FOOTBALL ACROSS MINNESOTA | Week 11
Minnesota quarterbacks uncorked: What’s gotten into these guys?
Football Across Minnesota: ‘Ground and pound’ offenses once prevalent across the state are disappearing, replaced by record-setting quarterbacks and air-it-out attacks at several Division II and III schools.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 19, 2024 at 2:00PM
The MIAC championship game on Saturday featured 93 passes, 693 yards in the air and nine touchdown passes by St. John’s and Bethel.
In other words, a typical game.
Quarterbacks at Division II and Division III programs throughout Minnesota are putting up record-breaking, video-game statistics in a statewide passing craze that allows quarterbacks to, as one coach describes it, “throw it around.”
“It’s fun to watch,” Gustavus Adolphus coach Peter Haugen said. “And it’s also tough to defend.”
Pick any Minnesota school and the quarterback likely holds a passing record or two (or many more).
At St. John’s, Aaron Syverson’s long list of accomplishments includes the MIAC record for career passing yards and touchdown passes. He threw five in Saturday’s win over Bethel. He leads Division III nationally this season in completion percentage and is second in passing yards per game.
Bethel’s Cooper Drews, in his first season starting, set school records for touchdown passes, completions and completion percentage. He ranks fourth nationally in completion percentage.
Minnesota State Moorhead’s Jack Strand owns a host of program and NSIC records and ranks Top 5 nationally in Division II this season in passing yards and touchdown passes.
Those are just a few examples. The entire list of quarterbacks “throwing it around” at record pace is extensive.
“I always say it’s a quarterback’s dream to play in our offense because everything is a throw,” Strand said. “We’re throwing the ball 40, 50, 60 times a game sometimes. I don’t know any quarterback who wouldn’t want to do that.”
He’s not exaggerating. No quarterback at the FBS, FCS, Division II or Division III level has thrown more passes than Strand this season. His total: 564 passes, an average of 51 per game.
Strand played high school football in Bloomer, Wis. He estimated throwing only 10 to 15 passes per game in an offense that featured a power running game.
“I was used more as a lead blocker than as a thrower,” he said. “It was definitely a big change for me.”
Kyle Bakken has been defensive coordinator at Concordia (Moorhead) in the MIAC since 2011. He has witnessed the evolution of offenses from the other side of the ball over the past decade or so.
The main emphasis of the passing revolution, Bakken said, is space. Offenses want to spread the field horizontally with as many receivers as possible to force defenders to play and make tackles in space.
Most teams line up their quarterback almost exclusively in shotgun formation and let him serve as a distributor.
Bakken noted that in scouting Gustavus last week he showed his players clips of Gusties quarterback George Sandven lined up under center a few times.
“I don’t think our kids know what that is,” he said, laughing.
St. John’s approach is no secret. Syverson sets up in shotgun with five receivers spread across the formation. He picks apart defenses with precision, completing 76.5% of his passes, the second-highest completion percentage across all NCAA levels.
“The biggest thing is finding what your quarterback is comfortable with and good with and leaning into that,” Syverson said. “Coaches can draw up the best Xs and Os, but trying to find stuff that works for your guy is most important.”
Haugen of Gustavus noted the number of star quarterbacks in the MIAC in recent years that transferred from programs at higher levels.
Former Bethel quarterback Jaran Roste began his career with the Gophers. Syverson spent time at Colorado State. Former Johnnies quarterback Jackson Erdmann transferred from Penn State. Former Gustavus star Michael Veldman moved over from North Dakota State.
“They got a year of development in those systems and those programs,” Haugen said. “That’s a big deal.”
Haugen said the overall strength of the MIAC and the appeal of playing quarterback in pass-happy systems serve as enticements in recruiting.
“You’re getting guys that probably could have played potentially at a different level,” he said. “But they really want to play.”
Drews transferred from St. John’s to Bethel after one season and stepped into a starring role as a sophomore. Bethel had not had a quarterback throw six touchdown passes in a game since 1997. Drews threw six touchdowns in back-to-back games.
Syverson guided St. John’s to the No. 1 overall seed in the D-III playoffs, meaning, if the Johnnies keep advancing, they could host several games in potentially cold, inclement weather. Even that might not be enough to cool Syverson’s hot hand.
In his most recent playoff appearance — 2022 — Syverson threw four interceptions in a loss to Wartburg. Syverson emphasized limiting turnovers as his offseason priority after that game. He threw only four interceptions total this season in 349 pass attempts.
“It makes it really easy on me when we have five really good [receivers] and we can go five wide,” he said. “It’s really just a matter of finding your best spot to go with the ball.”
The starting point in the equation is being highlighted in Collegeville and elsewhere in Minnesota. Quarterbacks are throwing it around with much success.
“It’s a far cry from what it used to be when it was three yards and a cloud of dust,” Moorhead’s Strand said. “I don’t think those people would have ever imagined the game would look like it does now.”
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WEEKEND REWIND
FAM Game Balls
- Caleb Francois: Minnetonka quarterback carried the ball 39 times for 283 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Anoka as the Skippers advanced to the Class 6A Prep Bowl.
- Charles Langama: Maple Grove running back finished with 198 yards rushing and four touchdowns in a win over Shakopee in the other Class 6A semifinal. It’s Maple Grove vs. Minnetonka for the big-school championship Friday night.
- Pat Jones II: Edge rusher became the first Vikings player since 2012 to collect two sacks and five quarterback hits in a game in a win over the Jaguars.
- Chase Thompson: Alexandria quarterback passed for 396 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Owatonna in the Class 5A semifinal.
Social shoutouts
The five best things we saw on social media this weekend:
- There was a lot of purple in Nashville this past weekend. Star Tribune photographer Carlos Gonzalez captured those home game-like vibes with this video on X.
- Let’s put a couple of outstanding high school running backs on this list this week. If you haven’t seen Charles Langama of Maple Grove do his thing yet this season, check it out right here -- and get a ticket to Friday’s Prep Bowl final.
- And while Isaiah Wright gets a shoutout in the “By the numbers” part of FAM this week, he’s more than worthy of inclusion here, too. Fertile-Beltrami’s star back had seven (7!) touchdowns in the semifinal, looking speedy on the Vikings’ turf.
- Shoutout for Stewartville’s sweet semifinal touchdown connection here: Vincent Wellik to Parker Wangen for 50 yards, one of the scores that put the Tigers in the title game.
- And let’s put Kevin O’Connell, coach of the 8-2 Vikings, in this collection, too. His postgame locker room talks are worth a watch.
He said what?!
“We’re blessed with great speed. We don’t look great getting off the bus, but we play pretty well. The better the weather and the better the turf, the better we are. And that’s team speed.”
— Becker coach Dwight Lundeen on his undefeated No. 1-ranked team heading into the Class 4A championship game.
Numbers to know
- 18: Touchdown runs by Fertile-Beltrami senior Isaiah Wright in four Nine-Player playoff games.
- 43: Completions in 46 pass attempts for former East Ridge quarterback Zach Zebrowski for Division II Central Missouri in a win over Missouri Southern.
- 27: Takeaways in 12 games for the Maple Grove defense.
- 35: Sacks by the Vikings defense, third-highest in the NFL.
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UP NEXT
Grab your popcorn
Prep Bowl, Friday and Saturday, U.S. Bank Stadium. Seven games, seven classes, seven high school champions crowned over two days. A long season comes down to one game for the 14 remaining teams.
All-Minnesota honors
Our Star Tribune All-Minnesota Team and our 2024 Player of the Year honor were announced this morning. Give those a look, and congrats to all the student-athletes recognized for their outstanding achievements.
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A FAM FINAL WORD
“Perspective.”
The Vikings haven’t dominated inferior opponents the past three games, but they won all three to improve to 8-2. Winning ugly is part of the NFL landscape, which has allowed the Vikings to own the fourth-best record in the league.
. . .
Thank you for reading Football Across Minnesota (FAM), my weekly column that tours football topics in our state from preps to pros. I’ll publish this column on Tuesday mornings. I appreciate feedback, so please reach out anytime. Thanks again — Chip (@chipscoggins on X; email me at anthony.scoggins@startribune.com)
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Want more Football Across Minnesota? Chip’s previous columns are here:
- Week 1: St. Paul’s spark: “Put on for the city.”
- Week 2: Minnesota’s most famous kicker now plays quarterback.
- Week 3: He’s an offensive lineman, but with strings attached.
- Week 4: Randy Shaver just can’t quit.
- Week 5: Why this Vikings’ victory took seven months to produce.
- Week 6: He’s no surfer. He’s an inspired QB recruit for P.J. Fleck’s Gophers.
- Week 7: Twice as many defenders? He’s adjusting just fine.
- Week 8: Benilde-St. Margaret’s senior has ‘won before kickoff.’
- Week 9: Before sunrise in St. Paul, football.
- Week 10: Meet Cam Hungerholt, the can-do star from southern Minnesota.
Kasparas Jakucionis scored a career-high 24 points, Tre White had 23 points and eight rebounds and Kylan Boswell added 19 points and six assists to lead Illinois to an 86-80 win over No. 20 Wisconsin on Tuesday night.
