The Minnesota Gophers Football team had another successful season in 2022. The low point of the season was the back-to-back losses to the surprising Purdue Boilermakers and the Illinois Fighting Illini. Despite these setbacks, the team turned it around and finished with their second consecutive 9-4 season. The season-ending victory was another bowl win, this time defeating Syracuse 28-20 in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl.
Challenges for Minnesota
As the 2023 season approaches, the Football Gophers are faced with some unique challenges. The first challenge is the re-appearance of Michigan and Ohio State on the team’s schedule. They have not played both of these powerhouses in the same season since 2015. And the Ohio State game will be played in Columbus on the second to the last weekend of the Big Ten Conference schedule.
The second challenge is even more germane to this team. When Minnesota takes the field this season, they will be missing some key, long-time starters. On offense, quarterback Tanner Morgan, running back Mo Ibrahim, and center John Michael Schmitz will be plying their trade on NFL Sundays this fall. The same goes true for middle linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin and safety Jordan Howden.
Any success that the Gophers have next season will be predicated on their ability to adequately replace these legendary heroes. And therein lies the 5 keys to watch out for with the Minnesota Gophers this season.
Kaliakmanis Steps into the Spotlight
Gophers Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis (8) – USA TODAY SPORTS
Athan Kaliakmanis was thrown into action last season when quarterback Tanner Morgan suffered a concussion in Week 6 of the season. He had his ups and downs, but he showed enough promise to remain in the starting lineup after Morgan’s return.
This season, as the full-time starter, the pressure will be on him to guide Minnesota through a tough Big Ten schedule. He’ll be aided by Preseason All-American tight end, Brevyn Spann-Ford and two promising transfer wide receivers, Elijah Spencer and Corey Crooms Jr. Coach P.J. Fleck anticipates utilizing Kaliakmanis’ strong arm to open up the Gopher’s mostly run-oriented offense.
Where’s Mo?
No one player could duplicate the production that Minnesota has received from Mo Ibrahim over his career. Mo is the Gophers’ all-time leading rusher with 4,668 yards and 53 touchdowns. His workhorse-like presence was a huge reason that the team has been so successful since he entered the university in 2018.
Filling those big shoes will be a committee assignment. Explosive Western Michigan transfer Sean Tyler will start the season as the lead runner in the Minnesota backfield. Helping to fill the void left by Ibrahim’s departure will be red-shirt freshman Zach Evans and true freshman Darius Taylor. Sixth-year senior Bryce Williams will also add depth to this position.
Minnesota has Questions on their Offensive Line
Much like the running back position, replacing All-American center John Michael-Schmitz will be a herculean task. Trying to fill those big shoes will be sixth-year senior Nathan Boe. Boe replaced Michael-Schmitz in the Pinstripe Bowl game after the latter sat out the game to prepare for the draft. He acquitted himself well in that game and has been a very efficient blocker in the spot starts he has made in his Gophers career.
The hope is that Boe can stabilize a line that also lost its two starting guards, Axel Ruschmeyer and Chuck Filiaga. The Minnesota line will have to grow up very quickly to give Kaliakmanis and the Minnesota running backs ample space and time to operate. Sixth-year senior Karter Shaw will back Boe up.
Sorin-Marin will be Sorely Missed
Gophers Linebacker Cody Lindenberg (45) – USA TODAY SPORTS
Filling the void left by Sori-Marin will be Western Michigan transfer Ryan Selig. He was a two-year starter for the Broncos, and he amassed 154 tackles in his four years there. Fortunately, Will linebacker Cody Lindenberg also returns. He started the last six games in 2022 and finished second on the team in tackles with 71 tackles. Coach Fleck hopes his presence will help ease the burden of losing Sori-Marin.
Minnesota has to shuffle their Secondary
And while Jordan Howden trains with the New Orleans Saints, Minnesota hopes that his replacement, Darius Green can step in and be a high performer. Howden and returning safety Tyler Nubin were a formidable pair and the continuity and coordination they provided will be hard to duplicate.
Green has shown flashes of brilliance in the past. Most recently, he recorded five tackles in Minnesota’s Pinstripe Bowl victory this year. The Gophers’ secondary also must make up for the loss of star cornerback Terell Smith. Transfers Tre’Von Jones and Tyler Bride have the inside track on replacing Smith.
Minnesota fans await the 2023 season with high expectations but also concerns about the schedule and the loss of star players. Hopefully, Fleck and the Gophers squad will continue their streak of excellence and deliver another exciting winning season.
