Six practices into spring football, MarQueis Gray has done nothing short of blow other players away in what is supposedly a quarterback competition.
He completes more passes than others vying for the position, he makes longer runs and he just makes better decisions.
But even the teamâ脛么s best signal caller has plenty of work to do in order to compete in the Big Ten.
â脛煤Weâ脛么re going to be patient,â脛霉 head coach Jerry Kill said. â脛煤We donâ脛么t have a choice.â脛霉
Although the Gophersâ脛么 new offense shares many commonalities with last seasonâ脛么s, Gray and other quarterbacks have a lot to learn. With time and effort comes the payoff, Kill hopes. And by the time September rolls around, Gray might not be botching snaps, as he did at least once during Saturdayâ脛么s practice at TCF Bank Stadium â脛卯 even though he ran it back to the line of scrimmage.
Gray feels like heâ脛么s improving with each practice, but there was a slight drop off when he donned pads Tuesday. In the third practice in pads, though, he completed an early 70-yard touchdown pass (35 yards in the air) to Daâ脛么Jon McKnight, making it look incredibly simple.
â脛煤Everyoneâ脛么s starting to get into a rhythm now that itâ脛么s practice six, and weâ脛么re moving on,â脛霉 Gray said.
Punting on the rise
With the move outdoors Saturday, the Gophersâ脛么 punting unit could finally practice in full.
Kill has been working one-on-one with the punters, but if his coaching is any indication, the person snapping had just as much to do with Minnesota having the worst net punting average in the Football Bowl Series last season.
Long snapper Jake Filkins gets an earful any time he makes a poor snap. Asked if the target of his yelling spats is in the doghouse, Kill acted as though there is no doghouse.
â脛煤I would yell at you if you get in my way,â脛霉 Kill said. â脛煤Thatâ脛么s just coaching. Itâ脛么s not personal. Itâ脛么s not being tough â脛¦ He had a bad snap. I let him know.â脛霉
The punters themselves did â脛煤pretty well,â脛霉 Kill said, and Dan Orseske boomed a few over 50 yards. The new coach hasnâ脛么t shied from yelling at the punter either, but Orseske just takes it in stride â脛卯 with a different stride from last year since Kill changed his footwork.
â脛煤I think Iâ脛么m a lot more mentally focused this year,â脛霉 Orseske said.
Around the Brock
Based on his play this spring, football genes apparently just run in cornerback Brock Vereenâ脛么s family.
Vereenâ脛么s brother Shane played at California and is one of the top-rated running backs in the 2011 NFL draft. His father Henry was an NFL wide receiver.
The excellence in his family line motivates him to an extent, but Vereen has had no choice but to improve quickly during spring practice. He regularly lines up across from freshman Marcus Jones, the Gophersâ脛么 fastest receiver.
One of Saturdayâ脛么s best plays came from Vereen, who made an acrobatic interception that sparked gasps from the 500 or so fans at the stadium.
â脛煤I would love to make a play like that every play,â脛霉 Vereen said.
He also made an impressive interception Tuesday, taking the ball from Geâ脛么Shun Harris as the two fell to the ground.
