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2020 PRESEASON DOAK WALKER AWARD WATCH LIST: Mohamed Ibrahim (Jr.), Minnesota,...Ibrahim ranks 24th on Minnesota's career rushing list with 1,764 yards despite playing in only 21 games. His 5.58 yards per carry average ranks seventh all-time in school history (minimum 200 carries). In 2019, he played in 11 games splitting time with Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks and rushed 114 times for 604 yards and seven touchdowns. In 2018, he was forced into a feature role as a freshman as Smith and Brooks were dealing with injuries. That year, he rushed 217 times for 1,160 yards (second most ever for a Gopher freshman) and nine touchdowns. - Minnesota Football

(DS#22 RB) rSr/2023

RB Mohamed Ibrahim, Minnesota
News Source: Minnesota Football
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07/23/20 - Matthew Trickett, rSr/2023, Minnesota, 5-11, 190 (DS#23 K) + More +

2020 PRESEASON LOU GROZA COLLEGIATE PLACE-KICKER AWARD WATCH LIST: Matthew Trickett, Kent State,...Trickett matched Groza finalist Keith Duncan with an FBS-leading 29-for-34 season. He hit three game-winning field goals, walking off with a 26-23 overtime win over Kennesaw State and a 30-27 victory over Buffalo, followed by a 41-38 win over Ball State. In the Frisco Bowl, he set a school record by going 5-for-5 on field goals, scoring 19 points in a 51-41 win over Utah State. - Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award

(DS#23 K) rSr/2023

K Matthew Trickett, Minnesota
News Source: Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award
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07/14/20 - Tanner Morgan, rSr/2023, Minnesota, 6-0, 204 (DS#21 QB) + More +

Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan made the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award watch list Tuesday. The award, presented annually to the best college football quarterback in the country, has 30 watch list members. Last season, Morgan set the Gophers's single-season records for passing yards (3,253) and passing touchdowns (30). Morgan, a rising junior, was one of 16 semifinalists for this award in 2019, when the Gophers finished 11-2 and No. 10 in the nation. The quarterback is one of nine returners on offense, including receiver Rashod Bateman, who was also a preseason All-America pick. - Minneapolis Star Tribune

(DS#21 QB) rSr/2023

QB Tanner Morgan, Minnesota
News Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
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07/10/20 - Coney Durr, rSr/2022, Minnesota, 5-09, 194 (DS#87 CB) + More +

Coney Durr has skin in the game. After a breakout junior year, the Gophers cornerback would have every reason to hope there will be college football this fall. But even with a personal stake, Durr just doesn't see how it can happen amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "How does fall camp even happen?" Durr tweeted Thursday. "110 guys around each other 12 hours a day for a month straight. Man, it's tough times right now." While the Big Ten announced it plans to play a conference-only schedule this fall, conference commissioner Kevin Warren included the caveat that there might not be a season at all. Major League Soccer restarted with a tournament in Orlando, Fla., this week, and pro baseball, hockey and basketball are gearing up to play over the next few weeks. College sports still has hills to climb.

Dr. Zach Binney, an epidemiologist at Oxford College of Emory University in Atlanta, said programs like the Gophers' can't create "bubbles" on campus the way the NBA, MLS and WNBA are in Florida. "These are young kids that have a lot of interactions outside of the athletics department," Binney said. "They are not just living at home with their families. They are living in dorms. They are interacting with people in classes, outside of classes. Some of them, maybe, want to go to parties - I know that will come as a shock to some people. "There is a lot of contact that takes place on a college campus. I don't know the degree to which you can tamp those down." - Pioneer Press

(DS#87 CB) rSr/2022

CB Coney Durr, Minnesota
News Source: Pioneer Press
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06/21/20 - Tanner Morgan, rSr/2023, Minnesota, 6-0, 204 (DS#21 QB) + More +

The Gophers quarterback will be working with new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Sanford Jr., who joined the program from Utah State in the offseason. One big benefit for Morgan and Sanford is that the offense returns nine of 11 starters, an unprecedented return for a club that ranked No. 4 in the Big Ten in both scoring offense and total offense. Morgan knows having that many starters back can make a huge difference this season. "The experience is huge, and our offensive unit and our team has played a lot of football at a high level," Morgan said. "It's very fortunate that that is something that we have and I'm blessed that I have been able to play a decent amount of football. It definitely helps. But again, there's always ways that we can get better. "So just because we have played football for a while or have the experience doesn't mean we can get complacent. But it definitely helps, it definitely helps the developmental process. Again, we have to continue to strive for perfection knowing we're not going to get there, but ways we can get better, looking forward and not backward."

Morgan said he spent a lot of the offseason focused on being a team leader. "Coach [P.J.] Fleck has done a great job of helping us as leaders be able to apply our culture to our leadership," Morgan said. "He has done a phenomenal job of sending us team meetings in the morning. Those are for optional view, and those are just phenomenal and very inspiring with what we're going through right now. It really helps instill our cultural mind-set, as well." - Minneapolis Star Tribune

(DS#21 QB) rSr/2023

QB Tanner Morgan, Minnesota
News Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
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05/27/20 - Tanner Morgan, rSr/2023, Minnesota, 6-0, 204 (DS#21 QB) + More +

With birds chirping, geese honking and the smell of grilled meats coming from the backyard, Ted Morgan expressed gratitude from his home's front porch in Union, Ky. Earlier this month, the father of the Gophers' All-Big Ten quarterback, Tanner Morgan, said he felt fine but was slurring some of his words. There was concern from a family friend, a nurse, and an emergency room doctor that Ted had suffered a stroke. Tests showed Ted had a brain tumor, and he underwent successful surgery to remove most of it at the Mayo Clinic on May 12. "Want to thank everyone reaching out and praying for my Dad throughout his recent battle with a brain tumor," Tanner tweeted May 14. "Please continue praying, because prayer is powerful."

Ted was discharged from the hospital within days and is scheduled to have further treatments in the coming weeks. "I feel great," Ted Morgan said in an interview Wednesday with the Pioneer Press. "I … didn't loose any of my faculties or anything. We know we are going to be fine." Ted said Mayo Clinic Dr. Joon Uhm told him that the negatives of the tumor are "counterbalanced" by how much of the tumor was removed and how well Ted has recovered. "He was just super encouraged," Ted reported. With the coronavirus closing the University of Minnesota campus and suspending the football team's spring practices and workouts, Tanner has been at home in Kentucky to support his family during this trying time. - Pioneer Press

(DS#21 QB) rSr/2023

QB Tanner Morgan, Minnesota
News Source: Pioneer Press
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05/25/20 - Tanner Morgan, rSr/2023, Minnesota, 6-0, 204 (DS#21 QB) + More +

Morgan put up unprecedented numbers last season - more than 3,000 passing yards and 30 touchdowns - to set the bar really high for his redshirt junior season. But the second-team All-Big Ten quarterback should be able to match that output again; it would keep him in the Heisman Trophy conversation and boost his rising NFL draft status. - St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press

(DS#21 QB) rSr/2023

QB Tanner Morgan, Minnesota
News Source: St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press
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05/04/20 - *Rashod Bateman, Jr/2021, Minnesota, 6-0, 190 (DS#6 WR) + More +

The NFL draft is barely a week in the rearview mirror and is about the furthest thing away on annual sports calendars from happening again, so naturally we're talking now about … the NFL draft? Yes, I've largely ignored all the 2021 draft projections. But now more than ever, anything with a local angle and on-field focus tends to catch my eye. So here's something: The site Foxbet.com created a prop bet with odds on the most likely No. 1 overall pick in 2021. The clear favorite, of course, is Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

But 30 players are listed in all. And down toward the long shots, you'll find a very familiar name: Gophers wide receiver Rashod Bateman, at 100 to 1 odds. Wait, you might be thinking. Didn't Tyler Johnson, the Gophers' other star receiver in 2019, just get drafted in the fifth round? What gives? Well, Bateman has the size (6-2, 200-plus pounds), hands and big-play ability to attract more NFL chatter (even though I think Johnson was a steal for Tampa Bay and will be a very good pro). He's been termed a "dark horse" to be the first receiver taken next year and has shown up as a possible first-round selection on some of those "way-too-early" 2021 mock drafts I've been trying to avoid. - Minneapolis Star Tribune

(DS#6 WR) Jr/2021

WR *Rashod Bateman, Minnesota
News Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
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04/27/20 - Tyler Johnson, Sr/2020, Minnesota, 6-1, 206 (DS#22 WR) + More +

Gophers receiver Tyler Johnson dominated in the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on New Year's Day, and now he's headed back to Florida. The Buccaneers selected Johnson in the fifth round with the 161st overall pick of the NFL draft on Saturday. The North Minneapolis native also will remain teammates with Antoine Winfield Jr., after the Gophers' safety was drafted by the Bucs in the second round Friday. Three more Gophers went later in the draft: Burnsville linebacker Kamal Martin to the Packers with the 175th pick in the fifth round; Eden Prairie linebacker/defensive end Carter Coughlin to the Giants with the 218th pick in the seventh round; and Atlanta nickle back Chris Williamson also to Giants with 247th pick.

The Gophers' five-pack of picks set a new program record for the most in one class since the current seven-round format started in 1994. They had four picks in 2001, '06 and '15. Over that entire span, Minnesota had averaged 1.3 players drafted per year. "This is the first year you're going to start to see … big draft classes come out," Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said. "Whether five guys get drafted, three guys get drafted, it's going to propel us into the future." - Pioneer Press

(DS#22 WR) Sr/2020

WR Tyler Johnson, Minnesota
News Source: Pioneer Press
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04/26/20 - *Antoine Winfield Jr., rSo/2020, Minnesota, 5-09, 203 (DS#2 FS) + More +

When Antoine Winfield Jr. was tackling Auburn players to the turf at Raymond James Stadium almost four months ago, little did he know it was a premonition of his near future. The former Gophers safety went in the second round (45th overall) of the NFL draft Friday to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, becoming his alma mater's highest draft pick since Ra'Shede Hageman went 37th in 2014. The 21-year-old Winfield played his last collegiate game in Tampa in the Outback Bowl on New Year's Day, a dominant win against an SEC powerhouse. Shortly after, the fourth-year sophomore decided to forgo his final two years of eligibility to declare for the draft.

Now he joins a Buccaneers team that's a threat for a deep postseason run after a series of recent moves, including acquiring six-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady and three-time Super Bowl champion tight end Rob Gronkowski. "That means everything," Winfield said of Tampa Bay's deep talent pool. "I was actually just talking to my dad about that, just talking about the players they had. I'm just ready to be that additional piece to help them win a Super Bowl this year. So I'm just extremely excited." Winfield celebrated his drafting at his father's house in The Woodlands, Texas. His father, Antoine Winfield Sr., is a former Vikings players and also the same age as his son's new QB. In fact, the elder Winfield actually once picked off Brady back in 2001. - Minneapolis Star Tribune

(DS#2 FS) rSo/2020

FS *Antoine Winfield Jr., Minnesota
News Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
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04/18/20 - *Antoine Winfield Jr., rSo/2020, Minnesota, 5-09, 203 (DS#2 FS) + More +

It's been 14 years since the University of Minnesota has had a player selected in the first round of the NFL draft. Antoine Winfield Jr. would like to change that on Thursday. Some draft analysts project the safety to go in the opening round of the April 23-25 draft. Many other analysts project him to be a second-round selection. The last Gophers player to go in the first round was running back Laurence Mulroney, at No. 21, to New England in 2006. Since then, they've had two second-round selections - defensive tackle Ra'Shede Hageman (No. 37 overall by Atlanta in 2014) and tight end Maxx Williams (No. 55 by Baltimore in 2015). "That would be incredible, just to go in the first round in general," Winfield Jr. said. "It would mean everything just from the hard work that I put in and especially for Gopher football because there's going to be some more players coming in right behind me."

Winfield's father, cornerback Antoine Winfield Sr., was drafted No. 23 in the first round in 1999 by Buffalo and later played for the Vikings from 2004-12. Let his son explain why he, too, should be selected in the first round. "Because I'm a versatile player," he said. "You can play me anywhere on the back end of the defense. I can blitz, I tackle well. I can play in the post. I can cover slots and tight ends. I create takeaways. … I'm just a great overall player and can affect the game in any way." Last season, Winfield affected games in many different ways, finishing with seven interceptions, fourth in the nation, two forced fumbles and three sacks. He was a unanimous All-American. - Pioneer Press

(DS#2 FS) rSo/2020

FS *Antoine Winfield Jr., Minnesota
News Source: Pioneer Press
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04/15/20 - Tyler Johnson, Sr/2020, Minnesota, 6-1, 206 (DS#22 WR) + More +

Tyler Johnson is trying to be faster. His perceived lack of speed has been the one knock on his portfolio entering the NFL draft. But that doesn't mean he's just been sprinting the 40-yard dash again and again and again for the past four months. Squats. Dead lifts. Bench pressing. Exploding from the three-point stance. Gliding through his first 10 strides. Leaning into the finish. The former Gophers standout receiver has honed those skills and more ahead of learning his professional fate in a week. "It's crazy because your arms correlate with your legs. Nobody even thinks that, but that's something I learned over the past few months," Johnson said. "You don't just do the speed work. That's not where you get faster."

All that effort, and it turns out, Johnson will enter the NFL without ever publicly running the 40-yard dash. He decided to skip the measurement at the scouting combine in Indianapolis back in late February, opting to continue training and debut his time at the Gophers' pro day March 25. But then the coronavirus pandemic shut everything down, leaving Johnson without an opportunity to quash one of his biggest critiques - one that could potentially drop his draft stock. Most experts consider him a Day 3 pick, during Rounds 4 through 7. "It is a little upsetting, honestly, putting in all that hard work throughout the past [months] and was very excited for the progress that I was making," Johnson said. "I felt good, I felt comfortable about what I was going to end up doing on pro day. … But then again, it's out of my control." - Minneapolis Star Tribune

(DS#22 WR) Sr/2020

WR Tyler Johnson, Minnesota
News Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
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04/09/20 - Rodney Smith, rSr/2020, Minnesota, 5-10, 210 (DS#27 RB) + More +

As soon as the Outback Bowl ended Jan. 1, Rodney Smith went back to work. The former Gophers running back ended his six-year college career as the program's all-time leader in all-purpose yards. And despite grinding to those 5,441 yards, he didn't take a break or rest in the offseason. He had NFL dreams to pursue. But that hasn't been a straightforward process. First, he "got a little banged up" in that bowl game, meaning he couldn't compete in front of scouts at the East-West Shrine Bowl on Jan. 23. So he instead turned his focus to the NFL scouting combine at the end of February. But when no invite came, he again shifted attention, to the Gophers' March 25 pro day. Then the coronavirus pandemic shut everything down and, well … "It is definitely frustrating," Smith said.

Smith, back home in Jonesboro, Ga., is trying to make the best of this non-ideal situation. He participated in a "virtual pro day" with Chip Smith, a trainer well-known in NFL circles, and afterward Rodney Smith's agent circulated that video to teams. It included Smith doing everything but the bench press or jumping measurements because of his injury. "It was basically just like training. No adrenaline because you're not performing for anybody. It's basically just a workout," Smith said. "But it was still an opportunity for me to show how I move, how fast I can run." - Minneapolis Star Tribune

(DS#27 RB) rSr/2020

RB Rodney Smith, Minnesota
News Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
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04/02/20 - Tyler Johnson, Sr/2020, Minnesota, 6-1, 206 (DS#22 WR) + More +

Tyler Johnson made a strategic decision to postpone running the 40-yard dash for NFL teams at the combine and instead wait for the Gophers' pro day scheduled for March 25. The COVID-19 pandemic scuttled those plans, forcing teams to evaluate Johnson almost strictly on how he performed in games. What a novel concept. Draft previews knock Johnson's top-end speed. Auburn's defense probably doesn't share that opinion after Johnson torched them repeatedly in the Outback Bowl. Sometimes, the NFL pre-draft buildup becomes mind-numbing because every single aspect of a prospect gets picked apart. Information is vital in decisionmaking, of course, but the degree to which players get judged (and dinged) by their measurements often feels like a case of missing the forest for the trees. Will more draft mistakes happen because teams aren't able to gain extra insight into prospects? Seems likely, especially if there are medical questions. But teams also might avoid falling in love with a player by overvaluing his measurables. Or vice versa. - Minneapolis Star Tribune

(DS#22 WR) Sr/2020

WR Tyler Johnson, Minnesota
News Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
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03/05/20 - Mariano Sori-Marin, rSr/2023, Minnesota, 6-2, 236 (DS#16 ILB) + More +

As the Gophers prepare to start spring football next week, coach P.J. Fleck said the coaches know there will be some rebuilding, even as they carry the momentum from one of the best seasons in program history - an 11-2 finish, capped by a 31-24 victory over Auburn in the Outback Bowl. "We might even get a little younger on defense. As we have gotten older on offense, now we're coming back to be able to build that defense," Fleck said. "We may be a little younger, a little more inexperienced than we were last year. But as a whole, we have to find a way to be better."

The club lost 15 players to graduation last year, nine on defense. "That's where we're going to need a lot of guys to fill in depth," Fleck said. "The Carter Coughlins are not here anymore, the Kamal Martins and Blake Cashmans and Antoine Winfields are gone, Thomas Barber is gone," Fleck said. "Who are going to be the guys that fill in for those roles? A guy like [junior linebacker] Mariano Sori-Marin, who played last year, is going to have a huge role in what we're going to do. [Redshirt sophomore linebacker] Braelen Oliver, who played a lot last year, is going to have a huge role for us as we continue to go this year. He has matured and stepped up. - Minneapolis Star Tribune

(DS#16 ILB) rSr/2023

ILB Mariano Sori-Marin, Minnesota
News Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
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