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Minnesota QB Zack Annexstad in rarified air heading into season
By Andrew Kulha
Published:
Here’s a fact: Zack Annexstad is a true freshman for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Just as true is the fact that Annexstad is the starting quarterback for the Golden Gophers, and that’s something he seems to be pretty excited about — despite the fact that he probably had a weird way of showing it.
Annexstad seems like the quite yet confident type, at least if you were to believe his interview Tuesday morning on SportsCenter. Here was his reaction to being named the starter, as passed on by Andy Greder of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press:
“He told me and I just said, ‘All right, yes sir,’ ” Annexstad relayed. “… I don’t know how he thought I was going to react, but I was pretty excited in the inside.”
That’s a pretty subdued reaction from the true freshman but perhaps it’s a peek into the mental fortitude that allows someone so young to go into a college camp and beat out the competition — in this case redshirt freshman Tanner Morgan — for the starting quarterback job at a Big Ten school.
It’s undoubtedly an honor and expectations should be sky high for the former three-star pro-style quarterback out of IMG Academy in Florida. But if being named the starter as a true freshman isn’t impressive enough, keep in mind the fact that Annexstad was actually a walk-on for the Golden Gophers, which puts him in rarified air historically in Division I football.
Per Greder, it seems that Annexstad is the first true freshman walk-on to win the starter role in Division I football come Week 1 of the season. The only other player in the running for that honor is Heisman trophy winner Baker Mayfield, who was a true freshman walk-on starter for Texas Tech in 2013, but that was only because the original starter could not play due to injury.
Annexstad has what it takes to be a gem for the Golden Gophers. Now we wait and see to see what Fleck saw in him, but that wait won’t be much longer.
Annexstad will start Minnesota’s season-opening game against New Mexico State this Thursday at TCF Bank Stadium.
Andrew covers the B1G on Saturday Tradition.