University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gophers Open Spring Practice Today
3/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
The Minnesota Golden Gophers open their 2008 spring practice schedule this afternoon, when the team hits filed for the first of 15 workouts. The Golden Gophers will practice primarily on Tuesdays, Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays throughout the spring. With the exception of the Spring Game, all spring workouts are closed to the public.
Spring Fling
The Minnesota Golden Gophers will hold their 2008 Spring Game at the Metrodome on Friday, April 25, beginning at 7 p.m. Admission to the game is free for all fans. Last year, Minnesota hosted its best-attended spring games in school history. The Gophers smashed the all-time spring game attendance record with over 15,000 fans turning out for the scrimmage.
Coming Back
Minnesota will welcome back a total of 42 letterwinners, including 17 starters from the 2007 squad for spring drills. The numbers among returning starters are extremely balanced, with eight returning on the offensive side of the ball and seven coming back on defense. The Gophers also have their two primary kicking specialists back on campus for the 2008 season.
Spreading the Wealth
In addition to the 17 official returning starters (players that started at least half of the Gophers’ 2007 games), Minnesota returns 10 other players with starting experience. Six of those players are back on the offensive side of the ball, including four who made at least three starts each. On defense, the Gophers return four players with stating experience. Three of the four started at least three games last season.
Fresh Faces
Head coach Tim Brewster has said consistently last fall that the players who give Minnesota the best chance to win will see the most playing time. As a result Minnesota emerged as one of the Big Ten’s more youthful squads. The Gophers started a total of nine freshmen at Michigan, including six true freshmen, eight freshmen vs. Illinois, seven at Iowa and seven vs. Wisconsin. In all, a total of 15 freshmen saw the playing field last season, including 10 true freshmen.
New Guys
Minnesota will welcome four new scholarship players to the practice field when the Gophers open spring drills on Thursday, March 27. Safety Tramaine Brock, a product of 2007 NJCAA co-champion Mississippi Gulf Coast College, has impressed the coaching staff throughout the offseason conditioning program and will be battling to fill the shoes of Dominique Barber in the Gophers’ secondary. Linebacker Rex Sharpe, a transfer from Arizona Western College, will also be out to have an impact on the Minnesota defense. On offense, the Gophers will receive a burst of athleticism from David Pittman. A record-setting quarterback while at Pasadena City College, Pittman will open behind center but is also expected to see practice time at a number of positions. Forest Lake product and Notre Dame transfer Matt Carufel rounds out the list of newcomers. The highly-rated offensive lineman will sit out the 2008 season under NCAA transfer rules but is expected help the Gopher defense as a practice player during the upcoming year.
Statistically Speaking
From a numbers perspective, Minnesota returns much of its production for the 2008 season. On offense, the Gophers bring back 100 percent of their passing production and nearly 70 percent of both their rushing and receiving yards play-makers. Defensively, Minnesota returns just 53 percent of its 2007 tackle production, but over 65 percent of its tackle for loss and sack contributors. The Gophers’ special teams units actually return the most production. Minnesota welcomes back 100 percent of its punting yardage contributions, 91 percent of its place-kicking production 100 percent of its punt return yards and 98 percent of its kickoff return yards.
The Real Deal
There’s little doubt head coach Tim Brewster and the Minnesota coaching staff will work the Gophers hard throughout the spring. However, it’s also clear that few position battles will be settled by the time Minnesota’s spring game concludes. With a highly-regarded 2008 recruiting class that ranked in just about every service’s top 25 set to arrive on campus over the summer, battles for playing time are expected to rage well into preseason camp at virtually every position on the field.
Schedule Stuff
Minnesota will play seven home games and five road games during the 2008 season. The Gophers also have an open date on their 2008 schedule on Oct. 18. It is the first time Minnesota has had a bye’ or off-week during the regular season since the 2002 campaign. The Gophers’ 2008 schedule features eight teams that appeared in bowl games during the 2007 season, including each of Minnesota’s five road opponents Bowling Green, Ohio State, Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin. On the home docket Minnesota will square off with five teams it faced during the 2007 campaign, including three teams Florida Atlantic, Northwestern and Iowa that defeated the Gophers by a combined nine points last year. Minnesota played all three of those games on the road last year.
Dome No Longer Home
The 2008 season will be Minnesota’s 26th and final year in the Metrodome. The Golden Gophers are a combined 83-77-2 in the 25 seasons they have played at the Dome. Minnesota will move into its new on-campus stadium, TCF Bank Stadium, for the 2009 campaign. The Gophers first game in the new facility will be played on Sept. 12, 2009, against Air Force.
Honorable Mentions
Minnesota returns a total of five players, including who were freshmen last fall, who earned some measure of post season accolades in 2007. Record-setting quarterback AdamWeber was a third-team freshman All-American and freshman All-Big Ten choice by The Sporting News. The Sporting News also selected running back Duane Bennett and guard D.J. Burris to its freshman All-Big Ten squad. Punter Justin Kucek was a second team All-Big Ten choice of the media, while wide receiver Eric Decker earned second team All-Big Ten recognition from Phil Steele.
Smart Guys
In addition to the on-the-field accolades, a number of Gophers have been cited for their work in the classroom. Minnesota placed 24 players on the 2007 Academic All-Big Ten team. A total of 15 of those players are back for the 2008 campaign, including returning starters Adam Weber, Eric Decker, D.J. Burris, Steve Davis, Joel Monroe and Jack Simmons. The Gophers also return a total of 37 semester and cumulative scholar-athlete award winners (3.0 GPAs).
Record Setters
Despite operating under a new head coach and offensive coordinator, Minnesota managed to set several records during the 2007 season. Sophomore-to-be quarterback Adam Weber clearly grabbed the lion’s share, setting all-time single-season and freshmen records for passing yards (2,895), passing completions (258), passing attempts (449), touchdown passes (24) and total offensive yards (3,512). Weber also tied the record for hitting the 2,000 yard passing mark in the fewest number of games, eight. Junior-to-be wide receiver Eric Decker has dented the record book. Decker set the record for receptions and receptions by a sophomore with 67 on the season. He also set the record for touchdown receptions in a season by a sophomore with nine.
Ironman
Adam Weber not only reset virtually all of Minnesota’s passing and total offense record, but he also set records for durability. Weber, who started all 12 games and was under center for 878 of the Gophers’ 887 offensive snaps during the 2007 season, also broke the school record for total offensive plays in a season with 595.
Close Calls
Minnesota’s 2007 overall record of 1-11 was certainly nothing to write home about. However, a quick glance inside the numbers reveals that the Gophers suffered more than their far share of “if only” moments and that the 2008 season just may hinge on Minnesota’s ability to learn how to win the close ones. The Gophers’ 2007 season featured no less than six setbacks by a touchdown or less, including a pair of one-point overtime losses. Had a couple of breaks in each game gone Minnesota’s way, the Gophers could have just as easily posted a 7-5 record and earned a postseason bowl berth.
Decker Does It
Wide receiver Eric Decker, who will miss spring drills while playing for the Gopher baseball program, emerged as a bona fide All-Big Ten candidate as a sophomore in 2007. With 67 receptions for 909 yards, Decker ranked No. 6 in the Big Ten and 48th in the NCAA in receptions per game (5.6). With six catches against Wisconsin in the season final, Decker eclipsed Minnesota’s single-season receptions mark of 62 set by Tutu Atwell in 1996. Decker has also showed a penchant for making the big play. With a 22-yard touchdown catch at Iowa and three receptions of 20-plus yards against Illinois, Decker had 17 such plays in 2007, the most by any Minnesota player during 2007. Decker hit career highs in both receptions (12) and receiving yards (165) against Florida Atlantic, with his 12 catches tying for the second-most ever in Minnesota single-game history. Decker’s 165 receiving yards also marked the second straight week that the sophomore had crossed the 100-yard receiving threshold as he became the first Gopher to post back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since Aaron Hosack did it in 2003 against Iowa (11/15) and Oregon (12/31). His 125-yard performance againstWisconsin (11/22) gave him three 100-yard receiving games on the year.
Weber Ties Record for Fastest To 2,000 Yards
Heading into the 2007 season, Minnesota quarterbacks had passed for at least 2,000 yards 13 times in school history. Against North Dakota State, freshman Adam Weber became the 14th Gopher quarterback to cross the 2,000-yard passing mark in a season and tied the school record for doing it in the fewest number of games - eight. Weber, who hit the 2,000-yard mark on his second completion of the second half vs. the Bison, tied Mike Hohensee, who hit the 2,000-yard mark on the Gophers’ final possession of the first half in game No. 8 of the 1982 season.
Kucek Booming Punts
Senior-to-be punter Justin Kucek quietly had a great junior season for the Gophers. A Ray Guy Award watch list member and All-Big Ten candidate, Kucek averaged rock-solid 42.7 yards per punt in 2007 to rank second the Big Ten and 28th nationally in punting. That average also ranks fourth on Minnesota’s single-season punting average chart. Of his 62 punts, Kucek has placed 21 inside the 20-yard line (including three of four punts vs. Illinois and two more at Iowa), with only six touchbacks. He also forced 14 fair catches. Kucek averaged 44 yards or better per punt six times during the 2007 season, and boomed at least one 50-plus yard punt in nine of 12 games.
