EVANSTON, ILL. – During their four-game Big Ten winning streak, the Gophers have relied heavily on their running game, with a ratio of 71.9% runs to 28.1% passes. Saturday was no exception, as Minnesota ran the ball 53 times and passed it 17.
That, however, doesn't mean they're not getting big plays in the pass game. Mike Brown-Stephens is making sure of that.
Brown-Stephens caught a team-high four passes for 63 yards in the Gophers 41-14 victory over Northwestern at Ryan Field, continuing his development into a solid option for quarterback Tanner Morgan. Brown-Stephens has 10 catches for 261 yards and one touchdown in his past four games.
"He was incredible,'' Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said of the redshirt sophomore. "You talk about a guy who's truly matured, grown up. The biggest difference Michael Brown has been able to do is respond to adversity. When you're a young player and you get here and everything's new in your life, your ability to respond to hard things is really difficult. He's had plenty of things happen to him in his personal life and football life … that have been really hard to deal with. All he's done has put his oar in the water and row.''
Against Northwestern, Brown-Stephens came up especially big on a second-quarter drive in which he caught a 17-yard pass to the Northwestern 35 and an 18-yard gain to the 20 on second-and-13. The Gophers extended their lead to 20-7 in that possession. He added a 24-yard reception later in the quarter and a 16-yard gain in the third quarter.
"When he gets the ball in his hands, he does a lot of phenomenal things,'' Morgan said. "He's able to create a lot of separation. … He's always had the speed, and his consistency has gone way up. His confidence continues to grow.''
Added Fleck, "He's become a big weapon for us.''
The development of Brown-Stephens has filled the void in the wide receiver corps that saw Chris Autman-Bell miss most of three games early in the season, Dylan Wright miss one game and Daniel Jackson miss two.
