Gophers running back Rodney Smith made a strong statement ahead of Wednesday's first practice.

"Since I've been here," Smith said Tuesday on the eve of training camp, "this is one of the best teams that I've been a part of."

Might seem like a run-of-the-mill cliché from any athlete, but coming from Smith, it means a bit more. The senior has been on the team since 2014, thanks to a redshirt year and a season-ending injury in 2018.

Or as fellow running back Mohamed Ibrahim put it: "He's been there for like 10, 11, 12 years."

Ibrahim is fond of doubling that year total to make his mentor feel old, but when the longest-tenured member of the team — who even predates coach P.J. Fleck — says this upcoming season has him "excited," it piques some interest. And he's not the only member of the Gophers stoking the hype for 2019.

Fleck echoed Smith's sentiment, saying he hasn't been this amped for a training camp in "a very long time," and he attributes that enthusiasm to the collective group of players, coaches and operational staff.

"It takes a little while to get it exactly where you want it. It does," Fleck said. "When you take new jobs, which was 2½ years ago, there's a new place. People fit. People don't fit, whether it's coaches, players. So it's worked out really well. I feel really good about our team going into camp. Most people do."

The Gophers expect to take another step forward this season. They were 5-7 Fleck's first year, and 7-6 last season with highlight victories at Wisconsin and in a bowl game. A favorable schedule — avoiding Big Ten East powerhouses Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State — also fuels the 2019 outlook.

That's especially possible considering a few major factors. The team won't ride a first-year quarterback, with sophomores Zack Annexstad and Tanner Morgan — who split time last year — again battling for the starting job this camp.

There are three starting-caliber running backs who return with a combined 6,001 yards: Smith, cleared for full practice this camp after a knee injury; fellow senior Shannon Brooks, close to clearance from his knee injury; and Ibrahim, last year's backup turned breakout.

The receivers are similarly stacked, from NFL hopeful senior Tyler Johnson, who set single-season Gophers records last year with 1,169 receiving yards and 12 touchdown catches, to sophomore Rashod Bateman, who set a freshman team record of 704 yards.

Defense is undoubtedly a little more fluid, with defensive coordinator Joe Rossi in his first full season after acting as interim halfway through last year. Competition at a few positions, such as cornerback, is wide open. But safety Antoine Winfield Jr. will look to put together a complete season after injuries prematurely ended his previous two. Carter Coughlin, another NFL prospect, will aim to add to his 110 career tackles as a defensive end.

"It's hard not to look at the team we have right now and say that it's not something special," Coughlin said. "We've got depth in a lot of different positions. We've got playmakers in a lot of different positions, on offense and defense. And as long as our offense and defense keep getting better throughout fall camp … and keeps clicking, it's going to be really special."

Reflecting on last season, Fleck said the theme then was a "race to maturity," with so many young players forced into key roles. This year, with more experience, the focus is on "how to truly win games."

"Most games in college football are lost," Fleck said. "… This is a team that's going to find its own ways to win. It's going to have a different identity, possibly, than last year, the year before that, which every team does. And we've talked to them about, throughout this whole camp, education is going to be about how games are won. How can this football team maximize the win count the best we possibly can."