In the battle for the Little Brown Jug, it appears that the Minnesota Golden Gophers might be without their offensive team leader.

Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune is reporting that starting quarterback MarQueis Gray, who has been battling a toe injury, did not warm up with the quarterbacks this morning at the Big House, and that true freshman Max Shortell has been taking all of the snaps with the first-team offense during warm-ups.

Here's Miller's exact quote from the article.

MarQueis Gray did not warm up with the quarterbacks, spending the early practice time helping the wide receivers get ready while the quarterbacks -- including apparent starter Max Shortell -- worked with the centers on taking snaps. And he's not taking part in calesthenics either, standing off to the side. He was wearing a boot on his foot last night, and is walking gingerly now. He certainly doesn't look like a man planning to play today.

So, Max Shortell. . .who has shown some promise in his time for the Gophers thus far. . .will make his debut as a starter in front of more than 100,000 screaming Wolverines fans in one of the biggest and most famous rivalry games in college football.

No pressure, though.