Gophers tidbits: Leidner status, another no-huddle offense

Mitch Leidner has a knee injury. That much we know. His status for Saturday's game at TCU remains an unknown.

Everyone from Jerry Kill to teammates praised Leidner's toughness Tuesday. Many expressed confidence that he'll be on the field Saturday.

That said, I'm guessing we won't know Leidner's status until just before kickoff.

The Gophers have no incentive to disclose whether Leidner will play this early in the week. Heck, they might not even know that answer until watching him move around in practice the next few days.

I've covered enough of these situations that I won't believe anything until kickoff Saturday.

Different look

Those familiar with TCU probably won't recognize the Horned Frogs offense. Coach Gary Patterson changed his offensive philosophy this offseason and installed a no-huddle, spread attack.

TCU will be the third consecutive no-huddle team the Gophers have faced this season.

"You're going to get Baylor speed of no‑huddle," Kill said. "So they are going to snap it about every 15, 16 seconds."

TCU is a member of the Big 12 Conference now so Patterson adjusted his offensive philosophy to keep pace with the other fast-break offenses in that league.

TCU does a lot of three-step drops, which means the ball comes out of the quarterback's hand fast. That makes it difficult for defenses to generate a pass rush.

I asked defensive tackle Cameron Botticelli about the keys to rushing a quarterback who gets rid of the ball so quickly.

The good and bad

The Gophers have created six takeaways already, including four interceptions by four different players. Defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys gave an interesting answer when I asked about turnovers.

"You always try to get turnovers, but I don't want to be a bad defensive team that relies on turnovers to get us out of situations," he said. "We have to play better on defense."

Youngsters on the field

The Gophers have played eight true freshmen this season, seven on defense. Kill said he typically only plays 3-4 true freshmen in a season, but injuries and unbalanced class sizes have forced his hand a little bit. (By comparison, the Tennessee Vols played 21 true freshmen in their season opener.)