Spring forward: Gophers look for playmakers with Williams, Cobb gone
MINNEAPOLIS -- Saturday morning, 179 days away from the Golden Gophers' Thursday night season opener against TCU, more than 300 fans formed a broken rectangle around the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex turf to take in Minnesota's first open practice of the spring.
Those enthused about back-to-back eight-win seasons -- dads holding babies, a few interested students, prospective recruits, and so forth -- saw a spirited practice featuring heavy doses of the Gophers' experimental no-huddle offense. They saw linebacker Jonathan Celestin shoot a gap and light up freshman running back Jeff Jones in a "you're not at Minneapolis Washburn anymore" moment. They saw a couple post-play skirmishes between defensive and offensive players wearing helmets, shoulder pads and a TCF Bank Stadium-sized chip on their shoulders as they seek to make early impressions on coach Jerry Kill and his staff.
But it's hard to miss what isn't present as the Gophers, three practices in, get past the initial, rust-shaking stages of spring ball.
Proven, dynamic targets that have made plays downfield.
The lack thereof short-circuited the Gophers' 106th-ranked offense (ninth in the Big Ten) at critical points last season. Their best receiving target, tight end Maxx Williams, is in the thick of NFL Draft preparations -- along with David Cobb, the team's top 2014 rusher -- and hopes to hear his name called in the first round next month.
"We're going to need to throw the ball more," junior wideout K.J. Maye said. "We're going to need more playmakers out on the field."
Minnesota's one-dimensionality was rooted in its inability to stretch out defenses. The Gophers ranked 120th out of 128 NCAA Division I teams with 66 completions of 10 or more yards and 78th with 34 of 20 or more.
And that was with first-team all-Big Ten Williams, whose 569 receiving yards (15.81 per reception) comprised 30 percent of Minnesota's passing offense.
The team's aerial effectiveness, of course, starts with quarterback Mitch Leidner, a tough-as-nails game manager who makes the right reads but not always the right throws. Kill and offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover's power scheme isn't exactly predicated on home-run plays, either.
But in order for it to take the next step in Kill's fifth season here, the offense requires a facet that keeps defenses from stacking the box and feasting upon Minnesota's inexperienced running backs.
The next month is about starting to find it.
"It always is," Limegrover said. "You never go into a spring with anything other than that idea. You're trying to find guys that are going to be difference-makers at all positions.
"That's what you need to win Big Ten championships. I think that development happens a lot during the spring, and then that identification of those guys that maybe have that extra little bit to them that are separating themselves at all positions definitely is a priority."
Maye and sophomore wideout Drew Wolitarsky top the list of big-play candidates at the receiver position. True freshmen Isaiah Gentry (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) and Melvin Holland Jr. (6-3, 196) have the physical tools to become vertical threats.
Maye's the program's most proven option, having caught 16 passes for 298 yards last season, but he's just 5-10 and not the best jump-ball target.
Wolitarsky, who's fast and built (6-3, 217), caught 10 passes for 106 yards but played in only eight games due to a sprained ankle.
The dismissal of athletic converted quarterback Donovahn Jones doesn't help, either.
"We have that depth at receiver; it's just about learning everything and being in the right place at the right time," said Maye, a breakout pass catcher last season, his second since switching from running back. "I want to be that guy we can go to when we need a play, we need a touchdown."
Sophomore Duke Anyanwu enters spring as an heir apparent to Williams at tight end but sat out the 2012 and 2014 seasons with torn ACLs. He's still shaking the rust off, Limegrover said, but the Blaine, Minn., native's speed and athleticism mean Minnesota can use him in several different spots on the field like it did Williams.
Provided Anyanwu remains healthy.
"He's gotten a lot of work, and the knee's held up really well, which is exciting for us," said Limegrover, who also spoke highly of redshirt freshman Nick Hart at the tight end spot. "We're definitely not displeased or concerned in any way about where he's at right now."
Said Anyanwu: "I definitely am a little bit rusty, but it's a day-by-day thing. . . . When it comes to pure speed, I definitely think I'm back where I was, but I feel like this time, the ceiling's a little higher."
Leidner, meanwhile , has been working on his throwing mechanics this offseason and has a year of starting experience under his belt. Perhaps a heavier dose of no-huddle could help, too, catching defenses off guard every once in a while.
But Limegrover says the Gophers are merely tinkering with that at this point, primarily as a change-of-pace option if the offense bogs down.
"It's like the roots to a big old oak tree," Limegrover said. "When the oak tree is mature, it's got all of the branches. It's all over the place, and it's firm and mature. But right now, it's that sapling. It's those roots that we're trying to build and then let that thing grow from there."
Huddle or not, Minnesota's playbook will still boast a pro-style, rush-oriented theme, Limegrover said. But there's a recognition among this group that in 2015, without the ability to open up the field, the Gophers' offense will continue to falter.
"Maxx being gone, Cobb being gone, everybody's rising to the occasion," Anyanwu said. "Everyone's upping their play. Nobody's really feeling the pressure like, 'I've got to be the guy.' Because we've all got to be 'the guy.'"
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