Can the Gophers' passing attack lead to an 'explosive' offense in 2023?
The last time the Minnesota Gophers had an explosive offense was 2019. Rodney Smith and Mohamed Ibrahim formed a powerful rushing attack. Tanner Morgan threw a school-record 30 touchdowns. Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson were starring at wide receiver and it led the Gophers to their best season in nearly a century at 11-2.
Four years later, the Gophers are still trying to recapture that success. Bateman and Johnson left for the NFL and Morgan regressed mightily under offensive coordinator Mike Sanford. Last year's return of Kirk Ciarrocca led to some improvement from Morgan but it didn't spark the Gophers, who primarily leaned on Ibrahim and the running game.
With Morgan and Ibrahim graduating this year, it opens a new era for the Gopher offense and one that P.J. Fleck believes can match the explosiveness Minnesota had a few years ago.
"This team has the potential of being explosive," Fleck told reporters back in April. "...This is Year 7 for us [as a coaching staff] and we want to keep reloading not rebuilding and college football gives you the ability to do that this year."
The biggest change will be at quarterback where redshirt freshman Athan Kaliakmanis will take over for Morgan. "The Greek Rifle" was thrust into a starting role midway through the season and put up modest stats, completing 54 percent of his passes for 946 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions but those numbers don't tell the entire story.
Kaliakmanis caught fire late in the season, throwing for 319 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Wisconsin and completed 7-of-9 passes for 80 yards before leaving the Gophers' Pinstripe Bowl win over Syracuse with an injury.
"I think I took a lot of leadership [and] experiences," Kaliakmanis said of last season. "I learned a lot about myself in those games in terms of who I am as a player and then just started building some routines.
Now healthy, Kaliakmanis can show the dual-threat ability that makes some believe he can be the first Gophers quarterback drafted since Craig Curry was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in 1972, but he'll need to find some reliable targets to make that happen.
Much like the Gophers backfield, the receiver room received an overhaul heading into this season. Chris Autman-Bell is a holdover from the 2019 team but is coming off a season-ending knee injury and is entering his seventh season. With Dylan Wright (TCU) and Michael Brown-Stephens (South Florida) hitting the transfer portal, it will be up to a few transfers and young receivers to step up this fall.
This includes graduate transfer Corey Crooms, who comes over after a productive career at Western Michigan. Crooms primarily played in the slot for the Broncos, catching 101 passes for 1,582 yards and 11 touchdowns over the past two seasons.
With Crooms in the slot, it's expected that Daniel Jackson will take over one of the spots on the outside. A former four-star recruit, Jackson flashed at times last season including a six-catch, 110-yard performance against Purdue and hauling in five catches for 88 yards in a win over Nebraska.
But like most of the offense, Jackson got better as the season went along. He caught five passes for 86 yards and a touchdown in the win over Wisconsin and caught four passes for 73 yards and two touchdowns against Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl. If he can find more consistency, he has the potential to become a top target in the Gophers' passing attack.
That leaves the spot opposite of Jackson up for grabs between Autman-Bell and Charlotte transfer Elijah Spencer. Spencer was the Conference USA freshman of the year in 2021 and caught 57 passes for 943 yards and nine touchdowns during his sophomore season for the 49ers.
A contested-catch specialist, Spencer should be able to push for playing time and is an insurance policy in case Autman-Bell loses a step coming off last year's injury.
Other names to keep an eye on include Lemeke Brockington, who caught the game-winning touchdown against the Badgers last fall and Kristen Hoskins, who could either push Crooms in the slot or succeed him down the road.
If the receivers can't get it done, the passing offense could fall on the shoulders of Brevyn Spann-Ford, who caught 42 passes for 497 yards and two touchdowns last season. At 6-foot-7 and 270 pounds, Spann-Ford's specialty is paving the way for the running game and was listed fourth on Pro Football Focus's tight ends to watch list for the 2024 NFL Draft class.
If the running game holds up its end of the bargain, the Gophers could be very good on offense if the passing game clicks. If the defense can also maintain its level of play, Minnesota should be a factor in the Big Ten West and push for its first spot in the conference championship game.
