Gopher Football Spring Practice Report #2

From GopherSports.com:

With nearly 200 of the state’s top high school coaches looking on, the Minnesota football team worked through its second of 15 spring practices at the indoor practice facility of the Gibson-Nagurski football complex Saturday afternoon.

The coaches on hand at practice were just a portion of the over 700 who attended the annual Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association clinic that featured a number of the Golden Gophers’ coaches as speakers, including head coach Tim Brewster.

The Gophers put on a good show for those in attendance, drilling for roughly two hours in helmets and shorts. Afterward Brewster said he was please with the spirit and tempo the team exhibited throughout the workout.

“I really like the way the team came out and responded to our challenge to have another great practice,” Brewster said. “Right now we are two-for-two this spring as far as our practices are concerned and our effort is concerned. Our attention to detail was excellent again today, which was nice to see because a lot of our players were practicing in front of their former coaches and that’s really special.”

Minnesota spent the majority of the practice working on fundamentals before ending the workout with a spirited 20 minutes 11-on-11 session.

Adam Weber took the brunt of the snaps under center at quarterback, with Tony Mortensen, Clint Brewster and David Pittman also getting in the mix.

Pittman was especially impressive in the quarterback run game and showcased his speed on a 30-yard burst of the right sideline that featured a nifty move at the line of scrimmage that had several defenders grasping at air.

“David does a lot of different things very well,” Brewster said. “He’s a very smart kid and he has learned the offense very quickly. He can really do some things with his feet that are exciting.”

The Minnesota defense also had another strong practice and produced a number of negative-yardage plays during the team session.

“I’m really excited about what we’re doing defensively under Ted Roof,” said Brewster. “There’s a tremendous attitude and effort developing. Swarm, attack and tackle is what we are emphasizing with the defense. And if we play with great effort and passion every snap we have a chance.”

Brewster noted that the veterans on defense continue to catch his eye. Defensive ends Willie VanDeSteeg and Lee Campbell along with linebacker Steve Davis sustained their solid play Saturday. Brewster also said he was impressed with the efforts of redshirt freshman Anthony Jacobs.

The Golden Gopher will get their first taste of contact next Tuesday, when Minnesota dons pads for the first time this spring.