Gophers seniors leave proud legacy of handling adversity

In the four seasons since Lee Campbell left Florida to play for the Gophers, he has played two positions and had two head coaches and four defensive coordinators. There have been bowl games and bad times. So this week, as he and his fellow seniors prepared for their final college home game, it's no surprise that this is how he characterizes his senior class:

"Overcoming adversity," Campbell responded quickly. "We've been through a lot. I hope people can see, with everything we were handed, that we did the best with it."

Looking back wasn't particularly easy for Campbell, or any of his fellow seniors this week. College football players aren't wired to talk about a global view when there still are games to be played.

Take Garrett Brown, for example. Tuesday he was dressed in shirt and tie, getting ready for his internship with a downtown law firm. Legacy? All Brown wanted to talk about was South Dakota State, today's opponent. About finishing strong at Iowa a week later. About getting to, and winning, a bowl game.

"We want to make sure our legacy is that we finish out 2-0 and go out on a high note, go to a better bowl game than people expected of us," he said.

Responding to nonstop change

The 26-member senior class that will be honored at today's home finale against South Dakota State is a diverse group. There are players such as defensive end Barrett Moen, center Jeff Tow-Arnett and his brother, tight end Nick, who started as walk-ons. Or guys like Campbell and cornerback Marcus Sherels, who changed positions along the way. Campbell played defensive end and linebacker while Sherels moved from wide receiver to cornerback.

Defensive linemen Eric Small and Cedric McKinley and linebacker Simoni Lawrence came to the Gophers out of junior college. Receiver Eric Decker, his season ended by a foot injury, also will be there.

"Our legacy is the ability to adapt to change," wide receiver Ben Kuznia said. "Change has been such a big thing for us, going through all the different coaches and coordinators we've had. It's that ability to change and be solid with it, adapt to it. I think we represented ourselves well, both on and off the field."

Probably nobody would claim satisfaction with the amount of victories; the 1-11 record in coach Tim Brewster's first season was difficult to take. Last year's four-game losing streak to end the regular season was just as hard. This year's Gophers carry a 5-5 overall record and a 3-4 Big Ten mark entering today's game against South Dakota State, a Football Championship Subdivision team. Still, many believe the seniors have set an example in both work ethic and resolve that will help the program going forward.

"I'm just kind of surprised there are so many of us, the fact that we stuck with it," Jeff Tow-Arnett said. "I'd like to think we taught some of the younger players about work ethic; maybe that rubbed off a little bit.''

In a recent film session, the coaches showed the team clips of Campbell playing on special teams, pouring the same effort he puts into the middle linebacker position into trying to block a PAT, a field goal.

"You look at the effort he plays with," Brewster said. "That effort, that attitude really becomes who your team is. That's what seniors can do, show others what is acceptable and what's not. ... Eric Decker, you could talk for two hours about him, what he's meant to this program, what he means to this team. Eric Small, another guy who pours his heart into it. Garrett Brown, Nate Triplett. All these guys have done a great job of setting the table."

Underclassmen follow in footsteps

Expectations will be higher next season no matter how the 2009 Gophers fare in their final two regular-season games. Brewster moving into a fourth season would mean that much of the roster will be filled with players he recruited. Nine of the 11 defensive starters are seniors. On offense there is only one senior atop the depth chart, but recent recruiting classes have been heavy on offensive linemen and running backs, and quarterback MarQueis Gray -- one of Brewster's recruiting jewels -- will be a sophomore pressing for more time. The bevy of young receivers already playing will be a year older.

If next year's replacements are ready for prime time, much of the credit will go to their mentors.

"When you're new, when you're a younger guy, what you try to do is look for your spot on the team," sophomore defensive tackle Brandon Kirksey said. "You look to the older guys to see how that's done. Look at Garrett and Eric. They were great examples, on and off the field. No problems. They were in the books. On the field they had such great work ethic. I'll just say that me and [fellow defensive tackle] Jewhan [Edwards] will have some big shoes to fill."

It is a feeling shared by many of the Gophers' younger players.