Post - Signing Day, Pre - Spring Practice Depth Charts for 2010 - Fullbacks

by JG2112 on Feb 5, 2010 1:00 PM CST in Gopher Football

Previously: Quarterbacks

Again, we're reviewing the Gopher depth charts in anticipation of Spring Practice, and we're also adding in the new commits. First off, thanks for the civility in your comments in the quarterbacks thread. Near the end of the 2009 season I think everyone was exasperated with the performances of Fisch, Weber, and the lack of time given to Gray. There are functional arguments for all options for 2010, and they are well-represented in your comments. Let's give them a chance to succeed in 2010 with new coaching.

Now, onto the fullbacks:

The Starter - Jon Hoese (~~Junior~~ Senior) - he had a solid season, with 29 carries for 103 yards and 1 touchdown. It has to be mentioned that he was operating at a disadvantage due to the horrid offensive line play, which often left him blocking D-linemen instead of linebackers. At six foot two, two hundred and thirty-three pounds, he might be a teeny bit small for a FB, but his effectiveness should increase in 2010.

The Others - Nick Rengel, Willie Schneider, Ed Cotton. All freshmen, and I presume, all redshirted because I don't recall them seeing the field.

The Wildcard - Ra'Shede Hageman? This is a shot in the dark, but Hageman has gained 20 pounds from last fall and is now near 290 pounds. Although he is slated for the defensive line, he could be a fine option in goalline and short yardage situations and has obvious experience blocking on offense.

The New Guy(s)? The only incoming RB that could really grow into a FB role is Lamonte Edwards, and I don't think that's why they recruited him. With 3 FBs in the 2009 class, I don't see one incoming outside of walk-ons (which, honestly, is a preferable way to stock the FB position).

Overall grade - B-. The options are not overpowering, and Hoese's ineffectiveness last year was largely due to D-linemen being in his face. Such is the life of a FB. If Hoese and others are able to get free blocking on the second level, Minnesota will be able to break many more 20+ yard rushes in 2010, and sustain more drives.

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JG2112

I appreciate your pre-spring rundown. Just for consistency purposes, you meant Senior with Hoese, right?? As in, one year of eligibility left.

by Texas Gopher on Feb 5, 2010 1:43 PM CST reply actions

I like this series of articles. It’s easy to lose track of all the guys who’ve been developing further down the depth chart.

Buck Bravo

by Buck Bravo on Feb 5, 2010 2:25 PM CST via mobile reply actions

Ya

This is exactly the type of article I have been looking for for a long time. It is so hard to keep track of the Gophers (or any college level program) with almost daily defections, disqualifications, ect. It seems out of all the players we hear about on signing day, only about 2/3 of them ever actually end up making the roster. And out of those, only about 1/3 ever even see significant playing time. In order to effectively follow the team, I would love to see more articles like this to keep track of player movement (or more importantly, who’s left).

by Jayrome007 on Feb 6, 2010 12:04 PM CST up reply actions

Texas

you’re right re: Hoese. Good catch. edit made.

by JG2112 on Feb 5, 2010 2:58 PM CST reply actions

Hoese

And Hoese was a walk-on who played special teams as a freshman and sophomore before being moved to fullback when Tim Davis was hired before the Kansas Insight bowl game.

Jon is a kid from our area and I’ve talked with him a bunch over the years. He’s a good kid with the old cliched “motor never stops running” attitude. Since he is an area kid, I single him out a lot and JG is right on, he was forced to block defensive lineman that got through instead of hitting an outside linebacker on numerous occasions. For his size, he does a good job lead blocking.

When talking about the running game, we need to remember how poor our RBs were a year ago. Bennett was coming off a blown knee, Salamon was a non-factor, the departed Whaley was a freshman (who got shot in the leg) and an over-performing Eskridge (post-Bennett injury). Not to mention how poor our outside blocking was. Besides Tow-Arnett, I didn’t see much blocking going on from our tight ends, who escape my mind.

I think Hoese will be key this season. I’d like to see a few more FB dives on short-yardage situations. Justin Valentine used to have a serviceable role doing this.

by HutchLeaderGuy on Feb 5, 2010 3:38 PM CST reply actions