Senior runningback David Cobb, sophomore quarterback Mitch Leidner and senior safety Cedric Thompson were chosen by Gophers coaches to represent the team at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago, July 27-28: www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/071014aaa.html

Cobb is coming off of one of the most prolific rushing seasons in recent Gophers history. He headlined Minnesota's rushing offense last season, which was top five in the conference for the first time since 2006. Cobb's nomination comes as no surprise, as he earned the team's trust throughout the latter half of the 2013 season.

For example, in Minnesota's first six games of 2013, Cobb had 68 rush attempts — a usage that pales in comparison to his final seven games, where he carried the ball 169 times.

Cobb averaged 4.9 yards per attempt in his last seven games of 2013. Compare that to former NFL runningback and Gophers alumni Laurence Maroney, who averaged 4.1 yards per attempt in his last 7 games ever at Minnesota.

Not to be slighted, Leidner and Thompson are two surefire starters and team leaders that will be on the field Aug. 28 versus Eastern Illinois.

Leidner bounced between starter and backup for much of 2013. Minnesota has struggled to find consistent play from the quarterback position, so it's a good sign for Minnesota that Leidner was most efficient on third downs last season. He also sparked a fourth-quarter comeback in last year's Texas Bowl versus Syracuse, throwing two touchdown passes and a 2-point conversion to shift momentum late.

Thompson led the team in tackles in 2013 (79). He averaged 4.25 tackles in wins, and 9.00 in losses.

At Big Ten Media Days in 2013, Minnesota was represented by recent departures Ra'Shede Hageman and Brock Vereen, and current Gophers senior Donnell Kirkwood.