Gophers depth chart has Handy-Holly starting at safety, Croft at No. 3 QB

The Gophers on Tuesday morning released their depth chart for Saturday's game at Purdue, and it contained a couple of interesting wrinkles.

First, true freshman Ken Handy-Holly is listed as a starter at safety in place of the suspended Duke McGhee. Handy-Holly made his debut on last week's 31-24 loss to Maryland and will start ahead of senior Adekunle Ayinde.

"I thought he played well. He did what he was supposed to do,'' coach P.J. Fleck said of Handy-Holly on Monday. "You could tell it was his first experience that he ever had playing college football, but again there is always a first for everybody.''

The other starting safety, Antoine Winfield Jr., still is listed as a starter on the depth chart. Fleck said "we'll see'' regarding Winfield's availability following a hamstring injury suffered in the first quarter against Maryland.

The other interesting development on the depth chart was the listing of Demry Croft as the third-string quarterback. The sophomore has been suspended indefinitely for violating team rules, and Fleck on Monday was asked if there was a path for Croft to return to the team. "Eventually,'' the coach said.

Croft, who began the season as co-starter with Conor Rhoda but missed the past two games under suspension, was not listed on last week's depth chart.

Redshirt freshman wide receiver Phillip Howard was listed as a starter at the position formerly occupied by true freshman Demetrius Douglas. On Sunday, Fleck announced that Douglas will miss the rest of the season because of an injury and that the program will seek a medical redshirt for him.