Happy almost 4th of July.

The McCleod County Chronicle has a nice story on Gopher's junior fullback, Jon Hoese.  The former walk-on has bulked up considerably and is currently the first-string fullback. 

Hoese walked on the University of Minnesota Gophers football team weighing 205 pounds.

Since then, he has become one of head coach Tim Brewster's big men.

Hoese, still a whisker short of his 20th birthday, now is a "true junior" at the U, weighing in at 235 pounds. Not only that, he has earned the right to wear a shirt that lists the numbers 330, 350 and 450 on the front and makes the statement IT'S A BIG MAN'S GAME on the back.

To qualify, Hoese had to meet Brewster's weightlifting specifications for big men at his fullback position: a power-clean lift of 330 pounds, a bench of 350 and a squat of 450.

As you may recall the Gophers switched to a "power run game" right before the Insight Bowl and Hoese was the benefactor of the switch scoring two touchdowns during that game.  Hoese isn't talked about when discussing the 2009 season but he will be a very important cog in the Gopher offense. 

• A.J. Pettersen was named to Baseball American's first team Freshman All-American team.  
• Gopher wrestling has brought in the #1 ranked recruiting class for the second year in a row.  With a long history of getting a lot out of his kids, one would expect J Robinson to have his boys fighting for a national championship again soon.
• Athlon Sports lists Duane Bennett at the top of his list of Big Ten running backs who may be sleepers heading into the season.  The list may be alphabetical but he is on top none-the-less.
• The University of Minnesota is the birthplace of cheerleading so this is a sad day for all of us when Florida International announced they are cutting their cheerleading program in an effort to cut costs.  Unfortunately the author of this post took an unnecessary cheap shot at your Golden Gophers.