McNeal to Clemson, Carter to West Virginia

[cduff]

Per ESPN.com......

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/onthetrail

[dcboe]

Perfect!

[Gopher07]

F.

[calminnfan]

No surprise from McNeal and we knew it was possible with Carter!

[dbaldrich1]

I prefer to wait until the kids themselves commit. This prediction from ESPN may be true, and if it is then I'll wish the two kids the best of luck and start looking for the guys Brew & Co. bring in instead.

This recruiting class is already very good. McNeal and Carter would have made it even better, but not getting them doesn't mean the class is a failure by any means (I really wanted McNeal, but I'll get over it if he goes somewhere else).

I'm going to stay optimistic, regardless of what happens this weekend at the all-star games.

[magpie]

It sure would be disrespectful to the players announcing during the game to have their announcements broadcast on ESPN beforehand. That said, these are likely just predictions. We'll find out shortly.

[DCGopher]

nm

[FiveStarFan]

this just ruined my day. thanks espn

[Redbeard]

It sure would be disrespectful to the players announcing during the game to have their announcements broadcast on ESPN beforehand.

Agreed. Whether they know or not, they should just let the kids make their own announcements. :mad:

[FiveStarFan]

I'm just wainting and wanting one of these kids to actually commit elsewhere and screw this article

[Ski U Master]

I don't think we'll get either of them when it's all said and done. I just heard on the game that McNeal is the last kid scheduled to announce during the game.

[MaxyJR1]

According to announcers if anyone tuning in late missed it.

[MRJ]

Well, so much for that :mad::(

Nevertheless, we still have a pretty good class imo.

[SuperGoph]

They just nailed the last two commitments, which they posted way before the actual commitment on TV.

This is a sad day.....good thing the BB team took care of business!

[MaxyJR1]

If McNeal is the last commit and it will likely come toward the end or after the game, maybe him and Carter announce together. I believe they are on separate sidelines during the game.

[FiveStarFan]

ya they are right on the money so far. wtf did they call every one of these kids last night and each one of them said ok I'll tell ya? ESPN prob paid for it! I'm kidding!

[FiveStarFan]

I dont know why I'm so miffed by this, I have been telling myself for 2 weeks Bryce isnt coming here...maybe its cuz I have thought for sure that Carter was coming here and this screws this all up. Carter looks to me to be the best physical corner that the gophers would have had in decades not just years

[Gopherjer]

According to Zach, Carter sent him a text message with his college choice, but Zach would not tell anyone. Doggie said to Zach then he must have committed to the U otherwise he would have sent a text to WV. and Zach to did not dispute it. Take it for what it is worth!

[FiveStarFan]

According to Zach, Carter sent him a text message with his college choice, but Zach would not tell anyone. Doggie said to Zach then he must have committed to the U otherwise he would have sent a text to WV. and Zach to did not dispute it. Take it for what it is worth!

thanks for the ray of hope!!! Maybe he sent a text to us and called with a silent verbal to WV?? hope not

[SuperGoph]

FWIW, they're saying that Carter has denied the ESPN report over on the Scout WV site

Link: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=159&f=2508&t=3705440


Im still not too convinced but they're might be a little hope

[SuperGoph]

FWIW, they're saying that Carter has denied the ESPN report over on the Scout WV site

Link: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=159&f=2508&t=3705440


Im still not too convinced but they're might be a little hope

[calminnfan]

According to Zach, Carter sent him a text message with his college choice, but Zach would not tell anyone. Doggie said to Zach then he must have committed to the U otherwise he would have sent a text to WV. and Zach to did not dispute it. Take it for what it is worth!

I could read that either way since McNeal gave Gopher lady an interview as well and it is on hold until the announcement!

[MinnMarchDTF]

Just committed to WVU.

[The Big L]

F*** carter just picked wv

[calminnfan]

FWIW, they're saying that Carter has denied the ESPN report over on the Scout WV site

Link: http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=159&f=2508&t=3705440


Im still not too convinced but they're might be a little hope

That is encouraging...
Just read the posts!

[The Big L]

does this mean espn's mcneal pick is right on too?

[mkAz]

I guess now I can say I wasn't too impressed with that video I saw of him yesterday, he was holding on every one of them. Good luck to him nonetheless. Next.

[hyaluronic]

The typical trashing of a player once he commits elsewhere.

[Border Gopher]

The typical trashing of a player once he commits elsewhere.

He's a bum, too small, etc!

[mkAz]

The typical trashing of a player once he commits elsewhere.
Oh, and that comment about the next 3 years??? WTF?

[FiveStarFan]

ugh!!! frustrating. Now can only pray for Paige and I really dont know if that is anywhere close to a lock. What happend to Brew and a couple commits in the next week or so?

[SuperGoph]

Seriously people, the Carter bashing is just uncalled for. He made an informed decision (one which I personally think may have been influenced by bowl games) and didn't choose us. Get over it. Theres nothing worse than people who start bashing someone just cause he didn't pick the team we root for. How more high-schoolish can you get? Let's get over it and move on...remember we still have time til National LOI day, and Brew was able to swing one last year.

[Jike Spingleton]

According to Zach, Carter sent him a text message with his college choice, but Zach would not tell anyone. Doggie said to Zach then he must have committed to the U otherwise he would have sent a text to WV. and Zach to did not dispute it. Take it for what it is worth!

Lane Kiffin!

[Gold Vision]

0-fer

[The Big L]

Clemson for McNeal....looks like Brew needed some more "christian values"

[gopherguy05]

Not just Clemson..

The University umm..of..umm.

Clemson.

Way to be articulate there Bryce..

[GopherGod]

Clemson for McNeal....looks like Brew needed some more "christian values"

You cannot fault a kid who wants to go play for a coach that shares his values.

[The Big L]

You cannot fault a kid who wants to go play for a coach that shares his values.

I'm not faulting, just pointing out that it seemed to be a major factor in his decision. A kid has got to go where he is comfortable.

[Darby11]

I can see reasons to go to Oregon. Nike, Passing team in the Pac-10, babes. See nothing really positive for Clemson that he couldn't get elsewhere. Clemson is an unstable program, traditionally a running team, etc. Does he have family from the South? "Christian values"? A black kid from Minnesota has no clue what that part of South Carolina is like. Even as a sheltered football player he is in a for a HUGE HUGE culture shock. He must have had one great visit to Clemson! :D

[FiveStarFan]

wonder if this is another kid we will be hearing about in a year or two wanting to transfer home? not that I would care that much cuz he wont see the feild till his 3rd year, last time I checked we have some god christian churches here in MN

[GopherGod]

I'm not faulting, just pointing out that it seemed to be a major factor in his decision. A kid has got to go where he is comfortable.

I agree, I apologize and didn't intend to imply that you were faulting him. I guess not all players respond to the snake oil salesman pitch of Brewster.

[maroonfive]

It is important that the coaches are christian? This is football. Better not to take a kid that has serious issues.
We should throw in an athiest to even things out. I suppose some guys are comfortable that the coaches are all white, all black, or are all straight. Lets add christians to the list.

Go Gophers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lawrence21]

you can't fault a kid for going where he feels comfortable. If he likes that the coaches are Christians then good for him. It's his decision and it does not mean he has issues as you say. As a parent I would be more comfortable that my kid is taken care of when he is many states away.

[DCGopher]

Carter I thought looked really good today (unfortunately). McNeal looked a little overwhelmed sizewise and he did not seem to be as fast as I thought he would be during the game.

With that said I don't get the appeal of Clemson? I can see the appeal of West Virginia....or even the appeal of Colorado, Oregon, or Michigan over Minnesota. But Clemson? Really? Underachieving, not a great history, a bigger rebuilding project than we are right now, a weak conference.....the only thing I can see is that it was the only warm weather place that offered him? Does anyone have insight to his actual reasons?

[harrys ghost]

Carter I thought looked really good today (unfortunately). McNeal looked a little overwhelmed sizewise and he did not seem to be as fast as I thought he would be during the game.

With that said I don't get the appeal of Clemson? I can see the appeal of West Virginia....or even the appeal of Colorado, Oregon, or Michigan over Minnesota. But Clemson? Really? Underachieving, not a great history, a bigger rebuilding project than we are right now, a weak conference.....the only thing I can see is that it was the only warm weather place that offered him? Does anyone have insight to his actual reasons?

Read the GH interview. Clemson was his second choice the first time around. The guy that recruited him was named head coach.

[Furio Giunta]

With that said I don't get the appeal of Clemson? I can see the appeal of West Virginia....or even the appeal of Colorado, Oregon, or Michigan over Minnesota. But Clemson? Really? Underachieving, not a great history, a bigger rebuilding project than we are right now, a weak conference.....the only thing I can see is that it was the only warm weather place that offered him? Does anyone have insight to his actual reasons?

OK....Clemson fan here. I wanted to come over here and read up on McNeal some, but I have to respond to this post.

Underachieving? Guilty as charged on that one. Still, we've only had one losing season in 15 years, and that was 10 years ago. Even while underachieving, we've finished in the top 25 4 out of the last 8 years. You've finished in the top 25 twice in the last 40 years.

Not a great history? If you're talking recent history, then Clemson and pretty much everyone else crushes the Gophers. I know MN won a bunch of titles back in WW2, but you haven't done anything in almost 50 years. Since you last won a conference title (in 1967), we've won a national title and eight conference titles. We've also won more bowl games than you've even appeared in. We've finished in the top 25 16 times in the last 30 years (or a little more than once every other year for 30 years), while you've finished in the top 25 twice in the last 40 years.

a bigger rebuilding project than we are right now? What???? How did you come up with that one? Clemson doesn't need to "rebuild" at all. We're working on a top 25 class right now despite canning our coach midseason (already have 7 four star recruits committed), and we had four classes in a row before this that Rivals ranked #17 or better. We both had the same record this year, and we fired our coach while you extended yours. That should tell you about the "rebuilding process". We've finished in the top 25 3 out of the last 5 years, and we started this season ranked in the top ten before our coach was fired. Not sure why you think we're in any kind of rebuilding process like you. We've had two first round picks in the last three years, and Merling last year was the first pick of the second round due to a hernia injury. We'll probably have 5 or 6 kids drafted this year. We also spent $70 million on our facilities in an addition to our stadium. The groundbreaking on that project correlated with that first top 17 class I mentioned. We now have some of the finest facilities in the entire Southeast to go with a stadium known all around the country. Again, we just had a season where we fired our coach, and we still landed in the Gator Bowl.

a weak conference? Come on, man. Do you really think anyone in the Big Ten should be throwing stones at another conference? The ACC is no worse than any other conference besides the Big 12 and the SEC. The Big Ten has been a national laughingstock as a conference for a little while now.

the only thing I can see is that it was the only warm weather place that offered him? Dude, have you seen our campus or the stadium we play at? People all around the country give up the love for our stadium and our traditions (The Rock, The Hill). Death Valley is routinely voted one of the best college football environments in the entire country. Google a list of the top 25 or top 20 or top 10 college football venues, and you'll see us listed pretty much every time. I know you're excited about TCF stadium, but that place is a joke compared to Death Valley, and your fanbase hasn't been excited about college football in 50 years. You can't even begin to compare the two environments, and that extends to the campus in general. Clemson is a true blue college town. I'm not saying the U of M isn't a cool place, but it's never been called a college town.

By the way, Clemson is graduating a WR who just broke the ACC record for career receptions. We've had a WR on the first or second team postseason all-conference list for 5 straight years, and we've had 4 receivers drafted in that time. I'm not saying we're any kind of powerhouse, but it's easy to convince kids that the WR position is a productive position in our offense.

Just wanted to respond to your comments. I generally like to see the Gophers do well.

[FiveStarFan]

OK....Clemson fan here. I wanted to come over here and read up on McNeal some, but I have to respond to this post.

Underachieving? Guilty as charged on that one. Still, we've only had one losing season in 15 years, and that was 10 years ago. Even while underachieving, we've finished in the top 25 4 out of the last 8 years. You've finished in the top 25 twice in the last 40 years.

Not a great history? If you're talking recent history, then Clemson and pretty much everyone else crushes the Gophers. I know MN won a bunch of titles back in WW2, but you haven't done anything in almost 50 years. Since you last won a conference title (in 1967), we've won a national title and eight conference titles. We've also won more bowl games than you've even appeared in. We've finished in the top 25 16 times in the last 30 years (or a little more than once every other year for 30 years), while you've finished in the top 25 twice in the last 40 years.

a bigger rebuilding project than we are right now? What???? How did you come up with that one? Clemson doesn't need to "rebuild" at all. We're working on a top 25 class right now despite canning our coach midseason (already have 7 four star recruits committed), and we had four classes in a row before this that Rivals ranked #17 or better. We both had the same record this year, and we fired our coach while you extended yours. That should tell you about the "rebuilding process". We've finished in the top 25 3 out of the last 5 years, and we started this season ranked in the top ten before our coach was fired. Not sure why you think we're in any kind of rebuilding process like you. We've had two first round picks in the last three years, and Merling last year was the first pick of the second round due to a hernia injury. We'll probably have 5 or 6 kids drafted this year. We also spent $70 million on our facilities in an addition to our stadium. The groundbreaking on that project correlated with that first top 17 class I mentioned. We now have some of the finest facilities in the entire Southeast to go with a stadium known all around the country. Again, we just had a season where we fired our coach, and we still landed in the Gator Bowl.

a weak conference? Come on, man. Do you really think anyone in the Big Ten should be throwing stones at another conference? The ACC is no worse than any other conference besides the Big 12 and the SEC. The Big Ten has been a national laughingstock as a conference for a little while now.

the only thing I can see is that it was the only warm weather place that offered him? Dude, have you seen our campus or the stadium we play at? People all around the country give up the love for our stadium and our traditions (The Rock, The Hill). Death Valley is routinely voted one of the best college football environments in the entire country. Google a list of the top 25 or top 20 or top 10 college football venues, and you'll see us listed pretty much every time. I know you're excited about TCF stadium, but that place is a joke compared to Death Valley, and your fanbase hasn't been excited about college football in 50 years. You can't even begin to compare the two environments, and that extends to the campus in general. Clemson is a true blue college town. I'm not saying the U of M isn't a cool place, but it's never been called a college town.

By the way, Clemson is graduating a WR who just broke the ACC record for career receptions. We've had a WR on the first or second team postseason all-conference list for 5 straight years, and we've had 4 receivers drafted in that time. I'm not saying we're any kind of powerhouse, but it's easy to convince kids that the WR position is a productive position in our offense.

Just wanted to respond to your comments. I generally like to see the Gophers do well.

With EVERYTHING you came back with I agree with you. Clemson in this decade is a much better football school than we are. If you dont know people around here get really bitter and say crazy things when something doesnt turn out 100% perfect. If Clemson loses a four or five star in state recruit they move on and go after someone else. We like to sit a whine about it I guess. Hope this helps and thanks for wishing us luck!

[Furio Giunta]

With EVERYTHING you came back with I agree with you. Clemson in this decade is a much better football school than we are. If you dont know people around here get really bitter and say crazy things when something doesnt turn out 100% perfect. If Clemson loses a four or five star in state recruit they move on and go after someone else. We like to sit a whine about it I guess. Hope this helps and thanks for wishing us luck!

Yeah, I wasn't trying to be a dink, but I just thought some of those comments were way off-base. I'm excited to have McNeal as a part of the program. He has some great measurables, but his level of play will obviously require a huge recalibration coming from Breck.

Good luck with the program. No matter what, you hit a homerun on the basketball front by bringing Tubby to The Barn. Maybe we can have a Sweet Sixteen rematch.