NCAAF News

Home

Teams

Quizzes

Newsletter

What Mohamed Ibrahim’s Return Means For The Gophers in 2022

Originally posted on Gridiron Heroics | By Caleb Stene | Last updated 7/20/22

The Golden Gophers were happy to hear that Mohamed Ibrahim announced he was coming back for his fifth season. Many expected he was going to enter the draft but he opted to stay in Minneapolis for one more year. Ibrahim suffered a season ending achilles injury last year in the season opener against Ohio State. In the game Ibrahim rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries before leaving in the third quarter.

What Can The Gophers Expect From Ibrahim In 2022?

Since we can’t look at last season because he didn’t even play a full three quarters, let’s look at what he has done in his previous three seasons. In the 2020 covid shortened season Ibrahim in seven games rushed for 1,132 yards (5.4 average) and 15 touchdowns on 201 carries. He was also named the Big 10 running back of the year. The 2019 season saw Ibrahim rushing for 617 yards (5.3 average) and seven touchdowns on 114 carries in ten games. In his first year in 2018 he rushed for 1186 yards (5.8 average) and nine touchdowns in ten games.

So what do we see here? Ibrahim is nothing if not consistent. He averaged over five yards per carry in each of his three full seasons at Minnesota. His career average is 5.5 with his highest being 5.8 in 2018. He has rushed for more than a thousand yards in two of his three full seasons. His career low came in 2019 when he rushed for only 617 yards, but don’t let this fool you. Expect for Ibrahim to be back to his 2020 form for the 2022 season.

What This Means For The Gophers Run Game?

Even with Ibrahim’s return, the Gophers took a hit at running back. Running backs Mar’Keise Irving (Oregon), Ky Thomas (Kansas), and Cam Wiley (Akron) were all lost to the transfer portal. The Gophers still have Trey Potts and Bryce Williams, but both are coming back from injuries. Potts suffered an undisclosed injury in October in their win at Purdue. Before his injury Potts rushed for 566 yards (5.0 average) and six touchdowns in five games last season. Williams underwent surgery on his left leg after suffering an injury in their win over Northwestern in late October. Williams rushed for 205 yards (5.4 average) and three touchdowns in 2021. If all three can come back healthy, expect some great things out of the Minnesota backfield. Ibrahim and Potts should be the top two on the depth chart, so look for a great one-two punch by them this season if they are healthy.

While the running back position looks to be fine, the offensive line is a different story. The Gophers lost four of their five starters from 2021. John Michael Schmitz remains as the only starter from last season and will anchor the offensive line this year. The Gophers have five linemen returning with experience and did add Quinn Carroll (Notre Dame) and Chuck Filiaga (Michigan) in the transfer portal.

With injuries at running back and replacing the majority of the offensive line, don’t be surprised if you see some growing pains from the Gopher run attack early on. If the running backs come back and can remain healthy and new players in the offensive line step up, look forward to a fantastic running attack in Minnesota.

This article first appeared on Gridiron Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: