U's Leidner tries to beat the tweets

ORLANDO – Mitch Leidner deleted his Twitter account after the Gophers lost to TCU in mid-September.

He'd started using the social networking site only a few months earlier, when he was getting ready for his first full season as a Big Ten starting quarterback.

"When you have it in the offseason, it's all fun," Leidner said. "Nobody's really saying too much about you."

But the third-year sophomore from Lakeville South became a lightning rod for criticism after throwing three interceptions and losing a fumble in the 30-7 loss at TCU. Several people sent replies to @ MitchLeidner7, unloading on him.

"I went on, just to delete it and looked at a couple things," Leidner said. "I was like, 'Wow, people are pretty ruthless on here.' It didn't really affect me. I don't really care what people think, but it was just a waste of time as well."

Leidner chalked it up as another lesson learned during a thrilling yet trying season that has led the Gophers to Thursday's Citrus Bowl against Missouri.

He sprained a knee ligament, suffered turf toe and fended off criticism to lead the Gophers to their first 5-3 Big Ten record since 2003. He was instrumental in all five of those victories, but he completed only 37 percent of his passes in the final three regular-season games — the loss to Ohio State, the victory at Nebraska and the loss at Wisconsin.

He completed only five of 18 passes at Wisconsin. His lagging confidence was obvious late in that game, when he threw awkwardly off his back foot and bounced a relatively easy screen pass to KJ Maye.

"[Leidner] puts so much pressure on himself," offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover said. "He wants to do so well that sometimes, you know the baseball analogy, he wants to hit the five-run homer."

Limegrover said the coaches have been reminding Leidner, " 'You don't have to win this thing yourself.' And slowly but surely, he's figuring that out each and every week."

Leidner's overall completion percentage this season (49.0) ranks 119th in the nation among full-time quarterbacks. He knows he has his doubters but insists this only motivates him more.

"I think it's a really similar example, if you look at Tom Brady," Leidner said. "Everybody's saying at the beginning of the season, 'He's getting old. He doesn't have it anymore.' Now he's been able to overcome that and just play outstanding.

"I feel like every good quarterback has that type of mind-set. Somebody's going to talk about them like that. They're going to use it as fuel to just really thrive."

Two more seasons

Leidner still has strong support inside the program.

"I mean, you talk about somebody who kind of represents Minnesota — old, tough, hard-nosed kid, fights his guts out, comes back through adversity," coach Jerry Kill said of Leidner in November. "He's a great representative of really our state, being our leader."

There have been no hints of the Gophers looking to replace Leidner as the starter for next season. He'll have to fight to keep his job this spring, like any player, but he could remain the starter for the next two seasons.

After the TCU loss, when Leidner was too hurt to play against San Jose State, redshirt freshman Chris Streveler led the Gophers to a victory with 235 rushing yards, but completed only one of seven passes. Behind them on the depth chart are walk-on Jacques Perra, redshirt freshman Conor Rhoda and true freshman Dimonic Roden-McKinzy.

The Gophers love the dual-threat high school quarterback they have committed to sign in February — Demry Croft, from Rockford, Ill. But he won't be on campus until summer and is a likely redshirt in 2015.

The coaching staff wants to see how Leidner can build off the experience he's gained. Kill still draws comparisons to Connor Cook's development at Michigan State, which had its rocky moments, too.

"There's two people [who take the brunt of the criticism] when you don't win — the head coach and the quarterback," Kill said. "I tell [Leidner] that all the time. I mean, if you can't handle that, you shouldn't be playing quarterback, so it's just part of it."

Bowl can be boost

The Gophers knew Leidner was tough, but he earned even more respect for the way he handled his injuries.

He got hit in the left knee as he released a pass in the season's second game, against Middle Tennessee State. He was diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament but returned the next week for the TCU game. With his mobility severely limited against the Horned Frogs, he then suffered turf toe — spraining of the ligaments around his left big toe.

After missing the San Jose State game, Leidner returned with some big performances in the victories against Michigan, Northwestern and Purdue. He admitted last week that he played through pain in September and October. But the team had a bye week after losing at Illinois on Oct. 25, and Leidner said he was fully healthy through November.

The mobility he showed last year as a freshman was back. He rushed for 77 yards against Iowa (while completing 10 of 13 passes for four touchdowns) and also rushed for 111 yards in the comeback victory at Nebraska.

Leidner still wears a brace on his left knee, but he said that's simply a precaution.

"Just the way I got hit, it was like wow, this could literally happen at any time," he said. "Now I see why quarterbacks wear one. It doesn't affect me running at all."

Leidner will need another one of his best games to help the Gophers beat Missouri, which has allowed only 208.5 passing yards per game, ranking 38th in the nation. He'll face a relentless pass rush led by All-America defensive end Shane Ray. Missouri has 42 sacks this season, compared with 24 for the Gophers.

The Gophers dismissed wide receiver Donovahn Jones from the team last weekend, but Leidner looks forward to having sophomore receiver Drew Wolitarsky back from a sprained ankle. Wolitarsky, who missed the past four games while Leidner's completion percentage sagged, had four catches for 94 yards in last year's Texas Bowl.

Those two connected on a 55-yard touchdown pass in that game. Even though the Gophers lost, the game proved to be a springboard for the offense heading into the offseason. Leidner hopes for a similar boost Thursday, this time capped with a victory.

"Just being able to do something like we did last year with the passing game would be great for us as an offense," Leidner said. "But the ultimate goal is just putting points on the board."

The Gophers have improved in that category each year under Kill, increasing their scoring average from 18.4 points per game to 22.1 to 25.7 to 29.3 this year.

If Leidner helps the Gophers outscore Missouri, he might win back a few fans. But they probably won't be hearing from him on Twitter anytime soon.