2021 Gophers Position Previews: Defensive Line

After a truncated 2020, Minnesota returns to a full 12-game football season Sept. 2 against Ohio State. Here at Ski-U-Blog will be previews of the team's notable players within each position group. Today's preview post is about the Minnesota front four.

Likely Starters

It didn't get talked about for a few reasons — primarily a series of poor performances as a team, plus the season's generally chaotic month-and-a-half-long sprint — but Minnesota's defense featured a bona fide breakout player in 2020. We all thought he could break out, too. He made Bruce Feldman's Freaks List and everything.

When the season actually happened, he led the Gophers in havoc plays. He tied for sixth in the Big Ten in sacks despite only playing six games of an intended nine-game schedule. He was one of just two Minnesota defenders to get even an honorable mention for an all-conference team (and deserved better), and he's going to be an NFL Draft pick. He's doing it all as a native Minnesotan, to boot.

So can we please talk about Boye Mafe?

The 6-foot, 4-inch Hopkins product is an explosive pass rusher with a knack for disruption. In addition to his sacks, Mafe broke up two passes and forced two fumbles last season. He could be better at setting the edge, but his value as a rusher outweighs that relative deficiency. He's the best player on the Minnesota defense and should rack up more accolades this year.

Mafe plays the role of rush end on the defense. This position has on rare occasions included coverage responsibilities, and the rush end cannot be useless against the run, but his primary concern is pressuring the quarterback. This is why the long and athletic Mafe is a good fit.

You could also call the rush end the strong side end; in defensive coordinator Joe Rossi's base 4-2-5 over front, the rush end lines up on the strong side of the offense's formation.

(The Gophers are not always in over. Last season, in fact, they played plenty of under, where the 3-technique tackle and rush end play on the offense's weak side, and the nose tackle and weak side end are on the strong side.)

On the weak side, Minnesota has a a bigger defensive end whose job is more about run defense than the pass rush. His role is somewhere between that of a traditional end and a 5-technique tackle in a 3-4.

Even so, Pro Football Focus had Esezi Otomewo as leading the team in pressures last year. His only sack of the year came on a play where he was unblocked against Illinois, but pressures are more predictive than sacks. He showed a decent level of quickness, too, for a stay-at-home, 285-pound lineman.

Now, that doesn't mean Otomewo is the team's best pass rusher. He led the team in pass rush snaps as well, and there's reason to believe he's not even the best pass rusher among the team's weak side ends. It just shows that he's not a liability in that regard — which is good, since the Gophers don't get a lot of pressure from the inside. But Otomewo is primarily a gap-filler, as evidenced by the fact PFF gave him the leading run defense grade among Minnesota linemen.

If there's a player the Gophers hope will generate more pressure in 2021, it's tackle DeAngelo Carter. Head coach has P.J. Fleck has talked up Carter since his signing to make a major impact someday. Fleck highlighted the then-prospect's explosiveness, lateral quickness, dimensions, and motor, promising he'd "be a big part of what we do."

Carter hasn't become a star yet but led Minnesota's interior linemen in tackles. His 5.3 pressure rate (per PFF) ranked right in the middle of the Big Ten's defensive tackles who had at least 30 pass rush opportunities, which isn't outstanding but nevertheless ranked second-best among Gophers in the sample. (He also had an interception against Maryland, but that's not usually part of his job description.) For a redshirt freshman starter, his season was solid.

Carter enters 2021 listed at 300 pounds and figures to start again at 3-technique while occasionally moving to 1-technique. He filled in at the latter position in the Nebraska game and looked comfortable doing so, playing the run smartly and using his strength to dispose of blockers.

Not every player reaches his potential in breakout fashion; sometimes, it's more of a gradual climb. But if any member of the Minnesota defense is a worthy breakout candidate, Carter is.

Entering his seventh year of college football, nose tackle Micah Dew-Treadway is unlikely to take a leap in 2021. And that's fine — though Dew-Treadway hasn't posted big numbers or earned high-profile accolades, but he's been consistently alright and only missed one game in his two seasons. His season-long run defense grades on PFF have been squarely average, sitting in the low-to-mid-60s. He'll stay the starting nose, but the team won't need to lean on him as much with some added depth.

Key Backups

Nyles Pinckney won't offer much in the way of pressuring the quarterback — his 3.0 sacks in four years as a regular at Clemson are evidence of that — but he'll immediately reinforce Minnesota's interior. Coming off of offseason surgery, his PFF grade in run defense was the worst of his career, and he lost his starting job, but Pinckney still was a solid regular. That grade actually would have ranked 1st among Minnesota's defensive tackles, which underscores just how important an addition he is.

Pinckney missed just one game in four years at Clemson, alternating between nose and 3-technique. He'll do the same as a Gopher. He already demonstrated that in his impressive spring game performance, switching spots with Carter and regularly penetrating the backfield.

That was less Pinckney's style in the ACC. He was a competent player who occupied gaps, at times kept double teams from reaching the second level, and never recorded more than 4.0 TFLs in a season. If he replicates the above play on a weekly basis, Minnesota's line can cause serious problems for opponents. If Pinckney the Gopher plays like Pinckney the Tiger, the team's run defense will improve.

Weak side end M.J. Anderson finished 2020 with just one tackle yet was one of Minnesota's most intriguing underclassmen. He totaled five pressures and had the conference's sixth-best pass rush win rate among edge defenders (per PFF, no snap minimum). He then backed that up with a great spring game, making a run stuff and a sack on top of two hurries.

Anderson's job is — in the most reductive terms — to be big and fill holes, but he's athletic and disruptive. If he can improve on the primary part of his game, he'll be a fearsome starter at a position where the Gophers don't expect to get as many havoc plays.

When Rossi sometimes wants his rush end to be able to drop into coverage, Thomas Rush is typically his choice. A converted linebacker, Rush is a bit lean to take on Big Ten offensive linemen but is an able tackler and is more experienced than his counterparts covering open space. He's not as good a pass rusher as Mafe, having recorded 1.5 sacks in his career, and is a comparable or worse run defender. But Rush has his place.

Potential Rotation Options

The other transfer in this group, former NC State defensive end Val Martin, was not one of the broadcast inactives in the spring game but nevertheless did not participate. As he moves from a 3-3-5 to the Gophers' 4-2-5, the 300-pound Martin will slide over to tackle.

Martin was not particularly impactful with the Wolfpack, leaving with just 18.0 tackles and 1.5 TFLs in 22 games over three years. In 2020, he started against Georgia Tech but otherwise was a part-time player who averaged 20 snaps per game (according to the school's media guide).

The Pack didn't use Martin in many obvious running situations because he could get pushed around a bit by double teams. He didn't make it in as a passing downs specialist either because he's not maneuverable or skilled enough as a pass rusher. While Martin is somewhat fast for his size, he has a big turn radius; he may beat his blocker off the line but won't get the sack if asked to change directions. And his hands are active but not effective.

In other words, Martin looks more like much-needed depth than an invaluable contributor. He and redshirt sophomore Rashad Cheney Jr. will compete for snaps at tackle. Cheney doesn't have an extensive track record, having made just 5.5 tackles and a pass breakup in 2020.

But his 8.3 percent pressure rate was best among the team's tackles. The coaching staff has evidently taken note of Cheney's adeptness as a rusher. A common look on 3rd downs last season had both Mafe and Rush on the field as the ends, with Otomewo and Cheney at each tackle spot.

And in the Gophers' beefier sets against Wisconsin, Cheney could be seen at weak side end.

Logan Richter is a little slimmer than the 340 pounds he weighed in at as a redshirt freshman, but he remains a tank of a human. He hasn't played much outside of games where Minnesota has prioritized stuffing the middle, playing as nose tackle next to a big 3-technique or filling that spot himself. Richter will probably keep that occasional role.

Jah Joyner redshirted last year after arriving with as much hype as Fleck could give on Signing Day. Joyner's highlights as a prospect are at times comical, exhibiting just how much better than Connecticut high schoolers he was. He's big, he's explosive, and he's violent. He's got everything you want from an edge rusher and put in a 2.0-sack performance in the spring game. He's just not about to take a ton of snaps from Mafe. I expect to see him mainly on clear passing downs, either filling in on the weak side or as part of a speed-rushing package. But barring any surprises, Joyner will start in 2022.

I wouldn't bet on true freshman Deven Eastern immediately playing, but the 6-foot, 6-inch Shakopee native has enough tools to have a chance. Eastern is the highest-ranked defensive line signing in program history. (This doesn't count eventual rush end Carter Coughlin, who was considered a linebacker.) Already at 290 pounds, he figures to slot in at weak side end starting out. Later, he could potentially bounce between there and tackle, as he did in high school.

Notables Unlikely to Contribute

Redshirt freshman Gage Keys is coming off offseason surgery but should be fit to appear this season, if not for the opener. He entered the program as a defensive end that will slide over to 3-technique, either on an occasional basis or perhaps permanently.

Jalen Logan-Redding was one of the underclassmen pressed into service for the Purdue and Nebraska games thanks to COVID-19 problems in the program. He's another tweener whose size may allow him to play tackle if needed but is more of a weak side defensive end.

True freshman tackles Luther McCoy and Jacob Schuster are not going to see the field outside of blowouts this season. Right now, there is just too much competition for reps at the position, but a few impending graduations could see each in the rotation next year. Danny Striggow, a rush end from Orono, played a good bit in the spring game and recorded 1.5 tackles with half a tackle for loss, but he's in the same boat for the time being.