Happy Max Brosmer Day – What to Expect from Gophers QB Savior

The Minnesota Gophers kickoff their 2024 football season tonight, vs the North Carolina Tar Heels. Expectations are low. Star running back Darius Taylor is questionable, with a leg injury, entering the game.

That development may or may not have led to sportsbooks moving the Gophers from 1.5 point favorites to 1.5 point underdogs (at home), in a matter of hours, earlier this week. With or without Taylor, the Golden Gophers are projected by most to finish near the bottom of the new Big Ten, by season’s end.

What those sportsbooks aren’t calculating, and what those viewing this program from a distance do not realize, is the dude they have at quarterback. Most who are reading this article are already well aware of Max Brosmer. That he landed in Dinkytown after using up all but one season of his college eligibility at FCS New Hampshire.

New Minnesota Gophers QB Max Brosmer Dominated FCS

About how he was one of two top passers in the nation last year, at that level. If you need a refresher, Brosmer’s 2023 statistics at New Hampshire look like a foreign language to Minnesota Gophers fans, who haven’t seen a ball travel through the air successfully very often, since the 2019 season concluded.

In Max threw the ball over 450 times in 2023. That’s 41 times per game. When the dust settled on his senior season, Brosmer had piled up 3,464 yards (most in FCS) and 29 touchdowns (2nd in FCS). Oh, and PJ Fleck’s favorite part: He only threw five interceptions on the season. His 2022 was impressive, as well.

As is usually the case when you are the best quarterback in your league, Max Brosmer took home a lot of FCS hardware in 2023. He was named 1st-Team All-Conference (CAA) and an FCS All American… among many others (per New Hampshire Athletics website). Again, these are just for 2023.

• AFCA All-America First Team
• Associated Press All-America Second Team
• FCS Football Central All-America Second Team Offense
• Phil Steeele All-America Second Team
• Walter Payton Award Top 3 Finalist
• College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team
• William v. Campbell Trophy semifinalist
• ECAC FCS Offensive Player of the Year and All-ECAC Offense
• New England Football Writers Association All-New England Team
• New England Football Writers Season Gold Helmet Award
• FedEx Ground Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete Award Finalist
• CAA Football Chock Boone Leadership and Excellence Award
• CAA First Team Offense QB

But of course, Power Four football is a lot different than what Brosmer played vs FCS competition. So… what should we expect out of the 23-year-old from Roswell, GA?

Teammates, coaches hyping Brosmer up incessantly

Well, Brosmer was an exciting get for PJ Fleck, months and months ago, when he first signed. The numbers and highlights you just saw above can tell that much of the story. From there, you wait to see what those inside the University of Minnesota football program had to say about their new family member.

Weekly dinners with the O-Line is an absolute must… Love these guys. Grateful to Freehouse (@FreehouseMpls) for this NIL partnership and the great food and service! pic.twitter.com/Weep338skj

— Max Brosmer (@maxtbro) August 28, 2024

Normally, that is where expectations often change. And that’s exactly what we saw with Max. Except, instead of trying to tamper down expectations or quiet hype that naturally builds around these new QBs, those inside the program have shoveled in piles and piles of coal into the Max Brosmer hype train.

“He loves to play chess because the move you’re on will set up the next move. That’s how he looks at quarterback.”

“It’s fun because you can do pretty much anything with him. He’s fun to coach because you’re coaching him, but also having conversations with him… it’s unique, it’s a different relationship than I’ve ever had with a player. The last guy who I had it with was Skyy Moore who I could really sit there and talk to and have conversations about the film.”

Gophers OC Greg Harbaugh on Max Brosmer (via CBS Sports)

PJ Fleck, teammates, offensive coaches, defensive coaches…. they all rave about Max’s leadership, work ethic, and most importantly, his quarterbacking abilities on the field. He knows whey to hold ’em, when to fold ’em, and when to go all in. The Minnesota Gophers are pretty much talking about him like he is the savior of their program.

Once he started practicing with and hanging out around teammates and coaches for a few weeks, then a few months, their tone told us everything we needed to know. And it has not slowed since. They just continue to pack in more and more coal but that fire will not calm down.

There is a lot of excitement surrounding the Minnesota football program due to the transfer of QB Max Brosmer into the program this offseason.

Head Coach PJ Fleck and Max reflected on what brought Max to Minneapolis and how Brosmer is bringing everyone together. pic.twitter.com/Vt2eXfEHib

— Big Ten Ted (@BigTenTed) March 24, 2024

“You feel like he’s already been here for 30 years. I’ve never seen a person walk into a situation may be probably more uncomfortable of a situation because you’re the new guy and connect as many people as quickly as he has.”

The hype just gets hotter and hotter. Yet, the national talking heads and sportsbooks are still very hesitant to get on board. So… what should you expect from Max Brosmer tonight? That depends on who you ask. But at 7 PM tonight, none of that will matter. Because we will get to see it with our own two eyes.

Minnesota Gophers vs North Carolina Tar Heels prediction

North Carolina vs Minnesota Prediction: Gophers 27, Tar Heels 13

Not only are the sportsbooks and national media members sleeping on Max Brosmer, entering Thursday, but they are sleeping on Minnesota’s massive advantage in the trenches of this game. They are better on both the offensive and defensive line, and UNC doesn’t know who their starting QB is yet. I expect the Gophers to pounce.