Spring football practice schedule announced

The hype for football in the fall has already begun in the wake of National Signing Day, starting with the Minnesota football department revealing its spring practice plan on Monday.

The Gopher football team will begin the spring practice on Tuesday, March 26.  The team will have 13 more practices before the annual spring game on Saturday, April 27.

The times and terms for the remaining practices will be announced at a future date.  During Jerry Kill’s first two seasons, the practices were open to the media and general public.

Minnesota will be one of the last teams in the Big Ten to start spring practice and will be the second-to-last team to have its annual spring game.

Quarterback Philip Nelson and defensive end Ra’Shede Hageman will lead the Gophers.

Four members of the Class of 2013 recruiting class are already enrolled and are expected to participate this spring.

Former Rival-250 member, Brian Bobek, will be in uniform along with the new recruits.  Bobek will be eligible this fall to play for Minnesota after transferring from Ohio State.  The four-star recruit was the third ranked center in the nation in the class of 2011.

In total, the Gophers are replacing 20 players from last season.