NCAA FOOTBALL: A special start

Three former Marshall athletes will share some history when they begin their college football seasons against each other. Though they may be competitors today, their friendship will continue to shine through

MARSHALL - When the University of Minnesota and South Dakota State University football teams take the field at TCF Bank Stadium today, a lot of excitement and energy will be on full display for the season opener for both teams.

For three players in particular, it'll be a little extra special.

Blaise Andries is an offensive lineman for the Golden Gophers while Jefferson Lee V and Reece Winkelman are at running back and defensive end, respectively, for the Jackrabbits. While they'll stand on opposing sidelines, they share a unique bond that isn't seen too often at the Division I level: they're all former teammates and extremely good friends.

Andries, Winkelman and Lee all played for the Marshall Tigers, with Andries and Winkelman graduating in 2017 and Lee a year later.

"It'll be awesome. We've talked about it ever since we committed and it'll be fun to play against him," Winkelman said. "He's one of my best friends."

Andries added that they've been looking forward to this game for a while and is excited to get out on the field.

"It's going to be really special," Andries said. "We've been looking forward to this game for the last couple of years and we'd always joke around and say 'See you there,' or something like that, so it's going to be a lot of fun."

Marshall football coach Terry Bahlmann said he talks with his former players a lot throughout the season and is proud to watch them live out their dreams.

"It's really fun. We take a lot of pride in our former players and they're always back and staying in contact and we see them a lot in the summer and so on," Bahlmann said. "We're just proud of them and it's going to be fun to sit back and watch them."

Working on their craft

Making the transition from the high school to the college game can be a challenging process with lots of curveballs being thrown at you. Winkelman's transition was a big one, as he moved from playing linebacker to being in the trenches on the defensive line. He said it was a difficult move at first, but has been able to learn each day and make adjustments.

"Coming in, it was a lot different transitioning from linebacker to the defensive line," Winkelman said. "I didn't know how to get into the right stance and it was difficult right away. It's a different scheme and it can sometimes get complex. But having that knowledge as a former linebacker of where the ball goes definitely helps."

That hard work paid off for the sophomore, who earned a starting spot last season, played in 12 of SDSU's 13 games and recorded a season-high four total tackles and a pair of tackles for loss against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in the Beef Bowl. He also registered three tackles in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) playoff game against Duquesne.

Coming into this season, Winkelman said he's really worked on improving his technique and movement off the ball.

"Personally, I worked on my explosion coming off the ball and developing some new techniques with my coaches," Winkelman said.

Lee redshirted during the 2018 season, but saw time on the field during the Jackrabbits' game against Duquesne, where he had 10 carries for 31 yards.

"I've worked a lot of my footwork and conditioning so that whenever I'm called upon to run, I can run as long as I can. I'm not the biggest back but my quickness is one of my strengths. I've also worked on my hands and catching. They're not bricks anymore, they're clay."

Lee added that having Winkelman there by his side through his journey is a great feeling.

"Honestly, it just makes it that much better," Lee said. "We share the same humor with things but when things get serious, he gets you through a tough situation and helps ease your mind on things. I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else."

Andries also redshirted during the 2017 season before starting all 13 games for the Gophers last season. A highly sought after recruit, the 6-foot-6, 325-pound lineman helped anchor the offensive front for a Minnesota team that averaged nearly 29 points per game and threw for 20 and rushed for 23 touchdowns, respectively.

Andries said throughout the offseason, they worked on strengthening their communication across the line and improving their pass protection.

"As an offensive line, we've really worked on our pass protection and our communication," Andries said. "We want to get five guys playing as one and having everyone on the same page is a big deal, so that when you look left to right and know they've got your back."

Keeping the

bond strong

Despite attending universities 213 miles apart, Andries, Winkelman and Lee all stay very much connected with each other and make an effort to see each other in the offseason.

"I've talked with Blaise a lot and he still has that same person with the goofy laugh and tells the same joke," Lee said. "But it's all fun and games."

Andries said although their schedules haven't lined up for him to see Lee, he'll still ask Winkelman how his teammate is doing.

"I haven't seen Jefferson in a while since a lot of the times I've been home things haven't lined quite up with seeing him. But I ask Reece how he's doing and he says he's doing well," Andries said. "It's been around 2 or 3 months since I've seen them, so I can't wait to see them and say hi."

Andries and Winkelman's friendship runs even deeper, with the two growing up right next door to each other and spending nearly every day hanging out or playing in the backyard.

Andries said growing up, it never crossed their minds that one day they would be sharing the stage on the biggest level in college football. They just wanted to have fun and play the game they loved.

"No, it honestly didn't cross my mind. Every morning, I would call his home phone and ask if Reece was there or if he could come and play. We would go lift or play basketball, baseball or football and although things sometimes got physical, it was still good times and it was kind of a repeating thing every day."

"Growing up, you don't really see the kid next door as an opponent, you see them as a teammate/friend," Winkelman added.

While Andries and Winkelman won't directly line up against each other today, you can pretty much bet they'll try and make it over to each other for one or two plays.

"We won't line up against each other for every play, but there might be a couple of moments where I might have to see what he's about," Winkelman said with a laugh.

When the smack talk is said and the final whistle has blown, the three friends will head to the middle of the field to not only shake hands and wish each other luck on the season, but to reconnect.

"We will definitely reconnect," Lee said. "We're opponents first, but friends always."

Here's a quick glance at both sides:

A look at the Gophers

The Golden Gophers are fresh off a 7-6 season that included highlights such as defeating the University of Wisconsin to snap a 14-game losing streak against the Badgers and bring Paul Bunyan's Axe back to Minnesota and winning the Quick Lane Bowl.

Going into the third year of the P.J. Fleck era, the U of M is extremely optimistic it can produce a big season.

Despite losing quarterback Zack Annexstad to injury, the Gophers have plenty of poise on the offensive side of the field. Minnesota will have Rodney Smith and Mohamed Ibrahim in the backfield, with Smith coming back for a sixth season after being granted a medical redshirt when he had a season-ending knee injury last year.

At wide receiver, Tyler Johnson will lead the charge after hauling in 78 receptions for 1,169 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior last season. Joining him will be sophomores Rashod Bateman (704 yards, 51 receptions) and Chris Autman-Bell (28 catches, 449 yards).

Andries said their biggest key as an offense is to continue to remain focused on their opponent in front of them and just work hard in practice.

"As an offense, we just need to stay focused and treat each game independently," Andries said. "We're going to attack practice every day and work towards getting better and stay focused with each team and know the gameplan."

Defensively, the Gophers look to carry over the momentum they gained after holding Big Ten opponents to less than 15 points per game and 300 yards in the final four games. Carter Coughlin and Michael Dew-Treadway will help anchor the defensive front while Terell Smith and Antoine Winfield will patrol the secondary.

A look at the

Jackrabbits

SDSU is coming off a season that saw 10 wins and a trip to the FCS semifinals, where it fell to North Dakota State. This year is no different for the Jackrabbits, who enter ranked in the Top 4 in the FCS.

Winkelman said it's a good feeling to be back on the field and they've put in a lot of work during the offseason.

"It feels good," Winkelman said. "We've put in so much work in the offseason and I'm just ready to hit some people and hear the clash of the pads."

SDSU will also have a different starter this season under center, as redshirt freshman J'Bore Gibbs takes over the reins for Taryn Christion.

At running back, SDSU has a strong core group in Pierre Strong, Mikey Daniel and CJ Wilson. Strong had a solid season, leading the team in rushing yards (1,116) and touchdowns (11) while Daniel recorded 630 yards and 10 scores. Wilson was fifth on the team last season with 281 rushing yards.

At receiver, Cade Johnson and Adam Anderson will lead the way. Johnson had a standout 2018 season, hauling in 67 receptions for 1,332 yards and recording a single-season record for touchdowns with 17. Anderson was second on the team in receiving with 47 catches and 718 yards as well as seven touchdowns.

On the defensive side, SDSU will be led by Christian Rozeboom, who tallied 105 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, three fumbles and two interceptions in his junior season. Redshirt junior Logan Backhaus and Ryan Earith will also be key contributors for the Jackrabbits this season.

Winkelman said their biggest key as a defense will be controlling the line of scrimmage.

"The biggest thing will be being able to control the line of scrimmage," Winkelman said. "They've got a pretty big offensive line, but if things go our way, we'll control the line and be alright."

The Jackrabbits have just one win against an FBS team (Kansas in 2015), while the Gophers have won 15 consecutive nonconference games and 19 of their last 20 home games in nonconference play.