Gophers show off new receivers but there’s work to be done

Gophers fans walking in late to watch Thursday’s last open spring football practice might have been shaking their heads watching several balls hit the ground during team drills.

New quarterback Max Brosmer, a New Hampshire transfer, zipped passes to his wide receivers seemingly in the right spots, but they suffered from a case of the drops for a period or two.

Coach P.J. Fleck even stepped in to talk with senior Elijah Spencer, but not dwelling on mistakes helped the depleted receiving unit turn things around by the end of the session.

“There’s a ton of work that needs to be put in,” Brosmer said. “The guys do understand what it takes. Sometimes it’s hard to see from the outside what’s being put under the lights, for example. It’s definitely a grind, but I love that part of football.”

Several potential targets for Brosmer were not practicing Thursday, including leading returning receiver Daniel Jackson, transfer wideouts Jaylen Varner and Cristian Driver and tight end Nick Kallerup. Even standout tailback Darius Taylor and Oklahoma transfer Marcus Major saw limited action.

“We’re creating more playmakers,” Fleck said. “There are a lot of young guys making a ton of plays right now. That’s better for our football team. There are some guys who played a ton of football not out there right now. But that makes the quarterback have to be better. Because either the catch radius isn’t as big or the windows aren’t going to be as big. The separation might not be there as much.”

Spencer and fellow receivers Kenric Lanier and Kristen Hoskins all redeemed themselves with big catches after dropping passes from Brosmer and freshman quarterback Drake Lindsey during 11-on-11 work.

Carrying over from last weekend’s closed scrimmage, redshirt freshman receiver Donielle Hayes stood out with some highlight grabs Thursday, including a touchdown…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/gophers-show-off-receivers-theres-024400253.html

Author : Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Publish date : 2024-04-12 02:44:00

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