With suspensions, injuries in the past, Gophers secondary a strength again

The Gophers have had several pieces missing from their secondary but should be closer to full strength for Saturday's game at Maryland.

KiAnte Hardin showed what a difference he makes last week, when he returned from a three-game suspension against Iowa and delivered seven tackles and an interception.

"KiAnte's a really good player, so yeah, it makes a huge difference just because he's played for one thing," defensive coordinator Jay Sawvel said. "He played last year a lot, and he's extremely talented, so getting him back was a huge deal."

Ray Buford, back from his suspension, was with the first-team nickel package. But the Gophers were still missing reserve safety Duke McGhee (concussion) and Antonio Shenault, who had filled in for Hardin and Buford as a starting cornerback but was out sick for the Iowa game.

McGhee and Shenault are both back practicing this week, as is starting safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who suffered an unspecified injury against Iowa. Throw in the two senior mainstays — cornerback Jalen Myrick and safety Damarius Travis — and the Gophers secondary should be back at full strength for Maryland.

"This is the first time since really like the first game that we've really had more of our depth at corner like we hoped to," Sawvel said. "And we get Duke back this week, so it's better having more depth at safety, too."

Speaking of DBs ...

Trey Creamer, a consensus three-star cornerback from Cartersville, Ga., announced Thursday that he has committed to the Gophers. The 6-foot, 175-pound Creamer drew reported offers from a number of high-profile schools, including Michigan State, Maryland, Purdue, Louisville and Wake Forest. In his announcement on Scout.com, Creamer said his final choices were Minnesota, Georgia Southern and Tulane.

Creamer is the Gophers' 13th commitment for the Class of 2017. Among the key players on the current roster from Georgia are Rodney Smith, Shannon Brooks, Myrick, Jonathan Celestin, McGhee, Vincent Calhoun and Donnell Greene.

Linemen area wanted

The Athletes Village project will take the Gophers football and basketball practice facilities from the bottom of the Big Ten toward the top.

Construction is moving along, with concrete towers rising from the ground. But some elements of the original design have been shelved.

The football team is getting a new indoor facility, but plans are on hold for the team's indoor linemen facility. That element was designed to give the Gophers an indoor half-field, similar to the one they have outside, for use by the offensive and defensive linemen.

The issue has been discussed by the Board of Regents.

"It's a necessity in my opinion; it's not a luxury," coach Tracy Claeys said. "The reason being is that we're up north farther than anybody, and everybody else can still go outside most times of the year, and use their O-line equipment and chutes and D-line equipment — the chutes and sleds.

"We don't have a space inside for that. ... We have players-only practices twice a week all year long, so we really need that. Right now, we don't get to use those things during the offseason because we don't have a place for them inside. And I think it hurts the development of our big guys. So hopefully we'll find a way to get that done."