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

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Pompous Elitist said:
I just noticed that when was a 247 web link. Something looks a bit off with that grid...5 freshman scholarship players?

Is their a legit, professional website tracking this stuff?
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Or we could try by looking at their team roster which has 19 SRs listed? http://nusports.com/roster.aspx?path=football

But I'm also not sure why people are obsessed with Northwestern's recruiting in Minnesota's recruiting thread?
 



GopherWeatherGuy said:
Or we could try by looking at their team roster which has 19 SRs listed? http://nusports.com/roster.aspx?path=football

But I'm also not sure why people are obsessed with Northwestern's recruiting in Minnesota's recruiting thread?
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Fair enough, but I think it’s also fair to point out 247 is apparently run by volunteers, is riddled throughout with inaccuracies, and any information/numbers should be taken with a grain of salt. My first clue to this was their addition of a second Mark Williams to the 2016 class. Now I notice things all the time.
 




GopherWeatherGuy said:
Or we could try by looking at their team roster which has 19 SRs listed? http://nusports.com/roster.aspx?path=football

But I'm also not sure why people are obsessed with Northwestern's recruiting in Minnesota's recruiting thread?
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I mean technically the thread title is "Official 2019 Recruiting thread" not "Official GOPHER 2019 Recruiting thread" . . .

Jokes aside (that was a joke) their 2018 roster had 89 players listed, of that here is the breakdown:

Seniors: 19
Juniors: 15
Sophomores: 35 (!)
Redshirt Freshman: 15
Freshman 5

So 247 was wildly wrong, however they do have some odd class balance. Only 5 true-freshman this year, but 35 Sophomores?
 

Taji34 said:
I mean technically the thread title is "Official 2019 Recruiting thread" not "Official GOPHER 2019 Recruiting thread" . . .

Jokes aside (that was a joke) their 2018 roster had 89 players listed, of that here is the breakdown:

Seniors: 19
Juniors: 15
Sophomores: 35 (!)
Redshirt Freshman: 15
Freshman 5

So 247 was wildly wrong, however they do have some odd class balance. Only 5 true-freshman this year, but 35 Sophomores?
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They had 5 early enrollees, which is probably what is reflected on the roster. For whatever reason, they must not have updated their roster with their full freshman class - they signed 18 total for the 2018 class.
 




dpodoll68 said:
They had 5 early enrollees, which is probably what is reflected on the roster. For whatever reason, they must not have updated their roster with their full freshman class - they signed 18 total for the 2018 class.
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I think Northwestern is a trimester based school, so maybe their Summer classes haven't started, and thus their incoming class hasn't enrolled and that's why they aren't listed?

Or they just forgot.
 


Taji34 said:
I mean technically the thread title is "Official 2019 Recruiting thread" not "Official GOPHER 2019 Recruiting thread" . . .

Jokes aside (that was a joke) their 2018 roster had 89 players listed, of that here is the breakdown:

Seniors: 19
Juniors: 15
Sophomores: 35 (!)
Redshirt Freshman: 15
Freshman 5

So 247 was wildly wrong, however they do have some odd class balance. Only 5 true-freshman this year, but 35 Sophomores?
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What the heck happened to their incoming class?
 

Remember when this thread was about Minnesota recruiting and not about class balancing at jNW?

Mods, can you please clean this up?
 






<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 



https://kohlskicking.com/player-profiles/camden-lewis

KOHL'S COMMENTS
Lewis recently earned an invite to the National Underclassman Challenge in January of 2018 after a strong performance during the December Showcase Camp of 2017. He had one of the most impressive field goal charting sessions at camp with 14 made out of 16. He also showed Scholarship worthy kick off ability with an average of 80 yards with 3.82 seconds of hang time on the second day of charting. His kick off's at the National Scholarship Camp were very good with a score of 103 and his field goal point total of 25 was at the top of his class. His leg strength and lift are excellent for a 2019 player. Lewis has a Division 1 ball when he hits it.
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You could debate this forever - does a scholarship given to a kicker provide more, less or equivalent value than a scholarship given to another position?

If that kicker hits a 50-yard FG to win a big game, you could argue that the scholly has provided more value then, say, the scholarship given to the 2nd-string CB or 3rd-team OT. But, at the time that scholarship is given out, the coaches don't know where those players will ultimately wind up on the depth chart. And, if their recruiting pitch is "we want you to be our 3rd-string OT," I don't think they're going to land too many players. Every scholly handed out is given with at least the hope that the player will develop into a starter, or at least a key special-teams contributor.

But, you have to have a kicker. Kickers can win - or lose - games. And if you have to use a scholarship to land a quality kicker, so be it. If the school has any kind of a walk-on program, then you can find a 3rd-string guy or practice squad guy from your walk-on roster, so the scholarship to the kicker should not cause any serious depth problems at another position.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
You could debate this forever - does a scholarship given to a kicker provide more, less or equivalent value than a scholarship given to another position?

If that kicker hits a 50-yard FG to win a big game, you could argue that the scholly has provided more value then, say, the scholarship given to the 2nd-string CB or 3rd-team OT. But, at the time that scholarship is given out, the coaches don't know where those players will ultimately wind up on the depth chart. And, if their recruiting pitch is "we want you to be our 3rd-string OT," I don't think they're going to land too many players. Every scholly handed out is given with at least the hope that the player will develop into a starter, or at least a key special-teams contributor.

But, you have to have a kicker. Kickers can win - or lose - games. And if you have to use a scholarship to land a quality kicker, so be it. If the school has any kind of a walk-on program, then you can find a 3rd-string guy or practice squad guy from your walk-on roster, so the scholarship to the kicker should not cause any serious depth problems at another position.
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I don't really have an issue with taking a national top 5 punter or kicker every 4 years. My concern is more that we just took Grant Ryerse last year. I thought he was going to kick, but it now looks like he will punt. And that for some reason we felt the need to take a long snapper.
 

John Galt said:
I don't really have an issue with taking a national top 5 punter or kicker every 4 years. My concern is more that we just took Grant Ryerse last year. I thought he was going to kick, but it now looks like he will punt. And that for some reason we felt the need to take a long snapper.
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**** happens. Just because someone is expected to handle a task for the Gophers doesn’t mean that they can’t upgrade the next year.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

John Galt said:
I don't really have an issue with taking a national top 5 punter or kicker every 4 years. My concern is more that we just took Grant Ryerse last year. I thought he was going to kick, but it now looks like he will punt. And that for some reason we felt the need to take a long snapper.
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I agree with this take. You definitely don't want too many scholarships tied up by kickers/punters, and I've never seen a scholarship given out to a long snapper by the gophers.
 

On the Spring edition of the Gopher Gridiron podcast, Ryan Burns inferred that Ryerse wouldn't continue to be a Gopher (at least a scholarship Gopher) if his performance didn't improve. It would be nice from a roster construction standpoint to get a year or two of solid play from a specialist (K, P, LS) before committing a scholarship to them for their final year or two. Of course, LSU is taking a LS as a scholarship guy and if a helmet school feels the need to do that, then the supply of talented specialists might not meet the demand and force schools in to using a scholarship if they want a good one.
 

Bottom line: Many coaches including Kill and Fleck emphasize the importance of special teams play. It can be the difference between winning and losing a game.

It can rile up the crowd and the team and provide energy and excitement with a good kick off. You can control the field position battle. I mean it can really ignite big plays and shift the momentum of the game.

Special Teams is where a lot of players display their versatility and value to a team especially early on in their careers. I think if you check, many of them who were not All-Americans have found themselves on NFL rosters because they are devoted special team players. Marcus Sherels is a shining example.

Whoever wins the kicking game, return game, and controls the field position can be the difference between victory or defeat.

This may be the reason PJ Fleck is offering scholarship(s) specifically to address components of the special team. IMO, he knows he has to replace Payton Jordahl and Emmit Carpenter after this season. He may be worried about the guys he has now developmentally or otherwise and wants some insurance policy.

Offering two scholarships this way on the same year to heralded special teamers is a 50-50 proposition IMO. Scholarships that normally are earmarked for other position players. It is a risk he is willing to take. The payoff is great if it works out.
 

Am not least bit bothered by giving a scholarship to LS or K

I will admit the LS scholarship is a bit peculiar
 

Someone tweeted (can’t link on mobile) that Iowa cancelled Brock’s OV. Gotta imagine he takes one to ND but definitely an interesting turn in his recruitment.
 

GopherNuts said:
Someone tweeted (can’t link on mobile) that Iowa cancelled Brock’s OV. Gotta imagine he takes one to ND but definitely an interesting turn in his recruitment.
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"Iowa cancelled," huh.

Sounds to me like a "you can't fire me, because I quit," scenario.

He probably told them that he's got a new favorite, and it's no longer Iowa. Or, Iowa found out from a ND or MN source that he's choosing them. Clearly, they didn't decide they no longer want one of the best RB prospects in the class out of the blue. They're trying to get out in front of it so it doesn't look like they lost a recruiting a battle for a top priority.

My guess is it's already a done deal to Notre Dame and he's telling coaches. Could be wrong, but that seems like Occam's Razor given the timeline.
 

salzie said:
Am not least bit bothered by giving a scholarship to LS or K

I will admit the LS scholarship is a bit peculiar
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Agreed. If people are bothered about Ks, Ps, and LSs getting scholarships, why not every other player who rides the pine and/or strictly plays special teams? The K, P, and LS are much more important than some individual 3rd string CB punt gunner (just a hyporthical example) who gets a scholarship.

If people are bothered, it must mean things are going well special teams-wise. The sentiment would prbably be different if we recently had a K miss a chip shot, or a long snapper sail one, with time expiring for the win against Iowa or Wisconsin.
 

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