Can Minnesota Golden Gophers Go in for the Kill in 2014?

Offense

Minnesota’s offense was clearly not a unit to will the team to victory, ranking 85th in the country in average points per game with 25.7. But it managed to mount long drives, coming in 11th in the country in time of possession. The unit also relied heavily on the running game, and with the top two players involved in the passing game gone, that could be even more important this year. Kill’s first order of business needs to be having a full-time starter at quarterback.

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So he wasn’t great last year, but Philip Nelson at quarterback was still reliable, throwing for 9 touchdowns to only 6 interceptions. However, his back-up, Mitch Leidner, proved to be the more efficient player at the position when he filled in for Nelson and replaced him in the bowl game, finishing the season with 619 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception on 78 pass attempts as a freshman. As a sophomore standing at 6’4″ 233 pounds, he’ll have the starting role at Minnesota this season, and luckily, with his experience last year, he won’t be a drop-off. Despite the loss of last year’s main starter, the quarterback position should be an upgrade. In fact, as the full-time starter, there’s a chance you could see the passing game become more of an incremental part of the offense. Leidner is also a dual-threat quarterback and is much more of a playmaker than Nelson was.

At running back, senior David Cobb is back after rushing for 1,202 yards and 7 touchdowns, and Donnell Kirkwood, who rushed for 926 yards in 2012 before being hampered by injuries last year, is also back as a senior. Together, this should make for a pretty good two-headed monster, and Leidner, who had 407 yards and 7 touchdowns last year, should be able to turn this running game into an explosive attack. Junior Rodrick Williams, Jr. also has experience after rushing for 332 yards and 3 touchdowns last year, and redshirt freshman Berkley Edwards and true freshman Jeff Jones were both highly recruited players who should provide depth. The running game was the center point of the offense last year, and it should be stronger this year.

Leading wide receiver Derrick Engel is gone, but it’s worth noting he only had 25 catches for 401 yards and 5 touchdowns. The most important receiver in the unit, tight end Maxx Williams, is back after recording 417 yards and 5 touchdowns as a freshman last year. Sophomore receivers Drew Wolitarsky and Donovahn Jones combined for 416 yards last year as freshmen and should have prominent roles this year. Senior receiver Isaac Fruechte will also have a bigger role after catching 13 balls for 154 yards last year. All three receivers provide great size at 6’3″ each, and with Williams standing at 6’4″, pass defenses will have to deal with height mismatches all over the field. Senior tight end Drew Goodger will also be in the mix, standing at 6’5″ 265 pounds after 7 catches for 111 yards last year, and junior wide receiver K.J. Maye and senior wide receiver Logan Hutton both saw action here. There is plenty of size, depth, talent, and experience here even with Engel gone that the passing game shouldn’t suffer at all. In fact, like the quarterback position, the unit should be improved.

The offensive line only loses one player, left tackle Ed Olson. Everybody else who has any experience in the unit is back. Guards Zac

Dec 27, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Mitch Leidner (7) passes during the third quarter of the Texas Bowl against the Syracuse Orange at Reliant Stadium . Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Epping and Caleb Bak and Center Tommy Olson are all seniors who weigh more than 300 pounds, and junior tackle Josh Champion stands at 6’5″ 326 pounds. Marek Lenkiewicz will replace Olson at tackle, and as a senior, he’s not inexperienced, having started eight games already in his career. Junior Jon Christenson and Foster Bush and sophomore Ben Lauer all have starting experience as well, making for a very deep and loaded unit. The are seven other guys at this position who could definitely see some action, but with so many people back, barring injury, the line should be better overall than it was last year with much more experience.

Overall, the offense should be much better than last year. With a sophomore quarterback and the leading wide receiver gone, this will still very much be a ball-control run-oriented offense. But this year, the passing game should be better with better quarterback play and more depth and experience overall at receiver, and with everybody involved in the running game back, expect this offense to put up more points. Even in the slow-paced system that is run here, the offensive efficiency should dramatically increase.