Summary of Freshmen

I was kind of hoping someone with some good knowledge (cough Grunkie or MV cough) of the program could put together a little summary of this years Freshman, detailing strength/weakness and when they might potentially see the field. Like last fall, we might have seen something like this:

Hageman - Easily the biggest incoming freshman. Will likely redshirt as he switches from Tight End to Defensive End. Will immediately push for playing time next year

I think people would like reading something like this.

Noun 1. freshman - a first-year undergraduate

I think the weaknesses of freshmen are numerous. They're a little dorky, sometimes trying too hard to fit in. Their hygiene can also be questionable. They typically play alot of Lego's video games.

The strengths are that they eventually become sophmores and later Juniors and Seniors. They also bring younger coeds to the parties.

Schnoodler said:

Lego's video games.

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http://universe.lego.com/en-us/splash/default.aspx

I think we can learn a lot more if we know what faction they picked.

KoolAid said:

I was kind of hoping someone with some good knowledge (cough Grunkie or MV cough) of the program could put together a little summary of this years Freshman, detailing strength/weakness and when they might potentially see the field. Like last fall, we might have seen something like this:

Hageman - Easily the biggest incoming freshman. Will likely redshirt as he switches from Tight End to Defensive End. Will immediately push for playing time next year

I think people would like reading something like this.

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There's been stuff like that in smaller doses all over. I'm no MV but I can sum up some things I've heard. All of this can be prefaced with 'supposedly' as well

QB
Parish - staff likes his potential, will definitely RS
Pride - impressed Weber with mental aptitude in the summer, is a QB for now but will very likely switch positions at some point, will RS

RB

Edwards - been injured a bit, is the most physically ready frosh RB, already the biggest back on the team. Haven't heard much from him out of camp
Wright - fastest back on the team, also the slightest, did some nice things in the scrimmage but likely will RS
Kirkwood - my personal favorite back, was said to look a little on the doughy side and shorter than listed. Seemed to fall into the pack when practice started but once the pads went on he began to seperate himself from the other frosh backs. Had a good scrimmage and has been named by the staff as the guy that's impressed. I expect him to be the 3rd back/short yardage back at this point. Runs very hard, good feet, not fast but not slow, either. Kid is a thumper
WR

- haven't heard a peep from anyone yet here

OL

Gjere - has been talked about. Great frame and feet, not strong enough yet to play guard in the B10 as most frosh aren't. Coaches really like the kid though. Should RS
Lienkewitz - impressed when thrown in there at Center, Brewster seems to think he'll be a player
Epping - has also been mentioned as a guy that's played well and impressed but he'll RS as well

DL

Perry - has randomly come on and been seen taking 1st team snaps a few times. Apparently he's shown good speed off the edge. Surprising because I don't think any outside folks expected anything from him this year, if ever. Still a likely RS, though
Simpson - actually a soph but a transfer. He's impressed as well coming off the edge and may get some PT this year. Also a guy nobody expected anything from, but the kid is more talented than given credit for. He would've been a fairly well sought after JUCO guy but we offered him the chance to come this year, after just 1 year of JUCO (he was a full qualifier out of HS and went JUCO to get some exposure to get to a D1 program. Kid didn't play until his junior year and flew a bit under the radar).
Fergusen - looks the part, really have no clue about his play at this point, but he'll likely have to play some
Legania - has been mentioned as a kid that could play this year. Has good size and looks like he can add a few more pounds to his frame. Always good to have a frosh DT at 6'4" 303
Tauafa - apparently he's shown good hustle. That's all I've got. Wasn't impressed with him as a prospect but only had one highlight video to go off of but he just seemed like a big, strong kid and little else

LB

Haven't heard a thing about any of the frosh, but Tatum was going to take a while to develop but he had a good frame and good speed but is about 20lbs too small right now. Mitchell is a decent prospect too.

DB

Manuel - been raved about all summer by players, coaches, and players' dads, lol. Dude looks like a senior and apparently has gotten better by the hour to the point where he's seriously in the mix for PT (even a starting spot) despite us having 2 senior returning starters (when they're ready) and Watkins (who has looked good) and Lewis playing there too. Said to have good speed, great size, and has been a 'student of the game'. I expect him to at least play ST this year
Vereen - like Manuel, has been hailed all summer as he's physically ready to play B10 ball. Has shown good hip flexibility (has been able to turn and run with WRs) and above average speed. Wasn't really highly recruited out of HS but Cal wanted him and the kid is actually a year young (only 17 and I think only recently turned 17) so he managed to stand out in Cali playing a year up. I'm 90% sure he'll see the field this year at CB at some point. Probably in line to be the nickel right now unless they move Lewis back to CB
Bouie - haven't heard much other than he looks slight and definitely needs to RS

oleboy41 said:

WR

- haven't heard a peep from anyone yet here

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Weber also said he was impressed with the freshman WR from Texas, Cameron Wilson's size and attitude in the Pioneer Press blog a couple of weeks ago. Still seems likely that he would RS with so many WR's ahead of him (at least on FBT's depth chart).

Thanks for posting, Oleboy

Excellent start to the info we're all hungry for.

Oleboy, great post, thanks,

ncgo4 said:

Oleboy, great post, thanks,

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Thanks, fellas. I need to double check but it's quite possible I mixed up Simpson and Perry and also Epping and the other frosh OL. Also I forgot that Wright may have a shot to return kicks

I thought Devon or Edwards would be one of the freshmen who make an impact this year. Now it sounds like Kirkwood is the one. I guess it really doesn't matter as long as one of the freshmen steps up.

oleboy41 said:

There's been stuff like that in smaller doses all over. I'm no MV but I can sum up some things I've heard. All of this can be prefaced with 'supposedly' as well

QB
Parish - staff likes his potential, will definitely RS
Pride - impressed Weber with mental aptitude in the summer, is a QB for now but will very likely switch positions at some point, will RS

RB

Edwards - been injured a bit, is the most physically ready frosh RB, already the biggest back on the team. Haven't heard much from him out of camp
Wright - fastest back on the team, also the slightest, did some nice things in the scrimmage but likely will RS
Kirkwood - my personal favorite back, was said to look a little on the doughy side and shorter than listed. Seemed to fall into the pack when practice started but once the pads went on he began to seperate himself from the other frosh backs. Had a good scrimmage and has been named by the staff as the guy that's impressed. I expect him to be the 3rd back/short yardage back at this point. Runs very hard, good feet, not fast but not slow, either. Kid is a thumper
WR

- haven't heard a peep from anyone yet here

OL

Gjere - has been talked about. Great frame and feet, not strong enough yet to play guard in the B10 as most frosh aren't. Coaches really like the kid though. Should RS
Lienkewitz - impressed when thrown in there at Center, Brewster seems to think he'll be a player
Epping - has also been mentioned as a guy that's played well and impressed but he'll RS as well

DL

Perry - has randomly come on and been seen taking 1st team snaps a few times. Apparently he's shown good speed off the edge. Surprising because I don't think any outside folks expected anything from him this year, if ever. Still a likely RS, though
Simpson - actually a soph but a transfer. He's impressed as well coming off the edge and may get some PT this year. Also a guy nobody expected anything from, but the kid is more talented than given credit for. He would've been a fairly well sought after JUCO guy but we offered him the chance to come this year, after just 1 year of JUCO (he was a full qualifier out of HS and went JUCO to get some exposure to get to a D1 program. Kid didn't play until his junior year and flew a bit under the radar).
Fergusen - looks the part, really have no clue about his play at this point, but he'll likely have to play some
Legania - has been mentioned as a kid that could play this year. Has good size and looks like he can add a few more pounds to his frame. Always good to have a frosh DT at 6'4" 303
Tauafa - apparently he's shown good hustle. That's all I've got. Wasn't impressed with him as a prospect but only had one highlight video to go off of but he just seemed like a big, strong kid and little else

LB

Haven't heard a thing about any of the frosh, but Tatum was going to take a while to develop but he had a good frame and good speed but is about 20lbs too small right now. Mitchell is a decent prospect too.

DB

Manuel - been raved about all summer by players, coaches, and players' dads, lol. Dude looks like a senior and apparently has gotten better by the hour to the point where he's seriously in the mix for PT (even a starting spot) despite us having 2 senior returning starters (when they're ready) and Watkins (who has looked good) and Lewis playing there too. Said to have good speed, great size, and has been a 'student of the game'. I expect him to at least play ST this year
Vereen - like Manuel, has been hailed all summer as he's physically ready to play B10 ball. Has shown good hip flexibility (has been able to turn and run with WRs) and above average speed. Wasn't really highly recruited out of HS but Cal wanted him and the kid is actually a year young (only 17 and I think only recently turned 17) so he managed to stand out in Cali playing a year up. I'm 90% sure he'll see the field this year at CB at some point. Probably in line to be the nickel right now unless they move Lewis back to CB
Bouie - haven't heard much other than he looks slight and definitely needs to RS

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Sweet, you're the man

gold04 said:

I thought Devon or Edwards would be one of the freshmen who make an impact this year. Now it sounds like Kirkwood is the one. I guess it really doesn't matter as long as one of the freshmen steps up.

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I think most of us were thinking that too as Edwards was the highly touted one and Wright put up great stats in maybe the toughest football county in the country. I actually started thinking that Kirkwood would be the most productive this year a few weeks ago after re-watching film (well highlight tapes, lol) of all 3 because Kirkwood seemed like a natural runner and also ran with the power and pop that always translates right away, especially if he has some size. I question if Edwards has the natural RB instincts to really put all of his natural ability to good use right away (he only played RB full time in HS his senior year) and Wright just seemed a little thin. Still you never know as all 3 have the talent to be legit B10 RBs

will any true freshman play this year?? sounded like a lot of redshirts.

MV wrote about the freshmen last night:

http://fringebowlteamblog.com/?p=1717

gopherguy05 said:

MV wrote about the freshmen last night:

http://fringebowlteamblog.com/?p=1717

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This.

James Manuel is really sounding like the real deal.

lakesbison said:

will any true freshman play this year?? sounded like a lot of redshirts.

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Kirkwood, Manuel, Vereen, at least one of the Ferguson-Legania-Tuafula DT trio, and maybe Ben Perry should all play this year I'd guess.

Clipped from MV

The early star of the 2010 class, who is……..

….S James Manuel!

Manuel has easily been the biggest surprise of the 2010 class so far. Manuel ranked as the #37 safety in the 2010 class by ESPN, the #56 safety by Scout and the #79 ranked safety by Rivals, and a three star prospect on all the sites. Still, Manuel was arguably less heralded than 4 star in-state prospects Jimmy Gjere & Lamonte Edwards, and rumored grade issues may have contributed to Manuel only logging five BCS offers (Gophers, Iowa, Michigan State, Cincinnati, Louisville). Lucky for us, Manuel not only is fully qualified with no set-backs, but he came into camp looking like a college junior; officially listed on the roster at 6’2″, 210 lbs, I can vouch with my own eyes that Manuel is every bit as cut up and visually muscular as the reports have suggested. Additionally, Brewster has praised Manuel for making the necessary strides in film study as well. Though it may be a bit of hyperbole to suggest Manuel may push for a starting job this season, Manuel absolutely looks to be among the top 4-5 safeties on the roster almost immediately and will see as many minutes as his mental preparation and ability to play up to game-speed will allow him.

Next, I’ll breakdown the freshmen by position:


Quarterback:

Brewster has all but confirmed that both Tom Parish & J.D. Pride II will redshirt this season. Senior QB Adam Weber praised the work ethicof Pride (plus Gjere and Cameron Wilson) during summer workouts and captain’s practices, stating that Pride is determined to stay at QB until he’s told to move positions. Given the amount of depth at QB moving forward (Gray, Alipate, Parish and 2011 commit Max Shortell) and Pride’s overall athleticism, a move during his redshirt year or the spring seems likely.

Running Backs:

Among the most ballyhooed and hotly debated items of the offseason and camp is the development/impact of the three incoming freshmen backs: Lamonte Edwards, Donnell Kirkwood & Devon Wright.Of the three, Edwards is the most physical ready for Big Ten and by far the biggest RB on the roster at 6’2″, 215 lbs. Edwards has drawn some attention with his strong running style, though he needs to work on keeping his pads down and running less upright. Lamonte has also been hampered slightly by nagging injuries this fall. Wright arrived the first day of camp and missed the incoming new player session due to weather related delays, but he turned heads right away with his patience, speed and ability to find creases in the line. Wright, however, is the smallest of the incoming backs and seems the mostly likely candidate for a redshirt. Kirkwood, who looks smaller than his listed 5’10″, 190 lbs., may be the most natural runner of the three and is emerging as the freshmen RB who may get the most carries this season. Kirkwood is a tough North-South runner with good feet and a strong lower body.

Wide Receivers:

Freshmen Cameron Wilson and Logan Hutton have not been mentioned much by the coaches, though Wilson was singled out by Weber for his hard work in summer workouts. St. Louis star Marquise Hill did not qualify academically and is headed to Iowa Western Community College, a tough loss given that Hill may have been able to contribute to the WR corps with his speed and athleticism.

Offensive Line:

The most highly rated of the incoming freshmen is Irondale’s Jimmy Gjere, though Coach Brew has already indicated that despite Gjere’s incredible athleticism (Gjere and Ed Olson, Jr. have been listed as two of the most athletic o-linemen on the team), he doesn’t have the strength necessary for the Big Ten level. That seems to seal the deal that Gjere will spend 2010 redshirting to pick up the strength he needs to match his physical talents; I can also confirm this from my observations, where Gjere has impressed height, frame and size but needs more muscle. Other freshmen offensive linemen have seen more action due to injuries in the two deeps, most notably Zac Epping & Marek Lenkiewicz at C. Ultimately, I doubt any of the true freshmen will play this season, unless a rash of injuries occur.

Defensive Line:

The freshmen defensive line is a very interesting group for a number of reasons. At defensive tackle, Sean Ferguson & Harold Legania are both tall and over to 300 lbs.; since Ferguson arrived on campus this January via the prep Hun School in New Jersey, he appears to have the inside track to make the two-deeps. Both prospects from my eye would benefit from additional time in the S&C program to slim down and gain more muscle mass. Another intriguing prospect is Josh Tauaefa, who is very quick for his size and showed some good tenacity & hustle from where I stood in practice. A redshirt year may be warranted, but if he shows good strength and an ability to jump in, he could have the opportunity for early playing time this year. At defensive end, Ben Perry is much taller, longer and filled out than I had originally thought. He has a very wide frame and looks solidly in the 250 lbs. range; Perry has the size to really develop in the S&C program and could reach 270-275 with ease. Leston Simpson, a later JUCO signee who is actually a sophomore, is shorter than incorrectly reported on initial recruiting sites but muscular and fast; Simpson has impressed the coaching staff enough with his speed to warrant some reps with the first team at RDE due to slight injury to D.L. Wilhite. Simpson is a prospect that is likely to see playing time this fall, since the ability to rush the passer from the edge is something this defense needs for the 2010 season.

The incoming linebacking corps hasn’t been the subject of much attention from the media or coaches, mostly due to the very strong depth ahead of them and the hype surrounding Florida transfer Brendan Beal, eligible in 2011. Dwayne Mitchell & Willie Tatum both appear locks to redshirt this season.

Finally, the incoming secondary is the group that has generated the most buzz out of all the freshmen on campus. As I mentioned above, James Manuel is easily the most physically ready to play now and the surprise of fall camp. Additionally, Brock Vereen is also physically impressive, looking very solidly built and matching his official listed height and weight of 6’0″, 180 lbs. Vereen has surprised the coaches with how advanced his coverage and tackling skills are for a younger player; given the relatively thin depth behind starters Carter and Collado, Vereen will most certainly need to see the field this year, though it’s likely to come in dime packages to start. With a top group of a (healthy) Royston, Theret, Watkins, JUCO transfer Christyn Lewis, Carter, Collado and Manuel, the top group has some versatility where Vereen won’t be needed to step into a huge role this season. The other freshmen CB prospect, Tyrone Bouie, looks on the thinner side and is a likely redshirt candidate.

I know I'm biased but as FBT is a free site I think its way more beneficial if you simply link the page, allowing him to get more hits since that drives advertising and other things as well. Its already linked here so I don't know why you need to paste the article, thus taking hits away from a site that we all want to support as much as possible.

oleboy41 said:

I know I'm biased but as FBT is a free site I think its way more beneficial if you simply link the page, allowing him to get more hits since that drives advertising and other things as well. Its already linked here so I don't know why you need to paste the article, thus taking hits away from a site that we all want to support as much as possible.

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Yeah I faced moral dilemma on this one. I don't want to take anyone away from MV's traffic, but I kind of liked the idea of having that info in this thread.

Personally, I hate clicking on links. Maybe I'm too used to BleedGophers clipped posts.

I'll try to be a more upstanding American from here on out. I've got Wrangler Jeans and some bottles of Budweiser.

3-4 true freshman will play right away. Id like that about 8-10 if we are truly getting top recruiting talent. What % of true freshman play right away at top 20 programs??

or maybe im thinking basketball too much.

lakesbison said:

3-4 true freshman will play right away. Id like that about 8-10 if we are truly getting top recruiting talent. What % of true freshman play right away at top 20 programs??

or maybe im thinking basketball too much.

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Who is this "we" you speak of?

lakesbison said:

3-4 true freshman will play right away. Id like that about 8-10 if we are truly getting top recruiting talent. What % of true freshman play right away at top 20 programs??

or maybe im thinking basketball too much.

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For the most part, having a lot of true freshman play a lot right away is a bad thing. It usually means your upperclassmen are not very good. I think the more guys we can redshirt every year, the better.

Unregistered User said:

Who is this "we" you speak of?

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I think lakebison is trying to imply that Brewster recruiting is not that great, because only 4 of the freshmen are likely to play this fall. Had we only signed Vraa all our problems would be solved.

lakesbison said:

3-4 true freshman will play right away. Id like that about 8-10 if we are truly getting top recruiting talent. What % of true freshman play right away at top 20 programs??

or maybe im thinking basketball too much.

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If 8-10 true frosh are playing that means your upperclassmen suck

gophmeister. nope, never said that. I was just having a debate with a couple season ticket holders, 1 from gophers, 1 from badgers. its all good. Ill be at 3 gopher games this year.