Gophers football: Fruechte's vocals and play rise together

Constant communication finally created the opportunities Isaac Fruechte had been longing for.

The Gophers senior receiver spent the past four Saturdays identifying ways to get the ball in the air more and the coaches were listening. He caught nine passes during this stretch and identified himself as a primary target with a career-best effort against Illinois.

Fruechte caught three passes for 105 yards and a touchdown. A 52-yard reception in the opening minutes of the third quarter jump-started the Gophers' offense and run at a second-half comeback.

"Just communicating with the quarterbacks coach, coach [Jim Zebrowski], and coach [Brian Anderson] and up to the box with coach [Matt] Lime­grover, we felt confident with our play-action pass game, and it was really nice to be able to talk with the coaches and kind of have feedback in what we were running," Fruechte said.

"I always had pretty good confidence going in. I've just been excited that I get the opportunity to get out there and play."

Gophers quarterback Mitch Leidner expects Fruechte to continue to be an important piece of the offense moving forward. The pair has connected for at least one big play in each of the past three games and continues to put up season and career highs.

With sophomore receiver Drew Wolitarsky suffering a high ankle sprain against Illinois, Fruechte's opportunities could increase even more.

Leidner said Fruechte's regular communication with the coaching staff shows he wants the ball in his hands and the wide receiver always points out any time he's open.

"He's going to be a big factor for us," Leidner said. "He only continues to get better every single day. His intensity and work ethic he brings to the table every single day, he out works everybody out there, and that's what is setting him apart right now."

The 6-3, 202-pounder out of Caledonia, Minn., hasn't been a regular target in the Gophers offense since early in his sophomore season. With so much attention turning to slowing down running back David Cobb, Fruechte is eager to make the most of the extra looks.

"Mitch is doing a great job. The O-line is doing a great job. Everybody is keying in on David Cobb, so that helps us out a lot and hopefully gives us a chance to make some plays," he said.

Overcoming slow starts

Gophers coaches continue to absorb the blame from Saturday's loss. Jerry Kill said people need to look to the head coach when a team continues to look sluggish early in the game.

"I'm not going to blame the kids. I gotta do a better job of getting them out of the gate," Kill said. "We play an 11 o'clock game against [Iowa]. Maybe we need to get them to bed at 8 [p.m.] or something, but we got to get them up and going. That's going to be a big key to the game."

Kill said he will stay busy preparing for Iowa on Saturday when the Gophers are off, but he will also attend the funeral of late University of Minnesota Regent David Larson, who died last weekend at age 70. Larson, a former Cargill executive, was a big supporter of the team and Kill since he took over in 2011.

"The most important thing is to honor [his life]," Kill said.