Will this team be better? They need to answer these questions.
There were some highs and some lows to the 2023 Gopher season. It ended up being the worst season under PJ Fleck that wasn’t a pandemic season. They finished the regular season with a 5-7 record, earned a bowl because of their academic progress and beat Bowling Green to improve to 6-7.
Along the way they beat Iowa for the first time in forever and had some great individual performances. But they also gave us a couple disappointing meltdowns and their matchups with Michigan and Ohio State went as bad as we expected.
The season wasn’t great but the optimist in me believes that 2023 was basically the floor under Fleck.
But the question is, what questions need to be answered for 2024 to be an improvement? We know the schedule is hard, but so was last year’s. Can this team not only improve the record but also put a better team on the field that is capable of competing at a higher level?
Here are the key questions…
1 – Can they find a passing game?
This is more than just a question about improving the play of whoever is quarterback, this is an offensive philosophy. This involves play-calling, receiver route-trees, receiver production and of course…quarterback play.
Athan Kaliakmanis was never comfortable last season. He struggled to hit open receivers, especially in the mid-range passing game, and he just never seemed to be in sync with the coaching staff.
Purely based on ability to make the right decision on a pass play and the ability to hit an open receiver, I believe that Max Brosmer is going to be an improvement. Will he be able to win games with this arm alone? I don’t know about that, but I do believe that he will lead the passing game to the point that it will have to be respected by defenses and therefore opening up the running game.
But this is on Matt Simon and his receivers too. I have complete confidence that Daniel Jackson is an upper-tier Big Ten receiver. He is going to need some help though. I’m looking at you, Le’Meke Brockington, Elijah Spencer and Tyler Williams. Someone needs to step up to be more productive and frankly Matt Simon needs to put them in a better position to succeed. Far too often last year receivers seemed to be right on top of each other or the routes were not complimentary and easy to defend.
The passing game HAS to be better and it needs to come from everyone involved.
2 – Will the running backs remain healthy?
Credit to the offensive line and the ground scheme last year because the Gopher ground game was productive regardless of who was carrying the ball.
Sean Tyler was given the first crack at being the primary ball carrier until his fumble issues became too much to overcome.
Darius Taylor was tearing up the field and taking home weekly awards before he was injured and missed more games than he could play.
Zach Evans looked strong for 1 game against Louisiana, but that was short-lived. And Bryce Williams was solid before he missed the final 7 games due to an injury.
And then we got down to the 5th string back, walk-on Jordan Nubin. And all Nubin did was earn Big Ten Player of the Week when he rushed for over 200 yards against Michigan State. He started 4 games.
The running back room looks very different this year with Taylor back and backed up by 3 transfers. The talent (especially for Taylor) is not at all in doubt, but can he stay healthy and lead a dynamic Gopher rushing attack?
3 – What will it take to score more and allow less?
It is really a simple game, right? Score more than your opponent. Last year the offense only mustered 20.1 points per game while the defense allowed 26.7. That has to change.
Obviously getting positive answers to the other questions in this piece will move that needle. On the one hand, giving up nearly a touchdown more per game is bad. On the other hand, if you back out the Ohio State and Michigan games, their points allowed and points scored are basically even (23.5 allowed and 23.5 scored). But you don’t get to skip the hard games and count the easy ones (cough…Easter Michigan). And that also doesn’t account for blowing a 21-point lead at Northwestern or a last-minute touchdown to lose to Illinois.
The new Big Ten is always going to give you elite competition. This defense needs to not give up big plays and the offense needs to be significantly more consistent. If the offense can get up to around 25 points per game and the defense can give up closer to 20, that will make a big difference in the team’s final record.
4 – Who replaces Tyler Nubin?
This is more about the entire secondary, but losing a 3-year starter and a 2nd-round draft pick is a significant piece to replace.
Last year’s starting secondary looked like this…
- CB – Justin Walley – started all 13
- S – Tyler Nubin – started all 13
- S – Darius Green – started 11
- CB – Tre’Von Jones – started all 13
Half of them are gone and step one is replacing Nubin at safety. The most likely candidate to step into Nubin’s shoes is Coleman Bryson. He redshirted in 2022 but was able to play in the Pinstripe Bowl where he was the defensive MVP. As a redshirt freshman in 2023 he played in all 13 games, but was stuck behind Nubin on the depth chart.
And after losing Jones, the most likely candidate to replace him in the starting lineup is another transfer, Ethan Robinson from Howard. Can this year’s transfer corner be as productive as last year’s transfer corner? Stepping up from Howard to the Big Ten is no easy task, but Robinson was solid in the spring his ability to cover in the Big Ten is going to be significant.
Those are the names, but are they doing to be as productive? Also, there are big concerns over depth, but I’m going to just focus on the starters at this point.
5 – Can the linebackers stay healthy?
Another position group that was wrecked by injuries and may be critical to this season’s success. The good news is that Devon Williams started all 12 regular season games at one of the linebacker spots, and he will be back. But the other starting spot was rough last year.
Cody Lindenberg was the team’s presumed starter but the junior missed the first 7 games of the season due to injury and played in only 4 games total. Fortunately the Gophers found a gem in true freshman, Maverick Baranowski who slid into Lindenberg’s starting role and looked very capable. But he was also a true freshman who also missed time due to injury.
Lindenberg is quietly one of the most important players on this defense, losing him for much of the season is one of those subtle losses that has a sizeable impact. Now heading into his 5th year, he is a leader on this defense and if healthy will be a major contributor.
In addition, having Baranowski healthy and in his second year should also prove to be a huge boost.
Can these guys stay healthy? And if so, this Gopher front-seven may be very good.
There are, of course, more questions to be answered. Getting positive answers to these 5 will go a long way toward improving that 6-7 record.