Hunter Zenzen, Barnesville 2020, gets Iowa State offer



I've seen him play, and he's the real deal. But a lot of kids out here in the sticks are the real deal and they never get noticed except by NDSU, Iowa State, Winona State, UMD, etc.
 

The Gopher coaches need to be more active in outstate MN and develop relationships with HS coaches.

Logan Richter is a great find. But, what about players like Hunter Zenzen? It's interesting that Iowa State found and offered him first.

ISU is becoming a serious competitor for MN kids.
 

We have a 2020 commit from the Winona kid (Witt). I think this staff is getting out there. According to the article above, Minnesota is in contact with Zenzen. See if he shows up for Jr. day.
 


I like the idea of the Gopher Caravan. Can they they do that more than once a year? They can cover more places outstate.
 

The Gopher coaches are plenty active and get “out there” plenty. They are getting most players and occasionally are going to not get one. Guess what, not every kid wants to go to Minnesota. Why? I can only give you 120 reasons or so. Every kid is different. I’m not worried, even a bit. It would be nice to get the all, but it’s never going to happen.

Why do Alabama or Florida kids go to California schools? Because they do.
 

The Gophers do get kids like Blais Andries, Jason Williamson, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Logan Richter. It is the hidden gems and the top MN recruits that got away that I worry about.

Do the Gophers still hold that HS Coaches Workshops that Jerry Kill used to do? That is a great way to reach out and establish pipeline/relationships.

The Gopher rivals - Iowa, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Nebraska all are playing even closer attention to recruiting in MN not to mention NDSU ND, SDSU...
 

Well the real interesting thing is that they (ISU) still offered him without seeing him in person. Their plane couldn't land, but they still gave the offer anyway. That is according to the OP article.

Obviously has incredible athletic ability.
 




The video shows him performing a box jump with a moving start. Not at all the same thing as testing the vertical. That said, it's beyond obvious he has incredible athletic ability, and I would not be surprised if he could touch 40"+ on a vertec from a moving start.

Vertical leap (testing) is in itself a very fascinating subject. There is a really great youtube video that talks about the science of it, without being too long or too boring, if anyone wants I can share the link.
 

The Gopher coaches need to be more active in outstate MN and develop relationships with HS coaches.

Logan Richter is a great find. But, what about players like Hunter Zenzen? It's interesting that Iowa State found and offered him first.

ISU is becoming a serious competitor for MN kids.

Just because they haven't offered this kid doesn't mean they don't have relationships with outstate HS coaches. The current staff has shown they are willing to sign outstate kids.
 

Gopher coaches get all these kids that are getting noticed to the camps. If they like them they offer them. I believe that was the story with Richter. (Correcte me if I’m wrong but I thought it was at camp they offered)
 

I thought I heard the coaches just about fall off their chairs when they saw him for the first time.

He is like a lunker fish staring at you right next to your boat.
 



The Gophers do get kids like Blais Andries, Jason Williamson, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Logan Richter. It is the hidden gems and the top MN recruits that got away that I worry about.

Do the Gophers still hold that HS Coaches Workshops that Jerry Kill used to do? That is a great way to reach out and establish pipeline/relationships.

The Gopher rivals - Iowa, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Nebraska all are playing even closer attention to recruiting in MN not to mention NDSU ND, SDSU...

Logan Richter wasn’t recruited by anyone so was absolutely “hidden”. Whether he’s a gem or not remains to be seen


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The Gophers do get kids like Blais Andries, Jason Williamson, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Logan Richter. It is the hidden gems and the top MN recruits that got away that I worry about.

Do the Gophers still hold that HS Coaches Workshops that Jerry Kill used to do? That is a great way to reach out and establish pipeline/relationships.

The Gopher rivals - Iowa, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Nebraska all are playing even closer attention to recruiting in MN not to mention NDSU ND, SDSU...

We will always miss out on hidden gems and top rated guys. Winning more will help attract more top rated kids, but really there is no tangible way of securing more hidden gems other than having a staff that is elite at evaluating/developing talent. Still just because a kid excels at one college does not mean he would have been the same player at another school in a different situation.
 

I'm okay with the gophers holding off on this kid. I wasn't blown away by his hudl video. If a player is B1G ready he should really dominate that level of competition. He could always develop into something, but seems to lack speed for linebacker and size for DE.
 

I'm okay with the gophers holding off on this kid. I wasn't blown away by his hudl video. If a player is B1G ready he should really dominate that level of competition. He could always develop into something, but seems to lack speed for linebacker and size for DE.

He's a basketball athlete, in addition to football. Hence being 215lbs at 6-3 and why he has such a nice vertical.

I bet he could pack on some pounds and be a decent end with good explosion. Just not sure at the P5 level, but for sure at NDSU level.
 

If a player turned out to be good at NDSU, he could help the Gophers.

I actually liked his tape quite a bit. I think he ends up a MLB. He has a ton of range. I hope we offer him.
 

We will always miss out on hidden gems and top rated guys. Winning more will help attract more top rated kids, but really there is no tangible way of securing more hidden gems other than having a staff that is elite at evaluating/developing talent. Still just because a kid excels at one college does not mean he would have been the same player at another school in a different situation.

I am afraid there is a grain of truth to what you are saying.

Chris Streveler did really well by transferring.
 

If a player turned out to be good at NDSU, he could help the Gophers.

I actually liked his tape quite a bit. I think he ends up a MLB. He has a ton of range. I hope we offer him.

Some have the patience and design to develop players. Some act like developing players is beneath their level.
 

I am afraid there is a grain of truth to what you are saying.

Chris Streveler did really well by transferring.


Strevelver was a beast, would’ve kicked ass at MN if given the opportunity. Just needed someone to say, here’s the ball, do what you do.
 

The Gophers do get kids like Blais Andries, Jason Williamson, Brevyn Spann-Ford, Logan Richter. It is the hidden gems and the top MN recruits that got away that I worry about.

Do the Gophers still hold that HS Coaches Workshops that Jerry Kill used to do? That is a great way to reach out and establish pipeline/relationships.

The Gopher rivals - Iowa, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Nebraska all are playing even closer attention to recruiting in MN not to mention NDSU ND, SDSU...

Yes, the Minnesota Football Coaches Association still puts on the clinic. Kill was just following what Brewster and Mason already did. I've said this before on here, but one thing Brewster should get credit on was establishing and working with the high school coaches in the state. He didn't do a lot right in his tenure, but that was one area he hit out of the park.
 

Remember when walk on Cedric Dicke did a 50" box jump when he was in high school?
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That is impressive, especially considering Zenzen's wasn't really a vertical jump - he was clearly running into it and it was 8" shorter.
 

Yes, the Minnesota Football Coaches Association still puts on the clinic. Kill was just following what Brewster and Mason already did. I've said this before on here, but one thing Brewster should get credit on was establishing and working with the high school coaches in the state. He didn't do a lot right in his tenure, but that was one area he hit out of the park.

Didn't Brewster even host a summer BBQ for MN coaches and/or recruits (or something like that)?
 

Didn't Brewster even host a summer BBQ for MN coaches and/or recruits (or something like that)?

He called it a BBQ, but they mostly served chili. Really hot chili.
 

we've been in contact with him, if our staff thinks he should get an offer, he'll get one

PJ Fleck has shown to be good at identifying talent, we've had an number of early commits whose stock increased with further evaluation.
 

That is impressive, especially considering Zenzen's wasn't really a vertical jump - he was clearly running into it and it was 8" shorter.

We don’t know what height box jump he did in the video. It was boxes stacked on top of each other, so could’ve easily been 5x”. The article said he has a 42” vertical, as a fact independent of the video.

Jumping onto a platform 42” above ground absolutely does not mean you have a 42” vertical. They aren’t even close to the same thing.
 




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