For much of the offseason, the question has been how the Minnesota Golden Gophers will replace the production of wide receiver Tyler Johnson, who is now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But now that Rashod Bateman has opted out of the 2020 college football season due to the health risks posed by COVID-19, the challenge for head coach P.J. Fleck is to replace 68% of the receptions, 77% of the receiving yards, and 77% of the receiving touchdowns from last season.
Gopher fans, meet your new No. 1 wide receiver: Chris Autman-Bell.
I’ve already previewed what to expect from Autman-Bell next season — although that was before he got the promotion to Tanner Morgan’s top target in the passing game — but there is a great deal of uncertainty behind him on the depth chart.