I don't necessarily think this is true. If you look at the MN kids playing around the country and add them to our roster, we're looking at adding some great pieces to a and already solid squad. The kids who are going to change the tide are the kids who are 8-12 years old right now. They need to grow up in a culture of MN winning games and having consistent success. The guys who are committing now have seen 2-3 years of success since they were in elementary school and honestly only one year that was truly exciting for the average fan since MBIII and Maroney were in town (last year). Current seniors in HS were 8-9 years old when Maroney was a 1st Round pick. I'm 22 and the only reason I can remember as far back as the '99 season is because my family has had season tix since I was 4. My point being is that for these kids to want to come here across the board and "change the tide", there needs to be a buzz around the team for the average football fan when these recruits are young so that playing for the Gophs is something they dream about before anyone knows who they are. Just my opinion but I think Jerry is creating that buzz and the team is headed in the right direction. Hopefully some of these guys in HS come here now but the real impact of winning and excitement these next few seasons will be on the MN kids who will graduate in 5-6 years.
I showed this earlier, but last year 50% of the top 20 high school players in Florida left the state. Some kids want to get away for college. But let's look at the top MN players that we have offered since Kill has been here, beginning with the 2012class, and see who has stayed and who has left.
2012:
1. Jonah Pirsig (stayed), 2. Andre McDonaled (stayed), 3. Will Johnson (left), 4. Isaac Hayes (stayed), 5. Maxx Williams (stayed), 6. Mitch Leidner (stayed), 7. Phil Nelson (stayed), 8. Nick Rallis (stayed), 9. Duke (stayed), 10. Ben Lauer (stayed)
2013: 1. James Onwualu (left), 2. Malik Rucker (left), 3. Keelon Brookins (left), 4. Chris Wipson (stayed)
2014: 1. Jeff Jones (stayed), 2. JC Hassenauer (left), 3. Frank Ragnow (left), 4. Andrew Stelter (stayed), 5. Brandon Lingen (stayed)
2015: 1. Jashon Cornell (left) 2. Bronson Dovich (stayed), 3. Nick Connelly (stayed), 4. Drayton Carlberg, unknown
So to recap how many MN players we landed that we offered:
1. 2012: landed 90% (9/10)
2. 2013: landed 25% (1/4)
3. 2014: landed 60% (3/5)
4. 2015 (to date): landed 67% (2/3)
So overall, Kill has successfully recruited 15 of the 22 MN players he has offered, or 68%. If the 3 top Florida schools (FSU, Florida, Miami) only get approximately 50% of the top talent in Florida, what would you realistically expect for Minnesota?68% is pretty good. What we need is more classes like 2012 where there are 10 MN high school players that we can offer.
Of the MN players that Kill missed on, only Onwualu and Ragnow have seen game action, so it's a reach to say that we would be significantly better with these guys on the team.
