The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-09-12

GOPHERS LOOK GOOD.
Football Material at the University
Is Apparently This Year of
Good Quality.
New Men Average Well in Weight
and General Physique-Lack
of Punters.

While 1t has been possible to form q
more accurate estimate OF the 1ootpaii
material at the state university since the
return Of the squad from Clear water
lake, the true strength of the team which
viii represent Minnesota this year Is sun
problem.
At the time Of writing. seven veterans
of the 1902 team have reported. Ihese
include Strathern, center; schacht ana
Warren, tackles: Captain Rogers. left
end. Harris quarter, and lrsAeld and
Thorpe, half backs. The latter is likely
to play fullback. Davies and O'Brien,
halfbacks, are expected to get out IN d
few days. The reports of OBrlen,s AIS
affection were apparently not Well 1ouna-
ed. Manager Barnard says he has posi-
tive assurance that O'Brien will be out
for work Davies Is still an uncertain
quantity, but Is expected to show up
soon.
The most serious problem just now ap-
pears to be that OF the guards. ihere ate
several mon in the squad who have the
necessary beef, combined with certain
degree Of speed and experience. but there
Is none who has SO far proven himseH OF
varsity caliber. It is hardly propaoie that
Flynn can be replaced this year. IL VIII
be difficult also to find a hrst-class pun
ter Gleason former st. Thomas PLAYER,
has shown the greatest ability IN k1cklng'
and may be selected as fullback for this
reason He has both weight and speed.
AL of the men are yet unknown quantlties,
but 1t may reasonably be expected that
out of the big bunch OF material, enough
men Of varsity caliber can be round 10
fill all the vacancies. -
Numerically the squad this year is
weak. The average number Of candidates
out has been about thiry-far too small
a bunch for a university with an annual
registration Of more than 5000 students.
In weight and general physique, how
ever, the squad looks stronger than usual,
and the spirit shown by the men has
been encouraging. .... .-s..a
An Individual criticism Of the candidates
at this time would be both difficult and
fruitless difficult because Of the large
field, and fruitless because it would be
necessary ere long to change any estimate
made now. In brief, however, 1t may be
said that the material even If green. is
better than was expected before the sea-
son opened.
According to an alumnus of Michigan,
now residing in Sioux Falls. "Yost has SUI
fered more by the loss Of old players than
was generally supposed. In letter to
TIL @ Jour a | the man in question says
that only five of the team which faced Chi
cago last fall will return this year. Nc
Gugin, guard Palmer and Cole, tackles,
Fweeley end, Weeks, quarter, Herrnstetn,
halfback and Jones, fullback, are num-
bered among the missing. Jones, 1T is
said, will be unable to play on account OF
an injury to his knee and general poor
health. Gregory, center, Carter, guard,
Maddox tackle. Redden, end, and Hes
ten halfback, will return. If this is cor
rect the chances of Minnesota and Chicago
are materially increased.
Chicago looks very strong on paper this
year. and there seems to be good reason
for the prediction that Stage will turn
out the best team in his career as a
coach The maroons lose but two men In
line, sKoehler and Farr, the tackles With
Maxwell, the 240- pound guard; Catlin,
Speik, Ellsworth. Lee Maxwell. Schnur,
Ivison, Bezdek,' Jennison, Hitchcock, Bur-
roughs, Wightman. and Parry, Stagg's
team will average somewhere near $50
pounds, and probably will supplant Mime
sofa as the heaviest team In the west.
Yet Stage has never been prone to sac
rifce speed for weight, and If his team is
heavy it will also be fast. Stage will have
twelve men who won their Cs last year
He has lost some strong men, notably
Koehler, Farr and Captain Sheldon, who
was valuable not much for his 1ndivid-
ual play as for his brains and the fighting
spirit with which he inspired the team
still Chicago's material must be acknowl-
edged to- be very strong; perhaps the best
on paper a western team ever had at the
beginning Of the season. Besides his ole
men Stage has secured number of high
school players Of ability.
Besides the best material Chicago has
the hardest schedule Illinonis, North
western and Wisconsin come on success
sive Saturdays. Worse than this, the
hard West Point game in the east comes
just before the Michigan contest or
Thanksgiving Day. This means hare
trip both before and after the game.
Coach Mccormack Of the Purple clever
recently said that he expected to have
about fifty men trying for the eleven, anC
that 1t was his intention to give all thu
members Of the squad an opportunity t
show their ability in game, in order t
see how they act under fire."
ct was my practice at Dartmouth,
said Coach Mccormack. "to play abou
forty men in the preliminary games whel
was certain Of winning them, and man.
men who were considered poor materia
were1gdiscovered in these prelimnar,
men in the game produces a good feeling
in the squad and creates material"
In discussing the effect Of the new foot
ball rules, Walter Camp says that mos
coaches will try to train their teams II
both mass formations and plays Will
seven men in the line. He says:
There Is no need to dilate upon for
nation plays. because players and COACHES
have in the last two ears studied thes
most faithfully and have originated man!
excellent methods of advancing the bal
in this way. The question, therefore
now is narrowed down to what kind o
plays will be effective with seven men II
the line. To go back over the history o
the game5it will be found that the mos
effective play Of all in use when team
were under this system was the end run
1t Is true that this would not gail
ground as steadily and rapidly as plunge
into the line, but when the play once cam
off successfully 1t was sure to go for
very long gain and in any contests
proved to be the case that two or tire
long gains of this kind brought the ba
within striking distance and settled tn
result.
I'm those days the quarterback an
guard like Mccormick and Heffelfnge1
of Yale, would go out around the end i
the interference and thus enable a ma
Ike Bliss to circle the end completely
There are some who believe that thes
wide end runs can still be brought o.
and effectively. There are others who ar
quite as sure that this cannot nowaday
be accomplished, because as they say, tn
defense is so improved, and the genera
play Of the tackle, halfback and end, an
their development has rendered 1t +almos
impossible even for the best team with tn
best runners, to go clean around
make anything like the old-time gains.
"This difference of opinion will have
be settled on the field this year. and til
4 captains and teams that can bring o
'ifa s1,cr Serld runs as were performed in til