For Carter Coughlin, spring has offered an opportunity to make an impact both on and off the football field.
On the field, the Gophers junior from Eden Prairie and the team's sacks leader last season, has been a standout during the six spring practice sessions, feeling more and more at home at a hybrid defensive end/linebacker position.
"Carter Coughlin is flying around. He is so active,'' coach P.J. Fleck said after Tuesday's practice. "You can tell this year he is very comfortable.''
Coughlin, who had 6.5 sacks in 2017, is bigger — up to 232 pounds from 225 last season — and quicker in his decision-making.
"Everything is happening so much faster for me,'' he said. "I understand my job. Last year, playing run defense out of a defensive end kind of position was challenging at first. We put an install in [this spring], and I'm like, 'Ah, I already know that.' So, I get to work on all the little details and make it a lot better.''
Fleck is seeing the increased confidence in Coughlin. "His trained behavior has become instinct,'' he said. "It was more of a habit last year.''
Off the field, Coughlin and group of teammates spent spring break in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. While there, Coughlin organized a trip to a local orphanage, where the Gophers played sports and hung out with the children. It's something Coughlin and his parents did in previous trips to Cabo over the past decade.
"That was the most fun we had all week, and we were in Cabo, which is a really fun place,'' Coughlin said. "… It was exhausting because those kids were so high-strung from energy. It was so much fun doing push-up contests with them and pull-ups with them on our backs. They loved it.
