Scoggins: Drake Lindsey has been Gophers’ most consistent player heading into trophy game at Iowa

Problem areas popped up throughout the first half of the Gophers football season. Inconsistent offensive line play. Anemic running game. Poor tackling. Inexperience and injuries in the secondary.

Notice what isn’t on that list?

The quarterback.

Freshman Drake Lindsey has been the team’s best player heading into Saturday’s trophy game at Iowa. That’s not an exaggeration. The No. 1 question mark heading into the season has not been a concern at all.

The young guy was more than ready for the assignment.

“Show me three Big Ten quarterbacks who are having more of an impact on their team than him,” former Gophers quarterback Tanner Morgan said.

Morgan didn’t base that statement on statistics. He looks at what Lindsey is being asked to do at the line of scrimmage before the snap, the mental demands being placed on him to coordinate the offense and elevate a supporting cast that was largely unproven or unknown with the exception of running back Darius Taylor.

Harbaugh said Lindsey changes a run play call to a better running play at the line “all the time.” In a win over Nebraska last week, Harbaugh employed a two-back formation a handful of times. He gave Lindsey two or three calls in the huddle in those situations.

“It’s a challenge, but it’s a challenge that he accepts weekly,” Harbaugh said. “He would be upset with me if I took less off his plate.”

How challenging is that responsibility for a freshman quarterback? Listen to two guys who hold the top spots in numerous passing records in program history.

“What he’s doing is insane,” Morgan said. “Everything flows through him. What he is doing at the line of scrimmage is way more difficult than people think.”

Why?

Said Adam Weber: “That can be challenging for an inexperienced quarterback. He needs to understand defensive structure and what the offense is trying to accomplish. Then on top of that, he needs to have confidence that what he’s seeing is correct and make the check at the line of scrimmage. Play clock, field position, down and distance, score, etc., all factor into his decisions.”

More Weber: “I commend the coaches for preparing Drake in practice so that he has the tools and understanding going into the game to make those split-second decisions. You can show a quarterback all the different looks in practice, but undoubtedly on game day the defense will do something different and so the quarterback needs to be able to think fast, make the check, and execute.”

Lindsey makes solving that pre-snap Rubik’s Cube look routine. The most impressive aspect of his first seven games as the starter is the calmness he exudes in operating the offense. He doesn’t appear jumpy or unsure. He surveys the defense as if he has a pretty good idea of the answer to the problem.

“You’ve got to piece it all together,” he said.

Harbaugh’s scheme incorporates principles found in NFL offenses. Morgan referred to the system as “Vikings Jr.”

Said Lindsey: “They do give me a lot of freedom. Really, he just wants me ultimately to get the offense into the best look. If I need to change something, that’s kind of on me.”

Harbaugh began giving quarterbacks more latitude with Max Brosmer last season. Brosmer, now a rookie with the Vikings, demonstrated a high capacity for processing the mental aspects of the position. Lindsey was right there beside him absorbing the information.

“That’s one thing [Harbaugh] wanted us to be able to do as quarterbacks: If something is wrong, get the offense into the right look,” Lindsey said.

Harbaugh gave an example from the Nebraska game. The offense had practiced for a certain defensive look all week. Lindsey recognized it and checked to a run that resulted in a 6-yard gain, instead of what likely would have been a tackle for loss.

“We were in second-and-4 because of his prep,” Harbaugh said.