Now, in another sign of progress under coach Jerry Kill and his staff, the Gophers have an all-senior group of legitimate NFL prospects manning the four defensive back positions.

”They’ll have their biggest test right off the bat,” Kill said.

That’ll take place Thursday when TCU, ranked second in the preseason Associated Press poll, brings star quarterback Trevone Boykin and his band of fleet-footed wide receivers to TCF Bank Stadium for the most anticipated opener Minnesota has ever had in the sport’s modern era.

”We ran with them a year ago,” defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys said. ”A couple of the fades, we were right there and their receivers made great catches, and you’re going to lose a jump ball every now and then. You go through all the film, and they didn’t outrun us.”

Even in those good seasons of the past for the Gophers, the secondary was often, well, secondary. In the last 30 NFL drafts, Minnesota has had seven defensive backs selected, and safety Tyrone Carter (2000) was the only one whose pro career was remarkable. But two of those, safety Brock Vereen and safety Cedric Thompson, have come in the last two years.

With cornerbacks Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Eric Murray and safeties Damarius Travis and Antonio Johnson, barring injuries that streak is almost sure to continue next spring. With Vereen with the Chicago Bears and Thompson with the Miami Dolphins, the current Gophers have some friends to follow.

”I bled with those guys. I sweat with those guys every single day,” Boddy-Calhoun said. ”And when I first got here it was like a dream to go to the NFL. Playing with some teammates that are in the NFL, it’s a reality now.”

Getting the elite athletes with the 4.3-second 40-yard dash speed will always be a challenge for the Gophers, even if they’re able to turn the corner under Kill and become a consistently winning team that occasionally challenges for the conference championship. That’s where the pressure will stay on Kill and his assistants to target the right recruits.

Murray arrived as a wide receiver from Wisconsin. Boddy-Calhoun, who grew up in Delaware, was at a junior college in Kansas when Kill found him. Travis, from Florida, was as much a basketball star in high school as he was a football standout. Johnson, an Ohio native, was a running back when he came to campus.

”I think we did a good job of projecting kids,” Kill said, adding: ”We’ve just been able to recruit good in the secondary.”

The tough love of defensive backs coach Jay Sawvel has had an influence, too, as has the leadership of Boddy-Calhoun, a fifth-year senior who has already earned his degree in elementary education. He initiated a summer-long session for the defensive backs dubbed ”Football Fridays,” when the group would arrive at the practice facility around 5 a.m. and stay until 6 p.m. with the only breaks for meals. Otherwise, they went all in on conditioning, weight lifting, on-field drills and film study.

For Boddy-Calhoun, the idea was partially a response to how quickly a college career can pass, even for a player who’s 22.

He recalled, recently, the November day he became a Big Ten player after one season at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas, where Kill knew the head coach.

”I get a call from a man named Jerry Kill. And as I’m talking to him, I’m like, `Who is this guy?’ I’ve got my friend’s phone. I’m googling him. I’m like, `Whoa, he’s really the head coach for Minnesota.’ And he offered me there,” Boddy-Calhoun said, adding: ”To have a head coach from the Big Ten call you? I was like, `I’m sold. I’m sold on this guy.’ I wanted to go somewhere where I felt that I was wanted, and I really felt wanted here. And If I got recruited again, I would be here again.”

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New hire? No. Most of coach Jerry Kill’s staff has been together for decades. There’s a fresh wave of talented recruits, too, but that’s not the answer, either. This rookie has arrived in the form of heightened expectations, from both outside and inside the program.

Coming off a second consecutive 8-5 finish, including rare wins at Michigan and Nebraska last year, the Gophers have reached another pivotal point in their progress. Winning the Big Ten West Division, which would’ve happened in 2014 had they beaten Wisconsin, has become an attainable goal rather than a distant hope.

Repossessing Paul Bunyan’s Axe from the Badgers would be the next step.

”Everybody in our state is getting tired of it. The number one question I get in the state when I go out and talk is, `We’ve got three trophies, but where is the Axe?”’ Kill said.

Here are some key angles to know about Minnesota this season:

SCHEDULE SURVIVAL

With quarterback Trevone Boykin among 10 returning starters on an offense that made TCU the second-highest scoring team in the FBS last year with an average of 46.5 points per game, the Gophers will have their hands more than full on Sept. 3. The buzz has been building for months toward this nationally televised Thursday night game against the Horned Frogs, who will be highly ranked coming to TCF Bank Stadium.

”It’s a statement game, and I know a lot of people out there are going to see what Minnesota is about based off this opening game,” cornerback Briean Boddy-Calhoun said. ”So it’s definitely a different feel. It’s been different all offseason.”

There are some other obvious obstacles facing the Gophers this year. They play Sept. 12 at Colorado State, which went 10-3 last season, and Nov. 7 at defending national champion Ohio State. Nebraska, Michigan and Wisconsin all visit.

”Our schedule is very difficult. Everybody knows that. Our kids know that. Our coaches know that,” Kill said. ”But we’ve got a good football team, too. We’ve got to get a few holes plugged, but we’re looking forward to it.”

FILLING THOSE HOLES

The Gophers had four players drafted by NFL teams, the most by the program since 2006. In addition to tight end Maxx Williams (Baltimore), linebacker Damien Wilson (Dallas), running back David Cobb (Tennessee) and safety Cedric Thompson (Miami), wide receiver Isaac Fruechte signed with his home-state team and went to training camp with the Vikings.

Cobb racked up 1,626 yards and 13 touchdowns rushing in 2014, but Williams will likely be missed the most. He was by far Mitch Leidner’s favorite target, with 36 receptions that were twice as much as the next receiver, Fruechte. Eight of Leidner’s 11 touchdown tosses went to Williams.

Four sophomores are in the mix as Minnesota searches for its next pass-catching tight end: Duke Anyanwu, Brandon Lingen, Noah Scarver and Nate Wozniak. Lincoln Plsek is the primary blocking tight end.

”Think the biggest thing, replacing Maxx, is his hands. That’s the hardest thing,” Kill said. ”You don’t get very many people that have the hands that that kid had, and so we’ll have to disperse the ball a little bit differently.”

RUNNERS, WHO’S BACK?

Rodrick Williams has the experience and size in the competition to take Cobb’s carries. Berkley Edwards has the speed. Then there’s freshman Rodney Smith, a redshirt last year. True freshman Shannon Brooks is getting opportunities, too. The Gophers were satisfied enough with the backfield depth that touted freshman Jeff Jones shifted to wide receiver for now.

GROWTH POTENTIAL

Wilson and Thompson were the team’s top two tacklers in 2014. Half of the starting defensive line is also gone. That’s all, though. The defense that ranked third in the Big Ten in takeaways, sixth in points allowed and seventh in yards allowed has room to be even better, with cornerbacks Boddy-Calhoun and Eric Murray, defensive end Theiren Cockran and linebacker De’Vondre Campbell comprising the core.

GUTTER BALLS

Going bowling hasn’t been a successful activity for the Gophers under Kill, who is 0-3 in postseason games at Minnesota. In fact, the Gophers are on a seven-game bowl losing skid, having last won the 2004 Music City Bowl over Alabama.

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