Spring practice has ended. So what now?
The Gophers are back in the weight room already. The coaches have left them on their own to practice until training camp opens Aug. 6. But these captains' practices aren't just a bunch of guys out throwing the ball around. It's an extension of the things they worked on throughout spring practice.
In other words, they'll be out there working on the no-huddle offense, etc. Last Friday, on the day before the spring game, the coaches wanted to see how it would look, so they let the players run practice. The players built their own practice scripts and everything. Mitch Leidner ran the offense. Briean Boddy-Calhoun handled the defensive backs. Jon Christenson, who is rehabbing a leg injury, had a visor on with a sheet of paper filled with practice information, in a tribute to Matt Limegrover.
"They did awesome," coach Jerry Kill said. "Our job is to get those guys so knowledgeable that they could go coach if they wanted to. They need to understand everything."
Here's a quick look at the offseason timeline:
Next Monday -- Assistant coaches hit the road recruiting.
The players continue with conditioning workouts and captains' practices through the end of spring semester finals, May 16.
Mid-June -- The incoming freshmen move onto campus. Summer school starts June 15.
June 8 - Aug. 5 -- Summer workouts and captains' practices.
July 30-31 -- Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.
Aug. 6 -- Training camp opens.
Sept. 3 -- Season opener against TCU.
