clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Minnesota Football: Depth Chart and Injury Report for San Jose State

Changes at QB, LT and more for the Gopher's 11am kickoff against the Spartans of San Jose State.

By Jeffrick
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

OFFENSE

Left Tackle

74 - Marek Lenkiewicz 6-5 289 R-Jr. Tinley Park, Ill. (Victor J. Andrew HS)

OR

78 - Ben Lauer 6-6 302 R-Fr. Plymouth, Minn. (Wayzata HS)

Left Guard

52 - Zac Epping 6-2 321 R-Jr. Kenosha, Wis. (Tremper HS)

73 - Joe Bjorklund 6-5 288 R-So. Rosemount, Minn. (Rosemount HS)

Center

63 - Jon Christenson 6-4 306 R-So. Minnetonka, Minn. (Minnetonka HS)

53 - Tommy Olson 6-4 301 Jr. Mahtomedi, Minn. (Mahtomedi HS)

Right Guard

64 - Caleb Bak 6-3 302 R-Jr. Columbia Heights, Minn. (Concordia Academy)

77 - Foster Bush 6-5 303 R-So. Menasha, Wis. (Menasha HS)

Right Tackle

65 - Josh Campion 6-5 326 R-So. Fergus Falls, Minn. (Fork Union Military Academy)

79 - Jonah Pirsig 6-9 308 R-Fr. Blue Earth, Minn. (Blue Earth Area HS)

Quarterback

7 - Mitch Leidner 6-4 233 R-Fr. Lakeville, Minn. (Lakeville South HS)

9 - Philip Nelson 6-2 215 So. Mankato, Minn. (Mankato West HS)

OR

5- Chris Streveler 6-2 209 Fr. Crystal Lake, Ill. (Marian Central Catholic HS)

Tailback

35 - Rodrick Williams Jr. 5-11 235 So. Lewisville, Texas (Lewisville HS)

OR

27 - David Cobb 5-11 225 Jr. Killeen, Texas (Ellison HS)

20- Donnell Kirkwood 5-10 233 R-Jr. Delray Beach, Fla. (Atlantic)

H-Back/Fullback

30 - Mike Henry 6-1 231 R-Sr. Mahtomedi, Minn. (Mahtomedi HS)

OR

88 - Maxx Williams 6-4 254 R-Fr. Waconia, Minn. (Waconia HS)

Y

83 - Drew Goodger 6-5 265 So. Shawnee Mission, Kan. (Northwest HS)

85 - Lincoln Plsek 6-4 265 So. Waco, Texas (Reicher HS)

Z

14 - Isaac Fruechte 6-3 204 R-Jr. Caledonia, Minn. (Rochester CTC)

1 - KJ Maye 5-10 197 So. Mobile, Ala. (Murphy HS)

OR

84 - Victor Keise 6-1 188 R-Sr. Coral Springs, Fla. (North Broward Prep)

H

18 - Derrick Engel 6-2 187 R-Sr. Chaska, Minn. (Winona State)

17 - Logan Hutton 6-1 181 R-Jr. La Marque, Texas (La Marque HS)

X

4 - Donovahn Jones 6-3 190 Fr. Stockbridge, Ga. (Dutchtown HS)

82 - Drew Wolitarsky 6-3 208 Fr. Santa Clarita, Calif. (Canyon County HS)

DEFENSE

End

98 - Michael Amaefula 6-2 244 Jr. Arlington, Texas (Bowie HS)

95 - Hank Ekpe 6-5 251 Fr. Lewisville, Texas (Lewisville HS)

Tackle

46 - Cameron Botticelli 6-5 290 R-Jr. Milwaukee, Wis. (Marquette University HS)

92 - Roland Johnson 6-1 286 Sr. Camden, S.C. (Butler CC)

Nose

99 - Ra'Shede Hageman 6-6 311 R-Sr. Minneapolis, Minn. (Washburn HS)

97 - Scott Ekpe 6-4 281 So. Lewisville, Texas (Lewisville HS)

End

55 - Theiren Cockran 6-6 238 R-So. Homestead, Fla. (Homestead HS)

91 - Alex Keith 6-3 237 So. Columbia, Mo. (Hickman HS)

Strongside Linebacker

57 - Aaron Hill 6-2 231 R-Sr. St. Charles, Mo. (Lutheran HS)

35 - Dominic Schultz 6-1 236 R-So. Port Huron, Mich. (Port Huron HS)

Middle Linebacker

5 - Damien Wilson 6-2 254 Jr. Gloster, Miss. (Jones County CC)

50 - Jack Lynn 6-3 234 R-Fr. Lake Zurich, Ill. (Lake Zurich HS)

Weakside Linebacker

9 - James Manuel 6-2 225 Sr. Indianapolis, Ind. (Warren Central HS)

26 - De'Vondre Campbell 6-5 225 R-So. Fort Myers, Fla. (Hutchinson CC)

Cornerback

31 - Eric Murray 6-0 194 So. Milwaukee, Wis. (Riverside University HS)

3 - Martez Shabazz 5-11 172 Sr. DeSoto, Texas (Trinity Valley CC)

Safety

21 - Brock Vereen 6-0 202 Sr. Valencia, Calif. (Valencia HS)

11 - Antonio Johnson 6-0 207 So. Cleveland, Ohio (Shaker Heights HS)

Safety

2 - Cedric Thompson 5-10 211 Jr. Calipatria, Calif. (Calipatria HS)

7 - Damarius Travis 6-2 208 So. Pensacola, Fla. (Pensacola HS)

Cornerback

13 - Derrick Wells 6-0 206 Jr. Lehigh Acres, Fla. (Lehigh HS)

22 - Jeremy Baltazar 6-0 197 Sr. Corona, Calif. (Blinn College)

SPECIAL TEAMS

Kicker

36 - Chris Hawthorne 6-6 200 Sr. Raleigh, N.C. (NC State)

33 - Andrew Harte 6-0 180 Fr. Downers Grove, Ill. (Montini Catholic HS)

OR

28 - Ryan Santoso 6-5 260 Fr. Pace, Fla. (Pace HS)

Punter

37 - Peter Mortell 6-2 195 R-So. Green Bay, Wis. (Notre Dame Academy)

94 - Christian Eldred 6-3 185 Jr. Melbourne, Australia (Monash University)

OR

41 - Dan Orseske 6-3 205 R.-Sr Chicago, Ill. (Brother Rice HS)

OR

28 - Ryan Santoso 6-5 260 Fr. Pace, Fla. (Pace HS)

Long Snapper

48 - Jake Filkins 6-2 240 Sr. Prescott, Wis. (Prescott)

96 - Dave Ramlet 6-2 238 R-Jr. Appleton, Wis. (Xavier HS)

OR

40 - Jared Hartman 6-3 229 R-So. Falcon Heights, Minn. (Cretin-Derham Hall HS)

Kick Return

15 - Marcus Jones 5-8 166 Jr. Wake Forest, N.C. (Wake Forest-Rolesville)

11 - Antonio Johnson 6-0 207 So. Cleveland, Ohio (Shaker Heights, Ohio)

Punt Return

15 - Marcus Jones 5-8 166 Jr. Wake Forest, N.C. (Wake Forest-Rolesville)

1 - KJ Maye 5-10 197 So. Mobile, Ala. (Murphy)

INJURY REPORT

Student-Athlete Status for Sept. 14 game vs. Western Illinois

9- Philip Nelson, Questionable

47 - Alex Bisch, Out

56 - Nick Rallis, Out

29 - Briean Boddy, Calhoun Out for the season

CHANGES FROM LAST WEEK

* The most obvious is Mitch Leidner starts at QB as Philip Nelson's hammy isn't good enough to go. Or does he? Nelson is listed as "questionable" on the Injury Report and gets the OR status as a starter, but I'd be surprised to not see #7 behind center to start the game. I don't see much, if any, drop off here with Leidner at the helm. He ran well last week and was plenty accurate completing 7-of-8 passes. True frosh Chris Streveler hits the depth chart for the first time, and though he's listed third, it's likely if anything happens to Leidner, he would play instead of Nelson. At least we think so.

* Ben Lauer replaces Marek Lenkiewicz at LT according to the coaches, but not on the official depth chart. Hmmmm, a ploy? Not much to be gained in deceiving the opposition at who your starting left tackle is going to be, so we'll see who's right- the depth chart or, you know, the coaches who made the depth chart. Last week was the first time we saw Lauer listed as an "OR" at LT, and he replaced Marek only a few series in and and played the rest of the game. Per Nate Sandell, Coach Limegrover mentioned Lauer's size advantage of almost 15 pounds over Lenkiewicz as a factor. Perhaps they saw Lenkiewicz getting pushed around more than they liked and decided to make a change?

* Berkley Edwards is no longer on the injured list, but doesn't yet factor into the 2 deep. We know now from Coach Kill they're considering redshirting him, so don't expect to see #32 out there this week, and perhaps at all this season. Donnell Kirkwood shows up on the two deep for the first time since week 1, and sounds like they'll work him in slowly.

* S Cedric Thompson was a late scratch last week, which gave ample playing time to sophomores Demarius Travis and Antonio Johnson. This week Thompson is listed as the starter again and unlike last week, there's no OR with him and Travis. We'll see how that plays out.

* For the first time this season there's no OR with the middle linebacker- Damien Wilson played pretty much every snap, so it looks like as of now he is your starting Mike linebacker and Jack Lynn is now firmly entrenched as the backup. And that's it for defensive changes, showing the coaches are comfortable and confident with the two deep they've put together here. And after last week's lock down performance against the Fighting Teachers, they probably should be.

More from The Daily Gopher:

More From The Daily Gopher