Each Tuesday until practice begins in August, 1500ESPN.com correspondent Darren "Doogie" Wolfson breaks down the Gophers football team by position.

Over the last four-plus years, here is the list of the most polarizing local sports figures:

• Vikings coach Brad Childress
• Twins manager Ron Gardenhire
• Timberwolves president of basketball operations David Kahn
• Twins general manager Bill Smith
• University of Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi
• Vikings quarterback Tarvaris Jackson
• Former Wild forward Marian Gaborik
• Gophers hockey coach Don Lucia
• Gophers football coach Tim Brewster (although to be polarizing, you have to divide opinion -- does he qualify?)
• Gophers quarterback Adam Weber

For any Gophers player to make anyone's list -- when interest in the program puts them as the fifth- or sixth-most popular team in town -- is noteworthy.

For the record, I really do wish more people locally cared about college football. Those who do care can match their passion with hockey fans. They are extremely hardcore. It's unfortunate, but it's a miniscule group.

The Weber detractors will point to 2009 and wonder how, in his fourth year on campus, he could have more interceptions (15) than touchdown passes (13).

They will point to his 36th career start - against South Dakota State, it's bleepin' South Dakota State - and point to only 94 yards passing, and how he looked scared that particular day to deliver the ball.

They also will point to his career starting record of 14-24.

The Weber defenders -- that's me -- wonder A) how healthy was he? and B) was it by accident that he was chosen by the coaches, who break down film, as worthy of second-team All-Big Ten in 2008?

In this semi-portly writer's opinion, here's what's fair to say about Weber:

From former offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch foolishly tweaking his throwing motion last year to poor offensive line play and the lack of a running game, there are many reasons to explain his below-average 2009 season.

Losing go-to receiver Eric Decker during the season also didn't help. He was the only receiver who could read and react at the line of scrimmage. When he went down, the offense went down.

But at some point, if Weber is to be considered one of the best quarterbacks in Gophers' history -- his numbers have him in the conversation -- he has to make more plays and, more important, win more games. He's never beaten Iowa or Wisconsin.

Weber is onto his fourth offensive coordinator in five years. Everything I've heard about Jeff Horton is positive. One of his colleagues on the Detroit Lions staff last year has nothing but endless praise for him.

Now it's on Horton to ensure that Weber reaches his full potential. It's also on assistant coach Tim Davis to do the same with his offensive line and Thomas Hammock with his running backs.

Football is the sport with the most moving parts. Weber needs a lot of help. But if he gets that help, he could shatter many school records and save head coach Tim Brewster's job. This is exactly why Weber is Brewster's guy this year -- Brewster's job is on the line, and Weber gives him the best opportunity to win. Weber's college legacy will be decided this year.

I chatted with Weber on Sunday Night. Below is the full Q & A.

• How hurt were you last year?

AW: That's a tough question. Everyone's hurt, and the more seasons you play, the more injured or the longer it takes to recover. I didn't do a good job of taking care of my body. As a freshman (and) sophomore I could go and play, wake up and probably play another game right away. I didn't have to stretch that much and I wasn't in the training room enough. Now, going into my fifth year, I've learned the importance of stretching and preparing your body to take on a 12- or 13-game season and be able to take on the hits that a quarterback will take throughout a season. Because I'm not going to change the way I play. I only know how to play football one way. I'm not going to tone it down at all. It's all about maintaing and keeping your body in the best shape possible. And I feel right now that I am in that shape.

• Who instilled that mentality in you?

AW: It took a while. I was pretty stubborn. I felt like I was invincible for awhile, body-wise. I would see guys in the training room, and I would never have to ice my arm or stuff like that. Coach Fisch was a big proponent of that -- trying to get me into the training room. And having a guy like Eric Decker and seeing how much time he spends on his body, making sure he's on the top of his game -- I learned a lot from him, because he was in the training room all the time even if he didn't have to, even when he wasn't hurt. He was always doing something so his body felt good.

• You mentioned Coach Fisch. Would things have had to change from last year if he had come back?

AW: I can't speak for Coach Fisch, but knowing how he feels, we had a good offense. His offense is a really good offense. It would have been nice to have had another year in it. I think things would have been different. It was his first time coaching collegiate football, which is a whole other level than professional football -- guys have class and other things going on that, when you're in the NFL, you don't have to deal with. So, there is a lot of growing that happened last year. I think this year would have been different just in the sense that we all would have been a little more comfortable. Coach Fisch would have felt more comfortable with the college game and the time requirements. But I don't know how much would have changed. We did a poor job of executing, myself personally, of running that offense, missing a lot of throws, not staying on the field enough. We were third-and-10 a lot, and when you do that, it's hard to be successful.

• You said you were missing throws, but were you throwing where guys should have been? Was Fisch's offense all about timing, and when Decker went down, Da'Jon McKnight, Troy Stoudermire and Brandon Green struggled with that?

AW: I hate excuses. And it doesn't matter who was wrong or who may have screwed up, whether myself or a receiver running a wrong route. What matters is production. And as the fans want to see, they don't care if I missed the throw. They just want us to score points and win football games. So, it doesn't do any good pointing fingers at all. But that's the job as a quarterback, because regardless of whether it was your mistake or someone else's mistake, as a quarterback, it all falls on your shoulders. So, that's a responsibility I don't take lightly. That's why this summer for captain's practice I'm out there all the time trying to help these guys -- having them run the routes the way I want them to run them. You know they are written on paper at 15 yards, but versus press coverage, this is where I might want you to be or how you are going to run this route. So, that's why this year feels different, because everyone is invested a little more. I'm excited for this season and really can't wait to get out there and see all of our hard work pay off.

• So, was there not that investment last year?

AW: No, no. I guess for me personally, last year was a little different. You just want to go out on top. I want to end my career feeling good about the entire process. Last year left a very bitter taste in my mouth, as a team and also personally. So, not that there wasn't an investment, but just with the new offense and new coaches, there are a lot of other things you are trying to figure instead of just the Xs and Os. And right now, I feel we didn't add too much to the offense. Of all things (in) Coach Horton's offense, our emphasis is going to be running the football. The passing game comes, it develops, it wasn't all thrown at us at once. So, it is coming slowly, and that gives us time to just focus on the Xs and Os.

• I hear a lot of good things about coach Horton...

AW: He is a very cool person, great coach. I've been fortunate to have had a couple of coaches and to get a feel for -- everyone has there own different styles of coaching. But Coach Horton, guy from Texas, he's very very laid back, but very smart, and he knows his football. I learned a lot from him just by the types of plays he calls in certain situations. It's all about having trust in your offense, and he trusts this offense and he's going to put a lot on our shoulders. But so far, we've been pretty responsive to it, or I guess responding really well to this offense, and I look forward to having us develop and go into this season and see what we can do.

• Do you ever look at other quarterbacks who have started three or four years and have had the same quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator throughout their career? You've been with four different quarterbacks coaches, four different coordinators. I mean, it's part of who you are, right?

AW: Yeah, like I said before, I don't know what it would have been like to have had one coach. I don't have that. I'm not fortunate enough to have that. That's obviously the ideal situation. When you go into college you want one coach and one offense, but those aren't the cards I've been dealt. So I'm just trying to make the best out of it. Like I said before, I hate excuses. It doesn't do any good. And that is all it is. I don't want to use a crutch at all. We've got 12 games this year -- hopefully 13 -- and that's all that matters. It doesn't matter who's coaching what. It matters about going out there and winning some trophy games -- beating Wisconsin, beating Iowa -- certain goals I haven't done, or as a team since I've been here, we haven't done that. So, that's my motivation this year. It's not falling back on all the changes or anything like that. It's all about the positive opportunities we have this year to do something we haven't done in the past four years.

• Last season, you were asked to change your throwing style. This year, with a new setup, are you going back to your 2008 throwing style?
•

AW: I try to watch tape. I look at Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Tony Romo -- he's got a unique throwing motion -- but guys who have success at the highest level. And you try to pick up what they have in their mechanics, because as a quarterback, you're always making little tweaks here and there. And it is all about, for me personally, being the best quarterback I can be. That's all that it was about. It was never to put me back intentionally, to put me back a little bit or slow me down at all. It was only to make me better and to be the best I can be. And I've stuggled with that. Last year, it was a combination of a bunch of things. It wasn't one particular thing that was the reason for our lack of productivity on offense. But this summer, I've had enough time. I know what my form should look like or where I want it, and I've been able to take a lot of reps so that it is second nature and I'm not out there thinking -- I'm out there throwing. And so far this summer, that has been happening, and that's why I am so confident about this year. Things are starting to fall into place, it seems. Not so much that they weren't before in the years past, but things are feeling like they are flowing a little bit more. I feel a little bit more comfortable out there and I feel ready to go.

• Is that throwing style a combination of '08 and '09?

AW: It's still being tweaked a little bit. I don't know what it is. It's how I am throwing the football. I couldn't tell you.

• But is it different than last year?

AW: Yeah, well, maybe a little bit different. I'm not putting as much emphasis on certain little things. I'm just going out there and throwing. What was tough last year (was) I felt like I was going out there and I was thinking about throwing. I was thinking about if my arm is far enough, is my elbow up, out there thinking. Now, I'm not thinking at all -- I'm just throwing, and I'm having success doing it.

• Are the hand signals a thing of the past?

AW: No. We will be doing hand signals as well. That's what's kind of nice with Coach Horton. He doesn't want to throw a lot on our plates. He understands we've been through four quarterbacks coaches. He gets it. So, of all things, he's trying to have as much carry over as possible from last year. A lot of the terminology or hand signals aren't anything new -- it's what we had last year, so we had a base that we were able to build on. Last year, I had never done hand signals before in my life, never done any of that, so all that was new last year. This year, we're just building on top of that, so it is not really a problem at all.

• Give me a breakdown of a couple of players - tight end Tiree Eure?

AW: He is a large human being. I'm really excited about Tiree. A great person; a nice guy. He's the type of guy you want to have in a huddle. We've have a couple of nice tight ends, but he's got that prototypical NFL body.

• How about WR Da'Jon McKnight?

AW: He's the best athlete I've ever seen, and it's fun watching him mature and develop and really take this season and his opportunity to a whole other level. I see him having a very productive and successful season.

• How about Brandon Green? He came in highly touted but hasn't really lived up to expectations. Is he ready to live up to those expectations?

AW: Brandon is a solid wide receiver. He's been dealt some tough injuries along the way. I think he has a little bit of a sore knee, so as a wide receiver, that's tough. But Brendan will be looking to have a solid year as well. If we can stay on the field longer, guys are going to get better numbers. Last year, being third-and-long a lot and not picking up first downs, you're not on the field enough to do certain things or get certain numbers. But with this offense being able to stay on the field will allow us to get the ball out to more guys and allow them to be playmakers. Guys like Da'Jon, Troy, Tiree and all those guys, you can put the ball in their hands and let them just go play football, because that is what they are good at.

• Speaking of Troy Stoudermire, does he need to touch the ball more? Is an ideal number a minimum of 10 times per game (including kickoff returns)?

AW: Yes, he's an explosive player -- probably the most explosive player we have when he has the ball. He can do certain things that not many people in the Big 10 can do. Put him in the slot, let him be a like a Wes Welker type player, get him the ball a lot, third-and-short, little dump passes. The big thing this year is turning that 6-yard pass into a 60-yard touchdown, and that's what he can do. Troy can turn a 6-yard hitch route, make a guy miss and turn it into 60 yards. Yards after catches is what is Troy's specialty. We're going to use him a lot. He's going to need to touch the ball a lot if we're going to have success.

• Another guy who sticks out is Duane Bennett. It's easy to remember the play early in the win over Michigan State. He has the ability in the passing game to generate yards-after-catch. Is he your starting running back?

AW: I know there is going to be some good competition for the running backs this fall camp. He's been battling that injury and he's always been a hard worker. It would be nice to see him have a good, good year, a good season, because he deserves it. We have quite a few running backs who all have little different styles of running. And Duane is big. He's put on so much weight. He's a weight-room fanatic. No one deserves to go out with a good season (more) than Duane. The whole running back corps, they're all going to have to probably share the load, but who's going to be the starter is going to have to go out there and win it.

• Do you think much about this time next year going into a NFL training camp?

AW: Yeah. I've never sat down and thought about it seriously or looked at numbers. But this year could be a very special year, for our team and for myself personally. I've never truly sat down and thought about it, but all those little things really do mean a lot to me. Being in the top five quarterbacks to throw for 10,000 yards, that means a lot to me. Numbers have never been a big deal to me, but looking at those little things -- possibly starting 50-plus games, being able to throw a certain amount of touchdown passes -- those are all personal goals that I have. And I know that with collegiate success, there will be carry over to the next level. That is a big motivator for me, to play at the next level. But I have to take care of this season right now, and everything will take care of itself from there.

A special thanks to KSTP-TV sports intern Nate Sandell, who helped transcribe the lengthy interview.