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Welcome to MavBlog • Providing Insite & Information on the Mavericks Since 1985Mankato, Minn.

Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Rushing Ahead

 

Minnesota State has been one of the most dominant NCAA Division II football programs of the last decade and a case could be made that one of the key reasons for the success starts with the Maverick offensive line.

These things are cyclical, of course and long-time followers of the program will point to the Bob Otto-era of the 1950s and 1960s when the likes of Hall of Fame running back Bernie Maczuga rambled for 3,129 yards along the ground from 1967-69. The program had All-Americans in the trenches with the likes of Scott Annexstad and Duane Goldammer in the late 1980s when the Mavericks featured an option-oriented offense, but it's only been recently that the program's rushing numbers from those times have been surpassed in the school's record books.

Todd Hoffner was named head coach of the Mavericks before the start of the 2008 season and he transformed a team that finished 4-7 the year before into a team that finished 9-3, won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference South Division and qualified for the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in school history. 

In 2007, Minnesota State finished 4-7 while throwing the ball for 376.4 yards a game and rushing for 41.5 yards a game. Hoffner changed the narrative to running the ball. In his second season in 2009, Minnesota State finished with a 10-2 record and were NSIC South Division Champions. The Mavericks qualified for their second straight NCAA Tournament  and hosted the first playoff game at Blakeslee Stadium for the first time. That year, they ran for 216.8 yards per game and 34 total rushing touchdowns while throwing the ball for 180.8 yards per game and putting up 23 touchdowns through the air. Hoffner quickly turned that pass-first offense around with a win-in-the trenches mentality where his team ran the ball through opponents unrelentlessly.

Chad Henning, a Sun Prairie, Wis., native who played on the Minnesota State offensive line from 2007-11, now is a coach with the Mavericks where he serves as the program's offensive line coach. He had been a part of two completely different offensive schemes while at MSU.

“Well, my freshman year we were a 95% passing offense,” Coach Henning said. “When Coach Hoffner got here, we changed that completely. We ran the ball about 60% of the time and had some really good luck doing so. The size of the offensive line helped run block for sure.”

You cannot run the football without a great offensive line. Over the course of history, Minnesota State football has had 18 All-American offensive linemen, dating back to 1974 when Dan Miller was the first offensive linemen to receive All-American honors. Minnesota State’s Evan Heim, who was named an All-American in 2018 and 2019, was the last Maverick lineman to be honored before he graduated in the fall of 2019. Heim, who started in all 54 games at left tackle during his career at MSU, was the anchor in the offensive line while the Mavericks made a run at the national championship in 2019 - group of offensive linemen that refer to themselves The Hogs.

“Being a hog offensive lineman just meant about being something bigger than yourself and offensive line is one of the only positions in sports where all five guys need to do their job in order for us to be successful,” Heim said.

As successful as they were, in the 2019 season the Mavericks set a program record 4,246 total yards along with the single-season rushing yards record, the Mavericks also set records in points scored (712), rushing attempts (713) and rushing touchdowns (59) and ranked fifth in the nation for rushing offense.

“We were very dominate up front but the offensive line only gets you so far like ten yards but all runs more than that is thanks to offensive line sustaining blocks and caring about the team and doing it for the team and wide receiver downfield blocking where most schools wide receiver don’t care about blocking and normally wide receiver are very selfish but not at Mankato,” Heim said. “Also helps to have great tight end (Tyler Schmidt) and an All-American running back (Nate Gunn). Having a great offensive line is just part of the equation.”

Minnesota State takes pride in its offensive line and bringing in the best linemen every year. The Mavericks rushing offense had made the top 20 in the nation seven out of the last nine years. Those two seasons they did not, were the only two seasons they lost more than one game, one was in 2015, they finished 10-2, with 227.7 rushing yards per game, 25th in the nation for rushing offense. The other was in 2016 where they finished 8-3, with only 169.5 rushing yards per game, 60th in the nation for rushing offense.

 Colin Prosser joined the Minnesota State staff as offensive line coach in 2017 and now serves as the program's offensive coordinator. Under his leadership the Maverick offensive line led a third-ranked rushing offense in the nation with 4,036 rushing yards on the year for an average of 288.3 rushing yards per game in his first year. The Mavericks set a program single-season rushing yards record with 4,246 yards on the ground in 2019. MSU also set records in points scored (712), rushing attempts (713) and rushing touchdowns (59) and ranked fifth in the nation for rushing offense.

“Coach Prosser has done a great job of holding everyone accountable and getting the most out of his players,” said Henning. “We are a lot better now than we were back then when I played, not only as a talent level but also from a depth perspective. We have a lot more pride in the offensive line room now.”

 Contributed by Tanner Johnson, Minnesota State Athletic Communications student intern

Thursday, February 11, 2021

Checking in with Rachel Shumski

Rachel Shumski is averaging 13.6 points
per game as a senior for Minnesota State

A senior forward (and a graduate student academically) with the Minnesota State women’s basketball team, Rachel Shumski is a three-time member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference All-Academic Team.  She's also president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  MavBlog took a moment to check in with the Granada, Minn., native to see how she and and head coach Emilee Thiesse are doing in this challenging season. 

MavBlog: How is the season going?

Rachel Shumski (RS): The season is going well as we can play and have the opportunity to get better each day. Not many teams have that opportunity, and I (we) are so grateful.

MavBlog:  What are some challenges you see when displaying leadership to a young team?

RS: Some challenges that I see when displaying my leadership style or leadership (in general): creating the understanding that the expectations are the same for everyone - no matter your age, etc.

MavBlog:  How stressful is COVID testing protocols and why?

RS: COVID testing protocols are not stressful for the student-athletes as it has created the opportunity for us to play. I can see this being stressful for others involved - trainers, athletic administration, coaches, etc.

MavBlog:  How frustrating is it when there are schedule changes to your games?

RS: It may be frustrating at the moment, as we love to plan - everyone loves to plan! But, again, we must look back and understand that this an opportunity that we can play rather than dwell on the changes that we can't control.

MavBlog:  How do you feel about how this season is going so far?

RS: The season has contained some highs and lows, but it sure has been fun to compete with my best friends beside me. We have four games left before the conference tournament. Taking and applying the learning lessons from the lows throughout the season will help us as a team have success as we move forward.

MavBlog:  Can you tell me about a time that Rachel demonstrated leadership skills?

Emilee Thiesse (ET): Rachel is a natural born leader. Rachel has gone above and beyond to keep our team connected. At times when we have had players in quarantine, she has been a true servant leader in reaching out to her teammates, checking-in regularly, offering to help anyone in need of supplies, etc. She truly cares about her teammates and their overall wellbeing. She has always had the natural ability to lead both in her communication and in her effort. As a sophomore Rachel experienced a season ending injury which can be hard to manage physically, but almost more of the battle during injuries is the emotional and mental toll it can take. Rachel handled her situation with an incredible amount of poise, maturity, and selflessness. She never felt sorry for herself and always put the team first! She would do her injury rehab around practice time, then during practice she was as engaged as the healthy players. She was consistently bringing energy and positivity, staying involved in drills and huddles, coaching younger players between reps, etc.

It made a significant impact on our team that even if Rachel wasn’t out on the court competing, we still felt her leadership and presence day in and day out. When she was cleared to return to basketball activities it was such a natural transition back to the chemistry on the team because of the involvement and leadership she brought while she was out.

MavBlog:  How does she hold her teammates accountable?

ET: She is so caring for those around her, always bringing positivity and lifting others up. She has a great balance of holding her teammates accountable by knowing what each teammate needs in a given situation and how to get through to them. Her teammates know that she cares for them and wants them to be their best.

 Contributed by Mason Tonsager, Athletic Communications student intern