When Minnesota lost walk-on running back Preston Jelen to a season-ending knee injury during preseason camp last year, few could have predicted that it would be the first in a series of dominos that would fall, culminating in the Gophers being forced to enlist another walk-on — linebacker Derik LeCaptain — to provide emergency support for a depleted position group that entered the season with six healthy scholarship running backs and ended the season with two.
First it was Jelen. Then it was Mohamed Ibrahim, who in the season opener tore his Achilles tendon. Four weeks later, Trey Potts was rushed by ambulance to the hospital during the fourth quarter of a game against Purdue, struck by an undisclosed ailment that would keep him apart from the team for the rest of the season.