I wrote a story for tomorrow's paper about Adam Weber and his weekend at the Mannings' quarterback academy a couple of weeks ago, which is one reason the Gophers' captain feels increasingly confident about his senior season. But he mentioned one other reason for optimism: His health.

"I lost some confidence last year because I didn't like how my body felt," Weber said. "I wouldn't say there were many games where I felt completely comfortable." That's because he underwent surgery on his left shoulder shortly after his sophomore season. And while it wasn't his throwing shoulder, and it wasn't especially painful, the recovery cost him valuable workout time, meaning he wasn't in as good physical shape as he planned or wanted. "I wasn't thinking about it, but I wasn't feeling like I normally do," Weber said. "There are times when you get into a zone on offense, and I didn't have many of those last year. Whether it was because I wasn't being completely confident about my shoulder or conditioning or whatever, that got frustrating." A year later, he's in even better shape, Weber said, and the shoulder is no longer even an inkling when he's behind center. "I've never been so ready to go," he said.