The Wake

Coach Glen Mason’s firing was a necessary move for the program after the embarrassing Insight Bowl loss against Texas Tech, but it put recruitment in jeopardy. The situation eerily resembles much of Mason’s tenure; as much success as there was, there were also failures.

National signing day is February 7 and the problem of recruiting young talent is pronounced. Minnesota has never appeared as a prestigious destination for top recruits due to the weather and the prospect of playing in the worst stadium in college football. Minnesota made a quick decision to hire Tim Brewster to salvage the recruitment class.

Little is known about Brewster outside of his accomplishments. He worked with Mack Brown at North Carolina and Texas, helping to attract recruits such as Vince Young. We know that Brewster will focus on luring in-state talent more vigorously than years past, but much remains to be known about how the team will look on the field.

The press conference offered little insight into what to expect on the field with gems like, “We’re going to run the football, I promise you. Minnesota has always run the football. We are going to run it, we’re going to throw it and we’re going to do whatever it takes to win.” It is expected that Brewster will run the ball having coached under Mack Brown, Marty Schottenheimer and Mike Shanahan, who have always shown a strong run offense.

Brewster filled the need for the Gophers as an experienced coach and highly regarded recruiter. What remains to be seen is how his leadership will affect the program. He stated his number one goal is to win the Big Ten conference, which is what everyone wanted to hear. How he will achieve that goal remains the most pressing concern for fans.

Fans will expect a lot from Brewster after years of mediocre Gopher football, and his ambiguity as to the design of the offense hasn’t exactly stymied concern. “People ask: ‘What do you do? Are you west coast? Right coast? Do you run the ball? Pass the ball?’ We’re going to do what we can to win, physically and with an element of toughness. What are we going to do on defense? We’re going to run real fast and dictate tempo to the offense.” His answers resembled another Minnesota head coach who has kept the media at bay and remained unclear about his team.

Although it was a press conference, it would be nice to see just what his design may look like. Brewster will be under great pressure to succeed and fans want to know his plan. There’s a lot of excitement building with Gopher football fans, because the Athletic Department stepped up and boldly decided mediocrity is not what they desire. With the firing of Mason and hiring of a revered recruiter, fans and the Athletic Department appear on the same page now.

With the building of a new stadium in 2009, a coach who can recruit the team could make some dynamic changes and transform the program into a powerhouse. It remains unclear what direction Brewster will take, but he will dictate what type of program the University wants. Football programs bring in millions of dollars to universities and Minnesota has not put itself on pace with the other Big Ten schools. With the prompt firing of Mason, it appears that the Athletic Department is taking steps in the right direction to turn the football program into a serious contender.

It would be nice for fans to have something to cheer for instead of craving the opportunity to chant “Fire Mason.”