JOTTINGS

• Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck said that while the team will have more depth this year, that doesn't mean it will have more experience. "We have nine total scholarship seniors, which is not a lot. We have to rely on our youth, our inexperience, and our depth is going to be full of young guys to really provide that type of boost for us."

• Fleck has 11 verbal commitments for the Class of 2019, a class that ranks No. 15 in the country, according to 247sports.com. That's third in the Big Ten behind Michigan (No. 8) and Ohio State (No. 9).

• Fleck talked about how the Gophers need to get more players into the NFL, noting they have had only 13 picks over the past 13 drafts: "We have to up that. That's one of the reasons I came here. We haven't had an offensive lineman drafted in 12 years."

• Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph said he is excited about new offensive coordinator John DeFilippo. "The success that he's had with tight ends that he's been around, it's exciting," Rudolph said. "We have a ton of playmakers on offense and he's mentioned multiple times that he's going to get the ball in everybody's hands."

• Gophers baseball coach John Anderson on Eli Wilson, the son of former Gophers and major league catcher Dan Wilson: "Last year he shared the [catching] duties with Cole McDevitt, and I think another big story line here with regards to how well we've pitched has been Eli Wilson's development behind the plate. He's much stronger than a year ago. He calls the game for us. We do not call pitches. He has done an incredible job of handling the pitching staff."

• Torii Hunter Jr., the son of the Twins great, played football at Notre Dame but is now making a name playing baseball in the minor leagues for the Angels. Hunter Jr. entered Saturday hitting .284 with 20 runs and nine stolen bases is 28 games for Class A Burlington.