2015 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 2015 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Jerry Kill, who resigned on October 28, 2015 due to health reasons. Tracy Claeys[1] replaced Kill on an interim basis and was named head coach two weeks later on November 11.[2] The Gophers played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium. They were a member of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. Minnesota finished the regular season with a record of 5–7, 2–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the West Division. Despite finishing below .500, the Gophers were invited to the Quick Lane Bowl versus Central Michigan due to there not being enough bowl eligible teams and Minnesota's high Academic Performance Rating.[3] Minnesota defeated Central Michigan 21–14 to finish the season 6–7.

2015 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Quick Lane Bowl champion
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionWest Division
2015 record6–7 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coachJerry Kill (first 7 games, 5th year)
Tracy Claeys
(interim 2 games/HC last 3 games)
Offensive coordinatorMatt Limegrover (5th season)
Defensive coordinatorTracy Claeys (5th season)
Captains
Home stadiumTCF Bank Stadium
(Capacity: 52,525)
2015 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 6 Michigan State xy$^  7 –1     12 –2  
No. 4 Ohio State x  7 –1     12 –1  
No. 12 Michigan  6 –2     10 –3  
Penn State  4 –4     7 –6  
Indiana  2 –6     6 –7  
Rutgers  1 –7     4 –8  
Maryland  1 –7     3 –9  
West Division
No. 9 Iowa xy  8 –0     12 –2  
No. 23 Northwestern  6 –2     10 –3  
No. 21 Wisconsin  6 –2     10 –3  
Nebraska  3 –5     6 –7  
Minnesota  2 –6     6 –7  
Illinois  2 –6     5 –7  
Purdue  1 –7     2 –10  
Championship: Michigan State 16, Iowa 13
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

Recruiting
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight 40‡ Commit date
Beebe, Colton
FB		 Kansas City, KS Piper HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 248 lb (112 kg) 4.75 Dec 17, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 71
Brooks, Shannon
RB		 Jasper, GA Pickens County HS 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 4.56 Sep 11, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 73
Buford, Ray
ATH		 Southfield, MI Southfield HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 193 lb (88 kg) 4.65 Jul 19, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 75
Connelly, Nick
OL		 Red Wing, MN Red Wing HS 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 269 lb (122 kg) 5.04 Jun 24, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 72
Craighton, Alonzo
DB		 Geismar, LA Dutchtown HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 184 lb (83 kg) 4.60 Oct 13, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 77
Croft, Demry
QB		 Rockford, IL Boylan Catholic HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 192 lb (87 kg) 4.66 Jun 30, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 73
DeLattiboudere, Winston
DL		 Ellicott City, MD Howard HS 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 4.78 Feb 1, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Dovich, Bronson
OL		 Chaska, MN Chaska HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 290 lb (130 kg) N/A May 30, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 74
Femi-Cole, Jonathan
RB		 Aurora, ON, CN St. Andrew's College 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 4.59 Jul 19, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 74
Hall, Mose
DL		 Mobile, AL Murphy HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 253 lb (115 kg) 5.03 Jan 27, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 72
Hardin, Kiante
ATH		 Webb City, MO Webb City HS 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 4.55 Oct 14, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 72
Huff, Jacob
DB		 Bolingbrook, IL Bolingbrook HS 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 201 lb (91 kg) 4.65 Jun 5, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 76
Huff, Julian
LB		 Bolingbrook, IL Bolingbrook HS 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 4.70 Jun 5, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 75
Johannesson, James
RB		 Fargo, ND Fargo South HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 216 lb (98 kg) 4.55 Aug 22, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 73
Johnson, Dior
DB		 Southfield, MI Southfield HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) N/A Jan 28, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 75
Moore, Tyler
OL		 Houston, TX North Shore HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 317 lb (144 kg) N/A Dec 16, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 77
Oseland, Quinn
OL		 Springfield, IL Sacred Heart Griffin HS 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 303 lb (137 kg) 5.53 Aug 13, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 76
Register, Hunter
WR		 Lafayette, LA Ovey Comeaux HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 191 lb (87 kg) 4.58 Jan 21, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 74
Rogers, Charlie
DB		 Iowa City, IA Iowa Western CC (JC) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 208 lb (94 kg) 4.47 Dec 3, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 78
Shenault, Antonio
DB		 Roselle, IL Lake Park HS 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 4.61 Oct 9, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 72
Stieber, Ted
OL		 Akron, OH Archbishop Hoban HS 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 298 lb (135 kg) 5.86 Jun 18, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 74
Still, Rashad
WR		 El Paso, TX Andress HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 4.50 Jan 24, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 79
Waters, Jaylen
LB		 Copperas Cove, TX Copperas Cove HS 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 230 lb (100 kg) 4.63 Jul 21, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 77
Witham, Bryce
TE		 Grand Rapids, MI West Catholic HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 240 lb (110 kg) 4.68 Jan 26, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 73
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 56   Rivals: 52  247Sports: 63  ESPN: 62
  • ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Yahoo Sports: Rivals.com 2015 Minnesota Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  • "Scout.com 2015 Minnesota Commitments". Scout.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  • "ESPN 2015 Minnesota Commitments". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015.

    Schedule

    Minnesota faced all six Big Ten West Division opponents: Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, and Wisconsin. The Gophers also faced Big Ten East Division opponents Michigan and Ohio State.[4] Minnesota played four non-conference games: TCU of the Big 12 Conference, Colorado State of the Mountain West Conference, and Kent State and Ohio of the Mid-American Conference. Minnesota had one bye week during the season between their games against Nebraska and Michigan.

    DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
    September 38:00 PM#2 TCU*
    		ESPNL 17–2354,147[5]
    September 122:30 PMat Colorado State*
    		CBSSNW 23–2032,500[6]
    September 1911:00 AMKent State*
    • TCF Bank Stadium
    • Minneapolis, MN
    		BTNW 10–752,823[7]
    September 262:30 PMOhio*
    • TCF Bank Stadium
    • Minneapolis, MN
    		BTNW 27–2453,917[8]
    October 311:00 AMat #16 Northwestern
    		BTNL 0–2730,044[9]
    October 102:30 PMat Purdue
    		ESPNUW 41–1333,780[10]
    October 172:30 PMNebraska
    		ESPN2L 25–4854,062[11]
    October 316:00 PM#15 Michigan
    • TCF Bank Stadium
    • Minneapolis, MN (Little Brown Jug)
    		ESPNL 26–2950,789[12]
    November 77:00 PMat #1 Ohio State
    		ABCL 14–28108,075[13]
    November 147:00 PMat #8 Iowa
    		BTNL 35–4070,585[14]
    November 2111:00 AMIllinois
    • TCF Bank Stadium
    • Minneapolis, MN
    		ESPNewsW 32–2347,976
    November 282:30 PMWisconsin
    		BTNL 21–3152,850
    December 284:00 PMvs. Central Michigan*
    		ESPN2W 21–1434,217

    Roster
    2015 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
    Players Coaches
    Offense
    Pos.#NameClass
    WR 1 K. J. Maye (C) Sr
    WR 2 Isaiah Gentry  Fr
    QB 7 Mitch Leidner (C)  Jr
    WR 9 Eric Carter  So
    QB 11 Demry Croft Fr
    WR 12 Hunter Register Fr
    WR 14 Chris Streveler So
    WR 15 Desmond Gant  Fr
    QB 15 Conor Rhoda  So
    WR 16 Jeff Jones  Fr
    QB 18 Jacques Perra  Fr
    WR 19 Michael Conway  So
    WR 20 Adam Mayer Fr
    WR 21 Melvin Holland  Sr
    WR 22 Jeff Borchardt  So
    WR 23 E.J. Sardinha  Jr
    RB 24 Rodney Smith  Fr
    RB 27 Shannon Brooks Fr
    RB 27 James Johannesson Fr
    RB 28 Jonathan Femi-Cole Fr
    RB 28 Jerry Gibson  Fr
    WR 29 Louis Tuszynski  Jr
    RB 32 Berkley Edwards  So
    RB 35 Rodrick Williams Sr
    WR 37 Charlie Greif Fr
    FB 41 Miles Thomas Sr
    FB 43 Tyler Hartmann  Jr
    TE 44 Gabe Mezzenga  Jr
    RB 44 Jacob Kirsch  Jr
    TE 44 Colton Beebe Fr
    TE 45 Nick Hart  So
    TE 49 Bryce Witham Fr
    OL 53 Luke Rasmussen  Fr
    OL 55 Connor Mayes So
    OL 58 Quinn Oseland Fr
    OL 60 Matt Leidner  So
    OL 61 Bronson Dovich Fr
    OL 62 Jared Weyler  Fr
    OL 63 Jon Christenson  Sr
    OL 64 Matt Oldenkamp  Fr
    OL 65 Josh Campion  Sr
    OL 66 Ted Stieber Fr
    OL 67 Brian Bobek  Sr
    OL 68 Issac Hayes  Jr
    OL 70 Chad Fahning  So
    OL 71 Tyler Moore Fr
    OL 73 Joe Bjorklund  Sr
    OL 74 Nick Connelly Fr
    OL 75 Noah Kuehn Fr
    OL 76 Alex Mayes  So
    OL 77 Foster Bush  Sr
    OT 78 Ben Lauer  Jr
    OT 79 Jonah Pirsig  Jr
    TE 80 Nate Wozniak  So
    TE 81 Duke Anyanwu  So
    WR 82 Drew Wolitarsky Jr
    TE 83 Noah Scarver  So
    WR 84 Will Reger  Fr
    TE 85 Lincoln Plsek Sr
    TE 86 Brandon Lingen So
    WR 88 Rashad Still Fr
    WR 89 Matt Morse Fr
    		 Defense
    Pos.#NameClass
    DB 2 Dior Johnson Fr
    DB 3 KiAnte Hardin Fr
    DB 4 Adekunle Ayinde  So
    DB 5 Jalen Myrick Jr
    DB 6 Ace Rogers  Jr
    DB 7 Damarius Travis Sr
    DB 8 Daletavious McGhee  So
    DL 9 Alex Keith Sr
    DB 11 Antonio Johnson Sr
    LB 12 Cody Poock  So
    LB 13 Jonathan Celestin So
    DB 14 Zo Craighton Fr
    LB 15 Everett Williams So
    DB 17 Jacob Huff Fr
    LB 18 Peter Westerhaus  Sr
    LB 19 Cedric Dicke  Jr
    DB 20 Julian Huff Fr
    DB 22 Craig James So
    DB 25 Ray Buford Fr
    LB 26 De'Vondre Campbell  Sr
    DB 29 Briean Boddy-Calhoun (C)  Sr
    LB 30 Chris Wipson  So
    DB 31 Eric Murray (C) Sr
    DB 33 John McKelvey  Jr
    DB 34 Antonio Shenault Fr
    LB 35 Jaylen Waters Fr
    DB 36 Blake Cashman Fr
    DB 40 Alexander Starks  So
    DL 46 Winston DeLattiboudere Fr
    LB 48 Blake Weber So
    LB 50 Jack Lynn  Jr
    DL 52 Yoshoub Timms  Jr
    DE 55 Thieren Cockran  Sr
    LB 56 Nick Rallis  Jr
    LB 57 Joey Mydra Fr
    LB 59 Ray Dixon  So
    DL 69 Justin Carr  Jr
    DB 87 Cavonte Johnson  Jr
    DL 87 Gaelin Elmore So
    DL 90 Sam Renner Fr
    DE 91 Julien Kafo  Fr
    DL 92 Robert Ndondo-Lay  Sr
    DT 94 Mose Hall Fr
    DL 95 Hendrick Ekpe Jr
    DT 96 Steven Richardson So
    DL 97 Scott Ekpe  Jr
    DL 98 Kevin Lapham Fr
    DE 99 Andrew Stelter So
    		 Special teams
    Pos.#NameClass
    K 18 Ryan Santoso  So
    LS 25 Payton Jordahl  Fr
    K 33 Andrew Harte  So
    P 34 Logan McElfresh  Fr
    P 37 Peter Mortell  Sr
    K 38 Emmit Carpenter  Fr
    LS 39 Trey Hansen Fr
    LS 40 Chase Samuels Fr
    K 42 Justin Juenemann  So
    P 47 Jacob Herbers Fr
    Head coach
    Coordinators/assistant coaches
    • Brian Anderson (Wide Receivers)
    • Matt Limegrover (Offensive coordinator
    • Dan O'Brien (Asst. Defensive Backs / Co-Special Teams Coordinator / Asst. to the Head Coach)
    • Jeff Phelps (Defensive Line)
    • Pat Poore (Running Backs / Co-Special Teams Coordinator)
    • Rob Reeves (H-Backs / Tight Ends)
    • Jay Sawvel (Defensive Backs)
    • Mike Sherels (Linebackers)
    • Jim Zebrowski (Quarterbacks)
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injured
    • Redshirt

    Roster
    Last update: December 31, 2015

    References
    1. Christensen, Joe (October 28, 2015). "Jerry Kill Retires As U football Coach Due to Health Problems". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
    2. "Tracy Claeys named University of Minnesota football coach". Star Tribune. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
    3. "Gophers could still be eligible for bowl berth". Fox Sports. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
    4. "2015-2016 Schedule". University of Minnesota Department of Athletics. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
    5. Christensen, Joe (September 4, 2015). "Gophers Drop Their Chances to Knock off Horned Frogs". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
    6. Christensen, Joe (September 13, 2015). "Gophers Need OT to Top Colorado State 23-20". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
    7. Christensen, Joe (September 20, 2015). "Signals About QB Are Mixed After Gophers Sputter in Win Over Kent State". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
    8. Christensen, Joe (September 27, 2015). "Gophers Score on Final Drive to Escape with Win Over Ohio". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
    9. Arnold, Jeff (October 4, 2015). "Gophers Drop the Ball in Big Ten Opener". Post-Bulletin. Rochester, MN. Associated Press. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
    10. Washburn, Jeff (October 13, 2015). "Purdue Seeking Answers at Season's Midway Point, Travel to Wisconsin Next". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Archived from the original on October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
    11. Christensen, Joe (October 18, 2015). "Nebraska Overpowers Gophers for 48-25 Victory". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
    12. Christensen, Joe (October 31, 2015). "Gophers-Michigan Game Recap". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
    13. Christensen, Joe (November 8, 2015). "Too Little, Too Late As Gophers Fall 28-14 to Ohio State". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
    14. Christensen, Joe (November 15, 2015). "Iowa Keeps U Hog-Tied". Star Tribune. Minneapolis. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
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