Official 2019 Recruiting Updates Thread: Links, Tweets, Videos, Stories, Rumors, etc.

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fan of Ray Williams said:
"Yeah, there's a little connection". Didn't sound too encouraging.
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I'm just not sweating it. If they aren't into playing here, play somewhere else. No harm, no foul. Just don't be a giant tool and announce it on TV in front of local audience.

We have some VERY interesting OL recruits in house right now and you can never have too many but I'm not going to panic if he winds up in WI.
 

Maybe Vames can clue us in on some potential under the radar MN offensive linemen that can help the Gophers down the road, especially from outstate MN.

Maybe there might even be WI or OH players that will be missed in the recruiting process.

There is one notable MN miss, Joe Haeg - a 6'6" 235-lb OL coming out of Brainerd HS. https://www.twincities.com/2016/03/31/gophers-missed-out-on-nfl-prospect-joe-haeg-but-so-did-others/

Who would have known that he would grow into a 300-lb lineman? Did he ever even make it to a Gophers camp? How well are the Gopher scouting the State? Hopefully PJ Fleck is developing good working relationships with MN HS football coaches, especially outstate MN. IMHO, the difficulty in evaluating rural talent is the HS players may not have the training and S&C resources that the Twin Cities and large town HS teams have. They may be footbsll under-developed and all you have is size and potential.

There has to be someone in the State that the Gophers will offer either a scholarship or a PWO that can develop into a great player for the Gophers after spending time in the Gophers S&C program. In the 2018 Class, we had two PWO offers to OTs Trevor Opedahl from Blue Earth MN and Ryan Keating from Strongsville OH. But, these are rated players.

https://main.gopherhole.com/page/show/2955861-class-of-2019-minnesota-hs-football-recruits
 

Certainly outstate gems are a great asset to any team but in most of these cases we're talking about 3 years of development to get to where they are physically able to compete at the highest level.

You never know how/when a player will develop but obviously the deck is stacked against them a bit. I guess if I'm that player I might look at the second tier of schools so I have a better shot at playing more and sooner.
 

The reality is that these type of kids may have a better shot at a school like NDSU to fully develop their potential than at a D1 school where the competition is much stiffer.
 

hungan1 said:
The reality is that these type of kids may have a better shot at a school like NDSU to fully develop their potential than at a D1 school where the competition is much stiffer.
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Which is exactly why I'd go there if I was that kid. Still upgraded facilities over where I was but now I'm not competing with a kid who is 6'7' 330 coming out of high school....every...single....year.
 


hungan1 said:
IMHO, MN is on the verge of something as evident in the recruiting successes so far. He can stay at MN and be a part of a MN turn around story, play in front of friends and family, and still get drafted into the NFL. It is his decision to make.
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Agree. With the recent additions of Andries, Faalele,Dunlap, Dickson, and Guedet we are definitely trending upwards with OL talent. Hopefully they all live up to the hype. Benhart really would be a great addition to this group. I will be very disappointed if he goes elsewhere but it’s looking very likely that’s what he will be doing.
 

paulser21 said:
Agree. With the recent additions of Andries, Faalele,Dunlap, Dickson, and Guedet we are definitely trending upwards with OL talent. Hopefully they all live up to the hype. Benhart really would be a great addition to this group. I will be very disappointed if he goes elsewhere but it’s looking very likely that’s what he will be doing.
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I don't begrudge a kid for wanting to leave Minnesota for a traditional powerhouse football program, except if they leave for Iowa or Wisconsin. You have to be a huge tool to leave MN for either of those schools.
 

I’m die hard gopher fan and it’s rough when someone in state that’s good leaves...especially to Wisconsin, but that doesn’t make them a tool. Yeah I want them to stay but you have to think what you would do if you were in their shoes. You can’t blame someone for doing what’s best for them and their future.
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
I don't begrudge a kid for wanting to leave Minnesota for a traditional powerhouse football program, except if they leave for Iowa or Wisconsin. You have to be a huge tool to leave MN for either of those schools.
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That is exactly why we currently are not a powerhouse school. No reason to leave, the NFL will find you if you are that good.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 



alchemy2u said:
That is exactly why we currently are not a powerhouse school. No reason to leave, the NFL will find you if you are that good.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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We're a little off topic here. But, I think it is a relevant discussion to talk about some history and why MN offensive linemen recruiting prospects are more tempted to play elsewhere at this time.

There has been some success with MN Gophers offensive linemen in the NFL. Some of them went on to have great productive NFL careers. However for a State that have produced some offensive linemen like JC Hassenauer and Frank Ragnow, the has been a long drought of Gopher offensive linemen going into the NFL.

Home grown talent like Matt Birk simply want to play elsewhere for several reasons. One of them is because the Gophers did not have talented OL lineups. You want to be in a lineup that is proven successful.

PJ Fleck is determined to change all that as evident in his vision and the targeted recruiting that he has done. I'd think if I was a Quinn Carroll or a Bryce Benhart, I'd stay home and play for the Gophers and be a part of a movement.

However, it is understandable if they decide to leave the State. Just not Wisconsin please.

Below is a list of Gophers who've played in the NFL from 1970s on. The last time MN Gopher Gophers produced NFL linemen was in the Glen Mason era 1997-2006 (and kids that he recruited).

Under PJ Fleck, I think Donnell Greene has a good shot at getting drafted at 6'7" 320 lbs. Jared Weyler at 6'4" 296 lbs probably has a shot depending on his final season and how the Gophers finish the 2018-2019 season.

It is tough to convince kids to stay home given the dismal history for Gopher offensive linemen. Most likely, at least initially PJ Fleck and the Gophers will miss some of the top offensive linemen in the State until he starts winning and getting the first group drafted. Even then, you can't stop kids from going to their dream schools. PJ Fleck wants to make the decision to leave a little tougher for some.

In the end, Mark Coyle was right about getting coaches who can recruit talent. With recruits like Blaise Andries, Daniel Faalele, Chris Dunlop, JJ Guedet, Jason Dickson, Austin Beier, Nathan Boe, Jack York, and Grant Norton, the Gophers are poised for some success with developing some NFL caliber talent offensive linemen. You don't have to have all the top home grown OL talent to win. You just need to recruit high caliber talent regardless of where they come from.

Winning football programs have one thing in common - they produce a lot of NFL offensive linemen.

Greg Eslinger, C (2007-2008)
Denver Broncos (2006-2007)
Cleveland Browns (2007)
Cologne Centurions (2007)
Houston texans (2007-2008)
Denver Broncos (2008)

Mark Setterstrom, G (2006-2010)
Saint Louis Rams (2006-2010)

Matt Anderle, OT (2002)
Indianapolis Colts 2002

Josh Rawlings, T (2000-02)
Kansas City Chiefs 2000
Seattle Seahawks 2002

Ben Hamilton, C (2001-)
Denver Broncos 2001-

Adam Haayer, OT (2001-)
Tennessee Titans 2001
Minnesota Vikings 2002-04
Arizona Cardinals 2005-

Matt Reem, OG (1996-97)
Washington Redskins 1996-97

Mike Giovinetti, OT (1996)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1996

Craig Hendrickson, OT (1994)
Buffalo Bills 1994

Jon Melander, OL (1991-94)
New England Patriots 1991
Cincinnati Bengals 1992
Denver Broncos 1993-94

Chris Thome, OL (1991-92)
Cleveland Browns 1991-92

Troy Wolkow, OL (1988)
New England Patriots 1988

Ray Hitchcock, C (1987-89)
Washington Redskins 1987-89

Ken Dallafior, G (1985-90)
San Diego Chargers 1985
Detroit Lions 1986-90

Randy Rasmussen, C (1984-89)
Pittsburgh Steelers 1984-85
Minnesota Vikings 1988-89

Brian Williams, C (1989-2000)
New York Giants 1989-2000
Wally Kersten, T (1982-85)
Los Angeles Rams 1982
Tampa Bay 1985

Greg Murtha, T (1982)
Baltimore Colts 1982

Steve Tobin, C (1980)
New York Giants 1980

Mark Slater, C (1978-83)
San Diego Chargers 1978
Philadelphia Eagles 1979-83

Matt Herkenhoff, T (1976-85)
Kansas City Chiefs 1976-85

Keith Simons, T (1976-79)
Kansas City Chiefs 1976-77
St. Louis Cardinals 1978-79

Keith Fahnhorst, T (1974-85)
San Francisco 49ers 1974-85

Dave Simonson, T (1974-77)
Baltimore Colts 1974
New York Giants 1975
Houston Oilers 1975
Seattle Seahawks 1976
Detroit Lions 1977

Vern Winfield, G (1972-73)
Philadelphia Eagles 1972-73

Ray Parsons, T (1971)
Detroit Lions 1971

Dick Enderle, G (1969-76)
Atlanta Falcons 1969-71
New York Giants 1972-75
San Francisco 49ers 1976
Green Bay Packers 1976

Milt Sunde, G (1969-74)
Minnesota Vikings 1964-74

Ezell Jones, T (1969-70)
Boston Patriots 1969-70

John Williams, T (1968-79)
Baltimore Colts 1968-71
Los Angeles Rams 1972-79

Gale Gillingham, OG (1966-76)
Green Bay Packers 1966-76

Frank Marchlewski, C (1965-70)
Los Angeles Rams 1965, 1968-69
Atlanta Falcons 1966-68
Buffalo Bills 1970

Greg Larson, C (1961-73)
New York Giants 1961-73

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/11-all-time-nfl-roster.html

http://www.gophersports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/11-nfl-draft-history.html
 

Not sure about played but Eslinger (6th round) and Setterstrom (7th round) were drafted in 2006.
 

San Angelo Live: Recruiting Plot Thickens as a Pair of New Offers Enter McIvor's Fray

Central quarterback Maverick McIvor picked up a pair of scholarship offers over the weekend.

The first of the two came on Saturday when the University of Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns offered Central’s signal caller. The second came from the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference on Sunday.

The offers were the 11th and 12th for the 6-foot-3 gunslinger. Iowa became the second Big Ten school to offer McIvor after the Minnesota Golden Gophers came calling earlier in the spring.

The Hawkeyes went 8-5 last season with a 27-20 win over Boston College in the New ERA Pinstripe Bowl. Louisiana-Lafayette, who is in the Sun Belt Conference with Texas State, just missed out on a bowl game with a 5-7 overall record in 2017.

Right now, according to 24/7 Sports, Minnesota and Texas Tech are the only two offers listed as “warm” interests for the son of former Texas Longhorn Rick McIvor.

With Texas Tech being the de facto home team for the west Texas region, they are likely favorites for Central’s QB1, who posted video game-like numbers in 2017.

Along with Tech, Minnesota, the Ragin’ Cajuns and Iowa, McIvor has received offers from Boise State, Bowling Green, Colorado State, North Carolina, North Texas, Ole Miss, the University of Texas-El Paso and Washington State.

Other big name schools such as Ohio State and Notre Dame have trekked to west Texas to scout McIvor and the Bobcats during their spring practices.

https://sanangelolive.com/news/spor...t-thickens-pair-new-offers-enter-mcivors-fray

Go Gophers!!
 

If we can't get Benhart, we can probably pull some kid from Illinois that's just as good, since we own that state now... Trevor Keegan??
 



hungan1 said:
Maybe Vames can clue us in on some potential under the radar MN offensive linemen that can help the Gophers down the road, especially from outstate MN.

Maybe there might even be WI or OH players that will be missed in the recruiting process.

There is one notable MN miss, Joe Haeg - a 6'6" 235-lb OL coming out of Brainerd HS. https://www.twincities.com/2016/03/31/gophers-missed-out-on-nfl-prospect-joe-haeg-but-so-did-others/

Who would have known that he would grow into a 300-lb lineman? Did he ever even make it to a Gophers camp? How well are the Gopher scouting the State? Hopefully PJ Fleck is developing good working relationships with MN HS football coaches, especially outstate MN. IMHO, the difficulty in evaluating rural talent is the HS players may not have the training and S&C resources that the Twin Cities and large town HS teams have. They may be footbsll under-developed and all you have is size and potential.

There has to be someone in the State that the Gophers will offer either a scholarship or a PWO that can develop into a great player for the Gophers after spending time in the Gophers S&C program. In the 2018 Class, we had two PWO offers to OTs Trevor Opedahl from Blue Earth MN and Ryan Keating from Strongsville OH. But, these are rated players.

https://main.gopherhole.com/page/show/2955861-class-of-2019-minnesota-hs-football-recruits
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I would be surprised if Stolski didn't try to sell Kill on Haeg. This is nothing new (and I don't say that to cast aspargus on our coaching staffs). We've had a lot of Minnesota kids go elsewhere for a variety of different reasons. Sometimes (Nate Swift and Mitch Erickson come to mind) the coach isn't interested. Sometimes (Trevor Laws comes to mind) the player isn't interested.
 

fraternity2017 said:
If we can't get Benhart, we can probably pull some kid from Illinois that's just as good, since we own that state now... Trevor Keegan??
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For Keegan, Minnesota would need to beat Alabama, Michigan, and Ohio State. Good luck there! I'd rather have an interior lineman like Jornigan from Ohio. However, if you want a tackle from Illinois, how about Joacheim Price? He might take longer to develop; but at 6'9", he might be a nice bookend with Faalele some day.
 

We can't forget kids in our own backyard that may develop into good linemen like:

OL Joey Lombard of Anoka (6'5" 310 lbs),
Chaska's OL Ethan Jackman (6'4" 280 lbs),
Breck's Athlete/QB David Roddy (6'5" 245 lbs),
Lakeville North's OL Jack Hansen (6'3" 295 lbs),
Minnetonka's OL James Johnson (6'5" 285 lbs),
Armstrong OL Joe Jamison (6'3" 300 lbs) NE is taking a look at him,

etc... There are bound to be some under the radar late bloomers. We hate to lose them to places like WI, IA, and NE.
 

50PoundHead said:
I would be surprised if Stolski didn't try to sell Kill on Haeg. This is nothing new (and I don't say that to cast aspargus on our coaching staffs). We've had a lot of Minnesota kids go elsewhere for a variety of different reasons. Sometimes (Nate Swift and Mitch Erickson come to mind) the coach isn't interested. Sometimes (Trevor Laws comes to mind) the player isn't interested.
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I'm guessing this is a spell-check deal, but it's pretty damn funny. I'm envisioning fans throwing asparagus at Gopher Coaches. I assume what you meant to say was casting aspersions (which is an attack on someone's reputation) as opposed to asparagus, which is a vegetable.

Back to topic: the thing with most kids from out-state or smaller schools is that they lack some of the measurables the big schools are looking for - either a little shorter or lighter than the kids from the metro schools. And, although this is changing a little, the small-school kids generally have not had access to the same type of weight programs as the metro kids, so they may not be as strong.

so, there may be a kid in rural MN who is 6-1 and 250 pounds, and with work in the weight room, he could be 280 or so in 2 or three years. But, if the Gophers take the kid from Eden Prairie or Wayzata who is 6-4 and 270, that kid can be 300 in a couple of years.

the kids from outstate who go D1 are the ones with unusual size - like Tyler Marz at Springfield or Jonah Pirsig at Blue Earth. They were both 6'8" and pushing 300 pounds in high school.
 

Not a spell check issue (although I did misspell asparagus). I've worked around the Legislature most of my adult life and there was once a malaproping legislator who actually said "I don't want to cast asparagus on the opponents of my bill." So I just tossed it out there because I was looking for a rise out of someone. You stepped up!
 

50PoundHead said:
Not a spell check issue (although I did misspell asparagus). I've worked around the Legislature most of my adult life and there was once a malaproping legislator who actually said "I don't want to cast asparagus on the opponents of my bill." So I just tossed it out there because I was looking for a rise out of someone. You stepped up!
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Off Topic: My favorite legislator quote "We wake up at .08 on the range!". Back to recruiting...
 


According to the 247 timeline, Jermaine Johnson was on a visit while he was offered.

Right now there are six EP kids on the roster and we have one commit for next year so that can't hurt.
 

He is currently rated as 0.9100 in 247 Sports. I thought that he went the JC route with the hope that some SEC teams notice him. Now, his crystal ball is trending 100% Nebraska.

He will be a great addition to what appears to be a developing solid Defense recruiting class.

Does anyone have any info from connections to him?
 

hungan1 said:
He is currently rated as 0.9100 in 247 Sports. I thought that he went the JC route with the hope that some SEC teams notice him. Now, his crystal ball is trending 100% Nebraska.

He will be a great addition to what appears to be a developing solid Defense recruiting class.

Does anyone have any info from connections to him?
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Nebraska would surprise me. Last I heard, he wants to go SEC (Think UGA or Bama). He's got legit NFL frame, and wants to fulfill that potential. I don't think the U has much of a chance. They weren't recruiting him heavily in HS, although part of that is probably his own doing.
 

hungan1 said:
He is currently rated as 0.9100 in 247 Sports. I thought that he went the JC route with the hope that some SEC teams notice him. Now, his crystal ball is trending 100% Nebraska.

He will be a great addition to what appears to be a developing solid Defense recruiting class.

Does anyone have any info from connections to him?
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He went the JC route in order to qualify.
 

jgad57 said:
Nebraska would surprise me. Last I heard, he wants to go SEC (Think UGA or Bama). He's got legit NFL frame, and wants to fulfill that potential. I don't think the U has much of a chance. They weren't recruiting him heavily in HS, although part of that is probably his own doing.
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No one else was recruiting him in HS either. The previous staff did evaluate him in camp however.

Also what you heard was likely before he was offered and visited here anyways.
 



jgad57 said:
Nebraska would surprise me. Last I heard, he wants to go SEC (Think UGA or Bama). He's got legit NFL frame, and wants to fulfill that potential. I don't think the U has much of a chance. They weren't recruiting him heavily in HS, although part of that is probably his own doing.
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I hope he's not scared of competition for playing time at UGA and Alabama on the edge. We all know what Alabama does recruiting-wise. UGA has a 5 star (#6 overall recruit) and top 150 4 star committed right now. They had a 5-star (#23 overall recruit) early enroll last year along with another top 150 4-star regular enrollee. Two more top 150 4-stars the year before. He'd have to some kettle bells to make that choice.

Conversely, he'd likely be getting snaps here from day 1. Maybe that'll work in our favor. Maybe not. Either way I'll be pretty happy with this DL class as it stands.
 

Heracles said:
I hope he's not scared of competition for playing time at UGA and Alabama on the edge. We all know what Alabama does recruiting-wise. UGA has a 5 star (#6 overall recruit) and top 150 4 star committed right now. They had a 5-star (#23 overall recruit) early enroll last year along with another top 150 4-star regular enrollee. Two more top 150 4-stars the year before. He'd have to some kettle bells to make that choice.

Conversely, he'd likely be getting snaps here from day 1. Maybe that'll work in our favor. Maybe not. Either way I'll be pretty happy with this DL class as it stands.
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I find it funny that whenever we have a guy we want who is also looking at better programs, we always say it could be difficult to find playing time and he should come here but whenever we are looking at a two or low 3 star player who only has MAC and FCS offers, we never say you shouldn't come here because you'll get buried on the depth chart behind all of our mid level and high 3 star players as well as 4 star guys.

If recruits were that worried about getting buried on the depth chart then there would be way more parity in college football, Alabama would not be able to get near the talent they do and we would never be able to get a two star recruit.

I'm sure if the UGA coaches felt there was a good chance that Johnson would get buried on the depth chart then they wouldn't have even offered him considering he is a JC guy who are usually expected to contribute immediately.

Also if the reason we beat out UGA and others for Johnson is because he is too afraid of the talent that UGA already has then I'm note sure thats the type of guy I'd want to bring in anyways.
 


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