Projecting the 2020 Gopher Football Depth Chart – Offense

By Max Carroll |

Updated: Jul 1, 2021

Credit: Jim Rosvold/University of Minnesota

The Minnesota Gophers had one of the most electric offenses in all of college football in 2019. For 2020, PJ Fleck and Co. have lost some of the talent from last season’s record-breaking depth chart, but by-and-large most of the squad is still intact. Let’s dive in!

Quarterback

Role	Player	Class
Starter	Tanner Morgan	Jr (RS)
— Wildcat	— Seth Green	Sr (RS)

Depth	Zack Annexstad	So (RS)

Deep Depth	Jacob Clark	Fr (RS)
	Cole Kramer	Fr (RS)

For the first time in a long time, the Gophers seem to be in a really good spot at quarterback, heading into the season. You have a potential heisman candidate, in Tanner Morgan at QB1, who put up absolutely stupid stats last season

3,253 Passing Yards + 30 Touchdown Passes + 66% Completion Percentage + 250 Passing Yards per game and….

Holy Tanner Morgan……… ? (via @CFB_Data) #Gophers pic.twitter.com/y57cky2Xbh
— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) October 2, 2020

And he only threw seven interceptions on top of that. That’s pretty damn good, and to have Tanner coming back this year is huge. Depth wise, you have a reliable 2nd stringer in Zack Annexstad, who started half the 2018 season for the Gophers as a true Freshman before getting hurt. Jacob Clark and Cole Kramer will battle for that third spot this upcoming season.

Running Back

Role	Player	Class
Starter	Mohamed Ibrahim	Jr (RS)

Depth	Cam Wiley	Fr (RS)
	Bryce Williams	So (RS)
	Treyson Potts	Fr (RS)
	Jason Williamson	Fr (RS)
	Ky Thomas	Fr

Expect a heavy dose of Mo Ibrahim this fall. With Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks now gone, Mo is expected to carry more of a workhorse load. Some might argue that Ibrahim was the best running back out of the three, last season, and I have a hard time disagreeing.

Mo plays with an edge, that helps him bulldoze and truck right through defenders. He’s not the fastest, and he may not be the biggest (5’10”, 210 lbs) but he is a pain to bring down. He ran the ball 114 times last year for 604 yards (5.3 ypc) and added seven touchdowns to that.

Mohamed Ibrahim (@_MoIbrahim) is a name to watch next season. He’s wildly underrated. He’s so difficult to tackle and should have a great season with Minnesota as their featured back in 2020. He was great against Auburn #RowTheBoat #SkiUMah #GoGophers #Minnesota #NFL #NFLTwitter pic.twitter.com/wTKRrycxL9
— Jared Barsness (@JaredBarsNFL) May 23, 2020

When Brooks and Smith were both out due to injuries in 2018, Ibrahim ran 202 times for 1,160 yards (5.7 ypc) and 9 touchdowns, as a redshirt freshman. He’s a bowling ball once he gets going. As for depth, the Gophers will need at least one more guy to step up and it’s anyone’s job. The guy I’m watching here is Cam Wiley. He’s 6’2″, 210 lbs; and he’s a freakish athlete.

Wide Receiver

Role	Player	Class
Starters	Rashad Bateman	Jr
	Chris Autman-Bell	Jr (RS)
	Doug Emelien	Fr

Depth	Seth Green	Sr (RS)
	Clay Geary	Sr (RS)
	Daniel Jackson	Fr (RS)

Deep	Michael Brown-Stephens	Fr
	Nnamdi Adim-Madumere	Fr (RS)
	Peter Udoibok	Fr (RS)
	Jonathan Mann	Fr

This is a group that looked to have a lot of uncertainty, with the loss of Tyler Johnson to the NFL, and with Rashod Bateman initially opting out. Now, Bateman is officially back for the 2020 season, to build on his monster 2019. How good was he last year? He caught 60 balls for 1,219 yards and 11 touchdowns while sharing Morgan’s targets with Tyler Johnson.

Chris Autman-Bell has been the #3 wide receiver in Minnesota for the past two seasons. Because he’s sat behind two legitimate NFL receivers, we don’t know yet what his ceiling is. Chris steps into the WR2 role now, after catching 28 passes for 371 yards and five touchdowns in 2019. Expect those numbers to skyrocket in 2020.

True Freshman, Douglas Emilien has yet to take a snap in a Gopher uniform but I firmly believe he will earn the WR3 role by the time Michigan and Minnesota lineup at TCF Bank Stadium on October 24. He’s a very shifty and quick Wide receiver, who knows how to create seperation. Here’s his Hudl.

We will still see Seth Green again, for his Wildcat QB role. Don’t sleep on Daniel Jackson either, especially if any injury issues were to sprout up.

Tight End

Role	Player	Class
Starters	Jake Paulson	Jr (RS)
	Brevyn Spann-Ford	So (RS)
	Ko Kieft	Sr (RS)
	Bryce Witham	Sr (RS)

Depth	Austin Henderson	Fr

I don’t know that there will be a true “starter” at tight end this season. The four veterans will mainly split snaps, depending on the role that needs filled for that play. Keep an eye on Brevyn Spann-Ford, though. He’s a big 6’7″ kid, who could be a threat in the pass game, now that Kirk Ciarrocca (who hates TE’s) isn’t calling the shots.

#Gophers back at it today for fall practice.

And let me tell ya, Brevyn Spann Ford could be quite the end zone target this season. pic.twitter.com/lTAj5q85uz
— Hobie Artigue (@HobieFOX9) August 6, 2019

One of the plays of the day yesterday turned in by Brevyn Spann-Ford from St. Cloud. More on him in our recap: https://t.co/OldNmIXhtc pic.twitter.com/4jYAQtXCH2
— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) April 3, 2017

Offensive Line

Role	Player	Class
Left Tackle	Sam Schlueter	Sr (RS)
— Depth	— Blaise Andries	Jr (RS)
	— JJ Guedet	Fr (RS)

Left Guard	Blaise Andries	Jr (RS)
— Depth	— Conner Olson	Sr (RS)
	— Austin Beier	So (RS)

Center	Conner Olson	Sr (RS)
— Depth	— John Michael Schmitz	Jr (RS)

Right Guard	Curtis Dunlap Jr	So (RS)
— Depth	— Axel Ruschmeyer	Jr (RS)

Right Tackle	Daniel Faalele	Jr
— Depth	— Blaise Andries	Jr (RS)
	— JJ Guedet	Fr (RS)

This will be a very interesting group to watch, come October 24th. While I have Curtis Dunlap with the 1’s for now, I’m not so sure that’s what unfolding at practice. Dunlap Jr. put his name in the transfer portal about a month ago, just to pull it out a day later. Curtis might have to earn his spot back, but I’m fairly certain come game one, he will be starting. He’s too talented.

This was a solid group last year, that had some growing pains early on, but found their footing by the B1G Ten season. They return all 6 starters, which certainly helps. The improvement of Sam Schlueter and Curtis Dunlap really elevated the Gopher OL to another level in 2019. If they take another step forward in 2020… watch out.

As a group, this Minnesota Gophers offense is loaded with talent. They put up numbers so ridiculous in 2019, it’s possible we see regression in some statistical categories. As a whole, however, I expect this offense to take another step forward, behind the leadership of Tanner Morgan and veteran talent that riddles this side of the ball.

More consistency from the front of the schedule, to the back, would go a long way toward a successful 2020.

Max Carroll | Minnesota Sports Fan