With spring practices starting for the Minnesota Golden Gophers, there are plenty of questions facing the program as they begin preparations for next fall. Coming off a are coming off a 9-4 season that saw the program win their first four games before losing three and finishing by winning five of their six games.
It was the third time in three full seasons that the Gophers won nine or more games and the fourth time since 2016. Under head coach P.J. Fleck, the program has become consistently one of the best in the Big Ten West and a borderline top-25 team.
If the Gophers hope to make it the fourth straight (full) season of nine or more wins, they'll need to begin to answer these key questions this spring.
1) Who will step up at running back?
With Mohamed Ibrahim off to the NFL and Treyson Potts in the transfer portal, the starting running back spot for the Gophers is wide open. With their top two hitters gone, Bryce Williams is the next man up after posting 51 carries for 249 yards and three touchdowns a year ago.
Other potential options for the Gophers' offense include Western Michigan transfer Sean Tyler, redshirt freshman tailback Zach Evans, and second-year back Jordan Nubin. Of course, there is also four-star running back Darius Taylor, who was a mid-year enrollee. It wouldn't be surprising if he saw playing time throughout the year but could he potentially be a day-one starter? It seems unlikely, but we can't entirely rule it out.
No matter who the starting running back is, it will be a big challenge to replace the 1,665 yards and 20 touchdowns that Ibrahim rushed for a season ago.
2) Can the offensive line replace three starters for a second straight season?Â
Last season, the Gophers had to replace a trio of offensive linemen and it worked out rather well. Now, they'll have to do it again as they replace the likes of center John Michael Schmitz as well as right guard Chuck Filiaga and left guard Alex Ruschmeyer. This season, the Gophers will have to do it with a lesser experienced core of offensive linemen, making it all the more challenging.
You can read more on the Gophers' offensive line entering the spring, here.
3) Can Athan Kaliakmanis take that next step? Â
If Minnesota is going to build upon the quality 2022 season, quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis will have to take that all-important next step. He had his fair share of ups-and-downs completing 60 of 111 passing attempts for 1,382 yards and nine touchdowns to five interceptions.
He showed a lot of promise in his first taste of extended action but there is plenty to clean up in his game as well. He struggled on non-play action pass plays where he completed just 25-of-55 attempts for 364 yards and four interceptions. A much different stat line compared to his stat line on play action, completing 28-of-47 passing attempts for 502 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. He'll also need to improve his game when under pressure, but that should come with more playing time and experience.
Either way, Kaliakmanis will be one of the make-or-break points of the Gophers' offense this season and it is imperative he takes that next step this spring.
4) What will the Gophers' offense look like under co-offensive coordinators Matt Simon and Greg Harbaugh?Â
With Kirk Ciarocca headed to Rutgers, P.J Fleck decided to promote both tight ends coach Greg Harbaugh to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach while also naming wide receivers coach Matt Simon a co-offensive coordinator. While the Gophers' game plan on offense has usually been on the ground, they have shown the willingness to pass the ball heavier, such as in the 2019 season.
The ultimate question is what will the Gophers' offense under Harbaugh and Simon look like? Will it be similar to the Ciarocca offense? Or will they go for a more up-tempo offense looking to spread the ball around more to their receivers and look to put the ball in the hands of multiple playmakers?
We won't get a great idea of that until the spring game but it is still one of the more intriguing questions facing the program heading into this spring.
5) Will all the moving parts fit?
It's safe to say this offseason has seen a lot of moving parts for the Gophers. They've seen the departure of several key players due to eligibility and the NFL, have seen their depth take a hit via the transfer portal, and have also had a string of coaching changes. A key part of building success is continuity and over the Fleck era, the Gophers have done a good job of that. That being said, you'll have an offseason like this every now and then.
How will the Gophers as a whole react to all the changes? Will the new coaching hires fit in with the culture that has been established in the program? How will the transfer portal addition fit into each position group? These are all questions that will be answered this spring and while not seem overly important will be a major factor in the program's success in 2023.
============================
- Talk about it INSIDE GOPHER NATION.
- Follow us on Twitter: @MinnesotaRivals, @AlexCarlsonTGR, @SeanW_Rivals, @DylanCC_FB, @JaredHalus
- SUBSCRIBE to The Gopher Report.
