December 8 2017 - Official Visitors / Walk-Ons List

Here are the current commitments:

Nathan Boe - Lakeville MN, OC , 6'4", 250 lbs, 0.8235
Austin Beier - St, John's Jesuit Toledo OH, 6'5" 285 lbs, 0.8594
Grant Norton - Camdenton MO, OT, 6'8", 255 lbs, 0.8431
Jack York - 1st Baptist, Dallas TX, OT, 6'5", 270 lbs, 0.8405

Current Recruiting Targets:

Verdis Brown, IMG Bradenton FLA, OC, 6'3", 294 lbs, 0.8960 (If rumors are true)
Curtis Dunlop, IMG Bradenton FLA, OG, 6'4", 368 lbs, 0.9220
Daniel Faalele, IMG Bradenton FLA, OT, 6'8", 400 lbs, 0.8858
Jason Dickson, Diablo Valley JC Pleasant Hill CA, OT, 6'7", 295 lbs, 0.8528
Randon Haynes, Tyler JC Tyler TX, OT, 6'4", 330 lbs, 0.8400 (Dec. 15 OV)

Will it be possible that we will have six or seven OLs? Maybe some are either from 2016 attrition, or gray shirt?

They aren't going to sign three more offensive lineman, Williams or Palmer would fill the last spot.
 

Does anybody know for sure how many new commits they can have this weekend? Obviously some of them will count against 2017 (or 2016?).

Aren't they currently at 81 scholies, 4 short of the maximum 85?
 

Does anybody know for sure how many new commits they can have this weekend? Obviously some of them will count against 2017 (or 2016?).

Aren't they currently at 81 scholies, 4 short of the maximum 85?

They're actually at 83.
 

So only room for two new commitments?
 

So only room for two new commitments?

The other issue is the new rule against oversigning. I read we can sign 3 this weekend. No more (unless we don't sign current verbals).


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Here are the current commitments:

Because I like to see the individual ratings and I don’t care about ESPN. If there is significant variance in the ratings I find that interesting. Scout is sadly toast, engulfed by 247.
247 rating/Rivals rating
Remember:
Rivals 3 stars are 5.5-5.7; 4 Star 5.8-6.0; 5 Star 6.1
247 3 stars are 80-89; 4 Star 90-97; 5 Star 98-100


Nathan Boe - Lakeville MN, OC , 6'4", 250 lbs, 0.8235. 80/5.5
Austin Beier - St, John's Jesuit Toledo OH, 6'5" 285 lbs, 0.8594. 87/5.5
Grant Norton - Camdenton MO, OT, 6'8", 255 lbs, 0.8431 84/5.5
Jack York - 1st Baptist, Dallas TX, OT, 6'5", 270 lbs, 0.8405. 81/5.6

Current Recruiting Targets:

Verdis Brown, IMG Bradenton FLA, OC, 6'3", 294 lbs, 0.8960 (If rumors are true). 88/5.8
Curtis Dunlop, IMG Bradenton FLA, OG, 6'4", 368 lbs, 0.9220. 91/5.8
Daniel Faalele, IMG Bradenton FLA, OT, 6'8", 400 lbs, 0.8858 87/5.8
Jason Dickson, Diablo Valley JC Pleasant Hill CA, OT, 6'7", 295 lbs, 0.8528. 85/5.6
Randon Haynes, Tyler JC Tyler TX, OT, 6'4", 330 lbs, 0.8400 (Dec. 15 OV) 84/5.4

Will it be possible that we will have six or seven OLs? Maybe some are either from 2016 attrition, or gray shirt?

.
 

The other issue is the new rule against oversigning. I read we can sign 3 this weekend. No more (unless we don't sign current verbals).


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Even if we take 3 more commitments, that puts us at 86 total scholarships. One scholarship player would have to transfer.
 

Even if we take 3 more commitments, that puts us at 86 total scholarships. One scholarship player would have to transfer.

Very very possible for that to happen between now and the start of the season. End of spring ball usually produces a few if not before then.
 




Come Sunday night there may be some, "Could we talk for a second..." conversations in the stairwell. All I know is the bottom two guys are Minnesota guys...is it a good idea? does he dare have that conversation with either of them?
You don't wanna pee in your own pool. So, who might be told admissions just discovered you probably won't be admitted? You gotta believe PJ has a plan if these higher rated guys are invited to visit, if they wanna come he has a spot for them?
 

Even if guys don’t commit, it’s good to get them on campus and show them a good time. Word of mouth will help with future recruiting. “Would you recommend visiting MN? What are your thoughts on that program/school?” It can’t hurt having had 3 IMG players on campus this weekend.
 


Even if guys don’t commit, it’s good to get them on campus and show them a good time. Word of mouth will help with future recruiting. “Would you recommend visiting MN? What are your thoughts on that program/school?” It would hurt having had 3 IMG players on campus this weekend.

To me this seems like one of those things that sounds good, but in reality just doesn't happen/matter.


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Of course there are positives.

Someone got a nice free OV trip to possibly deliver one or two of their own.

The remaining openings will be filled.

Got a chance to be a pioneer of sorts with mass OVs.

Maybe there are lessons learned about how quickly you offer and firm commitments. You may be acing yourself out of higher caliber recruits. Conversely, if you wait too long, you opened yourself to poaching.

I wonder if for some lower level recruits if you can give them a conditional soft offer. Don't some recruits give soft commitments? Are there teams that are employing some kind of recruiting schemes like these?

The coaching staffs have to be careful and treat each recruit fairly and honestly. What goes around comes around. Do it the right way. Never send a recruit downriver because it will come back to bite you.
 

To me this seems like one of those things that sounds good, but in reality just doesn't happen/matter.


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Thats not rue. When I went on different recruiting visits for baseball I talked to friends all the time about it. Just by telling another recruit that it was a good experience makes it a lot more likely for that person to go and check it out if the coach comes calling. Opinions of a place matter a lot to the other peers.
 

Minnesota Football Recruiting: Gophers hosting huge official visit weekend

What you need to know ahead of the official visits from at least 25 recruits!
By GopherNation Dec 7, 2017, 9:37am CST

This weekend is going to be a huge weekend for Minnesota Football. Clearly they didn’t make a bowl game and nothing significant is happening on the field until Spring Practices. But this weekend Gopher Football is hosting somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-30 recruits on campus for their official visits.

More common is for programs to have official visitors throughout the fall, attending home football games and getting to experience the entire atmosphere of what college football is all about if they were to be a part of that particular program.

But Coach Fleck is changing the script a little bit this year and with the advent of the early signing period in just a couple weeks, he has decided to bring in almost the entire 2018 recruiting class along with a few key potential last minute additions.

This eLITe18Palooza! really accomplishes 2 things.

1 - It bonds the currently committed class together. Incoming recruits from all over the country come together and get to have fun for the weekend together. The value of these shared experiences should not be diminished. Not to mention what it does for the few kids who are not yet committed. They’ll come hang with what will essentially be the entire freshman class next fall and this may very well be a catalyst to get them to finally commit, or flip from another university.

2 - It diminishes the likelihood that any of these kids will be a last minute flip to another school. Partly because of point one and partially because the visit will be so fresh in their mind and the excitement level will be high just days before the day they fax in their signed letter of intent.

Who is going to be there this weekend?

Current Commits
Here are the kids currently commited who will be coming. Just a quick little note on each of them, more to come on December 20th when all (or most) of these kids sign their letter of intent.

QB - Zack Annexstad - a preferred walk-on, but Annexstad is important in that he spent his senior season as the starting quarterback for the uber-talented IMG Academy team. Began the season as the back-up, worked his way into a starting role and the Mankato native wants to come Row the Boat.
RB - Nolan Edmonds - talented running back out of Georgia, expected to contribute behind the current pair of Georgia backs.
RB - Bryce Williams - This back is from Florida and should be ready when there are ample openings for playing time in the backfield.
WR - Rashod Bateman - Georgia wideout who had a monster seniors season and was recently bumped up to a 4-star.
WR - Jornell Manns - Ohio native who projects to be a slot receiver for Minnesota.
WR - Erik Gibson - Detroit area receiver who will be on the outside and comes into the program at 200 lbs.
TE - Brevyn Span-Ford - St. Cloud tight end who stands at 6’6”, the only tight end in this class.
OC - Nathan Boe - Lakeville lineman giving some position flexibility along the OL.
OG - Austin Beier - Ohio lineman. Offensive line was a challenge in this recruiting class but Beier is a good one to hold on to.
OT - Grant Norton - Missouri lineman who is getting late offers and visits from other schools. He’ll be a nice one to hang on to.
OT - Jack York - The only Texas kid, currently committed to this 2018 class.
DT - Elijah Teague - Chicago area kid who was one of the first to commit to Fleck’s 2018 class.
DT - Logan Richtor - raw but huge tackle from Perham.
DE - Alex Reigelsperger - flipped from Kentucky, big Ohio end who should be playing early for the Gophers.
DE - Abi Okonji - Good speed for this Georgia kid.
DE - Mayan Ahanotu - Committed in June while here unofficially, not this Florida kid gets to experience Minnesota in December.
OLB - Braelen Oliver - Georgia linebacker who had a great senior season and is getting a lot of attention late from other programs.
OLB - Thomas Rush - Ohio linebacker with good speed.
MLB - Mariano Sori-Marin - from the SW burbs of Chicago and our only middle linebacker in this class.
CB - Terrell Smith - Another Georgia corner, one I’m particularly excited about in this class.
CB - Benjamin Sapp III - Eden Prairie corner who tore up his knee during his senior season,. He will certainly redshirt next year and get his body ready to compete at this level.
CB - CJ Smith - 6’1” corner from Florida with good speed.
S - Josh Aune - St. Paul kid who may end up at outside linebacker eventually.
Uncommitted
There are a handful of targets coming this weekend who are not yet announced. These kids are currently committed to other schools and don’t want it out there quite yet that they are giving Minnesota look. When these names surface, they will be added.

OT - Curtis Dunlap - recently decomitted from Florida. Dunlap is a 4-star tackle who was roomates with Annexstad his season at IMG. This is a huge potential commit and would really boost this overal class (that is already quite solid).

OT - Daniel Faalele - sit down for this one. Faalele is 6’9”, 400 lbs with agility and lean muscle mass. Faalele is from Australia and played the last 2 seasons as IMG (he only practiced as a junior while learning the game of football). He has offers from everybody (Bama, Michigan, Georgia, Auburn, etc) and is visiting this weekend. More on him if/when he commits.

OT - Jason Dickson - JUCO tackle who would fill a huge need for 2018. Also has offers from UCLA, Arizona State, Colorado and Iowa State.

Best Outcomes
First, is that this weekend solidifies all decisions, builds relationships and means that this class remains intact through to the early signing period.

Secondly, that they snag Dunlap and maybe another key target that is yet to be named. Or the massive Faalele, I kind of want him.

Summary
Every verbal commitment, with the exception of one, will be on campus this weekend. Victor Viramontes, the JUCO quarterback commit, has already taken his official visit so he would have to pay his own way if he wanted to be here this weekend.

But everybody else will be here, plus a few more. It is going to be a huge weekend and hopefully we are celebrating a few new verbal commitments Sunday or Monday.

Currently this class ranks 6th in the Big Ten and is the highest ranked class in the Big Ten West with a total score of 193.02 accoring to 247. This is the best class score and highest rank in many years. Here are some of the recent recruiting classes.

2018 - 192.01 - 6th
2017 - 171.4 - 12th
2016 - 182.2 - 8th
2015 - 167.0 - 13th
2014 - 172.8 - 11th
So you can see that this is a very solid class and if another 2 or 3 kids jump into the boat, the numbers only get better.

https://www.thedailygopher.com/2017/12/7/16710754/minnesota-football-recruiting-gophers-hosting-official-visit-two-weeks-ahead-of-early-signing-period
 

Hopefully, it is not something like Shannon Brooks quitting due to his concussive injuries.

I’m kind of assuming that’s going to happen, reading between the lines of what mods on pay sites have said, plus the fact that he missed like the last month and this isn’t his first concussion.
 

Minnesota Football Recruiting: Gophers hosting huge official visit weekend

What you need to know ahead of the official visits from at least 25 recruits!
By GopherNation Dec 7, 2017, 9:37am CST

This weekend is going to be a huge weekend for Minnesota Football. Clearly they didn’t make a bowl game and nothing significant is happening on the field until Spring Practices. But this weekend Gopher Football is hosting somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-30 recruits on campus for their official visits.

More common is for programs to have official visitors throughout the fall, attending home football games and getting to experience the entire atmosphere of what college football is all about if they were to be a part of that particular program.

But Coach Fleck is changing the script a little bit this year and with the advent of the early signing period in just a couple weeks, he has decided to bring in almost the entire 2018 recruiting class along with a few key potential last minute additions.

This eLITe18Palooza! really accomplishes 2 things.

1 - It bonds the currently committed class together. Incoming recruits from all over the country come together and get to have fun for the weekend together. The value of these shared experiences should not be diminished. Not to mention what it does for the few kids who are not yet committed. They’ll come hang with what will essentially be the entire freshman class next fall and this may very well be a catalyst to get them to finally commit, or flip from another university.

2 - It diminishes the likelihood that any of these kids will be a last minute flip to another school. Partly because of point one and partially because the visit will be so fresh in their mind and the excitement level will be high just days before the day they fax in their signed letter of intent.

Who is going to be there this weekend?

Current Commits
Here are the kids currently commited who will be coming. Just a quick little note on each of them, more to come on December 20th when all (or most) of these kids sign their letter of intent.

QB - Zack Annexstad - a preferred walk-on, but Annexstad is important in that he spent his senior season as the starting quarterback for the uber-talented IMG Academy team. Began the season as the back-up, worked his way into a starting role and the Mankato native wants to come Row the Boat.
RB - Nolan Edmonds - talented running back out of Georgia, expected to contribute behind the current pair of Georgia backs.
RB - Bryce Williams - This back is from Florida and should be ready when there are ample openings for playing time in the backfield.
WR - Rashod Bateman - Georgia wideout who had a monster seniors season and was recently bumped up to a 4-star.
WR - Jornell Manns - Ohio native who projects to be a slot receiver for Minnesota.
WR - Erik Gibson - Detroit area receiver who will be on the outside and comes into the program at 200 lbs.
TE - Brevyn Span-Ford - St. Cloud tight end who stands at 6’6”, the only tight end in this class.
OC - Nathan Boe - Lakeville lineman giving some position flexibility along the OL.
OG - Austin Beier - Ohio lineman. Offensive line was a challenge in this recruiting class but Beier is a good one to hold on to.
OT - Grant Norton - Missouri lineman who is getting late offers and visits from other schools. He’ll be a nice one to hang on to.
OT - Jack York - The only Texas kid, currently committed to this 2018 class.
DT - Elijah Teague - Chicago area kid who was one of the first to commit to Fleck’s 2018 class.
DT - Logan Richtor - raw but huge tackle from Perham.
DE - Alex Reigelsperger - flipped from Kentucky, big Ohio end who should be playing early for the Gophers.
DE - Abi Okonji - Good speed for this Georgia kid.
DE - Mayan Ahanotu - Committed in June while here unofficially, not this Florida kid gets to experience Minnesota in December.
OLB - Braelen Oliver - Georgia linebacker who had a great senior season and is getting a lot of attention late from other programs.
OLB - Thomas Rush - Ohio linebacker with good speed.
MLB - Mariano Sori-Marin - from the SW burbs of Chicago and our only middle linebacker in this class.
CB - Terrell Smith - Another Georgia corner, one I’m particularly excited about in this class.
CB - Benjamin Sapp III - Eden Prairie corner who tore up his knee during his senior season,. He will certainly redshirt next year and get his body ready to compete at this level.
CB - CJ Smith - 6’1” corner from Florida with good speed.
S - Josh Aune - St. Paul kid who may end up at outside linebacker eventually.
Uncommitted
There are a handful of targets coming this weekend who are not yet announced. These kids are currently committed to other schools and don’t want it out there quite yet that they are giving Minnesota look. When these names surface, they will be added.

OT - Curtis Dunlap - recently decomitted from Florida. Dunlap is a 4-star tackle who was roomates with Annexstad his season at IMG. This is a huge potential commit and would really boost this overal class (that is already quite solid).

OT - Daniel Faalele - sit down for this one. Faalele is 6’9”, 400 lbs with agility and lean muscle mass. Faalele is from Australia and played the last 2 seasons as IMG (he only practiced as a junior while learning the game of football). He has offers from everybody (Bama, Michigan, Georgia, Auburn, etc) and is visiting this weekend. More on him if/when he commits.

OT - Jason Dickson - JUCO tackle who would fill a huge need for 2018. Also has offers from UCLA, Arizona State, Colorado and Iowa State.

Best Outcomes
First, is that this weekend solidifies all decisions, builds relationships and means that this class remains intact through to the early signing period.

Secondly, that they snag Dunlap and maybe another key target that is yet to be named. Or the massive Faalele, I kind of want him.

Summary
Every verbal commitment, with the exception of one, will be on campus this weekend. Victor Viramontes, the JUCO quarterback commit, has already taken his official visit so he would have to pay his own way if he wanted to be here this weekend.

But everybody else will be here, plus a few more. It is going to be a huge weekend and hopefully we are celebrating a few new verbal commitments Sunday or Monday.

Currently this class ranks 6th in the Big Ten and is the highest ranked class in the Big Ten West with a total score of 193.02 accoring to 247. This is the best class score and highest rank in many years. Here are some of the recent recruiting classes.

2018 - 192.01 - 6th
2017 - 171.4 - 12th
2016 - 182.2 - 8th
2015 - 167.0 - 13th
2014 - 172.8 - 11th
So you can see that this is a very solid class and if another 2 or 3 kids jump into the boat, the numbers only get better.

https://www.thedailygopher.com/2017/12/7/16710754/minnesota-football-recruiting-gophers-hosting-official-visit-two-weeks-ahead-of-early-signing-period
Good summary, there are 2 targets who haven't been announced publicly. One is committed elsewhere while one is uncommitted as he decommitted from his previous school about a week or so ago.
 

IMHO, the most important uncommitted recruit for the Gophers is Curtis Dunlop.

There are stiff competition for the IMG OL trio. Getting Dunlop will be a major gain for Gopher Football.
 

I’m kind of assuming that’s going to happen, reading between the lines of what mods on pay sites have said, plus the fact that he missed like the last month and this isn’t his first concussion.

It must be gut wrenching for him and Nick Connelly to give up playing a game they really enjoyed. Life goes own, and the U will take care that they get their degrees. Life throws you a curve, and a new opportunity comes up. EIther way Shannon Brooks decide, I wish him well.
 

It must be gut wrenching for him and Nick Connelly to give up playing a game they really enjoyed. Life goes own, and the U will take care that they get their degrees. Life throws you a curve, and a new opportunity comes up. Either way Shannon Brooks decide, I wish him well.

Shannon and Rodney have been two of my favorite Gophers the last few years. They work hard and play the game hard, love their presence on the field. Best of luck to all these guys.
 

Latest 247 Crystal Ball Predictions:

Curtis Dunlop:

12/5/2017:
Steve Wilfong - Director Of Recruiting
Kyle Goblirsch - Minnesota Insider
Andrew Ivins - Miami Insider
Andrew Ellis - Recruiting Analyst
Alex Gleitman - Ohio State Insider
Blake Alderman - Staff WRITER

12/6/2017:
E.J. Holland - Staff Writer

Daniel Faalele:

12/6/2017:
Kyle Goblirsch - Minnesota Insider

12/7/2017:
Steve Wilfong - Director Of Recruiting
Ace Anbender - Recruiting Editor
Gus Ramos - Illinois Insider

https://247sports.com/college/minnesota/Season/2018-Football/TargetPredictions

There is a little bit more good feeling about Curtis Dunlop going to the Gophers.
Daniel Faalele, not so much.

We haven't heard from Michigan or SEC Analysts to feel very comfortable about Faalele. The rumor that he has told IMG coaching staff that he rather play in the SEC is very telling.

Keep fingers crossed.
 

My hunch about not hearing about new commitments is that the Gophers are focused on the kids who are here for the eLITe18Palooza have a great time bonding.

Maybe towards the end of Sunday or even early next week is when we will hear something. Maybe there are some silent commitments & conditional ones (waiting for something to open, or they are waiting to hear from their dream offers) that we won't hear until the February NSD. Who knows.

I am wondering if Bryce Benhart and Quinn Carroll both came on unofficial visits this weekend.
 

Minnesota Football Recruiting: Gophers hosting huge official visit weekend

What you need to know ahead of the official visits from at least 25 recruits!
By GopherNation Dec 7, 2017, 9:37am CST

This weekend is going to be a huge weekend for Minnesota Football. Clearly they didn’t make a bowl game and nothing significant is happening on the field until Spring Practices. But this weekend Gopher Football is hosting somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-30 recruits on campus for their official visits.

More common is for programs to have official visitors throughout the fall, attending home football games and getting to experience the entire atmosphere of what college football is all about if they were to be a part of that particular program.

But Coach Fleck is changing the script a little bit this year and with the advent of the early signing period in just a couple weeks, he has decided to bring in almost the entire 2018 recruiting class along with a few key potential last minute additions.

This eLITe18Palooza! really accomplishes 2 things.

1 - It bonds the currently committed class together. Incoming recruits from all over the country come together and get to have fun for the weekend together. The value of these shared experiences should not be diminished. Not to mention what it does for the few kids who are not yet committed. They’ll come hang with what will essentially be the entire freshman class next fall and this may very well be a catalyst to get them to finally commit, or flip from another university.

2 - It diminishes the likelihood that any of these kids will be a last minute flip to another school. Partly because of point one and partially because the visit will be so fresh in their mind and the excitement level will be high just days before the day they fax in their signed letter of intent.

Who is going to be there this weekend?

Current Commits
Here are the kids currently commited who will be coming. Just a quick little note on each of them, more to come on December 20th when all (or most) of these kids sign their letter of intent.

QB - Zack Annexstad - a preferred walk-on, but Annexstad is important in that he spent his senior season as the starting quarterback for the uber-talented IMG Academy team. Began the season as the back-up, worked his way into a starting role and the Mankato native wants to come Row the Boat.
RB - Nolan Edmonds - talented running back out of Georgia, expected to contribute behind the current pair of Georgia backs.
RB - Bryce Williams - This back is from Florida and should be ready when there are ample openings for playing time in the backfield.
WR - Rashod Bateman - Georgia wideout who had a monster seniors season and was recently bumped up to a 4-star.
WR - Jornell Manns - Ohio native who projects to be a slot receiver for Minnesota.
WR - Erik Gibson - Detroit area receiver who will be on the outside and comes into the program at 200 lbs.
TE - Brevyn Span-Ford - St. Cloud tight end who stands at 6’6”, the only tight end in this class.
OC - Nathan Boe - Lakeville lineman giving some position flexibility along the OL.
OG - Austin Beier - Ohio lineman. Offensive line was a challenge in this recruiting class but Beier is a good one to hold on to.
OT - Grant Norton - Missouri lineman who is getting late offers and visits from other schools. He’ll be a nice one to hang on to.
OT - Jack York - The only Texas kid, currently committed to this 2018 class.
DT - Elijah Teague - Chicago area kid who was one of the first to commit to Fleck’s 2018 class.
DT - Logan Richtor - raw but huge tackle from Perham.
DE - Alex Reigelsperger - flipped from Kentucky, big Ohio end who should be playing early for the Gophers.
DE - Abi Okonji - Good speed for this Georgia kid.
DE - Mayan Ahanotu - Committed in June while here unofficially, not this Florida kid gets to experience Minnesota in December.
OLB - Braelen Oliver - Georgia linebacker who had a great senior season and is getting a lot of attention late from other programs.
OLB - Thomas Rush - Ohio linebacker with good speed.
MLB - Mariano Sori-Marin - from the SW burbs of Chicago and our only middle linebacker in this class.
CB - Terrell Smith - Another Georgia corner, one I’m particularly excited about in this class.
CB - Benjamin Sapp III - Eden Prairie corner who tore up his knee during his senior season,. He will certainly redshirt next year and get his body ready to compete at this level.
CB - CJ Smith - 6’1” corner from Florida with good speed.
S - Josh Aune - St. Paul kid who may end up at outside linebacker eventually.
Uncommitted
There are a handful of targets coming this weekend who are not yet announced. These kids are currently committed to other schools and don’t want it out there quite yet that they are giving Minnesota look. When these names surface, they will be added.

OT - Curtis Dunlap - recently decomitted from Florida. Dunlap is a 4-star tackle who was roomates with Annexstad his season at IMG. This is a huge potential commit and would really boost this overal class (that is already quite solid).

OT - Daniel Faalele - sit down for this one. Faalele is 6’9”, 400 lbs with agility and lean muscle mass. Faalele is from Australia and played the last 2 seasons as IMG (he only practiced as a junior while learning the game of football). He has offers from everybody (Bama, Michigan, Georgia, Auburn, etc) and is visiting this weekend. More on him if/when he commits.

OT - Jason Dickson - JUCO tackle who would fill a huge need for 2018. Also has offers from UCLA, Arizona State, Colorado and Iowa State.

Best Outcomes
First, is that this weekend solidifies all decisions, builds relationships and means that this class remains intact through to the early signing period.

Secondly, that they snag Dunlap and maybe another key target that is yet to be named. Or the massive Faalele, I kind of want him.

Summary
Every verbal commitment, with the exception of one, will be on campus this weekend. Victor Viramontes, the JUCO quarterback commit, has already taken his official visit so he would have to pay his own way if he wanted to be here this weekend.

But everybody else will be here, plus a few more. It is going to be a huge weekend and hopefully we are celebrating a few new verbal commitments Sunday or Monday.

Currently this class ranks 6th in the Big Ten and is the highest ranked class in the Big Ten West with a total score of 193.02 accoring to 247. This is the best class score and highest rank in many years. Here are some of the recent recruiting classes.

2018 - 192.01 - 6th
2017 - 171.4 - 12th
2016 - 182.2 - 8th
2015 - 167.0 - 13th
2014 - 172.8 - 11th
So you can see that this is a very solid class and if another 2 or 3 kids jump into the boat, the numbers only get better.

https://www.thedailygopher.com/2017/12/7/16710754/minnesota-football-recruiting-gophers-hosting-official-visit-two-weeks-ahead-of-early-signing-period

Super pumped after reading this! I really enjoyed seeing so many quality P5 offers that our commits had. Saw Michigan State a lot, Oklahoma a few times, Florida a couple times. Good stuff!
 

My hunch about not hearing about new commitments is that the Gophers are focused on the kids who are here for the eLITe18Palooza have a great time bonding.

Maybe towards the end of Sunday or even early next week is when we will hear something. Maybe there are some silent commitments & conditional ones (waiting for something to open, or they are waiting to hear from their dream offers) that we won't hear until the February NSD. Who knows.

I am wondering if Bryce Benhart and Quinn Carroll both came on unofficial visits this weekend.

With the early signing period in 11 days, I think we'll hear stuff much sooner than February
 

I can see where PJ Fleck's reason for the Palooza - bonding & celebration and affirmation of commitments, and to sell the program to the new prospects. If the recruit truly bleeds maroon and gold, he wants them to not waste any time and sign early (especially lower level recruits) and be assured a scholarship.
 

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


Yes it is Mr Dunlap


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Latest 247 Crystal Ball Predictions - as of 12/9/2017 6:30 PM:

Curtis Dunlop:

12/5/2017:
Steve Wilfong - Director Of Recruiting
Kyle Goblirsch - Minnesota Insider
Andrew Ivins - Miami Insider
Andrew Ellis - Recruiting Analyst
Alex Gleitman - Ohio State Insider
Blake Alderman - Staff Writer
12/6/2017:
E.J. Holland - Staff Writer

12/9/2017:
Luke Stampini - Recruiting Insider
David Lake - Miami Insider

Daniel Faalele:

12/6/2017:
Kyle Goblirsch - Minnesota Insider

12/7/2017:
Steve Wilfong - Director Of Recruiting
Ace Anbender - Recruiting Editor

12/8/2017:
Gus Ramos - Illinois Insider



https://247sports.com/college/minnesota/Season/2018-Football/TargetPredictions

There is a little bit more good feeling about Curtis Dunlop going to the Gophers.
Daniel Faalele, not so much.

We haven't heard from Michigan or SEC Analysts to feel very comfortable about Faalele. The rumor that he has told IMG coaching staff that he rather play in the SEC is very telling.
 




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