Weber still with much work to do

Adam Weber didn’t exactly steal the show in the spring game.
Slower than usual, he was confined mostly to the pocket and finished the game a respectable 9-for-12 for 77 yards, but it was against one of the worst pass defenses in the country last season.
Spring game statistics aren’t a measure of much of anything, but Weber has a ways to go and he knows it.
After all, he wore the red “do not hit me under any circumstances” jersey for a reason — the junior-to-be underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason and couldn’t work out most of the winter. Before that, Weber had quick and unannounced arthroscopic knee surgery three days before playing.
“Shoulder’s really, really good,” Weber said. “The focus in May time is getting back into the weight room and getting my body back in shape. I haven’t done much in the weight room or running, so it’s been a struggle this spring staying in shape and catching my breath.”
Weber said he will be able to start lifting at 100 percent in the next few weeks.
Shining at quarterback was MarQueis Gray, who had to sit out last season due to academic issues. Gray came to the Gophers as the highest rated recruit in the 2008 class and took the first reps with the Gophers offense at the spring game Saturday.
Gray finished 8-for-10 for 141 yards and two touchdowns in the game, leaving head coach Tim Brewster and his teammates impressed.
While Weber will be the clear starter, Brewster said, the team will have a package of plays drawn up for Gray every game. One possible option came to light Saturday, when new offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch called a pitch-back and Weber threw unsuccessfully to Gray in the end zone.
Gray also showed himself as more than a running threat, going deep a few times and hitting Brodrick Smith on a 59-yard pass near the end of the scrimmage.
“I think he made tremendous strides this spring,” Brewster said. “The game isn’t too big for MarQueis, and those are the type of players you want on your team, that embrace the challenge. He’s got a big arm, and as he grows at that position, he’s got a chance to do some things.”
Missing Decker
Of course, both quarterbacks shared one major disadvantage: they didn’t have their No. 1 receiver to throw to.
Eric Decker, who will be a senior next season, is playing his second-straight season with the baseball team, and sitting out spring practice.
“Eric isn’t here, so we have a mindset every day that if Eric’s not here, we’re all fighting for the starting position,” Smith said.
He said last season that missing the spring practices set him back in terms of learning the offense, which will be a problem again this season with another new offensive coordinator, but Brewster has long stood behind him on the baseball topic.
Decker has said publicly that he will eventually have to make a choice between football and baseball, and that he hasn’t decided yet. The Milwaukee Brewers drafted him in the 39th round last season, but with another solid season, could go higher this year.

Two former Gophers sign NFL contracts

No Gophers were picked in the weekend’s NFL draft, but two have signed contracts since, and will have a chance to make the team out of training camp.
Defensive end and 2008 captain Willie VanDeSteeg signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday night, and tight end Jack Simmons signed with the New York Jets .
VanDeSteeg, a native of Silver Lake, Minn., went undrafted in this weekend’s NFL draft despite being named first-team All-Big Ten by the media this season and finishing his career as the team’s record-holder for tackles for losses, with 43.5.
Simmons caught 36 passes for 331 yards and two touchdowns for the Gophers this season.
Ellestad impresses
With graduated field-goal kicker and kickoff specialist Joel Monroe watching from the sidelines, Eric Ellestad finally got his chance.
The redshirt junior, who had never appeared in a game before, caught some gasps early in the scrimmage when he hit a 47-yard field goal with plenty of room to spare and with little wind in the first quarter.
He later hit a 21-yarder along with handling kickoffs, where he saved a touchdown by tackling returner Troy Stoudermire past midfield.
“I’m really happy for him today,” Brewster said. “He did a great job on field goals, and he wasn’t as deep on the kickoffs as I would’ve liked, but he had good hang time. All spring long he’s done a nice job.”

Notes

- Student tickets for the new stadium went on sale Saturday morning, and by the time of the spring game’s 1:30 p.m. kickoff, more than 6,000 of the 8,000 tickets available to all students had been sold. 2,000 tickets were reserved for incoming freshmen, graduate students and transfer students.
-Redshirt freshman Kevin Whaley took the most carries in the game, going 63 yards on 12 carries. Brewster said the biggest emphasis this spring had been running the ball, and Whaley could be a factor. Incumbent running back DeLeon Eskridge rushed seven times for 35 yards.
- The spring game was the last of 15 spring practices allowed by the NCAA. The Gophers play their first game Sept. 5 at Syracuse, and their first home game at TCF Bank Stadium on Sept. 12 against Air Force.