Former Gopher center Tommy Olson was on the Power Trip Morning Show on 100.3 KFAN in the Twin Cities this morning for his semi-regular appearance with the guys. This morning he leaking out a little news that no one had really heard about the way the 2015 Gopher Football offense might look. You can hear it for yourself beginning at the 89:30 mark in the podcast below.
I was texting the guys last night asking how the first day of spring ball went, and they all told me that I wouldn't even recognize the offense because they are primarily a no-huddle team now. And its really fast paced, and they signal in the plays from the sideline, and they are totally switching up from a huddle, power team like we were with Cobb.
If true, this would be a significant change in offensive philosophy for the Gophers. Olson did go on to say that this may just be something they are playing with in spring ball, and it may not continue through the entire season, but it is still something drastically different from what Jerry Kill and Matt Limegrover have shown us and preached since taking over the Gopher job in 2011. Olson also said that in his talking to some of the other guys, that they like it and that it helps them to catch the defense off-guard.
Olson also mentioned that whenever the Gophers would do this in a game, it always worked and allowed them to gian positive yards. The most obvious time this was employed was late in the second quarter of the game at Michigan where Mitch Leidner led a nearly flawless two-minute drill style 12 play, 92 yard drive go get the go-ahead field goal as time ran out in the first half in Ann Arbor.
Olson went on to describe how the Gophers would get the calls in from the sideline. he said that the offensive graduate assistant (now former Gopher QB Adam Weber) would signal in the play to the offensive line players, while another coach would signal the quarterback to tell the play to the rest of the offensive skill players. He described it as similar to the offense Auburn used in 2013 on their way to a loss in the National Championship Game to Florida State.
We will have to see if any other information on these potential changes leak out, or if they can been by the general public when they can begin to go to Minnesota's spring practices beginning this Saturday. Either way, this will be something to pay attention to in the future.