darius taylor

The quest to keep possession of the Little Brown Jug is on this weekend, as Michigan heads to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers. Minnesota is 3-2 on the season with victories over Nebraska and two non-con foes, all at home, while their losses have all been road games. They got thoroughly beaten in Chapel Hill by UNC and then blew a massive lead en route to an OT loss in Evanston against Northwestern. Today we'll be looking at the offense of Minnesota. 

The Film: Of those games mentioned in the intro, three are power five opponents. Of those three, I'm not honestly sure who has the best defense, as I'm not impressed by any. I may still lean Nebraska, but I wanted to watch a game with Darius Taylor healthy, the star RB for Minnesota, even if he is presently injured (with status in doubt for Saturday). So I charted the Northwestern game but looked at tape from UNC and Nebraska to help with the task. 

Personnel: Click for big. 

Minnesota's QB is Athan Kaliakmanis, the first time since 2017 that they've not had Tanner Morgan as the primary starter. Kaliakmanis, the "Greek Gunslinger", showed some flashes amid inconsistent play late last year but hasn't been able to take a step forward in his play. The dual threat ability is notable, but does not redeem the profile. Kaliakmanis' wild arm leads to inaccuracy in the passing game and an overall dormant aerial attack for the Gophers team. My view of Kaliakmanis as holding back the offense is why he has received the cyan designation. 

The lifeblood of this offense is RB Darius Taylor, which is why it is a major concern for Minnesota if he is unable to go against Michigan. He suffered an injury late in the Northwestern game and was inactive against Louisiana-Lafayette. No indication has been given at this time if he will play on Saturday. Taylor, a true freshman from Walled Lake, was a player Mike Hart briefly expressed interest in late in the 2023 recruiting cycle and Taylor's performance to date has made Hart look smart for doing so. He's brought stability and strong play to a Minnesota RB room that was missing that, as WMU transfer RB Sean Tyler did not transition to the team terribly well, while neither Bryce Williams nor Zach Evans have set themselves apart. 

The Gophers brought back star TE Brevyn Spann-Ford, who has had a rather peculiar season. After being a stand-out player for Minnesota last season, his PFF grades have been horrendous. I didn't think he was that bad against Northwestern, but thought he struggled blocking and his receiving numbers for this season have indicated a checkdown target and not much more. We decided not to cyan him because his 2022 level of play is quite good, but it is definitely clear that he has not been as strong this season. When Minnesota goes with two TEs they bring on Nick Kallerup or Jameson Geers. Neither of these players are good. 

At WR, Daniel Jackson has stood out the most as a favored red zone target of Kaliakmanis, with four touchdown catches to his name already. You may recall his highlight reel grab late in the Nebraska game. WMU transfer Corey Crooms is their slot WR, while Le'Meke Brockington lines up outside with geriatric receiver Chris Autman-Bell injured. Neither of these other two starters are noteworthy to me. Charlotte transfer Elijah Spencer finds himself further down the transfer but does appear on our diagram. 

I have generally not been enthused by the Minnesota offensive line this season, especially in comparison to past iterations of itself, but they haven't yet been bulldozed by an opponent so cyans are only affixed to a couple names. The tackles are Aierontae Ersery on the left and ND transfer Quinn Carroll on the right, both your 6'6/6'7" Minnesota tackle but I didn't come away terribly enthused with either in my viewing. Nathan Boe holds down the center job and is alright, while the guards rotate some, the starters being Tyler Cooper and Martes Lewis. Lewis is the weakest member of the starting unit in my estimation and rotates out for Greg Johnson. They also use Karter Shaw as a 6th OL, but he has been subpar in your author's view. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: an offense that doesn't look threatening]