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 for 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
Record6–7 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMatt Limegrover (5th season)
Defensive coordinatorTracy Claeys (5th season)
Captains
Home stadiumTCF Bank Stadium
Seasons
← 2014
2016 →
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

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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

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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.

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 38:00 pmNo. 2 TCU*ESPNL 17–2354,147[5]
September 122:30 pmat Colorado State*CBSSNW 23–20 OT32,500[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 NorthwesternBTNL 0–2730,044[9]
October 102:30 pmat PurdueESPNUW 41–1333,780[10]
October 172:30 pmNebraska
  • TCF Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)
ESPN2L 25–4854,062[11]
October 316:00 pmNo. 15 Michigan
ESPNL 26–2950,789[12]
November 77:00 pmat No. 1 Ohio StateABCL 14–28108,075[13]
November 147:00 pmat No. 8 IowaBTNL 35–4070,585[14]
November 2111:00 amIllinois
  • TCF Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
ESPNewsW 32–2347,976
November 282:30 pmWisconsin
  • TCF Bank Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)
BTNL 21–3152,850
December 284:00 pmvs. Central Michigan*ESPN2W 21–1434,217
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Roster

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2015 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
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. # Name Class
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 20 Christopher Gray 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. # Name Class
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

Players into the NFL

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Round Pick Player Position NFL club
4 106 Eric Murray CB Kansas City Chiefs
4 115 De'Vondre Campbell LB Atlanta Falcons
Undrafted Briean Boddy-Calhoun CB Jacksonville Jaguars

References

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  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. Archived from the original on March 26, 2013. 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.