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University of Minnesota Athletics
Cupito And Callender Lead Maroon To Spring Game Win
4/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Callender ran for 110 yards on 15 carrries to lead the Maroon offense while Cupito completed 17-of-25 for 251 yards. The Maroon racked up 390 yards of total offense.
Callender opened the scoring with a 4-yard scamper 2:30 into the game, completing a 7- play, 80-yard drive. On Maroon's next possession, Cupito connected with Logan Payne on a 13-yard touchdown pass to wrap a 12-play, 84-yard drive. Callender closed out the scoring in the first half with a 26-yard touchdown run to give Maroon a 21-0 lead.
In the second half, Cupito capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive with a 6- yard scoring pass out of the backfield to Jeremy Faue. On Maroon's next possession, Cupito hit Mike Chambers over the middle for a 26-yard touchdown pass to put Maroon ahead 35- 0. Callender closed the team's scoring with a 6-yard touchdown run where he broke numerous tackles on his way to the end zone. Jason Giannini nailed a 49-yard field goal as time expired in the game to get the White team on the board.
Chambers led all receivers with 87 yards on five catches while Ernie Wheelwright had three receptions for 55 yards. Payne and Faue also had three catches apiece.
Judd Smith led the White offense with 42 yards rushing on 11 carries. Tony Mortensen completed 5-of-13 passes for 22 yards.
Defensively, James Tindall had six solo tackles to lead the White squad while Michael McKelton had four stops and two pass breakups. On the Maroon side, Mike Sherels had six tackles and Deon Hightower added four. Dominic Jones had an interception and a forced fumble.
Minnesota opens the 2006 season on August 31 at Kent State. The Gophers' home opener will be September 16 when they host Temple.
Post-game Quotes
Head Coach Glen Mason
Opening statement:
“I thought we had a really good spring practice. We talked quite a bit about how many guys were banged up, but we had less injuries this spring than we had last spring in terms of numbers. We're just not very deep at certain positions. The good news is some of our younger guys got more work than they normally would.
“We used this spring practice to our benefit. We got better in a lot of areas. I thought we would have a good offensive line at the start, and I thought they really came along. We made vast improvements in our defensive secondary and put ourselves in good shape to utilize the time between now and August to improve as a football team.”
On Tony Brinkhaus securing the center position:
“I think (Tony) Brinkhaus has gotten more and more comfortable at that position. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s our best center, so we’re going to go with him.”
On taking some shots down the field on offense:
“If you’ve had an opportunity to watch us this spring, you know Bryan Cupito is a good quarterback. He’s a very accurate quarterback and was accurate today. A couple of deep balls were dropped that shouldn’t have been dropped, but we look for him to have an outstanding senior season for us.”
On the way Brylee Callender ran the ball:
“He ran better today than he has all spring. It’s a big difference between Lakeville High School and where he went to junior college and the Big Ten Conference. That’s obviously a big adjustment, but I thought he looked better today.”
On the play of the defensive secondary:
“We have limited numbers there but I have seen vast improvement. The key is going to be keeping them healthy. Moving Trumaine Banks to safety is going to solidify the secondary as well. Jamal Harris is a returning starter, and we’re really high on Keith Massey. And the little guy (Dominic Jones) is an exciting football player. He had an interception today, a big return and a big hit for a fumble. The guy really likes football and he’s a good player.”
Quarterback Bryan Cupito
On being more of a passing offense:
“I’m excited that we get to throw the ball a lot. We missed some deep balls today, which have been our best plays in the spring, but today they were our worst thing. Yet we do have some receivers back and Mike Chambers stepped up today and will be a good addition. I think it will be good to throw the ball a lot, but we still have our running game.
“We will throw the ball a lot next year. We got the time to throw the ball today so it’s probably our strength right now. But we have Amir Pinnix and Brylee Callender and possibly Gary Russell back, so we will still try to run the ball. If that works the running game will still be our thing, but going into the fall I would say we are a passing team.”
On the play of Tony Brinkhaus:
“He has gotten a lot better. It was difficult the first day being away from Greg (Eslinger), but he is a lot better and is easily one of our best linemen. Everyday I feel more comfortable with him.”
On the play of Logan Payne:
“Payne is my guy. He is our best receiver right now.”
On his overall impression about the offense:
“I’m pretty confident with our offense. I think we are going to be underrated this year and that motivates me to step up and make plays for my team and make sure we are a good team. I think if we can come out in that first game the way we are hitting right now, I think we will prove how good we are.”
On being the leader on offense this year:
“You have to accept that you don’t have Laurence (Maroney) or Marion (Barber) back there so I have to take the challenge and step up and make plays. I told the receivers that now it’s our turn to make the big plays.”
Safety Dominic Jones
On the play of the defense:
"We are coming together. The difference this year is that guys want to be great. We aren’t content with just being good."
"With the new scheme, the new coaches who came in and the new attitude that we have as a defense, I think we are coming along great. We have more speed than size, and that's going to be our strength."
On adjusting to the new defensive scheme:
"Allignment and assignments. We understand what the offense is showing us, so we aren’t just out there freelancing. It's complicated but we'll be better because of it. This spring we haven't completely grasped the whole concept and the whole scheme, but with summer workouts and by the time the first game swings around I’m sure we'll be pretty sound. If we stay together as a unit we will be good."
Linebacker Mike Sherels
On the play of the defense:
"I thought we did pretty well. We came out fired up just like we needed to do and got a bunch of turnovers to keep the score low."
On what the defense needs to do to get better:
"It's not so much making adjustments as it is just taking the things we did and adding more on top of it. With the experience we have coming back and with Craig Bray and Mark Criner coming in and adding some things, we will just have to see what we can do."
On the play of the secondary:
"We are definitely going to be putting more pressure on the secondary this year. Those guys are up for the challenge and they are competitors. It's just going to be a matter of putting them in a situation where they can succeed."
Defensive End Willie VanDeSteeg
On putting pressure on the quarterback:
"Steve (Davis) and I like to go with each other because one of us flushes out the other side and helps the other guy out. Obviously the corners and safety’s are doing a good job keeping their coverage which gives us a little more time to work as well."
On the new defensive attitude:
"The coaches are really helping us out there. They are really good at keeping us fighting all the time. They keep us at the highest tempo at all times so guys are flying around and helping each other out. Those are the things that make a team a team."
On his expectations of the defense:
"We go against one of the best offenses in the nation every day, so that will do nothing but help us. Going against the best lineman, the best receivers and good running backs is only going to make us better."
