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University of Minnesota Athletics
Blog: Gophers Meet the Media
11/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
University of Minnesota head coach Tim Brewster wants his seniors to leave TCF Bank Stadium winners after their last home outing as Gopher football players. The Golden Gopher seniors will have a chance to do just that Saturday, when they join their teammates in a contest against South Dakota State University.
"It's Senior Day, and that's a very special day at the University of Minnesota," Brewster said. "It will be very emotional for our players to see seniors playing their last game in TCF Bank Stadium. There are 28 players we're going to recognize on Saturday, walk‑on and scholarship players that have committed four and five years of their lives to the University of Minnesota. They've done a great job. These young people have done a great job in the classroom. A large majority of this class is already graduated. I think that's a significant statement about the group."
Brewster said he is also happy with the example this group of seniors set for the underclassmen and Gophers who will be here next year and beyond.
"When you think about guys like Lee Campbell and Garrett Brown, Eric Small and Eric Decker, there's some really good leaders in that group," Brewster said. "I think that they've been excellent leaders and excellent teachers. You can't help but be inspired if you're a young football player watching Lee Campbell play, watching him prepare each and every week and practice each and every day."
The seniors are beginning to come to a realization that their Gopher careers are fast coming to a close.
"It's a little unnerving," senior defensive tackle Garrett Brown said. "It's gone so fast. Three-and-a-half years went very, very quickly for me. It's been a great ride. But we want to finish out strong. We want to make sure these last two games that everyone on this team is giving it everything they have."
For the underclassmen, they want to send their senior teammates out with a win in their final home game.
"It's important for these guys that we go out there, play well, be proud of how we play and come away with some wins," junior quarterback Adam Weber said.
In addition to Senior Day, this game has implications for the rest of the season for the Gophers as well. A victory against the Jackrabbits would put Minnesota on the list of bowl-eligible teams in college football and should assure the Gophers of a postseason game.
"That would be part of a victory on Saturday, is obviously winning our sixth game and becoming Bowl eligible and moving forward," Brewster said.
The players definitely understand what's still at stake, with two games remaining in the regular season.
"It's the end of the season and you're running out of games," senior linebacker Simoni Lawrence said. "You want to win all the games you have left. There's an urgency around here. People want to win. We're playing for a lot. We're playing for what bowl game we're going to go to."
"We're still playing for some incentives this season," Weber said. "We've got two important games coming up that mean a lot to this season and where we're going to go for the postseason. South Dakota State is another opponent who is in our way to becoming bowl eligible."
Kickoff for Saturday's matchup between the Golden Gophers and Jackrabbits is slated for 11 a.m. at TCF Bank Stadium.
-Andy Seeley
