Gophers' young secondary out to replicate recent success

Former Gophers captain Briean Boddy-Calhoun has a nickname for his school that he'd like to see stick: DBU (Defensive Back University).

"We are trying to get this thing national," Boddy-Calhoun said last month. "But it just looks like it's in Minnesota for now."

The Gophers are riding an NFL draft wave with that position group. Safety Brock Vereen went in the fourth round (Bears) two years ago, and safety Cedric Thompson (Dolphins) went in the fifth round last year. Boddy-Calhoun and Eric Murray, two decorated cornerbacks, expect to be drafted later this month. And the team believes it has another sure NFL prospect returning this fall, in senior safety Damarius Travis.

But here's a question heading into Saturday's spring game: How will DBU fill the holes at cornerback left by Murray and Boddy-Calhoun?

Speedy senior Jalen Myrick is back, but the rest of the cornerbacks are young, led by sophomores KiAnte Hardin, Antonio Shenault and redshirt freshman Ray Buford.

"Oh, we'll be fine. We'll be fine," Myrick said. "You know, they're going to step up. I'll make sure they step up. And they don't want to get embarrassed out there."

That's the concern. The Gophers pass defense has been a strength since Jay Sawvel came aboard as defensive backs coach five seasons ago. Last year, the Gophers ranked 11th in the nation in pass defense, allowing 179.5 yards per game.

The Gophers could see these holes at cornerback coming and used it to their advantage in recruiting. As Claeys and Sawvel have noted, recruits pay special attention to depth charts, calculating their decision on potential playing time.

Sawvel reeled in a strong cornerback class in 2015. Like Myrick, Hardin is one of the fastest players on the team, having won the 100-meter state title in Missouri (10.71 seconds). With Boddy-Calhoun battling a knee injury last season, Hardin saw extensive playing time as a true freshman. He played cornerback and also returned kickoffs and punts.

Hardin and Dior Johnson, a promising redshirt freshman safety, were out because of injuries earlier in spring camp, but both returned this week.

"We haven't had any big [injuries]," Claeys said. "You tell them the Wally Pipp story. Cedric [Thompson] sent me a picture of Lou Gehrig and said, 'Coach, this just reminded me of Wally Pipp.' And I tell the kids that [story] all the time."

The Gophers' top cornerback in this year's recruiting class — Coney Durr, from Geismar, La. — picked Minnesota despite heavy interest from Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

Sawvel noted that cornerback recruiting could be more difficult moving forward. This fall, the Gophers will have six well regarded cornerbacks — Hardin, Shenault, Buford, Durr, Thomas and Winfield — in their lower two grades.

"That becomes a little more of a challenge," Sawvel said.

But it's one the Gophers hope to overcome while continuing to bolster their success at defensive back.