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University of Minnesota Athletics
Californians Theret and Eskridge Impact Gophers
9/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Senior free safety Kyle Theret and junior running back DeLeon Eskridge -- both natives of California -- played well against 18th-ranked USC on Saturday. Whether or not there was a little extra motivation for the pair of Gophers because of the opponent they were facing, they each made an impact during Minnesota's 32-21 setback versus the Trojans.
Theret, a 5-foot-10, 193-pounder from Murrieta, Calif., made his first appearance of the season against USC, recording seven solo tackles and intercepting a Matt Barkley pass in the second quarter. It was Theret's 10th career pass theft, which ranks sixth on Minnesota's all-time list, and he said after the game that he was pretty fired up to return to the starting lineup, but also to face the Trojans.
"I just think there was so much emotion as a team, it was kind of like an overload," Theret said. "With this being my first game back and facing a USC team that never recruited me, it kind of gave me a little extra something to go out and show them (what I could do). But, in reality, it just comes down to every game, you've got to be able to play like that."
Eskridge ran for his first touchdown of the season -- the 11th of his career -- giving Minnesota a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. He finished with 13 carries for 31 yards, while also catching two passes for 23 yards.
"I'm from up north (San Francisco), and I don't know too many people on SC's team, so there wasn't anything personal I had against them," Eskridge said. "It's just another opponent, but they were nationally ranked, so that was my motivation."
Theret's return to the secondary helped the Gophers limit USC's passing attack to 192 yards, just one week after South Dakota had managed 352 passing yards against the Gophers' young defensive secondary. On Saturday, Minnesota picked off Barkley twice, the first interceptions the Trojans' sophomore signal-caller had thrown this season.
Theret and Eskridge are two of five players on the Minnesota roster who hail from California. Freshman cornerback Brock Vereen (Valencia, Calif.) made his first career start and finished with four tackles (three solo), while Christyn Lewis (Fontana, Calif.) registered an assisted tackle for the Gophers. Senior wide receiver Hayo Carpenter (Lawndale, Calif.) did not play in Saturday's game.
--Michael Molde, Athletic Communications Assistant
