Gophers preview: Mike Sanford Jr. deepens connections in second year
Aug. 30—When Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck arrived at Minnesota in 2017, he referred to his opening season as "Year Zero." Offensive coordinator Mike Sanford Jr. has since used a variation of that phrase to describe his initial year with the Gophers.
"A pseudo year one" is how Sanford described 2020, a year hijacked by COVID-19, cancelling spring practices, disrupting fall camp and shortening the season to seven games.
Sanford was hired away from Utah State to replace Kirk Ciarrocca after the 2019 regular season, and Sanford wasn't able to coach his side of the ball quite like he wanted to last year.
Sanford said the Gophers had one scrimmage leading up to the season opener against Michigan in 2020. This year, with a full spring ball and a "standard" preseason camp, he estimated they had more than 20 scrimmages or live periods of practice.
"I know the personnel," Sanford said Monday. "I know what their strengths and weaknesses are. I know what makes them tick. ... I didn't know that a year ago — to the level I needed to."
The first sign of progress for Sanford's offense will come against No. 4 Ohio State in the season opener at 7 p.m. Thursday at Huntington Bank Stadium. The Buckeyes are 14-point favorites but had a struggling secondary and a handful of defensive departures from a team that reached the national championship game last season.
The Gophers might start without No. 1 receiver Chris Autman-Bell, who injured his leg in preseason camp Aug. 12. Before that injury, Sanford had challenged quarterback Tanner Morgan to spread the ball to a multitude of pass catchers in summer workouts.
Sanford gave the example of Michael Brown-Stephens being counted on in the 2020 finale against Wisconsin. "I feel like we've grown a lot in that area in terms of ability to synchronize our receivers and our quarterbacks regardless of who's out there because we've actually done it," Sanford said. "And we've done it now for, really, nine months."
Besides players, Sanford sought to better understand how his play-calling can better mesh with Fleck's philosophy. It's "knowing how he wants the game to be played out; that is critical," Sanford said.
Fleck wants to run the ball and his favorite stat is time of possession. The U has ingredients to do that with 180 combined starts along the offensive line and reigning Big Ten running back of the year Mo Ibrahim.
Meshing is also needed for the U's offensive coaching staff , which has stayed primarily intact since Fleck's first season. It includes Matt Simon, who was promoted to co-offensive coordinator when Ciarrocca left for Penn State.
"We did things differently or we maybe went about our business a different way — it wasn't a bad thing," Simon said. "You were accustomed to being able to do things the way that Kirk kind of wanted it. It was kind of our way of working together. I think in the beginning there was the learning curve and COVID hit and us being apart, that was probably the biggest ... hit."
Morgan took a hit, too. His passing grade fell nearly 20 points (89.1 in 2019 to 69.2 in 2020), according to Pro Football Focus College. Even with future first-round draft pick Rashod Bateman playing in five games, the Gophers averaged just 199 yards passing last season, which ranked 92nd in the country.
Sanford emphasized that he needs to do a better job of putting Morgan in the best places to be successful. Morgan has worked to make himself more available and dangerous to keep the ball in the U's read-option scheme.
"It's just realizing what can I do to become a better football player and that starts with being the best athlete I can be," Morgan said. "I'm obviously not a super speedy guy, but I've worked on becoming a little bit faster and pushing it harder."
Morgan lost his father, Ted, to brain cancer in July and that has brought Morgan and Sanford closer together off the field.
"Our connection is awesome," Morgan said. "Like I've said, it's deeper than Xs and Os, the scheme and football. It's about our relationship, first. We share a lot of the same values and personality traits. ... It's something that doesn't come around often."
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCH
STAR
Mo Ibrahim rushed for more than 1,000 yards in only seven games last year, but he did so banged up. Sanford said Ibrahim is much healthier this year. He will need to be as the U will face more defenders in the box until the passing game starts beating opponents.
WILD CARD
Brevyn Spann-Ford has only five receptions and two touchdowns across three seasons, but the athletic 6-foot-7 tight end continues to entice Sanford and fans alike. If he can be a legit target, some pressure comes off receivers.
UP-AND-COMER
Daniel Jackson, four-star recruit from Kansas, had 12 receptions for 167 yards as a true freshman, which was second to Chris Autman-Bell among returning players, but Jackson's problems with drops will need to be cut down to be a true No. 2 option.
