Minnesota Football: TDG interviews Mohamed Ibrahim at B1G Media Days

As part of last week’s Big Ten Media Days, The Daily Gopher had the opportunity to speak with and ask a handful of questions of each of the three student-athlete representatives that accompanied head coach P.J. Fleck to Chicago.

Next up at the podium: Mohamed Ibrahim.

On when things started clicking for him last season:

“When I knew I could be something special was definitely after the Ohio State game. I knew that if I put time into it that I could be special in this league. I would say the whole team clicked after the Illinois loss. I would say we got focused and we understood that if we don’t change things now, we won’t make a bowl game, we won’t take these seniors to have their final game.”

On how the offensive line started to gel after Daniel Faalele was inserted at right tackle:

“You could definitely feel that, ‘Okay, this guy can move. He can get 15 yards down the field.’ Definitely after the Ohio State game. I believe the tight ends also had a big part of that, because they understood what they were doing and how they could impact the game by blocking and catching.”

On his relationships with Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks:

“They were like my big guys when I got here. They took me under their wings. They taught me everything I know. I was cheering for them when they were on the field. And when they got hurt, they were cheering for me. There was never any hate given when I was doing good or when they were doing good. They were always trying to teach me. It was always like a big brother, little brother type of relationship.”

On his mentality this season having to share carries with Smith and Brooks:

“I believe that we won’t even get mad at each other because we understand that we’re trying to help somebody else out and that we can actually impact them. If I’m taking 34 carries, I might get hurt, but if they can help me out, if [Rodney] can take half of it or [Shannon] can take half of it, I think that will be pretty good.”

On what he is working to improve this offseason:

“I’ve been doing a lot of balance beams. I’ve been trying to work on my balance. Speed and strength are also areas that I can always improve on.”