Gophers great Mo Ibrahim holding Darius Taylor to 'the standard'

Ibrahim has been helping out at Gophers practice before Saturday's marquee matchup.

Darius Taylor and Mohamed Ibrahim / GopherSports /

After his best performance of the season, star running back Darius Taylor and the Gophers face a strong Iowa defense in one of their most important games of the season. The program's all-time leading rusher Mohamed Ibrahim has been on campus helping Minnesota's star sophomore.

Ibrahim stopped by P.J. Fleck's weekly Fox 9 show on Tuesday and said that he has been around the program for a week "having fun" and sharing with players the importance of Minnesota's rivalry with Iowa.

"He's been around a lot, it's been really cool to have him back around," Taylor said. "He's given me a lot of advice and also been holding me to the standard during practice, so practice has been even tougher. He's holding me to the standard that he holds himself to, so I think that will be good for me. He's teaching me how to become a better player on the next level."

Ibrahim had a short stint with the Vikings this preseason after playing in one regular season game on the Lions' active roster last season. He was able to share his NFL experience with Taylor.

"He makes me finish every run in the end zone, so that's helping me have even better wind while I am playing. He just said when he was on teams at the next level, there were guys that finished on every single play in the end zone and full speed and there was not a blink of an eye it was just what they do," Taylor said.

Taylor played in last year's win in Iowa City, but he left the game with an injury after recording 16 carries for 59 yards and three catches for 25 yards. Ibrahim's final game against the Hawkeyes was one of his best in a Gophers uniform as he carried the rock 39 times for 263 yards and a touchdown.

Taylor was asked about how he's preparing for Minnesota's upcoming game against Iowa and if he got any advice from Ibrahim about how to handle a big workload like the one he had in 2022.

"The biggest thing is prehab. Making sure that your body is 100% going into the game on all aspects. Also just being hydrated and like I said, in practice, finishing those runs gives you a little bit of extra wind," Taylor said. "I experienced it a little bit last year in the bowl game, I had upwards of like 35 carries, so I understand what it takes. I think he just did a great job of just always going, he has a high motor. I think that's just how he is, he's just made like that."

The Gophers will need all hands on deck for Saturday's game with the Hawkeyes. Taylor had 161 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in Week 3 against Rhode Island, and they might need a similar performance if they want to retain the Floyd of Rosedale.