Gopher Baseball - 2008

Gopher baseball does not get the recognition it deserves in this market. They are a classic example of how U of M programs can get left in the shadow of the four major pro teams in this market. But what coach John Anderson has quietly done is maintain what has been consistently a Big Ten power for decades. The fact that the Gophers have been a participant in the Big Ten Championship game for seven consecutive seasons is incredible. Even after seasons finishing 6th or 4th, they still manage to make their way into the championship game every year.

After a 41 win season the Gophers are looking to continue to keep pace in the Big Ten. Michigan is the unanimous favorite to win the conference. After that Minnesota will be one of the teams battling for second.

The Gophers return the bulk of their infield and much of their starting pitching. What they lost was most of their OF, 1B, C and their bullpen. Here is an educated guess at the lineup.

Position Players - the line up consists of 3 rock solid players who will vie for All Big Ten awards (SS, 3B, CF), 2 experienced seniors (C, 2B) and then a handful of position battles with question marks.

C - Jeff DeSmidt (Sr) - made 27 starts last season while backing up senior Kevin Carlson. DeSmidt will be a solid back stop, Kyle Knudson should get plenty of time as well spelling DeSmidt.

1B - Tom Steidl (Sr) - this position will be a battle between Steidl and Joe Maciej (Sr). Both players played sparingly last season. As last season ended this position looked to be in good hands with junior Bryan Jost expected back, but he was drafted by the Cubs and is no longer a Golden Gopher. Maciej was a successful hitter in his first couple seasons, but was given only 11 at bats as a junior. Neither player should get Gopher Nation too excited but it will be manned by experience.

2B - Jeremy Chlan (Sr) - very good fielder who adds speed when he gets on base. Chlan had a game winning RBI in the Big Ten tournament last season sending the Gophers to the championship game.

SS - Derek McCallum (So) - played 2B primarily as a freshman but moves to SS with the departure of Dan Lyons. McCallum batted .340 as a freshman and will be one of the key players for this year's Gophers.

3B - Nate Hanson (Jr) - Hanson (pictured right) is probably the Gopher's best player and a returning All Big Ten player. As a sophomore Hanson hit .330, 10 HRs, 50 RBIs. The 10 HRs was the most by a Gopher since 2004, he will be a starter in nearly every game batting cleanup.

CF - Matt Nohelty (Jr) - leadoff hitter, very good fielder and is an anchor on this team (along with Hanson and McCallum). Nohelty batted .367 as leadoff and led the team with 24 stolen bases.

LF - Jeff Engle (Sr) - this will be another position battle, but Engle is the likely candidate. Engle transfered from Iowa and took a redshirt year last season because of the glut of talented outfielders we had. Started 24 games as a junior at Iowa and batted .352 in Big Ten games. Engle could be a difference maker who moves the Gophers from 3rd or 4th best in the Big Ten to the clear #2. If anyone takes at bats from Engle it will be Eric Decker (yes the WR) who is giving baseball a shot this year. Decker could end up playing in the field while Engle gets at bats as DH.

RF - Michael Kvasnicka (Fr) - Player of the Year in Minnesota last year and is listed as physically capable of playing right away. Kvasnicka could get at bats as catcher or DH as well.

DH - Jon Hummel (Jr) - Hummell has not seen a lot of at bats in his first two season but gophersports.com says he has good power and is capable of playing 1B or 3B. In my opinion Hummel is another key player who could make or break this season.


Pitchers - Minnesota will give the ball to a group of experienced and talented starters, but will have to rely on youth to replace nearly all of their relief pitching staff.

Starter #1 - Dustin Brabender (Sr) - got better as his junior season wore on and gives the Gophers a solid starter to lead the rotation. 5-2 last year, 1st in innings pitched and 2nd in strikeouts. Brabender's junior season was highlighted by out dueling San Diego's All-American Brian Matusz in the NCAA Regoinal. That outing saw Brabender walk 1, strike out 5 in 8 shutout innings.

Starter #2 - Tom Buske (Jr) - If Brabender is starter #1 then Buske is #1-a. Buske gives the Gophers another talented and experienced starter at the top of the rotation. 5-2 as a sophomore and led all starters in ERA.

Starter #3 - Kyle Carr (Jr) - the only LHP in the starter group was a closer and one of two reliable relief pitchers as a sophomore and is expected to move to the #3 starter role this year. Last season he picked up his first win against #16 Ole Miss and pitched 2.2 shutout innings to get his second win against #9 Pepperdine. I don't think that moving from RP to SP in college is a huge deal and I expect Carr will be a reliable and viable third starter.

Starter #4 - Tyler Oakes (Jr) - made only 2 starts as a sophomore but finished the season with a 3-2 record. Oakes (the son of pitching coach Todd Oakes) will do his best to hold onto the fourth starting spot.

RP - Chauncey Handran (Jr) - JUCO transfer who should help bring some stability and reliability to the RP staff. Handran was 5-1 last season with a 1.37 ERA and held opponents to a .106 batting average as he helped lead his team to the Junior College World Series. Handran also hit 6 home runs last year in a wood bat league.

RP - Allen Bechstein (So) - 2-0 as a freshman with 26 innings pitched, including four starts. Should Carr or Oakes struggle as a starter Bechstein is the likely next starter.

RP - Phil Isaksson (Fr) - LHP - one of the Gophers top pitching recruits this season and should get a chance to pitch this year. May get a spot start in the non-conference season but will probably see most of his innings out of the bullpen.

RP - Scott Matyas (rFr) - was a dominant high school pitcher earning All State honors for three seasons, after his junior season Matyas had Tommy-John surgery. The hope is that he has regained his arm strength by now and is ready to help the Gophers this season. Matyas could end up seeing time as the closer.

RP - Tim Ryan (rFr) - son of former Twins GM Terry Ryan. Will see innings but not likely to be counted on in most key situations.

Closer - Seth Rosin (Fr) - power pitcher who hits 90 mph and was drafted by the Twins out of high school. Rosin was fortunate to play in the Little League World Series as a 14 year old. But he is my pick to land the closer role as a freshman.

Schedule - as usual the baseball team faces an incredibly tough non-conference schedule (football and basketball should take note). They begin the season on Friday with a three game series against #4 Mississippi. Then next weekend they host the Dairy Queen Classic which brings in #29 Pepperdine, Tulane and TCU all of which were NCAA Tournament teams a year ago. Those are your first 6 games to start the season!

This should be a fun season and one where the Gophers should steadily improve heading into the Big Ten Tournament. Ultimately 2008 might be setting the table for 2009 as we will bring back all major pitchers except 1 and we bring back our 3 best position players along with a year of experience for some talented young position players.

GopherSports.com season preview
Big Ten Hardball season preview
Rivals.com preseason NCAA Tourney projections - Gophers in as 3 seed in UCLA regional
Rivals.com season preview
TNABACG season preview - also gives a good rundown of the key NCAA rule changes

Looking ahead to 2008 Football - Minnesota

January is an interesting time for college football and much of what happens now affects what will happen next fall.

Around the Big Ten underclassmen are deciding whether or not to declare for the NFL Draft (they have until Jan. 15th). The Big Ten looks to be stronger next year as many schools are brining back plenty of very good starters. Will the Gophers be able to take a step forward in a conference that should be stronger? Can they get a win this year?

The gophers don't have to worry about anybody leaving for the draft. Recruiting is a KEY for next season's team. 2007 was more than forgettable so 2008 can't come soon enough. Let's take a look at the 2008 roster and schedule...

OFFENSE - the offense loses 2 on the OL and 2 skill position players. All 4 were solid, but the experienced gained by the younger players should compensate for any losses. If Weber improves and cuts down in his interceptions this unit should be better in 2008 than we saw in 2007. A full season of Dunbar's offense under their belt should allow this offense to grow in complexity and be harder to defend. Here's hoping at least.

QB - Adam Weber
RB - Duann Bennett
TE - Jack Simmons
WR - Eric Decker
WR - Brandon Green - 1st yr starter (shown right)
WR - Ralph Spry
RT - Matt DeGeest
RG - DJ Burris
C - Jeff Tow-Arnett
LG - Ned Tavale
LT - Dominic Alford

2nd String Offense
QB - Clint Brewster - rFR
RB - Jay Thomas
WR - Tray Herndon
WR - Vincent Hill - FR
WR - Marcus Sherels
TE - Nick Tow-Arnett
OT - Anthony Brinkhouse
OT - Roszell Gayden - FR (may redshirt)
OG - Ryan Ruckshadel
C - ???

Notables
QB - MarQueis Gray - redshirt
QB - Tony Mortenson - likely transfer
QB - John Nance - redshirt
TE - Eric Lair - my guess is redshirt or pass Tow-Arnett on depth chart
Most 2-star recruits - redshirt


DEFENSE - this unit was BAD last year. There will be several new starters or regular contributors in 2008. I don't have high expectations for this unit, but it can't be worse so I guess it can only get better. We lose a DT, 2 LB's, CB and S to graduation. That may seem like a lot but only Barber at S is going to be difficult to replace. Starters are harder to predict here. There are a number of talented kids coming in who may push last year's regulars. This depth chart may end up being completely wrong but it is my best guess. Again, don't have too high of expectations here other than it has to be better.

LE - Anthony Jacobs - 1st yr starter
DT - Jewhan Edwards - 1st yr starter (pictured right)
DT - Garrett Brown
RE - Willie VanDeSteeg
WLB - Spencer Reeves -1st yr starter
MLB - Sam Maresh - 1st yr starter
SLB - Deon Hightower
CB - Traye Simmons - JUCO 1st yr starter (pictured right)
CB - Ryan Collado
SS - Curtis Thomas
FS - Tramain Brock - JUCO 1st yr starter

2nd String Defense
DE - Lee Campbell
DE - Derrick Onwuachi
DT - Eric Small
DT - Otis Hudson
LB - Andre Tate - rFR
LB - Steve Davis
LB - Rex Sharpe - incoming JUCO
LB - Kevin Mannion
CB - Jonothan Dandrige - FR
CB - Troy Stoudermire - FR
SS - Kyle Theret
S - Simoni Lawrence - FR

Notables
LB - Gary Tinsley - FR, will redshirt
ATH - David Pittman - could be too much of an impact player to redshirt, but I don't where he'll end up (WR, DB, PR, QB)
DL - Brandon Kirksey - could push for PT, but my money is on redshirting

I see up to six new starters on defense. That is a major overhaul but for a unit that was dead last in the world of D1 football it is probably exactly what is needed. Last year they were often out of position, couldn't tackle, couldn't put pressure on the QB and were just not as athletic as their competition. Adding some athletic youth who hopefully can tackle will take care of half of the problem. And then we can hope that Jacobs, Edwards and a healthy VanDeSteeg can give us improved play on the defensive line. Don't expect miracles or a unit that dominates anything. But maybe we'll be able to force a few more punts and make a couple more big plays throughout the season.

SCHEDULE - Overall this should be an improved team. The offense with experience and the defense with added athleticism/talent. Will they be making a trip to Pasadena next year, um not likely. It is a light non conference schedule and it is favorable for home/away match ups. Here is my VERY early schedule prediction...

MAC Opponent TBD - W (1-0)
@ Bowling Green - W (2-0)
Montana State - W (3-0)
Florida Atlantic - W (4-0)

@ Ohio State - L (4-1) - 1% chance of winning
Indiana - W (5-1) - we can win this one, 68% chance of win
@ Illinois - L (5-2) - I think UI will struggle this year but on the road this is a loss, 20% chance
@ Purdue - L (5-3) - winable, 45% chance
Northwestern - W (6-3) - both units are better for us, they bring new coordinators 81% win
Michigan - W (7-3) - this is my upset pick, they are losing a LOT and will go through the pains of new systems as we did without the right personnel 50.1% chance
@ Wisconsin - L (7-4) - 19% chance, but road game = loss
Iowa - W (8-4) - very winable at home, 73% win

8-4 seems pretty aggressive. The Michigan game is probably a loss but that is my upset special. Indiana, Illinois and Purdue could all go either way. So officially I think 4-0 non conference is reasonable and should be expected this year. 4-4 in conference is aggressive but 3-5 isn't crazy. I expect us to be more competitive with a defense that will occasionally stop (or at least slow down) somebody.

I am excited already. Fortunately I have a competitive basketball team to watch through March April.