The Minnesota Golden Gophers are no stranger to quarterback trouble; never able to find a true leader for the offense who can make tough throws down the sideline, sitting in the pocket and picking apart an opponent. They now have an offensive-minded head coach in P.J. Fleck, who is looked to as the man to bring Minnesota a signal caller.
Fleck had the quarterback competition narrowed to just a pair of Gophers: Conor Rhoda and Demry Croft. He announced on Thursday that both players would receive snaps in the opener against Buffalo on Aug. 31. While this is an unconventional way to approach the competition for starter, both present a skill set that can plug into the Gopher offense.
Croft lit up the Gophers spring game, pushing the ball downfield and picking apart the defense, highlighted by a pretty 47-yard shot to Rashad Still. Croft should be a solid presence in the pocket with elusiveness when faced with a pass rush. He has looked like the more polished quarterback so far. The downside to Croft is a real lack of any game experience, only having thrown for 34 yards last season while never making a start.
His high school tape tells a promising story. While Croft can run, he does a good job sticking in the pocket and hanging with the play. He has a big arm that can throw to the sideline from the opposite hash mark and zip the ball into a window or drop it in a bucket. If they can continue to build on his progressions and reads to help him truly pick apart the defense, he can outdo Rhoda and win the starting spot outright.
On the other side of the battle, Rhoda is the incumbent (of sorts) who has a start against Maryland, in which he threw for 82 yards and a touchdown on 7-of-15 throwing. He is the one with actual game-speed snaps under his belt and could have the raw materials to be the Gophers’ pocket passer, with the size to endure Big Ten hits from pass rushers.
However, he has been inconsistent over the summer, with his footwork and fundamentals growing sloppy. While both quarterbacks kept the rock safe in the spring game and did not record any turnovers, Rhoda was more dink-and-dunk when throwing. He also had some nice plays on the ground, but for the returning quarterback in the veteran role, he has been outplayed by Croft.
Now both will see action against Buffalo, as the fight for an established quarterback will bleed into the season. The upside is that Minnesota has a great running game to help bring these quarterbacks through the none conference play. With the running back duo of Shannon Brooks and Rodney Smith, this offense could take it to the next level with a pocket passer who can spread the field and keep the box light. The back half of the season is a tough slate of Big Ten games, but if they can organize the offense to pair with a great defense, they stand a real shot at coming after Wisconsin to take the West.
If they cannot find the player that can lead the offense to take on the Big Ten’s elite, then this will be another Gophers offense that has to beat the running game to death because of a lack of options or creativity.
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