The sixth season of the P.J. Fleck era at Minnesota begins Sept. 1 against Jerry Kill's New Mexico State. Ski-U-Blog will have previews of the Gophers' notable players in each position group. Today's post covers Minnesota's running backs.
Likely Starter
I, for one, did not think Mohamed Ibrahim would ever play for the Gophers again.
His season-ending injury in the 2021 opener was truly cruel. To be poised for a big season and a professional career, to be in the position to set program records on his way out, and to make a mark on network television against one of the nation's top teams, only to hobble off the field and into a medical tent is not what anyone deserves.
Ibrahim could have declared for the draft. His age, his height, his speed, and now his injury would all be held against him, but his body of work might have been enough to be picked in the late stages. As a running back, it's crucial to start receiving NFL checks as soon as possible.
However, the day before Thanksgiving, Ibrahim announced that he would return for a sixth season.
— Mohamed Ibrahim (@_MoIbrahim) November 24, 2021
If his body is up to it, Ibrahim will again be one of the top tailbacks in college football. He has exceptional balance, vision, and strength, as well as quick enough feet to sneak through a hole into the open field. His top-end speed before the injury was not elite, but he doesn't need elite speed to be an elite back.
Ibrahim currently sits at 3,003 career rushing yards. The coaching staff will probably be more careful with his workload than they have been in the past, so Darrell Thompson's program record of 4,654 yards is most likely out of reach. However, a 1,000-yard season would make him just the third in school history to top 4,000 career yards. A season that's a little better than that would take him past his predecessor, Rodney Smith, on the leaderboard.
Key Backups
With Ibrahim down, it looked like Trey Potts was poised to assert himself as a top-shelf running back in the Big Ten. Instead, his season ended in West Lafayette after a medical scare on the sidelines. He has been cleared to play and should be Minnesota's No. 2 tailback. Over three years, he's accumulated 724 yards on 138 carries, a rate that would translate to a 1,000-yard season with a starter's workload.
Potts has good speed, but the best aspects of his game are those common to a Minnesota running back: smarts, balance, and acceleration. The touchdown below shows off the latter two qualities. He runs with a low center of gravity that allows him to keep his feet when fending off a tackle or tiptoeing the sidelines, and he can beat a defender to the corner and maintain his speed through light contact.
Having him back — assuming all is indeed well, health-wise — will be a boon to an offense likely wanting to lean on its star tailback a little less than it has in the past.
The Gophers will also hope that true freshman Zach Evans, out of Rockwall-Heath High School (Texas), can bear some of the load. The official roster has Evans at 5-foot-10, 205 pounds, but his height as a prospect was listed as an inch shorter. The eyeball suggests the shorter number is more accurate.
Regardless of his exact dimensions, he runs like a bowling ball. His sophomore highlights suggested he might not have breakaway speed; video from his senior year makes that much less of a concern. Evans is a hard, powerful runner who can shuffle into an open hole but doesn't seem to make guys miss a lot in the open field. Once he gets going, he just goes. It's hard to catch up or stop him once he reaches his top speed. While Evans still has room to bulk up, he's got enough weight to throw around, which he demonstrated in Minnesota's spring game.
We need to watch him more to tell whether the explosiveness he showed by the time he was done in high school carries over to the Big Ten. Even so, Evans should make an impact this season and develop into a fine running back.
Bryce Williams, who was carted off after an injury at Northwestern, has spent his Gophers career as a backup, getting sporadic carries here and there and filling in respectably when the backs ahead of him go down with injuries.
When on the field, Williams doesn't create a lot of explosive plays. Per Pro Football Focus, 3.4 percent of his career carries have gone at least 15 yards, which is significantly below the national average for running backs in 2021 (6.7 percent).
His 215-pound frame hasn't translated to extra yards, either; he's averaged 2.5 yards after contact per carry, which is fairly middling. If you believe a power back might have some influence on how often he is stopped at or behind the line, Williams hasn't shown that he does that: While a career stuff rate of 13.6 percent is good, it's basically in line with what Minnesota's titanic line has done over the last four years. It's unclear whether Williams had any part in that.
Williams' career fumble rate of 1.7 percent (three fumbles over 176 carries; the national average for running backs in 2021 was 3.1 percent) is the aspect of his game that is most identifiably a major strength. Which is fitting. Williams does not possess standout traits aside from his size, and he's never posted eye-catching stats, but he has shown he can be trusted with the ball. He'll get the job done when asked.
Notables Unlikely to Contribute
If Preston Jelen is fit to play, he will bring an important presence to special teams but will not play a role in the offense unless there are more injury problems. Jordan Nubin bears mentioning after playing a significant role in the spring game. But he will likely sit on the bench outside of blowouts.
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