University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Battle Through Spirited 112-Play Scrimmage
4/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
The Minnesota offense amassed 452 yards of total offense, but the defense yielded touchdowns on just 3 of 13 drives as the Golden Gophers battled through a 112-play scrimmage that included 91 offensive snaps and 21 special teams plays on Friday afternoon indoors at the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex.
The scrimmage was Minnesota’s first of the spring and the Gophers displayed plenty of energy and spirit throughout the hour-and-a-half practice, working at a fast tempo that enabled the squad to eclipse head coach Tim Brewster’s 100-play pre-scrimmage goal.
But what really had Brewster smiling after the workout was the enthusiasm and intensity with which the Gophers scrimmaged on the heels of a lackluster workout on Thursday.
“The big thing is yesterday we were a little disappointed with the speed, tempo and energy we had at practice,” Brewster said. “Today we came out with speed and energy and I thought the kids really flew around. There were a lot of really good things. The best may have been the attitude, the commitment and the energy. The bottom line is that we got better as a football team this afternoon and to me that’s what it’s all about.”
Brewster pointed to the play of his quarterback as one of the bright spots that emerged during the scrimmage. Adam Weber, Tony Mortensen, Clint Brewster, David Pittman and Mike Maciejowski combined for 302 yards on 21-for-42 passing with two touchdowns and just one interception.
“I thought the quarterbacks did a good job overall,” said Brewster. “I feel very good where we are at the quarterback position. We’re clearly further along than what we were at this time last year and there’s a comfort level with what we’re doing.”
Weber, Mortensen and Brewster each engineered touchdown drives, with Brewster leading the squad in passing yards. Brewster completed 7 of 14 attempts for 102 yards and a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Thompson on the final play of the scrimmage.
Mortensen, who finished 3 of 5 for 71 yards through the air, also had a touchdown pass and hooked up with tight end Curtis Hughes on a 55-yard strike for the first score of the scrimmage.
Weber, meanwhile, was good on 7 of 14 passes for 81 yards, including a 25-yard hook-up with tight end Nick Tow-Arnett, who led all receivers with four catches for 73 yards.
On the ground, Damola Ogundipe and R.J. Buckner carried the load, totaling 97 of the offense’s 150 rushing yards. Ogundipe, who scored the scrimmages only rushing touchdown on a 4-yard, fourth-down scamper to cap a 13-play, 80-yard drive engineered by Weber, finished the workout with 52 yards on 14 carries.
Buckner recorded runs of 12 and 15 yards and totaled 45 yards on 11 attempts.
As a whole, the Minnesota offense combined for 21 first downs but was just 7-for-18 on third down conversion as nine penalties forced the unit into numerous long-yardage situations.
The Gopher defense was only too happy to exploit the lapses and stood tall on a number of drives.
Led by defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg, linebacker Steve Davis and safety Kyle Theret, the defense forced five 3-and-outs, recorded six tackles for losses, including a sack by VanDeSteeg and a big stop behind the line of scrimmage by Theret.
The defense also snagged an interception, with defensive tackle Barrett Moen picking off a Brewster pass that was tipped at the line of scrimmage by Derrick Onwuachi.
“I thought our first defense really did some good things and I liked the way we tackled today,” Brewster said. “We didn’t miss tackles and give up explosive plays, which is one of the things we have focused on eliminating. I thought the secondary played well and Kyle Theret in particular really had a great scrimmage. Overall, we got a lot of good work in today.”
Minnesota will take the next three days off before returning to work on Tuesday to begin a very busy week that will see the Gophers practice four times in five days.
2008 Minnesota Football
Unofficial Statistics
Spring Scrimmage 1
Scoring Summary:
Drive 2: Curtis Hughes 55-yard pass from Tony Mortensen
Drive 6: Damola Ogundipe 4-yard run
Drive 13: Jimmy Thompson 14-yard pass from Clint Brewster
Team Statistics
Drives......... .............. 13
Touchdowns.................... 3
First Downs................... 21
Rushes-Yards (NET)............ 40-150
Passing Yards (NET)........... 302
Passes Comp-Att-Int........... 21-42-1
Total Offense Plays-Yards..... 82-452
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0
Interception Returns-Yards.... 1-3
Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-0
Offensive Penalties........... 9-70
Third-Down Conversions........ 7 of 18
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 2-2
Sacks: Number-Yards........... 1-5
RUSHING: Damola Ogundipe 14-52; R.J. Buckner 11-45; Marcus Sherels 1-24; Tony Mortensen 2-18; Duane Bennett 3-8; Clint Brewster 2-8; Adam Weber 3-4; Mike Maciejowski 2-(-2); Jimmy Thompson 2-(-2); Ben Kuznia 1-(-5).
PASSING: Clint Brewster 7-14-1-102; Adam Weber 7-14-0-81; Tony Mortensen 3-5-0-71; Mike Maciejowski 3-6-0-30; David Pittman 1-3-0-18.
RECEIVING: Nick Tow-Arnett 4-73; Jimmy Thompson 3-64; Ralph Spry 3-28; Damien White 2-27; Damola Ogundipe 2-16; Tray Herndon 2-11; Marcus Sherels 2-11; Curtis Hughes 1-55; Ben Kuznia 1-15; Duane Bennett 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS: Barrett Moen 1-3.
FUMBLES: Mike Maciejowski 1-0.
