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University of Minnesota Athletics
Bowl Blog: Gophers Get Their Kicks
12/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
As Minnesota inches closer and closer to Wednesday's Insight Bowl date with the Kansas Jayhawks, Minnesota's Sunday practice saw a things taper off just a little bit. The Gophers practiced for almost two hours, working on a number of individual drills. There was still a fair amount of contact, but it was scaled back just a bit today.
Following the workout, head coach Tim Brewster told his Minnesota squad that the "physical hay" was "in the barn," meaning most of the tough physical work of the pre-bowl practices had been completed. He stressed focus and being fresh with the Gophers after Sunday's session.
The Gophers had a little fun at the end of Sunday's practice as well. Just prior to the end of practice, Brewster asked for three volunteers each from the offense and defense -- two players and one coach from each side. These two groups were going to have a little competition to see which group had to run a lap around the practice field to end the workout.
The competition? It was a field-goal kicking contest. Long snapper Ryan Coleman lined up at the 3-yard line to snap the ball to Gopher holder/punter Justin Kucek. The three members of each team would each have one attempt at a 20-yard field goal. The team with more converted field goals from 20 yards away would get out of running.
The defense was up first. Senior defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg's attempt hit the left upright, but bounced away, no good. Senior defensive end William Brody missed badly, leaving defensive line coach Tim Cross with the final opportunity for the defense. Cross' kick was straight down the middle, but just barely nudged its way over the crossbar, giving the defense one field goal. The offense then got a turn. Junior tight end Nick Tow-Arnett promptly stepped up and knocked his attempt through. Red-shirt freshman offensive lineman Chris Bunders did the same and the defense good-naturedly ran their lap to end practice.
"Bowl games are a reward for our players and we wanted them to have a little fun," Brewster said. "We got the coaches involved in it, too. Nobody embarassed themselves too much and it was a fun way to end practice."
The Kansas media contingent made its way out to Gopher practice to interview Coach Brewster and a few selected players Sunday, as well. One Gopher getting a fair amount of attention from the media traveling with the Jayhawks was Brodrick Smith. The freshman wide receiver is the only Kansan on the MInnesota roster, hailing from Garden City.
In addition to featuring Smith, the Kansas media contingent had lots of questions for Coach Brewster about the Jayhawks. Brewster was once again, very complimentary of Minnesota's Insight Bowl opponent.
"On offense, it all starts with their quarterback," Brewster said. "Todd Reesing is an outstanding player and the guy who makes it go. He's a leader. He's a winner. His numbers are outstanding. He's got some really good receivers, playmakers to go to. He's got a good running back. They're just an outstanding offensive football team. We're really going to have to play well on defense. I don't think you can stop them. I just think we need to keep them in the park."
Kansas' defense has allowed some points and yards this season and when asked about the Gophers' chance for offensive success, Brewster handled the question deftly.
"Obviously, we hope we score a number of points or at least one more than they do," Brewster said. "That's the only thing we want to do is score one more point than they do. They're a really good football team. I've got tremendous respect for Mark Mangino and Kansas. I'm not going to sit here and give you our game plan, but we're going to show up on time and play really hard. We'll see what we come out with."
The Gophers will practice one more time at Arizona State's practice facility on Monday. The Gophers will then have a walk-through at Sun Devil Stadium Tuesday morning that will serve as their final pre-bowl practice.
-Andy Seeley
