John Galt
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A good read from TDG: https://www.thedailygopher.com/2017...g-lack-of-depth-secondary-recruiting-injuries
Just three upperclassmen who were recruited as scholarship athletes? More freshmen than there are juniors and seniors? That’s not how you build a roster. That’s how you build a house of cards, and we’ve only begun to see it topple. How does this happen? In my opinion, it comes down to three things: Recruiting, injuries, and attrition. I know some have laid the blame on the expulsions from last year, but I believe it goes beyond that.
2013: Jalen Myrick would not redshirt as a freshman and is now playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars after an outstanding career at Minnesota, in which he saw action in 47 games and started 21 of them. Duke McGhee is a current starter at safety, but has been suspended as of last week for an unspecified violation of team rules.
2014: Cornerback Craig James lasted two seasons at Minnesota before transferring to Southern Illinois to be closer to home. With his departure, the 2014 recruiting class ended up without a single defensive back. Hence, there are no redshirt junior or senior defensive backs on the roster. This is particularly egregious when you consider that the previous coaching stuff brought in just two defensive backs in 2013.
2015: Here, the coaching staff attempted to compensate for 2013 and 2014 by loading up on defensive backs. It backfired. Three of the seven defensive backs from this class were dismissed from the program last year. It would have been impossible for the staff to foresee that happening, but it also helps illustrate the foolish risk of using one recruiting class to make up for the mistakes of the previous two. The addition of JUCO safety Ace Rogers also helped for about three games before he tore his ACL, which knocked him out for the rest of 2015. He did not see game action in 2016.
Looking back, these three recruiting classes combined to contribute just four defensive backs to the current roster. That’s not a recipe for success.
2016: Kiondre Thomas is now a starter at cornerback as a redshirt freshman, while Coney Durr has seen limited action while he recovers from a torn ACL. I think we can all attest that Antoine Winfield, Jr. has been a saving grace.
2017: Ken Handy-Holly was forced into action due to the injury to Winfield, and Rey Estes is expected to follow suit with Craighton out. Justus Harris has not seen the field, and Adam Beck was a late arrival to camp and has also not seen the field.
2018: As you can see, the current staff has emphasized the defensive back positions, and are believed to be looking to add at least one more before Signing Day. I suspect it will be a point of emphasis again in the 2019 recruiting class, as well.
The transfer of Craig James. The suspension of safety Duke McGhee. The dismissals of KiAnte Hardin, Ray Buford, and Dior Johnson. That’s five defensive backs who could’ve seen the field on Saturday had things played out differently. When you handicap yourself in recruiting, it’s nearly impossible to sustain these kind of unforeseen losses. Hardin and James both would have been upperclassmen and probable starters at cornerback this year. McGhee, who is expected to miss at least one more game, was sorely missed in run support against Maryland.
The path forward
Regardless of whether it was Tracy Claeys or P.J. Fleck leading the team out of the tunnel this fall, these recruiting failures were going to rear their ugly head sooner or later. You can’t whiff on consecutive recruiting classes and not expect there to be consequences down the road. It’s possible the Gophers might have been able to weather the storm this season had Craighton and Winfield remained healthy and McGhee avoided suspension, but here we are. Defensive coordinator Robb Smith certainly has his work cut out for him moving forward. And as far as recruiting goes, we’re already seeing Fleck take the necessary steps to address the problem, although things might get worse before they getter with the youth movement.
Just three upperclassmen who were recruited as scholarship athletes? More freshmen than there are juniors and seniors? That’s not how you build a roster. That’s how you build a house of cards, and we’ve only begun to see it topple. How does this happen? In my opinion, it comes down to three things: Recruiting, injuries, and attrition. I know some have laid the blame on the expulsions from last year, but I believe it goes beyond that.
2013: Jalen Myrick would not redshirt as a freshman and is now playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars after an outstanding career at Minnesota, in which he saw action in 47 games and started 21 of them. Duke McGhee is a current starter at safety, but has been suspended as of last week for an unspecified violation of team rules.
2014: Cornerback Craig James lasted two seasons at Minnesota before transferring to Southern Illinois to be closer to home. With his departure, the 2014 recruiting class ended up without a single defensive back. Hence, there are no redshirt junior or senior defensive backs on the roster. This is particularly egregious when you consider that the previous coaching stuff brought in just two defensive backs in 2013.
2015: Here, the coaching staff attempted to compensate for 2013 and 2014 by loading up on defensive backs. It backfired. Three of the seven defensive backs from this class were dismissed from the program last year. It would have been impossible for the staff to foresee that happening, but it also helps illustrate the foolish risk of using one recruiting class to make up for the mistakes of the previous two. The addition of JUCO safety Ace Rogers also helped for about three games before he tore his ACL, which knocked him out for the rest of 2015. He did not see game action in 2016.
Looking back, these three recruiting classes combined to contribute just four defensive backs to the current roster. That’s not a recipe for success.
2016: Kiondre Thomas is now a starter at cornerback as a redshirt freshman, while Coney Durr has seen limited action while he recovers from a torn ACL. I think we can all attest that Antoine Winfield, Jr. has been a saving grace.
2017: Ken Handy-Holly was forced into action due to the injury to Winfield, and Rey Estes is expected to follow suit with Craighton out. Justus Harris has not seen the field, and Adam Beck was a late arrival to camp and has also not seen the field.
2018: As you can see, the current staff has emphasized the defensive back positions, and are believed to be looking to add at least one more before Signing Day. I suspect it will be a point of emphasis again in the 2019 recruiting class, as well.
The transfer of Craig James. The suspension of safety Duke McGhee. The dismissals of KiAnte Hardin, Ray Buford, and Dior Johnson. That’s five defensive backs who could’ve seen the field on Saturday had things played out differently. When you handicap yourself in recruiting, it’s nearly impossible to sustain these kind of unforeseen losses. Hardin and James both would have been upperclassmen and probable starters at cornerback this year. McGhee, who is expected to miss at least one more game, was sorely missed in run support against Maryland.
The path forward
Regardless of whether it was Tracy Claeys or P.J. Fleck leading the team out of the tunnel this fall, these recruiting failures were going to rear their ugly head sooner or later. You can’t whiff on consecutive recruiting classes and not expect there to be consequences down the road. It’s possible the Gophers might have been able to weather the storm this season had Craighton and Winfield remained healthy and McGhee avoided suspension, but here we are. Defensive coordinator Robb Smith certainly has his work cut out for him moving forward. And as far as recruiting goes, we’re already seeing Fleck take the necessary steps to address the problem, although things might get worse before they getter with the youth movement.
