Chris Autman-Bell News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/chris-autman-bell/ Minnesota sports, but different Mon, 19 Sep 2022 15:53:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=32,height=32,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/cropped-cropped-MSF-favicon-1.jpg Chris Autman-Bell News - MinnesotaSportsFan https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/tag/chris-autman-bell/ 32 32 Chris Autman-Bell Ruled Out for Season, Future with Gophers Uncertain https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/chris-autman-bell-ruled-out-for-season-injury-surgery-future-with-minnesota-gophers-uncertain/ Mon, 19 Sep 2022 15:26:41 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=40444 The Minnesota Gophers dominated another non-conference opponent on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Colorado Buffaloes, 49-7. Unfortunately, the victory came with serious sacrifice. Late in the first half, Tanner Morgan’s main target — 6th-year wide receiver and NFL prospect — Chris Autman-Bell left the game with a non-contact leg injury.

A non-contact leg injury that will need season-ending surgery, PJ Fleck confirmed on Monday. That would leave Autman-Bell without any eligibility remaining. Fleck also noted, however, that an injury waiver could allow CRAB a 7th year, should the NCAA approve it.

Missing CRAB

The Minnesota Gophers offense will miss desperately miss Chris Autman-Bell. He’s been Tanner Morgan’s safety blanket, since losing Rashod Bateman to the NFL after the 2020 season. At times over the last two years, Chris Autman-Bell has been the only competent piece of the Gophers’ passing game.

Even when life in the pocket was at its most difficult, under Mike Sanford, Tanner Morgan could always throw the ball up to Chris Autman-Bell and know there was a good chance CRAB would come down with it.

In 2022 with Kirk Ciarrocca back, Tanner has looked much more comfortable, in general. Still, he’s leaned on CRAB, who caught 11 of Morgan’s 38 completions this season and one touchdown. Without CRAB in the picture, expect much bigger roles from Dylan Wright, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Daniel Jackson and Mike Brown-Stephens. Senior, Clay Geary, could see some extended snaps too.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Mon, 19 Sep 2022 10:53:35 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football Gophers O-Line Showered With All Big Ten Honors https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/gophers-o-line-showered-with-all-big-ten-honors/ Wed, 01 Dec 2021 19:38:14 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=37346 The NCAA Football regular season is over and that has led to a flurry of offseason news, leading up to Conference Championship Weekend. There have been shocking coaching changes and recruits entering the transfer portal like stampeding wildebeests a narrow valley. The Minnesota Gophers have not been spared from the latter.

Also, All-Conference honors are being handed out across the country, the Big Ten included. Defensive honors were announced yesterday and Boye Mafe was the only player to be named to any of the six all-conference teams. On Wednesday, however, the offensive winners sheet has the Minnesota offensive line is all it.

Four, Faalele, Andries, Michael-Schmitz and Olson, were named to at least one of the All Big Ten teams. Both Sam Schlueter and Ko Keift were also named honorable mentions.

PFF.com/CFB

Numbers and the Future

The Minnesota Gophers offensive line deserves all of the accolades it gets. They helped five different running backs go off for the most yards (2,575) since 2014 (2,801). The 25 rushing touchdowns were the most by any Gophers team since 2016, when they went for 34. 

(WR) Chris Autman-Bell was also named an Honorable Mention by the media. CRAB made 35 catches for 490 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games.

We know at least a few of these guys will not be back for next year. Daniel Faalele accepted an invite to the Senior Bowl and Schlueter, Olson and Kieft are all out of eligibility. Others’ plans, like Bell and Andries, still remain unknown.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Wed, 01 Dec 2021 13:38:20 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football Chris Autman-Bell Has NFL Talent But Needs to Stack Reps https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/chris-autman-bell-has-nfl-talent-but-needs-to-stack-reps/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 01:21:01 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=36718 Have you played the backyard game, “500”? It’s an elementary recess game where one person throws a ball, usually a football, up into the air toward a small crowd of other participants hoping to catch the flying projectile. Around the same time the ball is releases, he or she will yell a number between 1-500.

Whoever catches the ball receives the point value assigned to it when thrown. The first person to reach 500 points is the victor of that round and now gets to throw. Much like dodgeball, it’s a great game to both build and bury confidence for young kids. Life lessons.

Whenever I see Chris Autman-Bell play football for the Minnesota Gophers, I think of that game. He must have absolutely dominated his childhood friends when they played “500” at recess.

I’ve covered CrAB for his entire Minnesota Gophers career and I’ve seen what he does when a contested football is thrown his way. He catches it. Every time. It’s very… Randy Moss like.

When eye test meets analytics

Chris Autman-Bell has missed about half of Minnesota’s games in 2021 due to a nagging “lower body” injury. But when he’s been on the field, he’s been really good, peaking against Nebraska. According to Pro Football Focus, CrAB has caught 17 of the 25 (72%) balls thrown his way. His drop % is 5.3% and he’s caught 7 of the 8 contested balls thrown his way.

All of those numbers are almost impossible to keep up but if Chris stays healthy I’m not going to doubt him.

More data needed for NFL Scouts

What we need from Autman-Bell is more reps, which means staying healthy. While he’s flashed moments of greatness throughout his time in Dinkytown, he’s never racked up more than 28 receptions in a season. That’s what happens when you play third wheel in the WR room behind Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman for the first three meaningful seasons of your college career. And in 2020, the Gophers only played 8 games.

As long as he can stay on the field for the rest of 2021, Autman-Bell should easily surpass his receptions total for a season. Let’s remember, CrAB is a senior. If he can put up numbers and more ridiculous highlights over the next six games, you can guarantee that NFL teams are going to have a bunch of interest in a guy who can play from any WR position and who catches everything thrown his way.

Just look at these eleven catches (for 111 YDS and 1 TD) vs Nebraska last week. High, low, overthrown, underthrown… it just doesn’t matter.

Blocking + Intangibles

But it’s not just the catching part of Chris Autman-Bell’s skillset that NFL scouts will love. He loves to do the dirty work that many wide receivers don’t. He likes to block for his teammates and he’s pretty damn good at it.

That’s not surprising for those who know Chris. He would run through a brick wall for his Minnesota Gophers teammates and is always ready to work. Not only that, he brings a constant and infectious energy everywhere he goes. People gravitate to Chris Autman-Bell. It’s a personality trait I noticed the first time he spoke to media.

He’s the kind of guy who will shoot up the draft boards if he can finish the season strong and get an invite to the draft combine. I have no doubt that will happen if he’s logging snaps.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Thu, 21 Oct 2021 09:07:41 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football Chris Autman-Bell Leg Injury Isn’t a Long-Term Thing; Timetable Described as “Week to Week” by PJ Fleck https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/chris-autman-bell-leg-injury-isnt-a-long-term-thing-timetable-described-as-week-to-week-by-pj-fleck/ Mon, 16 Aug 2021 20:50:40 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=35951 Minnesota Gophers football players, coaches and about 1000 fans who were watching open practice last Thursday night at Huntington Bank Stadium, all held their collective breath when WR1 Chris Autman-Bell was taken off the field with what appeared to be a serious leg injury. No update was given over the weekend.

But the Gophers have another open practice and media session this afternoon/evening. It started with KFAN Radio broadcasting their 3PM to 6PM hours from Athletes Village on the U of M campus, overlooking the football practice fields this afternoon. PJ Fleck was on the air with Justin Gaard shortly after the show kicked off. He gave an update on Autman-Bell that may finally allow Gopher Nation to breathe the sigh of relief they’ve been holding for 3 days.

Fleck called the injury “not a long term issue” and described his time-table as “week to week”. On Twitter, I called it a knee injury but was quickly corrected by Darren Wolfson and others. Does that mean it’s something else (an ankle)? Maybe, but I have no insider knowledge and nothing’s been reported or made official, that I’ve seen.

Let’s hope CRAB’s timetable on the lighter side of “week to week” because Minnesota needs him healthy for their season opener vs Ohio State on September 2. I’m sure he’s chomping at the bit, too. It’s also a massive game for the trajectory of his own career.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> Mon, 16 Aug 2021 15:50:46 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football Have You Seen the Spread on Minnesota vs Nebraska?? https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/have-you-seen-the-spread-on-minnesota-vs-nebraska/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/have-you-seen-the-spread-on-minnesota-vs-nebraska/#respond Fri, 11 Dec 2020 21:19:18 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=31977

The Minnesota Gophers are coming off of 2 weeks-worth of canceled football games, due to a COVID-19 outbreak. PJ Fleck told media earlier this week that 20+ players would be out for Saturday’s game vs the (2-4) Nebraska Cornhuskers.

We still don’t know who those players are but Tanner Morgan, Chris Autman-Bell, Mohamed Ibrahim, Phillip Howard and Mariano Sori-Marin all met with media via Zoom this week.

Meanwhile, are you a gambling man or woman? If so, have you checked the betting spread on tomorrow’s game? Even if the above players weren’t going to play, these odds might knock you off your chair.

Yes, this seems to be a lesser version of the Nebraska team Minnesota beat last season by a score of 34-7… but in most books, the (2-3) Gophers are +10.5 point underdogs in Lincoln (with no crowd).

Every year is different, I understand that, but this isn’t a Huskers team who has pulled a Northwestern-style 180 in 2020. They hold a 2-4 record and one of those losses came vs Illinois, who the Gophers stomped. Their wins are vs Purdue, who Minnesota also beat right before COVID shut things down, and a 2-5 Penn State team.

Rashad Bateman

Rashod Bateman opting back out amidst the COVID outbreak that shut down the football program to close November, is factoring into the Vegas odds, but don’t let that tip your scale. Bateman isn’t overhyped, and the Gophers will miss him, but the young depth at wide receiver is being underplayed and so is Chris Autman-Bell.

In Bateman’s absence, we’ll see more of Daniel Jackson, Mike Brown-Stephens and possibly a bevy of others. But what I really want to see, is Chris Autman-Bell run his hype train into the clouds. Every time CRAB touches the ball, big plays happen.

Rashod Bateman caught a lot of passes this season but he was also targeted A LOT more than any of his teammates. Nobody, however, made better catches than Autman-Bell, even with limited opportunities.

Even if you don’t think Minnesota wins…

Neither of these teams are very good, especially with a depleted Minnesota roster, but the Gophers still win this game because PJ Fleck is 172x the coach Scott Frost is. But even if you think Nebraska climbs over the Gophers, can you honestly say it will be by more than a touchdown + FG?

If so, you’re lying or delusional.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

]]> https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/have-you-seen-the-spread-on-minnesota-vs-nebraska/feed/ 0 Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:23:22 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football Gophers/Morgan Boil Purdue Through 3 Quarters; Almost Lose It in 4th https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/gophers-morgan-boil-purdue-through-3-quarters-almost-lose-it-in-4th/ https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/gophers-morgan-boil-purdue-through-3-quarters-almost-lose-it-in-4th/#respond Sat, 28 Sep 2019 23:05:20 +0000 https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/?p=18558 [et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.29.3″ fb_built=”1″ _i=”0″ _address=”0″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.29.3″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.29.3″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.29.3″ _i=”0″ _address=”0.0.0.0″]

I was nervous coming into today. These games worry me the most, because they are ones we need to win, in order to have a successful season. Do I want to beat Wisconsin and Iowa? Sure, but it those games certainly aren’t must-wins. You go in with hope, and sometimes things happen like last year vs Wisconsin. But this game vs Purdue wasn’t like that. The Gophers are better than Purdue and they needed to show it today with a win. If we want to surprise people, we need to be welcoming Nebraska to the bank in 2 weeks at 5-0. 

Well after today, we are only one Illinois (at TCF Bank) beat down away from doing just that.

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I wrote yesterday, that this offensive line needed to be better and that the Gophers would be best-suited if they could establish the run early. Well, this was about all we saw out of the running game in the first 3 quarters, because Tanner Morgan was lit on fire before the opening kick and never cooled off. Add in a few of the best wide receivers in the Big Ten and… well… you get fireworks.

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After the Minnesota onslought that took place for the first 3/4 of this game, Purdue counter-punched hard in the 4th. They even pulled it within 7, with 4 minutes still left on the clock, after a ridiculous onside kick turned into a score. Things were about to get really tight when Tanner Morgan dropped back to pass on 3rd down and couldn’t connect with Tyler Johnson… until a late flag saved the day.

From there, the non-existent run game suddenly found its footing for 2 first downs…. and just as quickly as they had come back, Purdue was gone and the game was over.

Tanner Morgan took a knee to seal the deal, after the best outing of his young career, throwing for 396 yards and 4 touchdowns… I wasn’t even sure he was capable of that performance, if I’m being completely honest.

It should also be noted that Purdue lost their incredibly talented QB and WR (Sindelar, Moore) in the first half, and the injuries didn’t look good. As for how it affected the game, the Gophers were already running up the score when they went down. Hopefully, the injuries weren’t as bad as they looked…

The Boilermaker comeback at the end of this game was weird and I’m not going to hold it over the Gophers’ head as I look back on this win. It was much more decisive that it looked. I can’t wait for Illinois to come to town next week before things really get testy!

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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]]> https://www.minnesotasportsfan.com/gophers-football/gophers-morgan-boil-purdue-through-3-quarters-almost-lose-it-in-4th/feed/ 0 Thu, 01 Jul 2021 14:27:32 +0000 Minnesota Gophers Football