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Gophers football: 5 Questions entering the 2024 season

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Published  August 24, 2024 12:00pm CDT
Minnesota Golden Gophers
FOX 9

P.J. Fleck Show: Gophers talk North Carolina at State Fair

This week on the P.J. Fleck Show, we preview the Gophers 2024 season opener against North Carolina with Coach Fleck, Ahmad Hicks, Ron Johnson and Justin Gaard from the State Fair

The Brief

    • P.J. Fleck is entering Year 8 at Minnesota after going 6-7 in 2023
    • Fleck is 50-34 with the Gophers, including 29-32 in Big Ten play and 5-0 in bowl games
    • The Gophers schedule gets tougher in 2024, with the additions of UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten. Minnesota faces UCLA and USC this season.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The University of Minnesota football season kicks off Thursday, Aug. 29 against North Carolina at Huntington Bank Stadium under the lights at 7 p.m., a game you can watch on FOX 9. The Gophers are coming off a 6-7 mark in 2023, needing a high APR score to get to a bowl game.

So what’s the outlook for the 2024 season? Here are five questions facing the program.

How does Max Brosmer look?

The Gophers will only go as far as their quarterback can take them. It’s a new era, with Athan Kaliakmanis gone to Rutgers. Enter New Hampshire transfer Max Brosmer, who was a finalist last year for the FCS version of the Heisman Trophy. He threw for 3,464 yards and 29 touchdowns last season. In 36 career games, he has more than 8,700 yards and 70 touchdowns. The Gophers haven’t seen those kinds of numbers since Tanner Morgan in 2019, and that team went 11-2.

In fall camp, Brosmer has developed chemistry with Daniel Jackson. After that, it’s been a lot of looks to running backs and tight ends. He’ll take what the defense gives him. If Brosmer has a good start, this team has a chance.

What does the RB room look like after Darius Taylor?

Darius Taylor might be the Gophers’ best offensive player, but he missed half of last season with a hamstring injury. He suffered another injury during fall camp, so what if he can’t go against North Carolina? 

Oklahoma transfer Marcus Major has looked good in fall camp. Ohio transfer Sieh Bangura has looked good in his reps, and Jordan Nubin splashed as a back-up last season. Fleck has restocked the room, and there are options of Taylor is hurt.

What’s the status of the trenches?

The Gophers’ offensive and defensive lines might be the greatest strengths entering the season. Minnesota’s offensive line is established with Greg Johnson at center, Aireontae Ersery at left tackle, Tyler Cooper at left guard, Quinn Carroll at right guard and either Martes Lewis or Phillip Daniels at right guard. 

On the defensive line, the edge rushers are Jah Joyner, Anthony Smith and Danny Striggow. The interior features Jalen Logan-Redding and Deven Eastern. If both lines stay healthy, look out.

Who’s in the receiver room after Daniel Jackson?

There should be opportunities for explosive plays in the passing game with Brosmer and All-Big Ten receiver Daniel Jackson. But who steps up behind him? It’s a big year for Elijah Spencer, who has struggled with consistency and drops. It also could be a big year for Le’Meke Brockingont, and Penn State transfer Christian Driver has splashed in fall camp. 

What’s up in the secondary?

The Gophers have Justin Walley and transfer Ethan Robinson as starting defensive backs. The bigger question is at safety, where the names are Darius Green, Aidan Gousby and Coleman Bryson. There’s a chance we might even see true freshman Koi Perich.

Fleck has said this has been his most competitive fall camp ever. We’ll see if that translates when the live bullets start flying on Aug. 29 against North Carolina at Huntington Bank Stadium.