Official 2013 Gophers Football Signing Day Thread: Links, Tweets, Quotes, Analysis

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per Sid:

Gopher recruits

Yes, the Gophers football team signed only one in-state player in Wayzata linebacker Chris Wipson among the 19 players who inked tenders Wednesday to become future Gophers footbll players.

There will be criticism about the number of out-of-state players added to the Gopher roster, but there were six players in the entire state of Minnesota who signed with BCS schools.

Of that group, the Gophers seriously recruited only two: the top recruit in the state in James Onwualu of Cretin-Derham Hall, who had his heart set on Notre Dame from day one and, even though he attended the Gophers camp, he wasn't interested in Minnesota. They visited briefly with Cooper defensive back Malik Rucker, but he decided on Iowa.

Another defensive back, Keelon Brookins of Tartan, originally committed to Minnesota, but unfortunately suffered injuries to both knees this past season and played in only three games. He signed with Wisconsin.

The Gophers coaching staff might be wrong about the number of players from Minnesota who will go to the North Dakota and South Dakota schools, but other BCS schools aren't recruiting them, either.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/190134931.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

Go Gophers!!
 


BleedGopher said:
per Sid:

Gopher recruits

Yes, the Gophers football team signed only one in-state player in Wayzata linebacker Chris Wipson among the 19 players who inked tenders Wednesday to become future Gophers footbll players.

There will be criticism about the number of out-of-state players added to the Gopher roster, but there were six players in the entire state of Minnesota who signed with BCS schools.

Of that group, the Gophers seriously recruited only two: the top recruit in the state in James Onwualu of Cretin-Derham Hall, who had his heart set on Notre Dame from day one and, even though he attended the Gophers camp, he wasn't interested in Minnesota. They visited briefly with Cooper defensive back Malik Rucker, but he decided on Iowa.

Another defensive back, Keelon Brookins of Tartan, originally committed to Minnesota, but unfortunately suffered injuries to both knees this past season and played in only three games. He signed with Wisconsin.

The Gophers coaching staff might be wrong about the number of players from Minnesota who will go to the North Dakota and South Dakota schools, but other BCS schools aren't recruiting them, either.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/wolves/190134931.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

Go Gophers!!
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How can you seriously write an article about this and infer that all of the "best" Minnesota players are going to Dakota schools without talking about all the Minnesota PWO players? That is so out of touch, ask any of those "Dakota" schools about how many players they lost because of the PWO's.
 

alchemy2u said:
How can you seriously write an article about this and infer that all of the "best" Minnesota players are going to Dakota schools without talking about all the Minnesota PWO players? That is so out of touch, ask any of those "Dakota" schools about how many players they lost because of the PWO's.
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I didn't read that as Sid taking a shot I read that as Sid supporting the staff for not offering those guys in order to up the number of in-state recruits. The key is the last line where he mentions that other BCS schools aren't recruiting those guys either which to me supports the Gophers not recruiting them as scholarship guys. Unless you a referring to a different comment Sid made I think you are reading that last line wrong.
 

Not only did Baylor offer Alex Mayes, so did Oklahoma and Texas Tech. Here's to hoping Connor rejects similar offers :drink:
 


badgergopher said:
Love coach Kill playing up Minnesota as a great destination after graduation. Looked up the census income numbers. Here is the rank, state, and median income for the B10 and SEC schools. In summary, 8 of 11 B10 schools' median income is greater than $50,000, 11 of 11 SEC schools below $50,000.

1 Maryland 67,469
4 New Jersey 65,072
12 Minnesota 56,869
18 Nebraska 53,927
20 Illinois 52,801
21 Wisconsin 52,574
25 Iowa 51,322
27 Pennsylvania 50,087
29 Texas 49,195
32 Michigan 48,281
33 Missouri 48,058
37 Ohio 46,696
38 Indiana 46,166
39 Florida 46,136
40 Georgia 45,642
43 Louisiana 42,946
45 Kentucky 42,331
46 Alabama 42,245
47 South Carolina 42,065
49 Tennessee 41,524
50 Arkansas 39,806
51 Mississippi 39,078
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To provide context, I think cost of living needs to be included as well. Income doesn't mean much when most of it is spent to live...That being said MN is one of the relatively few states that has above avg income without exhorbitant cost of living. NJ for example at the top of both lists.
 


Lakeville Goldy said:
Article in the Pioneer Press with an "expert" evaluating the recruits.

http://blogs.twincities.com/gophers...erts-are-saying-about-jerry-kills-2013-class/
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Thank you for that Lakeville. Pretty good, level-headed stuff.

Q: How big of a miss was it for Kill not to land Cretin-Derham Hall wide receiver James Onwualu, who signed with Notre Dame?

A: I think he would be better served at a school like Minnesota. I don’t think he’s a dynamic athlete enough to play at that level. We had a lot of discussions about his rankings and stuff like that. The majority won out and he became a four-star kid. This is nothing against him. I think he’s a hard worker. I think he’s a nice kid. He is athletic. But the difference between Notre Dame, the schedule it plays and the athletes it brings in, and Minnesota is (drastic). He could play and have a impact career at Minnesota. But I wonder will he make an impact at Notre Dame?

Q: Do you think top local kids like Onwualu and former CDH offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson will ever learn that leaving the state isn’t always best?

A: You can’t blame the kid, if you have a Notre Dame offer. They’re not going to tell him, ‘you’re going to come in and be the next scout team guy and probably be a fifth receiver.’ They’re going to tell him, ‘We need you, and you’re probably going to play.’ And you buy into it. You can’t put (Onwualu) into the discussion of Michael Floyd and Seantrel Henderson. Those guys had every offer under the sun. I do think this kid probably would make a better impact at Minnesota.

 

Iceland12 said:
Thank you for that Lakeville. Pretty good, level-headed stuff.

Q: How big of a miss was it for Kill not to land Cretin-Derham Hall wide receiver James Onwualu, who signed with Notre Dame?

A: I think he would be better served at a school like Minnesota. I don’t think he’s a dynamic athlete enough to play at that level. We had a lot of discussions about his rankings and stuff like that. The majority won out and he became a four-star kid. This is nothing against him. I think he’s a hard worker. I think he’s a nice kid. He is athletic. But the difference between Notre Dame, the schedule it plays and the athletes it brings in, and Minnesota is (drastic). He could play and have a impact career at Minnesota. But I wonder will he make an impact at Notre Dame?

Q: Do you think top local kids like Onwualu and former CDH offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson will ever learn that leaving the state isn’t always best?

A: You can’t blame the kid, if you have a Notre Dame offer. They’re not going to tell him, ‘you’re going to come in and be the next scout team guy and probably be a fifth receiver.’ They’re going to tell him, ‘We need you, and you’re probably going to play.’ And you buy into it. You can’t put (Onwualu) into the discussion of Michael Floyd and Seantrel Henderson. Those guys had every offer under the sun. I do think this kid probably would make a better impact at Minnesota.
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Wow, talk about some nice pat-on-the-head answers. He does realize that Minnesota plays 8 Big Ten opponents every year, correct?
 



dpodoll68 said:
Wow, talk about some nice pat-on-the-head answers. He does realize that Minnesota plays 8 Big Ten opponents every year, correct?
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Just being civil which in today's world does seem a little "Pollyana-ish" but it was almost refreshing. He did get his point across though in a more "old school subtle" fashion.

Q: I have to ask again if there’s any chance that the Gophers could break into the top half of the Big Ten in recruiting in the coming years?

A: Anybody can get hot. I don’t know how many years ago that was when Minnesota was the hot team and it was winning early. Everybody was talking Rose Bowls and all that stuff. Anybody can get hot in the Big Ten, especially right now because it’s not a very strong conference. You don’t know. I don’t foresee it. But I’ve been wrong before. I thought Penn State was going to go 3-9.
 


I remember Pete Carroll used to show the films of their recruits to the USC team to let them know they better be working because these are the guys coming to take their jobs. I always thought that was a pretty solid tactic.
 

Okay early guess but here is my guess on how many of these kids will get playing time next season for the Gophers.

RB Berkley Edwards
WR Eric Carter
WR Drew Wolitarsky
DE Owen Salzwedel
DT Jordan Hinojosa
LB Damien Wilson
LB De'Niro Laster
LB De'Vondre Campbell
CB Jalen Myrick
K/P Ryan Santoso

10. True Freshmen.
16. Kids being Redshirted.

Just a guess Hammer away.
 




RochesterGopher said:
Okay early guess but here is my guess on how many of these kids will get playing time next season for the Gophers.

RB Berkley Edwards
WR Eric Carter
WR Drew Wolitarsky
DE Owen Salzwedel
DT Jordan Hinojosa
LB Damien Wilson
LB De'Niro Laster
LB De'Vondre Campbell
CB Jalen Myrick
K/P Ryan Santoso

10. True Freshmen.
16. Kids being Redshirted.

Just a guess Hammer away.
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Slightly confused. 10 + 16 = 26. Are you talking walk ons as well? Hinojosa, Wilson, and Campbell are all Juco players I believe.
 

pharmacygopher said:
Slightly confused. 10 + 16 = 16. Are you talking walk ons as well? Hinojosa, Wilson, and Campbell are all Juco players I believe.
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Yes I was going off of walk ons too.. And yes im aware that 3 of those guys are JUCO players I should have reworded it as members of this recruiting class that will play next year.

I was just trying to get a discusion going about who will play and who will redshirt next year.
 


RB Berkley Edwards -Change of pace/homerun back
WR Eric Carter/WR Drew Wolitarsky -Savvy route runners
one of these two will RS
DE Ekpe- Is here now, likely rotation guy
DT Jordan Hinojosa -3rd or 4th DT to start
LB Damien Wilson -MLB starter by fall or we're in trouble
LB De'Vondre Campbell -OLB starter
CB Jalen Myrick -Dimeback. Murray's role from last year, Wells's role from 2011
K/P Ryan Santoso -Kickoffs at least
DB-Mcghee- Position of need, special teamer like Johnson/Travis this year
QB/Slash- Streveler/Jones- One will play bank on it. Streveler's here now, so likely would a leg up at QB, but Jones may be more versatile and may be more talented.
 

Ole said:
RB Berkley Edwards -Change of pace/homerun back
WR Eric Carter/WR Drew Wolitarsky -Savvy route runners
one of these two will RS
DE Ekpe- Is here now, likely rotation guy
DT Jordan Hinojosa -3rd or 4th DT to start
LB Damien Wilson -MLB starter by fall or we're in trouble
LB De'Vondre Campbell -OLB starter
CB Jalen Myrick -Dimeback. Murray's role from last year, Wells's role from 2011
K/P Ryan Santoso -Kickoffs at least
DB-Mcghee- Position of need, special teamer like Johnson/Travis this year
QB/Slash- Streveler/Jones- One will play bank on it. Streveler's here now, so likely would a leg up at QB, but Jones may be more versatile and may be more talented.
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Really? I thought Kill would try to RS all the QB's they brought in. I mean they only pulled the RS off of Nelson b/c of despiration. I guess it depends on Leidner's development and who knows about Foreman.
 

RochesterGopher said:
Really? I thought Kill would try to RS all the QB's they brought in. I mean they only pulled the RS off of Nelson b/c of despiration. I guess it depends on Leidner's development and who knows about Foreman.
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I will also add injuries. If Nelson and Leidner are both healthy all year, it will be a lot easier to redshirt both of them.
 

I could see Jones playing this year as a Slash type player. Kill needs play makers out there.
 


Nice little interview with Rayfield Dixon (Can't believe Bleed didn't find this!!!)

 

Gophers could still sign two more. It looks like there may be some SEC players available due too over signing and late qualifiers ( cue up Henderson ) I would look for another DB or two.
 

I like that Kill holds back and waits for some kids to possibly fall through the cracks.
 

Nice STrib story: U plucks quarterback out of SEC country

Georgian Donovahn Jones had a change of heart at the last minute, choosing to bring his dual-threat game north.

"My relationship with Coach Kill, ultimately, was the deciding factor," Jones said. "The position didn't really matter because I'm willing to play quarterback or receiver."

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/190487801.html

Go Gophers!!
 

ESPN's top 75 teams for football recruiting: Gophers are 75th!

Oh well, if we have a good season next fall the rankings don't mean too much. :clap::cool::eek:;):rolleyes:
 

Oh good, another recruiting rankings thread... Just what everybody was looking for.
 

froggopher said:
Oh well, if we have a good season next fall the rankings don't mean too much.
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I noticed the Gophers fared slightly better in SCOUT, and are listed at 73rd in Scout's final rankings for 2013 recruiting.

For the 4th year in a row, though, the Gophers are dead last in B1G recruiting, according to Scout's rankings. Coach Kill will coach them up and out of the recruiting cellar again this fall:cool:
 

Ole said:
RB Berkley Edwards -Change of pace/homerun back
WR Eric Carter/WR Drew Wolitarsky -Savvy route runners
one of these two will RS
DE Ekpe- Is here now, likely rotation guy
DT Jordan Hinojosa -3rd or 4th DT to start
LB Damien Wilson -MLB starter by fall or we're in trouble
LB De'Vondre Campbell -OLB starter
CB Jalen Myrick -Dimeback. Murray's role from last year, Wells's role from 2011
K/P Ryan Santoso -Kickoffs at least
DB-Mcghee- Position of need, special teamer like Johnson/Travis this year
QB/Slash- Streveler/Jones- One will play bank on it. Streveler's here now, so likely would a leg up at QB, but Jones may be more versatile and may be more talented.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to bring back some hindsight for those who get caught up in the moment looking at stars and rankings for recruits without much substance behind it. I am pleased with the 2015 recruits we have gotten but wanted to see the effectiveness of some players from prior classes to calm those who forget that recruiting is about finding players for your system, less than it is about getting the best ranked class from rivals or scout.com.

I was not able to find a full list of the class but think some of you can pick up the steam I may have forgotten/missed.
 

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