Injured Gophers get in the game, but to little effect

By KENT YOUNGBLOOD, Star Tribune

Last update: November 23, 2008 - 12:30 AM

All three Gophers players whose status was questionable this week played against Iowa Saturday, with varying levels of success.

Start with wide receiver Eric Decker, who had missed most of the past two games because of a sprained ankle.

Decker started, and played. But he made only two catches for 33 yards.

"They did a nice job with him,'' coach Tim Brewster said. "But Eric was not 100 percent. He gave a valiant effort to play tonight.''

Safety Kyle Theret and middle linebacker Lee Campbell, also coming off sprained ankles, played, though Campbell didn't start.

Theret finished with 10 total tackles, tying linebacker Deon Hightower for the game high. Theret also broke up a pass.

Campbell finished with four tackles.

Happy returns

Looking for a bright spot in an otherwise dismal Metrodome finale? Try Troy Stoudermire.

Stoudermire is the Gophers' kickoff return man. Saturday he made the most of several opportunities.

Stoudermire worked hard to give the Gophers good field position all night. He had nine kickoff returns -- 'count em, nine -- for a school-record 283 yards, a 31.4-yard average. With that performance Stoudermire, a true freshman, finished with the single-season school record for kick return yards with 909.

Saturday, he had a 58-yard return in the second quarter and another of 50 yards mid-way through the fourth quarter.

"What a game he played,'' Brewster said. "He was competing his butt off, biting and scratching to the end of the game.''

Stoudermire's 290 all-purpose yards were the fifth-most in team history. He also finished the regular season with a 27.4-yard kick return average, tied with Bobby Weber for most, all-time.

Cornerback picks U

Before the game against the Hawkeyes had begun, the Gophers had a Saturday victory.

Daryl Robinson's return to Division I football will come in TCF Bank Stadium. Robinson went to Temple as a running back, then left for West Hills Community College in Coalinga, Calif., this season He committed after taking a tour of the campus Saturday morning. He will play cornerback for the Gophers.

"I liked the whole atmosphere," said Robinson, whose cousin, Juwan Edwards, is a Gophers freshman defensive lineman. "I had never been around Minneapolis, never been in Minnesota. I liked the city, the staff. I liked everything."

As a freshman running back and receiver at Temple, Robinson had 347 rushing yards. But he left that program for West Hills.

Among others in town making visits were four-star offensive lineman Taylor Lewan from Scottsdale, Ariz., who is being sought by top programs all over the country, and Jeremy Gainor, a linebacker from Detroit. Also visiting was defensive back Dakotah Tyler of Indianapolis and defensive back Kenneth Watkins from Birmingham, Mich.

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