Continued: Just don't ask who's in charge

Adam Weber has always acted older than his age, especially when playing sports, but the Gophers quarterback admits he struggled at times with his leadership demands last season.

As a redshirt freshman starter, Weber was so busy just trying to process a tidal wave of information in a new offense that he didn't always feel comfortable raising his voice or taking charge of the huddle when needed.

"With personal confidence comes the leadership aspect," he said. "When you know every single thing about the offense, it allows you to be calm and be relaxed. I'm still young, but I'm a veteran now. I can calm those guys down and say, 'It's still just football.'"

While Weber feels more confident at the helm, the Gophers offense still has a long way to go, judging by its performance in the team's annual spring game Friday night before an estimated crowd of 5,000 at the Metrodome.

The offense had more turnovers (four) than touchdowns (two) and managed only 262 total yards on 71 plays.

"It was a sloppy way to end spring ball," said Weber, who completed 10 of 14 passes for 65 yards with one touchdown pass and a 1-yard TD run. "We had 14 good practices, and it would have been nice if we would have come out here and done a little better. We would have liked to put on a better show for our fans, but we had a good spring ball."

By all accounts, Weber had a strong spring practice that saw him cement his starting job after setting a host of single-season school records in 2007, including completions, attempts, passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Weber showed he has all the physical tools last season, but the coaching staff urged him to become a more vocal leader. A three-sport captain at Mounds View High School, Weber is no stranger to that role. But he wasn't as assertive as he wanted to be, because he was still trying to find his footing.

"If [teammates] have a question now, I'm able to get it addressed quickly," he said. "That's what I couldn't do last year. I would be like, 'I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do.'"

Gophers coach Tim Brewster said Weber looked far more confident this spring. Weber improved his footwork, refined his mechanics and has a far better grasp of the spread offense, which has resulted in fewer errant throws and poor decisions.

More than anything, though, Brewster said Weber has become the guy to whom everyone else looks.

"If you are the starting quarterback, you don't have an age or a grade," Brewster said. "You are the quarterback. What do quarterbacks do? They lead. That's what I've tried to do with Adam. He's really stepped up this spring."

Weber said he feels more in charge now. "You have to be the guy that, when you come into the huddle, everyone shuts up," he said. "They look at you and they know that we're about to make this play. It's third-and-long and they don't have any doubts that we're going to get it."

Brewster praised his defense in Friday's game, in which the Maroon beat the Gold 14-0. But the Gophers were without a handful of key players, and the play was sloppy at best.

They obviously have glaring deficiencies on both sides of the ball and will need immediate help from the incoming recruits.

"I haven't seen the tape, but I think it was a pretty darn impressive display of defense by our kids," Brewster said.

The Gophers also had a rough night on special teams with kicker Joel Monroe missing three field-goal attempts (38, 38 and 52 yards).

Marcus Sherels started at cornerback after moving from wide receiver last week and finished with three tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Sherels also was the gunner on punt coverage and averaged 46.5 yards on two kickoff returns.

He said he played cornerback in high school, so the switch hasn't been too difficult. "It's a natural adjustment," he said.

Gophers fans did not get to see much-hyped junior college transfer David Pittman, who was held out after injuring a hamstring in practice Thursday.

"He was broken-hearted," Brewster said. "His debut will be Aug. 30 [season opener vs. Northern Illinois]. He was really disappointed."

The Gophers also were without several key contributors, including tailback Jay Thomas (knee), tight end Jack Simmons (foot), linebacker Deon Hightower (shoulder), defensive end Lee Campbell (ankle) and tight end Nick Tow-Arnett (knee).