Minnesota’s rushing issues have plenty of moving parts, but one of the clearest trouble spots has been hiding in plain sight: the tight ends.
The Gophers have spent the first five games trying to piece together a ground game that still hasn’t found its footing. They’re 16th in the Big Ten and 116th nationally in rushing offense at 120.4 yards per game, and they still haven’t topped 200 rushing yards in any game.
The extremes tell the story. Minnesota managed only 13 rushing yards in the home blowout loss to Mississippi State, then turned around the next week and posted a season-best 191 against Akron.
There have been other reasons for the struggles. The offensive line has looked more physical over the last two weeks, particularly against Michigan.
Offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. has also tweaked the run game since Week 3, adding gap-scheme concepts to a Minnesota attack that has long leaned on zone blocking during the P.J. Fleck era.
That adjustment has shown some promise, even if it has taken time for the line and running back Darius Taylor to get comfortable with it.
But the tight end room has become a real issue.
Minnesota entered the season needing to replace its top three tight ends from a year ago. Oklahoma transfer Kaden Helms was added as a veteran presence, but the room is still young and untested, with redshirt junior Pierce Walsh and redshirt sophomore Julian Johnson leading the way.
Redshirt junior Sam Peters, redshirt sophomore Jacob Simpson, and true freshmen Roman Voss, George Rohl, and Gabe Weaver are behind them. Walsh, Johnson, and Helms have handled most of the snaps.
The problem shows up most clearly in the run game.
Against Michigan on Saturday, Minnesota had a 3rd & 2 early in the second quarter at its own 33-yard line. In 11 personnel, with Johnson attached to the right side and receiver Javon Tracy motioning in as an extra blocker, Johnson was assigned to Nathaniel Staehling.
He got displaced right away, and Staehling met Darius Taylor in the backfield for a loss. Even if Johnson had won his matchup, the play still had another issue: Chase Taylor was left unblocked.
Later in the second quarter, Minnesota tried the Wildcat out of 11 personnel, with Darius Taylor taking the snap and Xavier Ford to his right. The offensive line did its job on the C-gap run, with right tackle Daniel Shipp driving the defensive tackle back into the linebacker and taking both out of the play.
That left Walsh with the edge rusher, and Walsh was tossed aside immediately. Ford had to clean it up by taking on the edge rusher himself, and Taylor squeezed through for the first down.
Then came another rough sequence for Johnson in the third quarter.
Minnesota lined up in a bunch set with Jalen Smith and Javon Tracy and Johnson to the left of the line. The center Greg Johnson and the right side handled their assignments, Bennett Warren blocked one defensive tackle with help from Nathan Boy, and Boy climbed to the linebacker.
But Johnson got driven back by defensive end Tariq Boney, forcing Taylor to bounce outside into traffic. Instead of building momentum, the play netted only a yard.
A false start turned it into 3rd & 11, and Taylor was dropped for a four-yard loss on a blown-up screen pass. Minnesota ended up punting in Michigan territory.
That kind of thing has not been limited to one afternoon. It has been a theme.
Walsh and Johnson are not being written off as bad players. They’re inexperienced, and their development is still very much in progress.
As P.J. Fleck likes to say, failing is growing, and both tight ends are doing plenty of growing right now.
The issue is that Minnesota needs better results before that growth fully shows up on Saturdays.
The staff clearly knows the situation is a problem. The Gophers have leaned on 12 personnel far less than they have in past seasons, and they’ve even used a wide receiver as an extra blocker on occasion. Another possible answer would be using an offensive lineman at tight end, but that option comes with its own complications because Minnesota’s line depth is already thin after season-ending injuries to Ashton Beers and Brett Carroll, plus Jaden Ball being out with an arm injury.
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