Darren Wolfson: Should We "Bank" on Henderson Never Wearing a Gophers Jersey at TCF?

The funny part is he is quoting negative comments he found on this board! I have been guilty of quick reading myself in the past, so I have trouble being harsh, but there could be a little owning up to comments.

Last comment quoted was mine, there I 'owned up'. And I value Darren's opinion and am capable of reading his whole article before shitting myself in some kool-aid fueled seizure.

Glad I could catch old Doogies eye...I think?

Being the top prospect in the country, Henderson's drive to be in a top 5 program was almost a foregone conclusion and I seriously think only a doulbly tremendous showing by the Gophers will alter that path. [side note: If daddy Henderson is driving an Escalade ala Reggie Bush & Co. in the next three to four years I am calling the NCAA and starting a non-profit to fuel the investigation.]

I will agree with others and say that I am alarmed that Brewster has yet to lock down a top Minnesota recruit yet! [Of course we cannot, as is oft stressed on these boards, mis-allocate credit for the 07 class when Mason last brought in the top in-state target ] I figured of all the hot-air filled promises Tim made in his first week, that would be the most attainable. Now it seems as though he will need to deliver on 'Pasadena sooner' to ever get the elite prepsters in state and finally get that rusty old lock at the border to shut [which probably hasn't been locked since the early Warmath era if not the Bierman days].

If Henderson becomes a Golden Gopher it may well go down as Brewster's greatest victory regardless of his on field record, because the the road to Pasadena may well be easier than it seems it will be to convince the parents that a quicker payday doesn't lie through a top five school.
 

Yeah, this was a positive article on gopher recruiting and Brewster. Nice work Doogie.

It's good that you pointed out the difference in Henderson's recruitment as the Nation's #1 vs. being MN's #1. It's not just the U vs. the big ten or a few top 25 schools like with a normal MN #1. It's basically the U vs all the top 25.

While the local angle does have it's advantages (family, friends, a following), it also has it's drawbacks (want to get away, grown up with the gophs being a losing team). I think the only way you can really look at this situation (him being the nation's #1 recruit) is as if he wasn't a MN product. Would we stand a chance if he were from IL or MO?
 

Doogie, keep doing what you are doing-many enjoy your views (at least the ones who can read).
 

A mid-afternoon update
Posted on July 23rd, 2009 – 2:01 PM
By Kent Youngblood
Greetings.

Just got off the phone with Cretin-Derham Hall football coach Mike Scanlan. I called him after reading Doogie’s blog today. Doogie quoted gatorcountry.com, an ESPN affiliate Web Site, with Seantrel Henderson saying his choices were, ”Florida, USC and Ohio State. … it’s going to be one of those three. They play for championships and they put a lot of people in the NFL.”
If this is true, it would be a disappointment for the Gophers. Minnesota coach Tim Brewster has done a good job of recruiting top in-state talent, but the top-ranked in-state player has gotten away. In February Bryce McNeal opted for Clemson, but five of the next highest-ranked players by Rivals.com in the state opted for the Gophers.
In 2008 Michael Floyd went to Notre Dame and Willie Mobley opted for Ohio State, but the Gophers got two of the next four top-ranked state players.
As of this afternoon I hadn’t yet reached Henderson. But I did call Scanlan, who told me he had talked to his star tackle player just yesterday. Scanlan said Henderson told him he hadn’t yet narrowed down his list that far. Indeed, Scanlon said it was his understanding that the Gophers were still on the list and that Henderson was shooting to narrow his list to five by the start of school next month.Henderson, of course, has a lot of time to make up his mind. Like Doogie said, Henderson could change his mind a bunch of times before a decision has to be made. And you can bet, as the top-ranked player in the nation by Rivals, Henderson will hear from a lot of folks before that decision is made.
 

My take on instate recruiting goes like this: There is Henderson and the 2 DL's left as big time prospects. If Brewster lands just Henderson, I'd give him an A regardless of the fact that he missed out on both DL's. If Brewster lands both DL's, but loses out on Henderson, I'd give him an A. If Brewster lands just one of the DL's and fails to land Henderson, he's still at a B/B plus in my book due to landing Gjere and Edwards earlier. If Brewster goes 0-3, then I think he deserves some significant criticism for instate recruiting this year and deserves a C. He wasn't hired to be a C instate recruiter, so the criticism will warranted at that point.

He could still have a very good recruiting year overall if he misses out on the remaining instate guys, but lands some out of state guys with significant offers (stars matter far less to me than who else offered a kid).
 


The fact remains that Gjere could end up being a better player than Henderson. Look back at Rivals' top player for the past 5 years, it's not an exact science. Derrick Williams, Percy Harvin, Jimmy Clausen, Pryor, Bryce Brown. Good players for sure, but there are others in their classes I'd rather have on my side.
 

I keep hearing DT Allen will land elsewhere...but as always, that is a fluid situation...as for Gjere possibly being better than Henderson...would not shock me...Henderson would prefer play hoops, and someone who has gotten to know him the past few months told me he/she questions how motivated he is.
 

I should add to play football full-time...I'm sure he gets that he has all sorts of NFL potential with an enormous payday down the road, but playing basketball might just be his real true passion.
 

I keep hearing DT Allen will land elsewhere...but as always, that is a fluid situation...as for Gjere possibly being better than Henderson...would not shock me...Henderson would prefer play hoops, and someone who has gotten to know him the past few months told me he/she questions how motivated he is.

Beau doesn't know where he will land yet. Saying he land elsewhere is a real possibility but not a foregone conclusion. From very reliable sources he is still open and wants to take all 5 visits but he has not eliminated Minnesota.
 



The fact remains that Gjere could end up being a better player than Henderson. Look back at Rivals' top player for the past 5 years, it's not an exact science. Derrick Williams, Percy Harvin, Jimmy Clausen, Pryor, Bryce Brown. Good players for sure, but there are others in their classes I'd rather have on my side.

I've talked to one coach that likes Gjere more than Henderson because he has a nastier attitude. I've also heard through a HS coach that one school didn't offer Gjere because they didn't think he had a nasty enough attitude but they did offer Henderson. Opinions can vary greatly while scouting players.
 

I've talked to one coach that likes Gjere more than Henderson because he has a nastier attitude. I've also heard through a HS coach that one school didn't offer Gjere because they didn't think he had a nasty enough attitude but they did offer Henderson. Opinions can vary greatly while scouting players.

how important is being nasty to an o-lineman?

i've always thought that o-limemen should be more cerebral and less emotional, and have always thought that it is the d-linemen that should be nasty and extroverted.
 

Doogie, My apoligies.

I'm apoligize for critizing your article, upon a second reading I know were you were going, and it was a positive article. I was colored by your first article's constant listing of "better coaches" and your years of being a "Greek Chrous" to well know Gopher Haters. I would have apoligized eariler but I don't get to this site as much as I would like. I should read your awaited future articles more closely.
 





He says it -- it's just a guess...I think the favorite, and maybe even heavy favorite, is USC...which wouldn't be on Brewster...a lot of coaches lose top talent from their respective states to Pete Carroll.
 




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