Minnesota Post-Spring Football Thoughts

Now that the Gophers' spring game has happened, there's some stuff to talk about at least for a little while before we enter the early-summer content wasteland. I was ready to write about it in full, as I did for the 2021 edition.

However, when the chance of lightning forced the game indoors, there was an issue: The camera angles on the television broadcast were terrible.

A year ago, I took stats and felt better about my ability to give the spring game a full, 10-point review, the way I do for the team's actual games in the fall. But that was not going to be possible here. What follows, then, is a series of observations and opinions on where the program stands entering the summer, which touches on some of the things we saw on display this most recent Saturday.

1. The Gophers don't want to run into another running back emergency.

Mohamed Ibrahim not playing in the spring game was not a surprise. He didn't play in the 2021 edition as a way of managing his workload. That he suffered a catastrophic injury just a few months ago made him an obvious candidate to sit again. On top of that, it was Ramadan; a practicing Muslim like Ibrahim couldn't eat or drink between sunrise and sundown, which naturally limited his ability to partake in sports during the day. Trey Potts and Preston Jelen also sat out, having encountering their own medical issues last year.

The Gophers' need to keep their tailbacks healthy is a little more urgent after the transfers of Mar'Keise Irving and Ky Thomas. The two combined for 1,523 yards and 10 touchdowns as rushers last season. Though each of their decisions are understandable — running back is a position with a short shelf life, and Ibrahim's return would have left both on the shelf longer than their talents deserve — it means the Gophers aren't so rich with options to carry the ball.

On Saturday, three underclassmen played running back alongside Bryce Williams: Zach Evans, Kendall Moore, and Jordan Nubin. Evans, the early enrollee from Rockwall-Heath High School (Texas) led the group with 51 yards on 11 carries. He also had one of the game's highlights (conveniently happening right in front of the camera), this truck of fellow freshman Coleman Bryson.

P.J. Fleck has talked up Evans and Nubin this spring, not necessarily because they will be needed this fall, but likely because last fall showed him they might be. Keeping the team's veterans rested means also giving the young guys some much-needed reps so that if they have to play, they're ready.

2. The coaches might have a new role in mind for Michael Brown-Stephens.

I am not certain that any wrinkles the Gophers showed Saturday can indicate future plans on offense. They only played four tailbacks and probably needed an extra player to rotate through just to give those four a rest. Spring games are not to be taken too seriously. But Brown-Stephens took some snaps in the backfield, and I want to talk about it.

Putting receivers in the backfield has become popular in the NFL, typified most by the 49ers' use of Deebo Samuel but finding a place in many other teams' playbooks. It creates confusion and forces mismatches. Defensive backs have to be in position to play the run, linebackers have to cover receivers in coverage, and spaces are opened up just by putting one guy somewhere he usually isn't.

The offense was still in a regular personnel grouping in the above play (11, as best as I can tell). The only difference is that Moore was out wide, and Brown-Stephens took the toss from where Moore would normally be. The defense kept all three linebackers in the box, and Brown-Stephens got the edge and converted a 3rd-and-1.

If this package has an actual place in Minnesota's offense, it's odd to put it on display in the spring game and then allude to Brown-Stephens' versatility in the postgame press conference. Even so, it's an intriguing thing to add, and another way to utilize a player who made a significant impact in 2021.

3. The offensive line is full of depth chart battles yet to be settled.

It's too early to call most of the competitions on the team, even after seeing the spring game. (This includes the 2023 quarterback race, which we will not cover here.) Minnesota's offensive line is the site of many such competitions, as every role is up for grabs outside of center and maybe left guard.

It looked like Chuck Filiaga, the 6-foot-6-inch, 330-pound transfer from Michigan, might be in the mix at tackle, but he spent Saturday at right guard. He could start if Nathan Boe or Karter Shaw, each a center by trade, doesn't move over a spot. All three have starting experience, even if Boe's is fairly limited. Axel Ruschmeyer seems like the left guard after starting in 2020 and looking much improved in a smaller role last year.

Filiaga kicking inside would make tackle a little cleaner a situation, but not totally. Fleck has raved about Aireontae Ersery's potential since he was a true freshman in 2020. That's a sign that Ersery is a decent bet to start, possibly at left tackle. That's where he lined up in the spring game and in his debut two years ago at Nebraska. Transfer Quinn Cooper is not yet with the program, though, as he is still completing his degree at Notre Dame. The towering J.J. Guedet, Cameron James, Tyrell Lawrence, and Martes Lewis — all at least 6-foot-7 — have been in the program for two or more seasons and theoretically have a chance to start.

There will be more than five linemen who play, of course — both because a team seldom gets through the year without injury to that unit and because Fleck's Minnesota offenses have often trotted out six- or seven-man (or eight-man) lines. Boe and Guedet have been the spare blockers before and could be candidates for role again. Others mentioned here will certainly be in the mix as well.

The Gophers have also rotated linemen through the five normal line positions before; in 2019, Schmitz was a part-timer. Their plethora of options but lack of proven starters might lead to the return of that tactic. Regardless, there's still much to sort out between now and the opener in September.

4. The two-deep is not sorted out on the other side of the line either, where some players' roles might be changing.

Here's what we can assume: Trill Carter will be one of the Gophers' starting defensive tackles. Thomas Rush, who had a strong 2021 season and sat out of the spring game, is at least a heavy favorite to start at rush end. While the coaches have spoken highly of redshirt freshman Austin Booker, who registered a couple of sacks on Saturday, Rush has the seniority to have the staff's trust and the track record to justify it. He's improved significantly since moving from linebacker and is now a viable starter.

It's tougher to work out the rest of the defensive line, though. Carter has played mostly at 3-technique as a college player but may find himself at nose more often in 2022 based on the profiles of the other tackles on the roster. Logan Richter is strictly a nose tackle but has played too intermittently to this point to be considered more than a rotation player. Luther McCoy and Jacob Schuster will each try to break into that rotation as well. Whoever does may come onto the field in situations where Richter's 325-pound frame is not ideal or necessary.

To say Deven Eastern is a "smaller" tackle is incorrect, as the redshirt freshman is 6-and-a-half feet tall, but he is listed below 300 pounds and was considered a defensive end as a prospect. He played tackle in the spring game and will compete against another underclassman moving inside, Gage Keys, as well as Clemson graduate transfer Darnell Jefferies. Neither Eastern nor Keys has played a down in college, and Jefferies was not a regular contributor for the Tigers. Houston Baptist transfer Kyler Baugh was one at the FCS level — and made plays — but it's fair to wonder how his production will translate to the Big Ten. He is not yet at Minnesota but will be this fall.

Regardless of what combination of players takes snaps where on the interior, the roles of Minnesota's linemen could be a little more rigid than in 2021. Last year, Carter, Micah Dew-Treadway, and Nyles Pinckney moved between gaps more frequently than Gopher tackles did in past seasons.

To illustrate this, we'll use Pro Football Focus' data. In 2019, Dew-Treadway lined up over the A gap on nearly 44 percent of his plays. No other regular lineman came close to that; he was the team's one real nose tackle. In 2020, he was used the same way. But in 2021, he was over the A gap about a third of the time. Though Dew-Treadway was still over the A gap more than any other Gopher, the margin wasn't as large. The coaches evidently felt more comfortable with their ability to stop the run without putting their longtime nose tackle inside as much. The three regulars at tackle clogged lanes while moving between roles, and the Gophers had one of the nation's best run defenses.

With Pinckney and Dew-Treadway gone, though, Minnesota doesn't have as large a complement of heavier tackles. Eastern, Keys, and Baugh might be more in the mold of past 3-techniques like Sam Renner, who was strictly a B-gap player whose job was to penetrate the backfield. Unless the Gophers roll with a starting pairing of Carter and Richter, which seems unlikely, the defense is probably going back to more traditional roles: a run-stopper at nose and a disruptor alongside him.

5. Linebacker might be the deepest position on this roster.

Five different Minnesota linebackers have recorded tackles on defense in actual games. Another, Derik LeCaptain, is a special teams captain who has made plays in kick coverage, and Lucas Finnessy and Devon Williams have each appeared on special teams.

While Mariano Sori-Marin figures to get the majority of snaps at linebacker this season, the Gophers have room to give him more breaks and to cycle players through the spot next to him. They have room to take a more situational approach to linebacker deployment, as was the case in 2019.

That season, Minnesota tried to play to their players' strengths and work around their weaknesses. Though Thomas Barber and Kamal Martin were the two starters and got the majority of the snaps (when Martin was healthy), Barber often left the field for passing downs. The lighter Braelen Oliver played in his stead, either to defend space or to blitz. Sori-Marin, meanwhile, sometimes came on for Martin to stop the run.

Note: If you only include the games Martin started, the proportion of Sori-Marin's
snaps that were in run defense increases to 59.3 percent.

Last year, comparatively, the roles were not as specialized. Much of this was the result of Jack Gibbens and the more experienced version of Sori-Marin being more well-rounded defenders in 2021 than Barber and Martin were in 2019. There wasn't as much of a need to sub one of them out on 3rd-and-long. They were every-down players.

Oliver's role, meanwhile, changed to being much more of a third linebacker than a situational substitute. Outside of when he took an injured Sori-Marin's place for most of the Purdue game, Oliver's season-high snap counts were against Iowa and Wisconsin, where coordinator Joe Rossi deployed a 4-3 instead of his usual 4-2-5.

Donald Willis counted as the only specialist in the group. While his 2021 snap count would ordinarily be too low for us to definitively say he had a specific role, his 2020 numbers were similarly tilted toward coverage snaps. While PFF grades him as poor in that regard, the Gophers evidently see him as someone they can at least occasionally put on the field in passing situations.

The returns of Josh Aune and Cody Lindenberg from long-term injuries give Rossi a lot of room to expand his rotation and find out who is best-suited for certain roles. Additionally, for both evaluation and development purposes, it's important to give reps to the players who might start in 2023. Sori-Marin's impending departure will open a spot in the lineup, and we don't know who might see this logjam as reason to transfer somewhere with less competition for playing time. The experience and depth at the position should mean that a wider distribution of snaps shouldn't hurt the Gophers.

6. Transfer defensive back Beanie Bishop looks like a solid pickup.

Though his height suggests he might be more of a nickelback, Bishop played the whole spring game on the outside, mainly as the boundary corner for the Gold team. His first appearance in maroon and gold was impressive, finishing with 1.5 tackles for loss and two pass breakups.

Bringing in both Bishop and Ryan Stapp gives the secondary some needed reinforcement after losing veterans Coney Durr and Justus Harris. Bishop in particular looks like the player who could be most impactful. He was an All-C-USA first-teamer for Western Kentucky, getting his hands on seven passes (three of which were interceptions) and making 6.5 TFLs to boot. When also considering his talents as a kick returner, Bishop looks like a player who could provide real value over his last two years of eligiblity.