Gophers Lose Chris Autman-Bell, Who Steps Up?

Gophers’ Autman-Bell is out for the season. Who will step up to fill the large void in left in the Minnesota Offense?

Gophers Lose Chris Autman-Bell, Who Steps Up?

The Minnesota Golden Gophers will be without Chris Autman-Bell for the remainder of the season. This is a huge loss for the Gophers as Autman-Bell has 47 career games in which he racked up 125 receptions for 1,970 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Autman-Bell was a huge part of the Gophers’ offense, and it will be coach P.J Fleck’s priority to find other outlets in which to find those offensive yards. Minnesota will be fine, though, as they have the depth in the wide receiver room to find the lost yards as long as everyone plays up to their full potential.

Dylan Wright

One of the guys that Coach Fleck and the Gophers’ offense will look to is Dylan Wright. Wright is a returning Junior who in 2021 had 18 catches for 365 yards and 2 TDs, and he is off to a respectable start this year with 4 receptions, 58 yards, and a TD.

Wright has proven to be able to make plays when given the opportunity, and with Autman-Bell being out for the rest of the year, you can expect Wright to get plenty of opportunities. Only time will tell if Wright will be able to take advantage and carry the momentum into having a large role in his senior year.

Clay Geary

Clay Geary is a Senior out of Lakeville, Minnesota. Clay has spent the entirety of his career on the Gophers’ bench, having only 10 career receptions to date despite his lengthy tenure. Though not the most likely of people to step up in this situation, he is not to be underestimated.

He has had plenty of time in the program, so he should have high working knowledge of what he needs to do and what part he will play as his play increases. Don’t expect him to get crazy amounts of play but expect him to be a capable working piece of the offense when he is on the field.

Michael Brown-Stephens

Michael Brown-Stephens is a Junior out of Springfield, Ohio. The kid had a stellar sophomore season last year in which he caught 23 catches for 392 yards and scored a TD. I expect him to make a huge contribution in the absence of Autman-Bell.

Having 6 receptions for over 100 yards already this year, he has proven that he is capable of being a big playmaker it’s just going to be keeping up that level of play with the extra responsibility that will be added to his plate this year. I expect him to get a lot more looks, and it will be well deserved.

Wrap Up

Listen, I’m not going to lie and say that Autman-Bell isn’t a significant loss for this Minnesota team that has a lot of expectations both in and outside of the building. I do think though, that unproven, there is plenty of talent to be able to step up and compete with the likes of Iowa, who we still don’t really know their true level of play.

Minnesota odds will definitely reflect the injury look to get value on team futures as oddsmakers still try to figure out how capable the Gophers will be without one of it’s big weapons.