A Smashing Success
From Scout Team Member to Record Setter, Mohamed Ibrahim Has Seen it All
Ameer Eldomiatti, Student Assistant
9/22/2022
If you are trying to come up with one individual on the Minnesota football team who personifies what head coach P.J. Fleck and his staff’s culture is and what it means to be a Gopher, look no further than running back Mohamed Ibrahim.
Ibrahim, who has played in only 32 career games in six years, has bounced back from a significant injury that sidelined him for nearly the entire 20221 season. Last Saturday against Colorado, Ibrahim rushed for three touchdowns and the bulk of his 203 yards came in the first half. His third score of the day tied him with Darrell Thompson for the most career rushing touchdowns in school history at 40.
Although this is a major accomplishment, Ibrahim, like he always does, did not want to spend too much time making a big deal of his own personal accomplishments.
“DT (Darrell Thompson), he was a big part of Minnesota history,” said Ibrahim. “Just to be tied with him is amazing. It says a lot about my team getting me into the end zone.”
Ibrahim has always put his team ahead of his own personal acclaim. Although there are times, which were evident last Saturday, where he can physically lead the team into the end zone or pick up a crucial first down with his legs.
Thompson, who played for the Gophers from 1986-89 and holds nearly every Minnesota rushing record, is impressed with how far Ibrahim has come as a player and leader.
“The first word that comes to mind when I think of Mohamed is ‘unheralded’,” Thompson said. “I mean he’s a guy who worked for everything he has and who emerged up the depth chart and waited his turn behind two other great running backs and then when they went down, he had 200 yards in his first bowl game.”
Thompson has a unique perspective as he has witnessed all 40 of Ibrahim’s touchdowns in person as he serves as the on-air analyst for the Gopher Radio Network.
“When I watch Mohamed, I notice that he just has juice,” Thompson explained. “To have juice essentially means that as a running back you can do whatever you want on any given play”.
Another element to Ibrahim’s game that makes him so special is his ability to evade oncoming tacklers but also seemingly welcomes contact as he proceeds to accelerate up field.
“Coach (Kenni) Burns does a great job of breaking down film and talking about what things I could have done better,” Ibrahim said after Minnesota’s 49-7 win against Colorado. “This week for instance it was ‘pick up your head’, pick up your feet’, today they were trying to hit me high and I was just bouncing off of it.”
Ibrahim is someone who has shown time and again how resilient he is, as he rose from someone who was fighting to earn playing time into one of the best running backs in the nation and someone who has helped to establish the culture of the team.
Thompson is just astounded by how far Ibrahim has come to go from a redshirt vying for time behind Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks to tie him on the all-time touchdowns list.
‘He’s always done things the right way,” Thompson said. “He is always improving, always working hard in the weight room. How he improved from the point where he started to where he is now is just amazing.”
It is easy for everyone including Thompson to be rooting for Ibrahim to set as many records as possible. That being said, Ibrahim probably cares the least whether or not he breaks any school records as he focuses on being the best teammate he can and working hard to win each game.
Like Thompson said, Ibrahim has fought to earn everything he has received. His trademark as a runner is being able to invite contact so he can bounce off of runners, which personifies who he is as a person. He invites obstacles and adversity so he can prove he can accomplish so much more. He has and will continue to lead the Gophers’ offense for the rest of the season. And in doing so, he will probably break a few more records as well.
