2024 Minnesota Season Preview : Will PJ Fleck & Darius Taylor turn the Gophers AROUND?

Intro 2023 it was an up and down season Hills and Valleys for the Minnesota Golden Gophers but can PJ Fleck get Minnesota back to that eight or nine win level in 2024 Ryan Burns of goer Illustrated in Minnesota 247 joins me to talk all things 2024 Minnesota Golden goers football from LA to piscatway all big 10 Open all year long this is Big 10 10 after a little bit of a Down 2023 the What does UP and DOWN 2023, tell us about 2024? Minnesota Golden Gophers are looking to get back to a winning season under PJ Fleck once again to talk all things 2024 Minnesota Golden Gophers football we welcome in Ryan Burns from goer Illustrated the Minnesota site as a part of the 247 Sports Network also in podcast land with gopher radio and the pair and a spare podcast Ryan when I look at 2023 I think there's a little bit of a mixed bag maybe some mixed feelings uh in gopher land a little bit they were finally able to defeat the Iowa Hawke guys under PJ Fleck they beat Nebraska right so those are two big wins right off the bat but they do finish five and seven but they find their next great running back in Darius Taylor and yet again he's kind of banged up throughout the season and doesn't complete the full year Athan kymz inconsistencies kind of rear their head once again he ends up transferring out how would you kind of handicap last season and then how that kind of flows into 2024 it was such an odd year to be to be honest with you from that opening game against Nebraska where Minnesota stages a late fourth quarter comeback ends up winning and then has success they're up three scores in the fourth quarter against Northwestern find a way to blow it and then they're not able to obviously hang on and then you also have the Illinois game where Minnesota's winning up a touchdown backup quarterback comes in fourth down three plays later 85 yards later they end up losing the game and that's where I almost look at it yes they were five and SED up ended up winning the bll game six and seven but they should have been seven and five if you win a game on the road where you're up three scores in the fourth quarter and then you don't make the Illinois backup quarterback look like Johnny Unitus in the final three plays of the game and then you don't go cover two where Isaiah Williams is the only thing that Illinois can throw the ball to very talented slot receiver and you ask a linebacker to carry him 40 yards down the field it's an interesting choice but that's where it's just a season where they didn't finish and that's the frustrating part about it they are able to finally get over the hump against I which you mentioned was very important uh finally able to beat Kirk Fen but I think we'd look at last season a little bit differently if they able to finish those two games but the reality was they weren't able to too many injuries on the defensive side of the ball where that really just killed anything resembling a run defense they gave up way too many explosive plays and then offensively to your point Darius Taylor's really good but when you give Darius Taylor as a true freshman 92 touches in 14 days turns out his body can't withstand that kind of workload and then aan was very inconsistent we'll see if he's able to find it at Ruckers with Kirk Ro now back with him but just too much inconsistency from game one all the way through Game 12 all right let's start first on the offense and at the quarterback position you bring in Max Is Max Brosmer the ANSWER at QB? brosmer from New Hampshire now transitioning from FCS to Big 10 that's a pretty sizable jump but when you turn on the tape of Max at un it looks pretty good and then you look at his stats yearby year at UNH also looks pretty good A lot of people in gopher fans are kind of looking at this as an upgrade at the quarterback position what does Max bring to the table that might make this seem like an upgrade in the passing game this year well I would say off the field first the biggest thing he brings is a lot of leadership a lot of um you know I hate the cliches of you know watches a bunch of film he grinds it stuff like that but it certainly has been made apparent to me that the moment Max brosmer got here he was immediately in the film room first one to first one in last last one to leave he's putting in all the time with his receivers his offensive line his running backs he's sitting in in all those position meetings trying to figure out what does each one of them do really well and so he can try to figure out how to continue to work with offensive coordinator Greg Harbo to integrate a better passing game because you know what as I do this passing game has been a travesty for years they haven't been able to go to it they tried to last year to start the season against Nebraska they threw it 40 plus times they thought they were going to be able to and then Athan couldn't handle that um and that's where with Max brosmer now I think the biggest thing you're going to see is when you look on the look at the tape from New Hampshire was a short passing game he's a guy who loves to throw it to the tailbacks and the tight ends now it also helps that his best player on the on the New Hampshire offense the last couple of years was Dylan lob who if fans don't know was a fifth round draft pick of the Las Vegas Raiders as his running back so not often in the ca you get to have many NFL draft picks so I would imagine that's part of why he threw it to the running back so much but Darius Taylor is more than capable CA benera their transfer they took from Ohio caught 50 passes uh during his time there I think you're going to see them try to integrate more because if you're defending a Minnesota offense historically here at least recently you know it's going to be inside mid and outside Zone and probably a play action deep shot well if they can just get something resembling a short passing game to where if on on the days this year where you can't run the football if you can just get to second and five second and six second and four that play sheet for Greg Harbo is going to get a lot longer if you can be in second and third manageable so if they're going to take a step forward I think that's where it's going to be but to your point you know Max brosmer I think is going to be an upgrade you look at even the Senior Bowl again it's not the end all Beall they just released their preseason watch list there were six big 10 quarterbacks on there and Max brosmer was one of them so I know a lot of people are skep of the transition from FCS to Big 10 I'm among them but I would say that if Minnesota can just get consistent quarterback play that's certainly going to be an upgrade for this team everybody's looking at that 2019 season right because that was the balanced Will Minnesota be MORE explosive? attack and of course that was the best Minnesota season in in recent memory and since then it's become so heavy run you mentioned the short passing game that you're that you're confident in and when you look at Max and what he was able to do at un and AG what about stretching the football down the field do you think that this is going to be a passing game that is going to look down to the medium and long passing Concepts a little bit more or is this going to be you know maybe pretty similar to what we've seen in the past well I even think back to that 2019 season I wouldn't say they threw it with a bunch of volume they were just incredibly efficient and explosive now that's what happens when you have Tyler Johnson and Rashad baitman to NFL draft picks two guys that were both First Team all big 10 I think that's the first time that's happened in Minnesota history and if not big 10 history where two receivers from the same school um end up on the first team all big 10 list which is crazy to say considering the amount of talent that Ohio State puts out especially receiver wise on a given year I know that was true back in 2019 but to your point I think they're going to want to be more explosive it's one of the areas where Minnesota really struggled last year was they couldn't generate enough explosive plays on offense now if you can have a more balanced Outlook which I'll say this I think Minnesota throws more this year than they have in any other year in the Fleck era now that's dependent upon Max brosmer being consistent which I'm going to expect him to be able to but they're going to need somebody not named Daniel Jackson to step up Minnesota's Lan all big 10 uh pass catcher returning he's very talented and he's going to get a bunch of targets I mean even last year he had a 35% Target share I mean he's seeing 10 12 14 targets a game but if Minnesota's going to throw 28 times there's still another 50% of the targets they got to go somewhere and you're losing most of your top pass catchers from last year so the question comes down to for me if they're going to become more explosive if they're going to take more shots down the field does Charlotte transfer Elijah Spencer find it in year two was very productive in his early years at Charlotte transfers to Minnesota only catches nine balls last year he's going to be expected to take a step forward this fall someone like lamei Brockington the hero of the 2022 Wisconsin game where he takes a slant to the house fourth quarter to win it or even some younger guys like Tyler Williams the transfer they took from Georgia maybe someone like new ha a red shirt freshman they need guys to step up if they're going to be able to stretch the field more so true that Beyond Daniel Jackson they need something if they don't have something they could What makes Darius Taylor SPECIAL? maybe lean a little bit more into that run game and let's talk about that run game of course the emergence last year of Darius Taylor when I watch him and really the games that he was able to be explosive the games that he was actually on the field for last year you can definitely see one of the big 10's best running backs he could be I should say um this upcoming season what about him makes him such a great back he's just so explosive to me uh for a guy that's six foot plus 200 lounds plus you put on the tape of what he did against Northwestern or North Carolina or in the bowl game he's able to make men Miss in a variety of different ways he can run through you or he can run around you whatever that may be and he's so good in yards after contact I mean I think of that fourth down run against Northwestern where he bounces off very experienced Northwestern linebacker in the hole spins out of it runs away for a touchdown I would love to be able to see Darius Taylor get 200 touches this fall I would love to be able to see Darius Taylor playing 10 plus games because if he does he's going to be an all big 10 running back there's no doubt about it in my mind but I think Minnesota's now understood that as I mentioned earlier 92 touches in 14 14 days and then he gets injured immediately uh pretty pretty quickly into that Iowa game after that you can't expect a young man like that to be able to carry the load which is why they brought in three different transfer running backs I think to trying to to be able to get him around 20 touches a game that's still plenty of Touches for him you know 15 to 17 carries three three to five Targets in the passing game keeping him healthy and keeping him fresh is going to be a huge focal point but he is a very gifted Runner I mean we've seen some really good running backs in the last decade from the University of Minnesota guys like David Cobb Rodney Smith Mo Ibraham uh Shannon Brooks among them I mean there's been a lot of talented backs and I think Darius if he can find Health in 2024 is going to start to pencil his name with some of those really good players a big reason why Max brosmer at quarterback and a lot of these running Can Gopher OL be STRENGHT of offense? backs are excited is because what's in front of them the offensive line when you start to look at maybe some big 10 offensive lines you can see why Minnesota fans are excited because they've got a really good group coming back arante iy started all games at left tackle the last two season you look to the other side and this is going to make Max brosmer smile from ear to ear Quin Carrol started every game at right tackle the last two years the Adina Minnesota native transferred over from Notre Dame a couple of years back he was honorable mention all big 10 you look to the middle Tyler Cooper started 11 games at left guard how about Martz Lewis started every game at Right Guard do you think the offensive line kind of holds the key of what of how good this offense can be in 2024 it needs to be a strength for sure I mean they return four of their five starters up front and the fifth guy would be Greg Johnson who started games for them and he's now going to be penil in at Center so it's just going to be about how do they continue to miss just kind of figure out these moving parts and what I mean by that is to your point I think they're going to have the best left tackle that they've had in the Fleck ERA with Aron UR I mean to your point he started the last couple of seasons was all big 10 last year I think he is very gifted uh someone if he takes another step forward this fall he's going to be a top you know probably a day two pick next year he's got that type of ability you mentioned Quinn Carrol Minnesota is really trying to move him inside this year it's where he's been above average according to the Pro Football Focus grades as a run blocker but he's struggled in pass protection he's given up the most pressures on this offensive line the last two years and so they're going to try to move him inside to guard where at right tackle then it's going to be a battle between Martez Lewis Aluma NY is a transfer they took from utap or I think probably my projected starter there right now is a red shared freshman by the name of Philip Daniels um we'll see how that all works forward in in through fall camp but to your point I mean they're very old up front they should be outside of potentially right tackle and Center there with Greg Johnson in his second year potentially Philip Daniels and it in his second year at right tackle but they're going to be old they're going to be experienced and you know with a Brian Callahan L offensive line I think their claim to fame has been at least these last few years all five starters have been at least honorable mention here in the Big 10 and if that's the case or if Quinn Carroll can take a jump in his last year here on the inside and become all big 10 Max brosmer these running backs and these pass catchers are going to benefit How good can Gopher DL be? from that let start first on the defensive line really when we talk about position group um on this defense there are some things to like right you return the two guys that led you in sacks and tackles for lost last season that's Danny strio uh and JN Joiner you bring a HomeTown kid back Jackson Howard went to LSU for a year now he's coming back you've got Jaylen Logan reading uh kind of in the middle how do you expect this defensive line to kind of shake out this year they should be the strength of this defense and then they need to be because Minnesota's got some brand new safeties they're going to be working in I think you also look at corner but defensive line wise they need these guys to be as good as they should be because they returned six of their eight guys from their defensive rotation from last year and to your point they also add in Jackson Howard from LSU now I'm probably a little bit lower than consensus on him for 2024 specifically um again it's just his second year in college football he's only a red shirt freshman I don't have lofty expectations for him immediately he's going to have to beat out Carter men's and and U some other players there at the rush end position but if they can get 300 snaps out of out of the young man from Robin stale Cooper there I mean that would be a huge get for them but to me it comes down to J Joiner is really really good he's one of the best pass rushers in America when you look at the Pro Football Focus pass rush win rate I mean can he get some other help because I can assure you every opposing offensive line coach and every opposing offensive coordinator is going to be sending a tight end or a running back to chip him on most of these passing Downs well that's great but that's going to open up one-on-one opportunities for other guys like Danny strigo Devin Eastern Jaylen Logan reading among others along this defensive line I even think a guy like Anthony Smith can take a big jump here hopefully in year three because he looks the part and he when he got his opportunities here to play 300 snaps for that defensive line last fall he showed flashes but if they can get consistency from someone not J jinr in the pass rush that would be massive especially on the interior I mean especially in college football if you can get interior pressure on a quarterback I mean the whole thing just goes pair shaped in a hurry for whatever the college quarterback is so as great and that can only help as well J Joiner which part of the reason why you look at his stats last year so many pressures so many hurries and not enough sacks well if the quarterback can just step up in the pocket and he can just step up in and around J Joiner bending the edge I mean there's only so much value in that pressures and hurries are valuable but if you can get interior pressure from someone like Devon Eastern or Jaylen Logan reading or we'll see if they can again in these Cory heatherman Blitz packages potentially get aamb B Gap pressure it's going to be big but I know JW Joiner is an all big 10 caliber player but it's Ken the Devon Easterns and the Jaylen Logan readings Danny striggow Anthony Smiths of the world take that jump from they played a bunch of football last fall now can they play at an above average to really good level in the Big 10 is going to help dictate their success boy there's a big reason why Big 10 programs were looking to spend some big time money on defensive Can Minnesota REPLACE Tyler Nubin? tackles right because that is an important part um to your defense no question about that we mentioned the loss that was Joe rosi right a loss that is certainly within that category is losing Tyler nuban at safety maybe an all-time gopher uh back there in that secondary this was a defense you mentioned injuries that can certainly contributed to things it was a 10th rank passing defense uh in the Big 10 uh last season you can't replace a guy like Tyler nuban but what other pieces can you expect to attempt to fill the shoes that kind of Tyler left behind at the safety spot yeah Minnesota safety development has been really good under PJ flck I mean you look at the last two free safeties you go from Antoine Winfield Jr to Tyler nuban pretty good now I think people have to remember in the early years of Antoine Winfield and even the early years of Tyler nubin there were growths that had to happen development as you know in college football is not linear especially in those early years you're I think this year as you see Minnesota try to figure out what does life look like at free safety is it going to be Coleman Bryson is it GNA be Carrie Brown is it going to be All-American uh Coy perit coming in Minnesota's highest rated recruit from this last recruiting class who they beat out Ryan day in Ohio State for at the last minute it's just whoever this guy is going to be I would just temper expectations for year one as the starter there's going to be flashes I think Minnesota feels pretty good specifically about Coleman Bryson or Carri Brown there but we're talking about a guy who is a thirdy year player in Colemen Bryson and then Carrie Brown who started the bowl game for them there with nuben sitting out is going to be a second year player these guys have to just play football and understand what they can get away with what they can't how you know translating coming down into the box to make that open field tackle is going to look versus taking that center field approach over the top and pass game I mean I just think for the safety position there's going to be some learning curves there but I do think they have some bodies it's just getting those bodies up to speed you know as early as that North Carolina game I think is going to be a tough test for safey Coach Danny Collins Justin wall Who STARTS opposite Justin Walley? seems to have that quarterback one spot locked in man it seems like he's been playing football forever here here at Minnesota uh but what about the other side and maybe the nickel spots where do you kind of see who do you kind of see kind of filling in uh those spots in the secondary yeah for Justin Wally I think it's a big year I mean it's his last year here at Minnesota he's going to be a four-year starter but that growth we were looking to see last year between year two is the starter to year three I don't know that the step was as big as many hope for including myself there were inconsistencies where I think back to that Northwestern game getting beat in a double move before halftime that can't happen especially from a very veteran corner and then I mean recency bias obviously a thing but in the bowl game against Bowling Green they went at Justin Wally and they had success and so that's where I would love to see between year three now and year four that all big 10 caliber Corner really show up consistently where he's a playmaker really good in the Run game now on the other side of things Minnesota loses a transfer corner by the name of Trey Jones who graduates they took another one from the portal who's expected to be the starter a young man by the name of Ethan Robinson someone who was all CAA for Bucknell a healthy Cody Lindberg is so How BIG of an IMPACT with Cody Lindenburg make? key for Minnesota in the middle of that defense right at that linebacker spot as we mentioned he kind of missed a lot of time uh last season that certainly affect the way Minnesota uh approached maybe the defensive side of the ball if he's ready to go what kind of boost that that give this Minnesota defense if Cody lindenberg is healthy Cody lindenberg is the best player on this defense and I think he's in the same tier as J Joiner to be quite Frank with you I think that if he can just prove his health I think in a couple years he's going to be be an NFL draft pick I mean he is everything you want a linebacker to be he's 6'2 plus 240 pounds he can run sideline to sideline he can carry tight ends or running backs in the passing game it's just about health I mean he has all the physical attributes in the world and he's going to be the leader of this defense he's going to be calling the defense now with the helmet communication from the defensive coordinator he's going to have the one with the Green Dot on the side of his helmet I mean he is going to everything needs to run through Cody lindenberg and if does it should be 100 plus tackle season I mean I've been the high man on him out of high school I mean I'm I've firmly planted my flag on that hill and I know I'm going down with the ship at this point because there's a lot of fans that aren't particularly I mean the way it went last season for him was about a 10% outcome just getting this fall Camp injury and then it just nags and nags through the season re-injures something else and Minnesota only gets about two and a half games out of him I mean that's not ideal under any circumstance if your best linebacker just isn't on the field and so for Cody he was healthy this spring he's been healthy so far this summer there's a lot of expectations for him internally me I think if Cody lindenberg plays in 10 plus games this fall he should find himself on an all big 10 list but for him you know it's tough to make the club when you're always in the tub and so he just needs to always be on the field and he needs to find health and I know he and the training staff are working hard on that boy what a couple of names for Big 10 linebackers lindenberg and Can Mav Barnaowski be an IMPACT LB? baronowski we're just missing a couple of neck rolls I think right from Days Gone By Maverick baronowski and Devin Williams I thought did a solid job kind of filling in with them kind of filling into those spots how does that linebacker room kind of shake out and to your point baronowski even does have the neck roll so you think back the days of I mean 80s and 90s linebackers with giant neck rolls just crazy crazy players I mean baronowski trying to lean into that a little bit I mean to your point we saw flashes from both baronowski and Devon Williams last season as they got their feet wet for the first time in the Big 10 I mean there were games where like against Iowa they both played really well uh were filling gaps made plays in the passing game got into their drops and they were a huge part of why Minnesota was able to emerge with the Floyd of Rosedale it's just in other games they looked inexperienced which they certainly were and so for them it's trying to comp you know one of the things that PJ flu has talked about especially for those two in that other linebacker spot now dein Williams was recovering from some offseason cleanup throughout Spring ball so he wasn't a major factor but especially into the summer and fall here it's competing with each other not against each other because I think both of them know linebacker injuries are going to happen it's just college football it's a very violent game a very violent position so both of them have to be ready for their opportunities I think if you ask me today I'd probably lean baronowski 55 45 over dein Williams just because he was healthy in the spring he got to work with Cory heatherman but Minnesota that's a position they really need to shore up because so many guys got their feet wet for their first times in the Big 10 last year whether it was those two whether it was Tyler stolski whether it was Matt kingsburry I mean I think there's going to be a healthy competition there but there needs to be a jump for all of those guys from year one to year two in the Big 10 I feel good about Minnesota's roster as a whole I think there's some potential here and Schedule Discussion/Expectations as we kind of Venture into that schedule I feel like that first game against the North Carolina Tar Hills the now Drake May Liss North Carolina Tar Heels is going to tell us a lot about the Gophers what they're going to look like over the next 11 games how big of an impact do you put on game number one on that Thursday night I mean it's a huge game it always is especially when you start off on a Thursday night game on National Television I like it will be on Fox to your point I am as curious as anyone to see what this North Carolina team look looks like without Drake May because I don't think if you were to ask North Carolina if you gave him some truth serum I think they'd probably tell you they don't feel particularly good about the quarterback position I know they took a former tarel back from the transfer portal at that spot I wouldn't be shocked to see North Carolina do two quarterbacks in that game but when you look at the Vegas odds for that game I think Minnesota's about a t a field goal favorite right now at home I mean this is a game you have to win if you're going to be able to go to a bowl game this year which I think should be the expectation for this team mean North Carolina without Drake May doesn't scare me a ton I mean they have certainly have skill position players like omaran Hampton who is a very gifted running back and Minnesota struggled immensely to stop the run but this is a game you have to win you're at home I mean yes there is a change defensively for North Carolina with jff Collins now calling the defense but this is a game where if you're Minnesota especially UPF front you're going to have to find a way to really set the tone between Big 10 to ACC physicality to your point we talked about the offensive in defensive lines for Minnesota they returned a lot of experience from last year there they need to be able to demonstrate that in game one and this hasn't been a great Tar Heels defense I think I might be putting that a little bit lightly over there so controlling the line of scrimmage keeping their offense off the field might work into the goord favor you look at the rest of the schedule they draw Michigan Penn State and USC you got the NY Lions and the Trojans both come into Huntington Bank Stadium which certainly plays into the goord faval do you have a ceiling um on this team or when you start to look at the rest of the schedule how do you see maybe this thing shaking out because as you said you got to get back to that bowl game well they got to a bowl game last year but maybe Bowl eligibility is a better way to put it yeah I you know I'm a little surprised that Vegas is as low on Minnesota as they have been I mean when you look at the Vegas when it opened for win totals they were at four and a half which was lowest in the big 10 with Purdue which shocked me a little bit because this team has been very consistent under PJ Fleck especially the last five years and they've been making bowl games they've been in that six to8 to n Win range and then that 2019 season 10 regular season wins and then 11th win over Auburn and the way I kind of look at this schedule there's two games you know you're G to win Rhode Island and Nevada at home there in the non-conference there's two games where you're going to be a double digit Underdog that's Penn State that's Michigan but I I would say within that then you have eight games where you're going to be within a touchdown spread one way or another and if you just flip a coin and it comes up heads half the time you're at six and six but there's so many of these games where it's going to be so interesting to me because I don't know that like if you were to talk about variance this year like if you were to put Minnesota season on a bell curve I think this year for me it's as spread out of a bell curve as I've seen in some time just because as much as I'm saying that about Minnesota I think there's so many of these other teams that are in the same spot as Minnesota they got a brand new coordinator somewhere and maybe most importantly the most important position in football the quarterback so many of these teams are going to be breaking in a brand new transfer quarterback from somewhere so just like with the connection between Max brosmer and Greg Harbo how does it look for so many of these teams you mean you go we talked about North Carolina already you go down the list Kade mcamera how does he look is he healthy or is it going to be Brendan Sullivan Michigan breaks in a brand new quarterback you got the Miller Moss era out there at UC USC UCLA is gonna have a brand new quarterback same thing goes for Maryland Illinois you have the Revenge game between aan ccmis Kirk Shaka and this Minnesota team and then Wisconsin at the end of the season as well so to me it comes down to who has a really good quarterback and who doesn't and I just think so many of these quarterbacks including Max broser in Minnesota we just don't know a lot about in terms of how is it going to fit I think there's a lot of talented quarterbacks that Minnesota's going to go against on the schedule to me I would set the line at six wins for Minnesota I could see eight if it goes really well I think that'd be a really good season for them and if it doesn't if quarterback injuries happen and then Minnesota has to go to a freshman quarterback you know how that's going to go like I do so I think just so much of this season comes down to health which quarterbacks in the Big 10 are particularly good but again you look at the schedule you get to miss in my opinion the two best teams in the Big 10 in Oregon and Ohio State um but again Michigan and Penn State you're going to probably be two touchdown underdogs in those games and rightfully so prove that you can stay in those type of games and win but there's so many other games on this schedule where if you can just especially in between the by weeks you talk about a home game against Marland on the road in champagne on the road against Ruckers I mean that's a stretch you have to go two and one if you're going to be bowling if you're Minnesota boy when I look at the whole big 10 this year um one word comes to mind and it's chaos you know you Outro don't have the divisional structure you've got four West Coast teams that have a different maybe football culture than the rest of the big big 10 teams do and then you mentioned I think there's going to be a lot of close games and Minnesota is one of those teams think they're going to be in a lot of the one- score games got to be able to win those one them against Nebraska last year was able to do it against I what can they do it against a lot of the other teams Ryan Burns go for Illustrated appreciate you joining and talking some go for football today thanks for having me on thanks for watching Big 10 Ted where it's all big 10 all year long make sure to like the video to spread the word of big 10 Ted 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