing scheme and very few runs unless it’s a blowout. Lastly, Boye Mafe, who predicted PFF College football, could be a breakout college football player, a guy to keep an eye on this season. https://twitter.com/PFF_College?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1402323783512477700%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.minnesotasportsfan.com%2Fprojecting-the-2021-minnesota-gophers-football-depth-chart-defense%2F
Special Teams Preview
Matthew Trickett will do the kicking for the Golden Gophers this season after transferring from Kent State. He earned 2019 MAC Special Teams Player of the Year in 2019 and All-MAC First Team in 2018. He made 47 out of 57 kicks. His career-long is 49 yards. To add, he also punted 36 punts in his tenure at Kent State. Sophomore Daniel Sparks will most likely do the punting this season after transferring from Louisiana-Monroe. During the 2020 season, he punted 30 times, averaging 44.6 per punt. Returning punts this season will be a mix of Ibrahim, Autman Bell, and Sophomore Cam Wiley. All three guys display tremendous speed, which will make special teams’coaches go crazy.