The last time a freshman quarterback started a season opener for the Golden Gophers, Zack Annexstad finished 16-of-33 for 220 passing yards and two touchdowns in a 48-10 win over New Mexico State on Aug. 30, 2018.
Drake Lindsey, the redshirt freshman signal caller expected to lead the Minnesota offense when they take the field against Buffalo next week, will have one advantage Annexstad did not when making his first career start: He has actually attempted a collegiate pass — albeit only five of them.
Lindsey was 4-of-5 for 50 passing yards and one touchdown in limited action last year. He spent most of his freshman season attached to the hip of starting quarterback Max Brosmer, who transferred in from New Hampshire and left with the program’s single-season record for pass completions (268).
No one outside of the Minnesota locker room knows what to expect from Lindsey this year, though one thing is clear: He is the Gophers’ starting quarterback by choice, not by default.
Head coach P.J. Fleck and offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. could have reached into the transfer portal this past offseason and brought in a more experienced signal caller to step into the starting role.
Instead, they are betting on Lindsey.
It’s a gamble, especially when you consider recent history.
In the Fleck era at Minnesota, three quarterbacks have started a game as a true or redshirt freshman. That number only grows to seven when you go back to the year 2000. Here are the freshman season stats for each of those seven signal callers:
Athan Kaliakmanis (2022): 60-of-11 (54.1%), 946 passing yards, 3 TDs, 4 INTs
Tanner Morgan (2018): 89-of-152 (58.6%), 1,401 passing yards, 9 TDs, 6 INTs
Zack Annexstad (2018): 97-of-187 (51.9%), 1,277 passing yards, 9 TDs, 7 INTs
Mitch Leidner (2013): 43-of-78 (55.1%), 619 passing yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
Philip Nelson (2012): 75-of-152 (49.3%), 873 passing yards, 8 TDs, 8 INTs
Max Shortell (2011): 26-of-54 (48.1%), 309 passing yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Adam Weber (2007): 258-of-449 (57.5%), 2,895 passing yards, 24 TDs, 19 INTs
None of them completed more than 58% of their passes. Weber was the most prolific in terms of completions, attempts, yards, and touchdowns, but he also threw a whopping 19 interceptions.
Last season, Brosmer completed 66.5% of his passes (268-of-403) and threw for 2,828 passing yards with 18 touchdowns and six interceptions. Considering he was a fifth-year senior in his third year as a starting quarterback at the collegiate level, I don’t think it’s fair to expect Lindsey to put up similar numbers.
So what is fair?
How Lindsey fares in his first year as the starting quarterback will also depend on his supporting cast. The Gophers are breaking in three new starters on the offensive line, with both returning starters switching positions. Minnesota will look to Le’Meke Brockington and transfer receivers Javon Tracy, Logan Loya, and Malachi Coleman to replace their top two pass catchers from a season ago. And Minnesota will need to run the ball with more consistency to take the pressure off their redshirt freshman signal caller.
His offensive coordinator certainly isn’t tempering expectations, talking this fall about how much he is putting on Lindsey’s plate during fall training camp.
“We’re putting more on [Lindsey] because he can handle it,” Harbaugh told the media earlier this month. “That’s what we need to be successful this year.”
Gopher fans won’t have to wait much longer to see for themselves how much Lindsey can handle.
