As we near the kickoff of the 2024-25 college football season, Gophers fans are slowly learning more about new quarterback Max Brosmer. On a national scale, the New Hampshire transfer is still a major unknown, but that might work to his advantage.

When last year’s starter Athan Kaliakmanis opted to enter the transfer portal and look for a new home, Minnesota was immediately in the market for a more experienced option under center. In a story from The Athletic highlighting college football’s breakout stars at the quarterback position, Brosmer was one of 10 players mentioned and one of two “wild card” players.

“The Gophers have the best Power 4 receiver few people know about in Daniel Jackson and a quality running back in Darius Taylor,” Scott Dochterman wrote. “Brosmer provides Minnesota with the type of quarterback the program has missed on since Tanner Morgan led the Gophers to 11 wins in 2019.”

The article goes on to mention his impressive credentials: leading the FCS in passing yards (3,464), passing yards per game (313.6) and total offense (325 yards per game) last season at UNH.

This season, Brosmer will look to become the first Minnesota quarterback to total more than 2,100 passing yards in a season since Morgan had more than 3,200 in 2019. The equation to generate a revamped aerial attack will need to include much more than a better talent under center; the Gophers coaching staff will need to trust their new leader to lead their offense to explosive plays this season.

If the combination of Brosmer, co-offensive coordinators Greg Harbaugh Jr. and Matt Simon, plus the wide receiver unit led by Jackson all click, their new quarterback certainly has the talent to establish himself as one of the better options in the conference. He is truly a wild card as Minnesota continues to look to regain that 2019 magic.

It’s official. Be there, or be not part of the official quorum.

Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL’s owners will meet on August 27 to vote on a rule allowing a portion of franchises to be sold to private equity firms.

Previously, the Commissioner had asked the owners to hold the date. The actual meeting hinged on the committee that has been considering the private equity issue coming up with a firm and final proposal.

Factors include the maximum percentage of a team that can be sold to private-equity firms (it’s expected to be 10 percent), whether one team can sell slivers to multiple firms, whether one firm can own pieces of multiple teams, and whether teams will be able to buy back the percentages of the franchise that have been sold to private-equity firms.

While potential tweaks to the kickoff rule aren’t officially on the agenda, the meeting represents the last, best chance to make changes. By then, the preseason will be over, and the regular season will be nine days away. Given the league’s strong reluctance to change the rules during a given season, any adjustment to the kickoff rule that requires a vote of the owners will need to happen then.

The biggest question is whether the owners will consider moving the touchback point from the 30 to the 35. Absent the adjustment, there’s a good chance that many if not most if not all teams will kick out of the end zone and concede the 30 — especially if the average starting field position with the new formation is in the vicinity of the 30, anyway.

For now, it’s not on the agenda. Within the next 10 days, it could be. If it isn’t, there’s a chance that the so-called dynamic kickoff will be no different than the dead-and-buried kickoff of 2023.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) has released the 2023 Uniform Crime Report, a summary of crime data submitted by local law enforcement agencies.

Notable data from the 2023 Minnesota Uniform Crime Report:

• Minnesota saw a 6.9 percent decrease in violent crime in 2023. Violent crime in the seven-county Twin Cities Metro Area (Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties) decreased by 8.2 percent. Violent crime in greater Minnesota decreased by 3.4 percent.
• There were 181 murders in 2023 in Minnesota compared with 182 in 2022. Firearms were involved in 69.6 percent of the incidents, down from 73.1 percent in 2022.
• There were 9,986 aggravated assaults in 2023, which is 3.4 percent lower than 2022.
• There were 2,053 rapes in 2023, a decrease of 11.85 percent. Most of the rapes occurred in a home (72.6 percent) and 40.5 percent of the victims were minors.
• Motor vehicle theft decreased 6.8 percent in 2023 with 15,612 vehicles stolen as compared to 16,743 in 2022. Carjacking incidents decreased 37.8 percent with 372 incidents in 2023, compared with 598 in 2022. Carjacking incidents are not counted as motor vehicle thefts.
• There were 72,701 incidents of larceny in 2023 – the lowest number in 55 years.
• Bias crimes rose in 2023 with 180 incidents reported.
• Law enforcement use-of-force incidents involving discharge of a firearm dropped in 2023 to 16, two fewer than in 2022.
• Peace officers were assaulted in 961 incidents in 2023, a 0.9 percent increase from 2022.

The complete 2023 Uniform Crime Report can be accessed on the BCA website. The Minnesota Crime Data Explorer and additional years’ reports can be found on the same page.

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