By Megan Ryan

Star Tribune

The Gophers are in a quarterback battle. And according to teammates and coaches, it is absolutely neck and neck.

So close, in fact, that there’s hardly any difference between Zack Annexstad and Tanner Morgan.

“They both, pretty much, are equal, very equal,” senior receiver Tyler Johnson said. “So there’s pretty much no change in the offense at all when both of them get out there.”

On the field, the two quarterbacks might exude the same confidence and command the same respect. They split time last year, with Morgan taking over for injured Annexstad about halfway through the season. But off the field, believe it or not, they are different people.

Sophomore receiver Demetrius Douglas revealed that Annexstad has quite the flair for fashion. In fact, Annexstad owns about 30 pairs of sneakers, his most coveted being some Air Jordan 1s.

His outfits are just an outward extension of his “fun” and “goofy” personality, as Morgan described it. In fact, Annexstad slid into an interview with pal receiver Rashod Bateman on Tuesday during the Gophers’ media day, iPhone held out, pretending to ask questions like the media. Tuesday was actually Annexstad’s first meeting with local journalists; the Gophers don’t often allow true freshmen to do interviews, but he’s already nailed the routine.

Morgan, on the other hand, termed himself a “simple kid from Kentucky,” who spends most of his free time on football, going to church, hunting and fishing. But there’s some edge to that image now.

The redshirt sophomore isn’t quite going to grow a thick beard and join a biker gang, but he did get his first tattoo on his right forearm three weeks ago, a cross with an alpha and omega symbol to represent a favorite Bible verse. His grandparents love the idea but not necessarily the ink, thus it took four months of convincing for Morgan to make it to a parlor.

Another Kentucky native, sophomore tight end Jake Paulson, finally dragged the quarterback into the chair, sick of listening to him hem and haw. Paulson joked that he bet $5 Morgan would cry, but he ended up holding it together.

“I was super nervous,” Morgan explained. “I was scared of needles.”

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