It's easy to fixate on how Mitch Leidner and the other Gophers quarterbacks fit with new offensive coordinator Jay Johnson. But there's an adjustment for Shannon Brooks, Rodney Smith and the running backs, too.
When Johnson was at Louisiana-Lafayette, the Ragin' Cajuns were known for their balanced attack. Two seasons ago, for example, they ranked 22nd nationally in rushing offense, with two tailbacks (Elijah McGuire and Alonzo Harris) combining for 2,071 yards, and quarterback Terrance Broadway passing for 2,295 yards and rushing for 653.
So how well do Brooks' and Smith's skill sets fit with Johnson's system? Both said they love it after Saturday's practice. The Gophers are using a zone blocking scheme, as opposed to a more downhill gap scheme under former offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover.
"The paths that we take are different," Smith explained. "Everything is not downhill. We're working on our zone schemes. We get into the B-gap, which gets the defenses flowing. We have more perimeter plays now and we have more things that we haven't installed yet that get me and Shannon out at slots. I feel like that'll be really good for us as an offense, getting playmakers in space."
Added Brooks: "The offensive scheme is different, but I feel like it fits this offense here more then just power all the time."
Brooks and Smith combined for 1,379 rushing yards last season as freshmen. Coach Tracy Claeys sees big things ahead for both of them, assuming the offensive line improves.
"We're still going to be a run-based football team, and [the running backs] all have the skill sets to do that, that's for sure," he said. "Those two [Brooks and Smith] -- they could play in just about any scheme. They're that talented. It's more about getting the people around them to do their job to give those guys a chance.
"If we can get them to the line of scrimmage full-speed without somebody slowing them down, they make tremendous full-speed cuts and we'll have a lot of big plays out of those two kids. A lot of times, they didn't get that chance a year ago."
