Rodrick Williams is Minnesota's most important player in 2015

Published Jun. 1, 2015 2:29 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Minnesota Golden Gophers continue to be a program on the rise. Last season they went to a New Year’s Day bowl game and Jerry Kill was named Big Ten Coach Of The Year.

This season, they have some big shoes to fill on offense. There is no replacing Maxx Williams and what he brought to the table so his replacement at tight end is not my selection. Instead, I chose Rodrick Williams, the running back that will get the first shot at replacing David Cobb.

Last year Cobb had over 300 carries for the Gophers and those need to go to someone. We know that Jerry Kill loves to pound the rock even though they are featuring a more up-tempo, no-huddle offense this season. For that no-huddle to be effective, someone has to be able to run the ball effectively so quarterback Mitch Leidner isn’t throwing 30 times a game. If Williams can have a breakout season, the trendy pick to win the Big Ten West live up to the hype.