Gophers football: Three important position battles going into fall camp

The Gophers football gang opens training camp on Sunday and questions abound for head coach P J Fleck s ninth club at Minnesota Head coach P J Fleck of the Minnesota Golden Gophers is interviewed after the Golden Gophers defeated the Bowling Green Falcons - in the Quick Lane Bowl at Ford Field on Dec in Detroit Michigan Photo by Mike Mulholland Getty Images There are unit-wide queries on how the offense will look different as it navigates a big quarterback transition from sixth-year senior Max Brosmer to redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey After passing more with Brosmer in offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh noted last spring the run challenge will be counted on to break in a new signal caller On the defensive side new defensive coordinator Danny Collins will try to carry over his success as safeties coach to an entire side of the ball while maintaining a standard for taut units that Corey Hetherman and Joe Rossi set before him But both sides of the ball along with special teams have essential position battles to try to live up to College Football Playoff contention which Fleck stated as the unit s goal during Big Ten football media days in Las Vegas last week Here are three crucial competitions to settle before the season opener against Buffalo at Huntington Bank Stadium on Aug Cream of the receiving corps Key departures Daniel Jackson Elijah Spencer The Gophers brought in three transfers Javon Tracy Miami of Ohio Logan Loya UCLA and Malachi Coleman Nebraska to help replace the lion s share of the lost production in the WR room We ve got a bunch of guys who have played a lot of football but then it might not have been here Fleck noted That doesn t mean that it s not valuable football I think that we re seemingly deeper with playmakers then we ve been at that position for a while The stable of returning players are led by Le Meke Brockington catches in and Cristian Driver receptions a year ago along with the emergence of Jalen Smith a redshirt freshman from Mankato who debuted in the Duke s Mayo Bowl win over Virginia Tech This Jalen Smith kid has come on strong Fleck disclosed I meant he s got talent that reminds me of certain people really early in their careers Fleck explained he hates comparisons but in the next breath went on to mention two former wideouts he coached who went to the NFL Corey Davis and Rashod Bateman Prediction Tracy will be the No target He had receptions at Miami and comes from a football family with his older brother Tyrone playing at Iowa Purdue and now the New York Giants Loya will be reliable while Coleman continues to be a project Rebuilding the cornerback room Key departures Justin Walley Ethan Robinson Jack Henderson Fleck praised Walley as one of the best players he has ever coached and now for the first time in four years the U is forced to play without the Indianapolis Colts third-round pick Similar to Tre Von Jones in the Gophers had huge success in the portal with Ethan Robinson transferring in from Bucknell last fall The U went back into the portal to bring in the -foot- Jayden Bowden from North Carolina Central After spring practices the U got another CB into the portal in John Nestor from rival Iowa Among returnees Za Quan Bryan played more than snaps on defense a year ago primarily when Walley was hurt and he had his first career interception in the bowl challenge The redshirt sophomore is expected to take on a much larger role this fall Mike Gerald and Sam Madu are up-and-comers Over two years at nickel back Henderson was rock solid or a dawg according to teammates With him getting a shot in the NFL the U will look to safeties Kerry Brown second-year Texas Christian transfer Jai Onte McMillan and oft-injured senior Darius Green to help fill that role Fellow safety Aidan Gousby is a wildcard at that spot Prediction The one-year rental of Robinson deserves a letter grade of an A and the Jones stint was worth a B Given how inauspicious Bowden was during an albeit small sample size of media members watching spring practices it s hard project another A Trying not to fall off EDGE Key departures Jah Joyner Danny Striggow Returning defensive end Anthony Smith is the Gophers best returning participant not named Koi Perich and the -foot- -pound athletic behemoth will get double-teamed ad naseum unless other players step up to fill the big roles vacated by Joyner and Striggow Related Articles Badgers on how Gophers won the Axe last year They beat our butts New Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey leaning into leadership role Gophers football P J Fleck sets College Football Playoff as goal for Gophers football picked to finish th in Big Ten this fall Gophers football standout quotes from players at U s local media day Smith had a team-high pressures a year ago but Joyner totaled and Striggow The returning players who put the most of heat on an opposing QB last fall Lucas Finnessy and Jaxon Howard That s big gap In order to bridge the gulf Minnesota brought in Steven Curtis from Illinois State the -foot- -pounder had pressures and five sacks at the FCS level a year ago Curtis is going to be able to help us on the edge Fleck announced Lucas Finnessy has had a really strong offseason being able to help us at end possibly certain of the rush position Jaxon Howard has had a really good off season in terms of the defensive end I know it s more of the rush position but he s got a lot bigger stronger where he could be able to help us on the other side Prediction Given the demands of the position multiple players will need to help fill the void this fall Curtis is more of a known participant but is making a jump to a more demanding level Howard a former four-star recruit and the No prospect in the state of Minnesota in the class will need more time to live up to his plaudits Other competitions After Georgia Tech QB Zach Pyron hastily exited Dinkytown after one spring the U took Boston College Old Dominion QB Emmett Morehead out of the portal He will compete with Dylan Wittke and Max Shikenjanski for QB behind Lindsey The U is counting on offensive line coach Brian Callahan to reconfigure the entire front five but veterans are plugging in at largest part spots or switching to new positions An incredibly high number of punters four are competing to replace Mark Crawford including two new transfers It looks like true freshman Daniel Jackson from Alexandria and senior Brady Denaburg a transfer from Syracuse will compete to be the kicker coming in for Dragan Kesich