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University of Minnesota Athletics
Camp Blog: Special Guest at Practice
8/17/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
GopherSports.com is providing a daily blog from the beginning of fall camp until the week of the season-opener at Syracuse, set for Sept. 5. Check back here often for updates from throughout preseason camp. Associate Athletic Communications Director Andy Seeley will be penning most of these blogs. If you would like to ask a question about preseason camp, have a request for something you'd like to see in the blog or just a comment on the blog, feel free to send Andy an e-mail at aseeley@umn.edu.
You can follow us on Twitter, as well @GoldenGopherFB. We'll also be uploading video content to our YouTube Channel.
Gopher head coach Tim Brewster had a special guest at Sunday afternoon’s practice. Gil Brandt, who has known Coach Brewster since his playing days at Illinois, visited practice and addressed the team.
Brandt was the Vice President of Player Personnel for the Dallas Cowboys from 1960-89. He helped the Cowboys grow into one of the most powerful and popular sports franchises in America. His innovative management and personnel systems are standard operating procedure today for many teams at the professional and collegiate levels nationwide.
Brandt has spent the last eight years as NFL.com's main personnel guru and offers insight and commentary on all aspects of players and teams.
Brandt is a big fan of Minnesota’s head coach and was very complimentary of Coach Brewster.
“You can’t say enough good things about Tim Brewster,” Brandt said. “I don’t know anybody who will work harder to make something successful. He has a great care for people who play on (his) football team. He’s one of those guys who coaches hard and coaches well.”
Brandt said he feels the Gophers should be improved this season and said he was impressed with Minnesota last season.
“I was excited last year with what I saw out of the team,” Brandt said. “I think they have a much better team now, overall. I think there are some good young players here. Brewster does a great job of recruiting players and recruiting the right ones.”
For his work with NFL.com, Brandt evaluates seniors who will be NFL Draft prospects in the spring. Click here to see his take on Eric Decker and here to see what he thinks of Simoni Lawrence. Brandt was impressed with TCF Bank Stadium when he got a chance to see it earlier in the day. To see and hear all his comments about the Gophers, Coach Brewster and TCF Bank Stadium, click the video below.
The Golden Gophers started their Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium. At 10 a.m., Media Day was on the schedule. The team photo was taken, as were individual and group shots. The team was also available to the media to do interviews.
Click the link at the top of this page to see a Photo Album of Media Day. Click below to see some video of the Gophers getting the team picture taken.
Practice Notes:
- The team worked out in spider pads as the coaching staff scaled back on contact Sunday.
- Monday will be a two-practice day. The Gophers will work out in full pads in the morning and scale back to shells in the afternoon.
- Monday afternoon’s practice session will take place at TCF Bank Stadium.
- The play of the day at Sunday’s practice may have come in the individual work near the beginning of the workout. Freshman punter Dan Orseske launched a nearly 60-yard punt. Meanwhile, the punt returners were working on concentration by seeing how many balls they could catch without putting one down. Marcus Sherels had already caught two when Orseske launched his booming kick. Sherels turned and sprinted back about 15 yards and hauled the ball in over his shoulder, without dropping either of the two balls he was already holding. It was impressive. I just wish I had the video camera going when it happened.
- The Gophers worked out with officials on the field for the third time in preseason camp.
-Andy Seeley
