Keep in mind for 2020 and beyond

RBs Treyson Potts, Cameron Wiley and Jason Williamson: Minnesota will be losing two very prolific running backs from their ranks after the season when Rodney Smith and Shannon Brooks graduate, and that's going to be leave a lot of carries to be divided and replaced in 2020. Mo Ibrahim has earned his snaps there, but you need two or three running backs in the Big Ten to keep legs fresh going into November. That's where the trio of freshmen could factor in.

All three possess unique skill sets that are different that what Ibrahim excels at, which makes them firm contenders. Potts, now healthy after missing the spring recovering from ACL surgery, looked spry and elusive in fall camp. There's not a lot flashy about the way Potts plays, but he's so smooth and crisp with the ball in his hands that he's able to make guys miss with that deception. Fleck has compared Wiley to Laurence Maroney with body type as Wiley has a big frame to fill out yet, but he's got the top speed to be a one-cut and go back in Kirk Ciarrocca's zone running scheme. Jason Williamson is recovering from an ACL tear himself that he suffered in the spring, but I saw enough when he was healthy to know that the speed and athleticism we saw in high school at Owatonna can definitely translate and play on Saturday's. He's a Big Ten athlete, and he'll be primed to enter the race in seven months when spring ball begins for 2020.

OG Tyler Cooper: The interior of Minnesota's offensive line is wide open after Blaise Andries, Conner Olson and Curtis Dunlap, and the Gophers are searching for immediate depth. While I don't believe that Cooper will factor into the 2019 plans here, after Cooper gets six months in the weight room during his redshirt year, I firmly expect him to competing at guard this spring. He physically looks the part of an interior Big Ten offensive lineman and has the athleticism and footwork to work well in Ciarrocca's run-blocking schemes, but just needs to add strength. Minnesota's rotated a plethora of interior offensive line bodies this fall, and with none really standing out, the opportunity is there for Cooper, maybe sooner than he imagined.