Minnesota Gophers Add Tyler Cochran From the Portal + Darius Taylor Ready to Embrace the Best RB!

the Gophers officially fill their final roster spot for the Gophers men's basketball team plus Darius Taylor historic level running back I'm going to tell you how special he could be this year you areed on Golden go what we're going to do here we're just going to keep rowing your daily podcast on the Minnesota gold whenever turns out we're just going to keep rowing part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day we're just going to keep rowing keep rowing keep [Applause] [Music] rowing what's up gopher fans you are listening to locked on Golden Gophers part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day my name's Kane Rob host of the podcast former Collegiate football video coordinator and recruiting assistant here to talk Golden Gophers with you each and every day of the week Monday through Friday and the offseason it's a little bit different we're trying to get three days a week we're going to close off this June big though we got this late night Saturday show we're going to do two shows on Sunday one in the midday and then one in the late evening to carry over and have you ready for Monday so you're going to have lots of gophers goodness to catch up on be sure to hit subscribe over on YouTube so you don't miss any of your daily Gophers content once we get into the official season start starting in August but let's talk a little football a little basketball today first with the basketball we're going to talk about Tyler Cochran who ends up taking the last scholarship spot for the Golden Gophers basketball team what to know about him moving forward but on top of that we're going to talk about Darius Taylor and just how special and historic he could be for Minnesota moving forward and finally the receiver room what does it look like Beyond Daniel Jackson also what to expect from Daniel Jackson we're gonna dive into all of that today so be sure to hit subscribe over on YouTube so you don't miss any of your gopher content moving forward if you have other show ideas other thoughts you would love to hear about on the show feel free to send me a DM over at L Golden Gophers on Twitter or at goers cane Rob or you can drop it in the comments on YouTube below and we'll keep those in consideration as we go through some offseason content but let's talk about the basketball team first we're going to talk about the latest edition in Tyler Cochran who fin fills the gopher's final scholarship spot now that's scholarship spot was still on hold for cam Christie until he ended up deciding to stay in the NBA draft and then Coach Ben Johnson it was said that he wasn't officially sure if they would leave that scholarship open or if something could still be in the works they brought in a couple Walk-Ons one from duth but in the end they ended up bringing in one final scholarship player in Tyler Cochran a guard who played at Toledo last year in his most recent year now in Tyler Cochran you have a player who who has one year of Eligibility left on top of that he had previously committed to Oregon State in this portal session but then backed off of that choice was still in the conversations and hearing from other programs and as of last week he was still talking to Ohio State a conference opponent Indiana State Drake and San Diego State among others that had showed interest in Tyler Cochran but and ends up ultimately committing to the Golden Gophers and ready to use his final year of Eligibility with Minnesota now like I said he played at Toledo last year but this will be his fourth school that he has stopped at he initially played at Northern Illinois for two years one year at Ball State and then two the last two seasons with Toledo he had an injured season in there so he has gotten a med bread before and now he is in his final year with the Gophers and when you're looking at his numbers from last season pretty impressive overall you're talking about a player who averaged some great numbers across 32 games so it wasn't in a small sample size he had 14.4 points per game 6.4 rebounds per game 2.1 assists per game plus 1.9 steals per game now he started in 26 of the 32 games played and his steel numbers across his last four seasons have been crazy and consistent this guy is a ball uh he's a bulldog on defense he is a guy who is a a ball Hawk of sorts I guess that's more of a football term but still you look at 2021 1.7 steals per game you look at 2022 2.0 steals per game you look at 23 1.6 steals per game and last year 1.9 steals per game he led the entire ma conference in Steels last season this dude can play defense and it's not just Steels it's all around it's it's staying with his guy it's denying the ball it's uh deflections it's just High defensive IQ this is a guy who led the whole Mac in steals like I said but he also was the Mac code defensive player of the year last year and an all Mac second team in the entire conference so this is a guy who is defensive he is a grit and grind type player and Tyler Cochran doesn't just bring the defensive mindset that you love to see especially in this Big 10 conference but he also brings some scoring 14.4 points per game last season in the Mac now some of his strengths aside from his defense include his scoring and finishing at The Rim he is good at attacking the cup and finishing close to the rim on top of that he can score at all three levels now the last three years from DPed 37% uh three-point shooting three years ago 43% shooting 3o per two years ago and 35% three-point shooting last season now his first two years he was a poor three-point shooter but you can see that development and progress in better shooting not only more attempts but completing and converting more of those attempts he can get it done from all three levels he also loves his elbow jumper so it'll be interesting to see if he continues to attack attack at all three levels and just where he'll fit in this offense when it comes to scoring priorities now Dawson Garcia is going to be the main guy no no doubt about it he will be the number one scoring option for this team but who comes in at too you've got some options now you've got liuk Kai Patterson who can get it done you've got Mike Mitchell Jr but I could see him starting to move back into a more facilitating role maybe another 10 points per game season but more on the four to five assists per game so I think Mike Mitchell Jr might not be uh uh high at the Forefront scoring efforts for the Gophers this year because they don't need him in that role but they need him to facilitate and efficient be efficient with the ball but then also to knock down three-pointers so I think maybe Mike Mitchell Jr takes a step back on the scoring front or stays pretty consistent but then like I said you got lukai Patterson you've now got uh Tyler Cochran and you've got Caleb Williams all of those players have put up points at different levels of Collegiate basketball so hopefully they can continue to do it at this level in a much higher stage with more eyeballs watching now on top of that uh Tyler Cochran is also great in transition very high IQ player moves the floor well can keep or push the offense can get things going and generate quick baskets and transition but he's also a solid ball ball handler which you need from your guard play now this is an awesome addition for Ben Johnson in my opinion especially being this late in the process now I mean the summer practices have already started about a week or two ago and now he's going to be uh thrown into this and trying to play catchup a little bit but that being said he is a vet Savvy player this is the ninth senior on this gopher team so hopefully that senior IQ can jel really quickly together and help the golfers put together quick chemistry and then also quick wins in the non-conference it'll be very interesting to see who the Gophers schedule for their non-conference uh season this year because like I said you got the timing of it and trying to get it to jail with so many new faces to the program but on top of that last year the non-conference schedule not being difficult enough is possibly what hurt the Gophers in trying to make a campaign for the actual NCAA tournament so it'll be really interesting to see how that all plays out but it's great to see the golfers get such a great addition this late in the game this is a player that is built for the Big 10 and I imagine he will get some run this season he will be in the rotation at some capacity he could be a very important rotation player especially with the defensive prowess that he brings now the fun comes into factor of who could be in this core rotation how do the minutes Shake out what are our predictions we're going to dive into that on tomorrow's show so be sure to hit uh subscribe and tap in tomorrow during the day where we will talk a bit more gopher hoops and how we see this rotation shaking out we're going to talk some women's basketball as well all on tomorrow show but how we wrap up the rest of today's show we're moving it over to football we got to talk about Darius Taylor and just how special he could be historic even for the Gophers I'm going to tell you how that could be coming up next first gos fans you're definitely going to want to tap in with our friends over at FanDuel because FanDuel is America's number one Sportsbook and this summer FanDuel is hooking up every single one of its customers all customers will get a boost or a bonus on The Daily that's right there's something for everyone every day all summer long so even though it feels like the sports are winding down even though it feels like the playoffs of NBA are done hockey are done the drafts have been happening but that doesn't mean you can't get in on the action now because FanDuel lets you keep Sports going whenever you want all you have to do is open the app and dream up the bets that you're in the mood for so definitely give it a try go to fanduel.com lockon and start making 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in on the immediate reactions the immediate thoughts the heartbreaks the the satisfactory the the trophy above the head Victory mentality all that and more so definitely hit subscribe over at lockon Minnesota sports but let's talk about Darius Taylor and how special he could be for the goers not only this season but moving forward it could be historic in fact now we've talked about Darius Taylor on the show multiple times you've heard me talk about his yards per game numbers and the pace that he was on last year so I'm not going to dive too deep into that but just as a quick reminder for those who haven't CED the show before Darius Taylor could seriously set a single season record for rushing yards in one of the next two seasons for the Gophers maybe even both of the next two seasons for the Gophers but at a clip of 133 yards per game last year Darius Taylor was balling he was the leader in the entire NC ca for yards per game and that was only in the six games that he was able to play and one of those games was Nebraska where he only got one attempt for three yards now you're talking about a player that really that doesn't shouldn't count as a game against you but it does against your numbers and your totals and your averages so even at that clip of 133 yards per game last year with a Bull game he would have been on track for 1729 yards with a full season at that number but that is a in accounting for no improvement whatso ever so if you give him just the consistency he could break the goal for single season record which is 1665 rushing yards he had that pace last year but that was with the 133 yards per game which was the best in the nation and it accounts for the one carry three yard game versus Nebraska if you remove that game his average yards per game was actually 1592 yards per game now if he if you took that pace not only would he be the single season record leader in yards per game but over the course of 12 games in a bulll he would have been on Pace for 2,70 rushing yards that's something unprecedented here with the Golden Gophers and that is truly how special Darius Taylor could be but we got to talk about how much of a yard monster this guy was he had a dominator rating of 43.549573 for with the entire Gophers offense 43.549573 to handle and withstand a full season and if he can and he continues to play at this clip this man could be an insanely historic an insanely incredible record setting running back for the Gophers in a single season or multiple seasons and a long-term player for the Gophers now my guy Marvin eloquin over at the fantasy footballers definitely dove into the research from a fantasy perspective but it also is impressive to see from the football perspective as well said that Darius Taylor accounted for 46% of the team's total offense yards and touchdowns and he averaged 2.02 yards per team play so for every play that the team had Darius Taylor averaged 2.02 yards per play now if you look at the power five running backs that were able to exceed two yards per play last season alone you'd have Cody Shrader from Missouri who was a do Walker finalist olly Gordon who was the do Walker Award winner and finalist and then Jonathan Brooks who was the highest drafted RB in the NFL draft last season and Raymond Davis an eventual draft pick by the Buffalo Bills those four plus darus Taylor are the only five power five running backs that were able to exceed two yards per team play that is in itself impressive and you want to know who that list on that list is a true freshman Darius Taylor that's it everybody else had more experience everybody else was further along in their careers everybody else had played college football at some capacity so we're just starting to see how special he truly could be now in fact him being a true freshman and doing that is so rare that if you look across all the way back to 2013 so over the last decade of college football the only other true freshman to get two or more yards per team play as a true freshman was Nick chub Nick chub who is widely considered one of the best if not the best pure rusher in the entire NFL that is the special type of numbers Darius Taylor is putting up now Beyond just the yardage Darius Taylor has put up other numbers as a true freshman including a breakaway percentage of 35% an elusive rating of 95.9 a Miss tackles forced of 35 in those six games which is 5.83 Miss tackle for Force per game on top of that at 3.76 yards after contact per attempt a PFF grade of 87.4 offense and 84.8 running grade now that's in six total games with one of those games only having one attempt if you compare that to Oi Gordon the dop Walker winner best running back in the entire country last season in his 14 games he had a 55% Breakaway a 90.3 elusive rating 68 MOS Force which comes out to 4.85 per game 3.71 yards per contact or yards after contact per attempt and then an 83.7 offensive grade and the 90.4 running grade so the only two categories of all of those different stats I just threw at you Breakaway percentage and the PFF Rush grade were the only things that Oly Gordon had on Darius Taylor when it comes to the per game numbers that we were seeing between those two players this kid can literally be a Oak Walker type of player a finalist a winner of some sort if he can keep up the efficiency and stay healthy for a season darius's Taylor's numbers on a per game basis were better than the do Walker winner in almost every category besides Breakaway percentage and touchdowns and it just goes to show you that Darius Taylor can truly be special historic even so I think not only will Darius Taylor be a top three running back in the Big 10 be an all big 10 level player player but he can truly be in the do Walker conversation if he can keep it up and stay healthy so what are your thoughts on Darius Taylor how special do you think he can be how where do you think he finishes not only in the Big 10 but maybe in the country when it comes to the production he sees as a running back this year I would love your thoughts in the comments below over on YouTube but today we're going to wrap this up with a different part of the offense the Gophers wide receiver room how will it play out for Minnesota next year are they going to find more balance and if they do what does that look like who could see the targets we're diving into all that coming up next all right go fans let's wrap it up by talking about what I am expecting from this Gophers wide receiver moving forward now we have a new quarterback with a lot of high production a lot of Hope a lot of touting that we have seen from him in his FCS level of Play Already we're looking for him to step in and make that translate to the power five FBS conference level now if he does that that begs the question of how would this wide receivers room shake out now first things first Minnesota is going to feed Daniel Jackson plain and simple no ifs no ANS no butts he's getting the ball he's gonna ball out and he is a route fiend he is a separator he is a guy who is going to be open and we saw him time and time again and honestly there were Miss throws on on that didn't get to him last season but there were also a couple drops if he cleans up the drops and the targets are more accurate or more consistent Daniel Jackson could put up some crazy numbers as well and that's with the limited passing attempts that the Gophers had last season if they even strive a little bit more towards balance that only gives more opportunity for Daniel Jackson moving forward so this dude is far too talented to not have The Rock in his hands he was an all big 10 second team player last year and he will be looking to take it even further with some more consistent quarterback play now I think Daniel Jackson is going to crack a thousand receiving yards this season I think it's going to happen you can book it on my end we can revisit at the end of the season but if he can put up 1,56 yards which is 56 more than I just said I think he'll at least crack a th if he gets a 1,56 he will be in the top three in receiving yards in Gophers program history that alone is something really cool to watch especially coming from Daniel Jackson Who maybe people have slept on or overlooked over the years last year was the first year that people really started to give him the love and the credit that he deserved and hopefully we'll get see even more of that as he continues to build and stack on the production his numbers have only gone up every single year from year to year to year so he could finish not only as a top three receiver in gopher's program history in receiving yards but with five more touchdowns this season he would be a top five receiver in receiving touchdowns in program history as well so Daniel Jackson is going to ball out but beyond him who takes over as the wide receiver too I think the logical choices here are probably lcky Brockington or Elijah Spencer now Elijah Spencer has had a 900 yard plus season in his career so the ability is obviously there in the spring game last year we saw him absolutely ball he had multiple Slants where people could not stop him he had over a 100 yards receiving he had a touchdown he was in that game and featured but we didn't see that come to fruition on the field a bit from the the offensive play a bit from maybe the co coach is not calling his number I don't know what it all was but he has the potential to absolutely be a number two receiver on this team and if it isn't him that being said over the course of the spring I think I saw a lot of growth a lot of connection between Max brosmer qb1 of the Gophers and lamei Brockington this spring and that makes me believe that he is going to step up up in a major way for Minnesota this upcoming season I think he's going to have 500 plus receiving yards and five touchdowns if healthy I think he really took strides I think the way that I had mentioned on the show a year ago at this point that I thought Daniel Jackson was going to really command and be that wide receiver one for the Gophers and what I had seen from the spring made me think this dude has taken it to a whole another level that's what I've been thinking and seeing with lcky Brockington in the spring and I'm really intrigued to see how it plays out in the fall camp and if that continues to develop I think he could absolutely be a strong wide receiver to in this conference for Minnesota but my biggest curiosity behind those two is who are your options after that because those Beyond those top three options we just said uh Daniel Jackson Elijah Spencer and lcky Brockington this receiver room has some future wide receivers in the room that have showed some Intrigue and showed some upside but who will answer the call and get the opportunity to earn those roles moving forward I see the Battle of next up Young Guns as a battle this fall camp that is one we absolutely have to keep our eyes on because I think there are three names of super Intrigue that can find themselves in a bigger role this upcoming season and maybe show that they have next that they're the next men up that they're the next wide receiver one or what have you for the Gophers those three names are Danielle nuke Hayes Kenrick laner and Tyler Williams those three names are names you absolutely want to write down on a piece of paper log it in your phone remember them because maybe not 2024 might not be the huge breakout year for them it could be just the beginning but beyond that I think one or two of those three guys could be the future of this program at the receiver position those are the most likely candidates from the hype we've seen from the or the the level of talk we've heard from from the coaches from the uh rankings and recruiting rankings that they bring behind them those three names have a lot going for them but on top of that you still have guys like TJ McWilliams Christian driver Christian Hoskins Jaylen Smith all in the conversation as well but I'm not sure that they are as close to significant snaps as the big three that I just named as kind of the battle of the Young Guns to watch in Fall camp this fall so in that grouping of nuke of Kenrick laner and of Tyler Williams I think that's going to be the one I'm really trying to watch intently over this fall because I think Minnesota is going to rotate some of these wide receivers possibly more than we have ever seen before and give some of these young guys opportunities to get their feet wet kind of like what we saw from Brockington in the 2022 season of drawing up and scheming things for some of these young guys to create and show that they can handle it in the live game situations get more comfortable and then hopefully take on bigger action and bigger command of that room as they progress forward so that's going to be huge I have been a major Advocate a major fan of Kenrick laner since his early and rolly spring if you listen to the show if you're in everyday and you tap in all the time you know that but that being said I think new haes has done a ton to close the gap between those two receivers and could possibly put himself at the top of that list heading into the fall that's how big of a spring new K's had this spring but most intriguingly to me is Tyler Williams because he brings something a little different that nobody else in this wide receiver room has and that's the size six foot three 6 foot4 he is a big wide receiver coming from a world class program in the Georgia Bulldogs so if he can step up into that upside that all of those High major schools all those power schools in Georgia themselves saw as him being the future of their room if he brings that to Minnesota and helps Elevate this wide receiver room that not only brings a huge threat but it brings something different that this wide receiver room hasn't had in the past few years so could any of those players maybe take over as a starter this year that might be a stretch that might be a reach that might be something we don't really see but it would be major longterm for Minnesota if it did indeed happen now I think anything is up for grabs in this wide receiver room space I imagine the three names uh Spencer Brockington and Jackson will be the starters but if any of gets outworked by one of these younger guys and they step into a bigger role that could be good for the Gophers down the road in building up this room for the long term helping spark the The Hope and the idea for future commits and recruits as well this wide receiv room is interesting it has a ton of talent and it could be very special in the Big 10 and there's probably a lot of rival fans and Big 10 analysts that'll look at this room and say they only have Daniel Jackson and that's it but I think that is not looking at the whole picture that is not doing enough research that is not looking at the talent that is here and I think Minnesota could be in a good hands especially if Max brosmer can put it all together at the quarterback position that's going to do it for us on today's show I hope you enjoyed it I hope you uh are getting back into the groove of things getting ready for the football season to kickoff in August we will be back to five days a week diving into the latest and greatest the grit and the grind of football but right now we're taking a breather we're warming it back up three days a week so hopefully you'll be tapped in I will see you next next time we're going to talk tomorrow a little bit about basketball Ro the boats Sky Mago Gophers as always and don't forget to hit subscribe