Minnesota is recruiting up a storm under P.J. Fleck

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"Any championship team you look at, you can always connect the dots backward to recruiting." - P.J. Fleck

P.J. Fleck arrived at Minnesota only a few short months ago, yet he’s already made a splash on the recruiting trail. The Golden Gophers currently rank 12th in 247Sports Composite Team Rankings with 13 commits, all of which rank as three-star prospects as better.

It’s a recruiting blitz by Minnesota, but Fleck insists the waves the Gophers have created aren’t the result of a purposeful cannonball.

Minnesota is just rowing the boat.

“We’re not trying to make noise,” Fleck told 247Sports on Monday. “We’re being ourselves. We have a very unique way of going about things, and that’s carried over the University of Minnesota. We have a blueprint and brought that over here (from Western Michigan).”


“We have a lot of energy, a lot of positivity, and I think young people love that,” Fleck said.

It also helps that the Gophers are a program at the forefront of tailoring themselves to a social media generation. They have edits, memes and gifs, including a tweet celebrating commitments with a bat signal from Batman with the phrase “#eLITe18”.


It’s been an impressive start on the trail for Fleck at Minnesota. But it’s also just been a few months. The most important question is: Can the Gophers keep it up?

A Top 10 class this season is rather unlikely, but could Minnesota finish in the Top 25? It’s possible. Minnesota doesn’t yet have a four-star prospect committed, but many of its pledges are borderline four-star players with high three-star grades – some could well earn a rating bump in the future.


http://247sports.com/Article/Minnesota-football-is-recruiting-up-a-storm-under-PJ-Fleck-52684710
 

"all of which rank as three-star prospects as better."

Assuming they had a typo of "or better" - but you have to love the spin that sentence puts on. Factually accurate, but so is "all of which rank three-star or worse." Think the author was trying too hard to sell it there...
 

We're getting a lot of commitments, and a lot of commitments from players that other P5 schools want, which is seemingly good.

That said, we are ranked so highly in the 247 ratings right now pretty much solely because we have so many commitments. Any FBS team with at least 9 commits for 2018 is in the top 25 right now, regardless of their caliber, because so many teams have just 5-8 verbals so far, and the class score takes into account both quantity and quality.

I hope we fill the rest of the class with highly sought-after, smart, dedicated and upstanding kids and if that gets us top 25 all the better.
 


"all of which rank as three-star prospects as better."

Assuming they had a typo of "or better" - but you have to love the spin that sentence puts on. Factually accurate, but so is "all of which rank three-star or worse." Think the author was trying too hard to sell it there...

I believe some of our commits are 4-stars on some sites, so depending on what site you're looking at, saying it the other way around might not be accurate.
 


I believe some of our commits are 4-stars on some sites, so depending on what site you're looking at, saying it the other way around might not be accurate.

I'm not worried about stars. I care more about program fit and other schools that have offered. Elite recruiting class so far.
 

He's not talking about any other sites though, he is strictly speaking about 247 Composite.

The Golden Gophers currently rank 12th in 247Sports Composite Team Rankings with 13 commits, all of which rank as three-star prospects as better.

Minnesota doesn’t yet have a four-star prospect committed, but many of its pledges are borderline four-star players with high three-star grades – some could well earn a rating bump in the future.

Haha good point, I should have read the post again before replying.
 

I hope I'm wrong, but I think we'll have more decommits under PJ than we traditionally have.

My opinion is based on one comment from an acquaintance. His sophomore son has been offered by Gophs. He is being asked about why he isn't committing yet and being asked what he's waiting for. (He just turned 16. What do you think he's waiting for...he's got two seasons yet to play! He's no where near ready for that decision.) According to the dad, his son is feeling a bit pressured. I'm worried some of the commits are jumping in the boat b/c they can't effectively handle the high pressure which might lead to more decommits for whatever reason later.

Let's hope that's not the case!
 

I believe some of our commits are 4-stars on some sites, so depending on what site you're looking at, saying it the other way around might not be accurate.

He's not talking about any other sites though, he is strictly speaking about 247 Composite.

The Golden Gophers currently rank 12th in 247Sports Composite Team Rankings with 13 commits, all of which rank as three-star prospects as better.

Minnesota doesn’t yet have a four-star prospect committed, but many of its pledges are borderline four-star players with high three-star grades – some could well earn a rating bump in the future.
 



He's not talking about any other sites though, he is strictly speaking about 247 Composite.

The Golden Gophers currently rank 12th in 247Sports Composite Team Rankings with 13 commits, all of which rank as three-star prospects as better.

Minnesota doesn’t yet have a four-star prospect committed, but many of its pledges are borderline four-star players with high three-star grades – some could well earn a rating bump in the future.

Haha good point, I should have read the post again before replying.
 

I hope I'm wrong, but I think we'll have more decommits under PJ than we traditionally have.

My opinion is based on one comment from an acquaintance. His sophomore son has been offered by Gophs. He is being asked about why he isn't committing yet and being asked what he's waiting for. (He just turned 16. What do you think he's waiting for...he's got two seasons yet to play! He's no where near ready for that decision.) According to the dad, his son is feeling a bit pressured. I'm worried some of the commits are jumping in the boat b/c they can't effectively handle the high pressure which might lead to more decommits for whatever reason later.

Let's hope that's not the case!

Is your friends son an offensive lineman and not from Edina?
 

Can one of the GH historians tell me if the Gophers have ever had players taken in the first and second round (same year) in the draft? Maybe stars are overrated and coaching is underrated?
 

2019 offers according to Rivals...

Nick Henrich LB 6'3" 195 Omaha, NE
Genson Hooper-Price WR 6'5" 205 Houston, TX
Marcus Washington WR 5.9 6'2" 170 St. Louis, MO
John Olmstead OL 6'6" 285 Metuchen, NJ
Spencer Brown OL 6'6" 265 Walled Lake, MI
Trevor Keegan OL 6'6" 290 Crystal Lake, IL
Hank Bachmeier QB 5.9 6'2" 185 Murrieta, CA
Jalyn Phillips ATH 6'0" 178 Lawrenceville, GA
Isaiah Williams ATH 5.9 5'10" 160 St. Louis, MO
Zeke Correll OL 6'3" 270 Cincinnati, OH
Jamir Thomas LB 6'2" 215 Massillon, OH
Sebastian Castro DB 6'1" 198 Oak Lawn, IL
Jarrian Jones DB 6'1" 183 Brandon, MS
Jalani Williams ATH 6'2" 170 St. Louis, MO
Jameson Williams WR 6'2" 160 St. Louis, MO
Jason Bargy DE 6'5" 231 Momence, IL
Nolan Rumler OL 5.9 6'4" 300 Akron, OH
Nyquee Hawkins DB 6'0" 170 Orange, NJ
Tyler Endres OL 6'6" 280 Norwalk, IA
Quinn Carroll OL 5.9 6'6" 280 Edina, MN
Cameron Phillips ATH 6'1" 183 Westerville, OH
Bryce Benhart OL 6'7" 285 Lakeville, MN
Max Duggan QB 6'2" 180 Council Bluffs, IA
 




Can one of the GH historians tell me if the Gophers have ever had players taken in the first and second round (same year) in the draft? Maybe stars are overrated and coaching is underrated?

You need both to win. 21 of this years 32 first round NFL draft picks were 4* and 5* recruits. There will always be under recruited guys that turn out to be pros, even from the FCS and Division II level.
 

Is your friends son an offensive lineman and not from Edina?

No, but it sounds as if you may have heard similar things??

I won't comment on whom the recruit/dad is other than to say that Mike Grimm and I share the same college Alma Mater.
 


I hope I'm wrong, but I think we'll have more decommits under PJ than we traditionally have.

My opinion is based on one comment from an acquaintance. His sophomore son has been offered by Gophs. He is being asked about why he isn't committing yet and being asked what he's waiting for. (He just turned 16. What do you think he's waiting for...he's got two seasons yet to play! He's no where near ready for that decision.) According to the dad, his son is feeling a bit pressured. I'm worried some of the commits are jumping in the boat b/c they can't effectively handle the high pressure which might lead to more decommits for whatever reason later.

Let's hope that's not the case!

Decommits happen. Transfers happen. That's college football reality in 2017. For every one recruit who feels pressured and gets a bad taste in his mouth, who's to say there aren't three who jump on the high-pressure bandwagon? I don't think I'll worry about your buddy's sophomore son.
 




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