JohnnyGopher
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I know there are already a couple other threads on this and alot of people have already posted on it so alot of this is old but I took notes so i might as well post them. Hopefully i can read them.
First off what a beautiful setting for an event like that, much nicer than the football field and alot bigger than the Alumni Center. I had been in there during construction but not since it was finished.
--they didn't have a big screen like the past but had HD flatscreen Tv's all over the place. The basketball game was on until the program started at 6. The TV that Maturi was sitting by did keep the game on so you could hear the cheers and unfortunately the groans up until the last miss.
--Darrell Thompson was the MC and he was very good. Coach Kill was doing tv interviews until 6:40 so DT had alot of time to fill. first they had the head of the M club but that was a snoozer, then Darrell called up four former Gophers and did about a ten minute interview with each. Very entertaining.
--first was Ricky Foggie, DT gave him a hard time about not pitching the ball enough, Foggie's favorite moments as a Gopher we're the win over #2 Michigan in Ann arbor and Darrell's 99 yard run also against Mich. He made a point to say we're talking about the real Michigan, not what we've seen in recent memory.
--Chip Lohmiller was next, of course same best memory was kicking the winning field goal against Michigan, drove two hours to be there last night, credited the dome as a big reason he came to the U.
--Marion Barber II, right away Darrell said breaking his rushing records was a big motivation for him. Barber said he came to MN because on his visit, he attended a crazy basketball game vs. Iowa and that the crowd was so intense, both MN and Iowa fans, that he figured this was a pretty good place. Also liked watching the Vikings play in those NFC playoff games and wanted to play in an atmosphere like that. Talked about what it meant having two sons play at Minnesota and now in the NFL. When he retired from the Jets, they both asked if they could now cheer for the Vikings and not the Jets. Still has 1 more to go, he's only 13 but wears a size 13 shoe. Darrell noted that he also has a son the same age with the same size 13 shoe and both kids play together and both dad's said they hope both can play for the Maroon and Gold someday.
--Last was Ray Hitchcock, of course like his other teammates, the Michigan upset was the highlight. Works in real estate in addition to coaching at Cretin D-H. Said the trend of kids from that school leaving the state are over and got some cheap applause. Coach Limegrover was at Cretin within three hours of starting the job. Best line of the night was when Darrell said it's good to have Ray at a recruiting event since he coaches at Cretin, he knows a little something about recruiting.
--Coach Kill takes the podium, introduces every coach and support staff member and has them line up in front of him. Hammock gets the biggest applause, Coach starts giving him a hard time, says I'm sure glad I kept you, how much did you have to pay those people. He also brought his wife up and made some of the same jokes as he did when first hired. Also made a point to give Coach Horton credit and said he called him earlier in the day and asked him how "We" did.
--Next he went through the kids with a little comment on each, he went pretty fast so it was hard to take notes. After that they showed the video clips of the kids but nowdays all these kids have YouTube highlight videos so most of us had seen them before.
Amaefula-- Was pretty excited about him, we beat out Maryland, mentioned the doctor factor in his decision. Is closer to 230, runs a 4.6, can really turn the corner.
Bauducco--was recruited by the old staff, they liked what they saw on film from him.
Bjorklund--really couldn't say enough positive things about Joe. Had grown pretty close to him since taking the job, was the first recruit he met, was such a nice guy that he figured he had to take him since he liked him so much. Tremendous, quick, feet, a real athlete.
Bush--Had him in camp the last two years, very mobile.
Campion--called him a special kid, one who went to extreme measures to play for the Gophers after what he's gone through. Turned down Miami(FL.) should contribute immediately.
Cockran--Exactly what he wants in a DE, comes off the edge with speed, has long arms to knock down passes, ran a 4.5.
Crawford-Tufts--was also really high on him, they watched his film of football and track and just said over and over speed, very fast.
Gardner--like DCT, can fly, we need more like those two, great athlete, can go up and get the ball.
Goodger--good hands, can play multiple positions.
Harris--position of need, should help immediately.
Hawthorne--joked that he had some interesting stories about him but would be better saved for another setting, sounds like its his job to lose, just put the ball between the uprights he said.
Jones--thought his size kept alot of people away but the kid can fly, compared him to Gilreath, good kid who really can hit, big heart.
Levine--very excited about him, comes from great program, athletic, very physical, smart.
Matilus--hard nosed, tuff, mobile LB that can hit, can play inside or out, closer to 235 than listed 218, joked that he was enjoying the recruiting circut to much, turned down alot of opportunities to back out and play for other BCs programs but said he was loyal and wants to be a Gopher.
McAvoy's-- twins but different players, known about them for a long time, coaches there cousin.
Montgomery--can play either S or CB, needs to get thicker, we really need more speed in the secondary but need physical guys like this who can tackle.
Olsen--couldn't say enough good things about him, called him the definition of a football player, nasty on film, asked if dad gave him a dollar for every pancake block he had, expectations are extremely high and will have a chance to play right away.
Rabe--already on campus, a better athlete than they thought when they recruited him.
Shortell-- Brady Hoke tried hard to get him but coach Z did a great job keeping him, big, strong arm, but more mobile than originally thought. Will have a chance to compete right away.
Wells--DB with speed and length whcih is what they look for in secondary players.
Westerhaus--Player of the Year in Minnesota, he had to hold the phone a couple feet away from his ear becasue the kid was so excited, said "Coach, I can't wait to play at MN next year" which is what they want all Minnesota kids to sound like.
--regarding the walk-ons, singled out Heifort and Christenson as guys who turned down offers to come here and will get a chance to earn scholarship. Really likes Christenson, very smart kid, 3.9 GPa and also a very good football player from a good program.
--we are not done and may sign some more scholarship guys and also more walk-ons, thought they would bring in 35-37 kids this year.
Finally he took questions although I was watching the end of the basketball game so I missed part of it.
He said My job is to get the program to the point where letterman like the ones in attendance tonight can walk around and be proud of there University and team. Stressed again that we have to be better on defense, better tackling, play smarter. Need to find speed. Was limited some by which positions he could recruit this year like defenseive line becasue they already have a full roster at that position. Next year it should start sorting itself out. already getting great feedback for 2012 and expect to sign a very full class. He suprised some players the other day by jumping into the middle of a blocking drill to show how he wanted it done. Wants the guys to steadily improve each day, doesn't want a rollar coaster where one day we are good, the next bad. Doesn't want to hear about the weather excuse, said if a kid brings it up and complains, then maybe its time to move on to the next, it is what is is and there isn't anything you can do about it. thats about all I can remember, he said to all fans that he looks forward to seeing them in the spring and then we can judge if they are making progress.
First off what a beautiful setting for an event like that, much nicer than the football field and alot bigger than the Alumni Center. I had been in there during construction but not since it was finished.
--they didn't have a big screen like the past but had HD flatscreen Tv's all over the place. The basketball game was on until the program started at 6. The TV that Maturi was sitting by did keep the game on so you could hear the cheers and unfortunately the groans up until the last miss.
--Darrell Thompson was the MC and he was very good. Coach Kill was doing tv interviews until 6:40 so DT had alot of time to fill. first they had the head of the M club but that was a snoozer, then Darrell called up four former Gophers and did about a ten minute interview with each. Very entertaining.
--first was Ricky Foggie, DT gave him a hard time about not pitching the ball enough, Foggie's favorite moments as a Gopher we're the win over #2 Michigan in Ann arbor and Darrell's 99 yard run also against Mich. He made a point to say we're talking about the real Michigan, not what we've seen in recent memory.
--Chip Lohmiller was next, of course same best memory was kicking the winning field goal against Michigan, drove two hours to be there last night, credited the dome as a big reason he came to the U.
--Marion Barber II, right away Darrell said breaking his rushing records was a big motivation for him. Barber said he came to MN because on his visit, he attended a crazy basketball game vs. Iowa and that the crowd was so intense, both MN and Iowa fans, that he figured this was a pretty good place. Also liked watching the Vikings play in those NFC playoff games and wanted to play in an atmosphere like that. Talked about what it meant having two sons play at Minnesota and now in the NFL. When he retired from the Jets, they both asked if they could now cheer for the Vikings and not the Jets. Still has 1 more to go, he's only 13 but wears a size 13 shoe. Darrell noted that he also has a son the same age with the same size 13 shoe and both kids play together and both dad's said they hope both can play for the Maroon and Gold someday.
--Last was Ray Hitchcock, of course like his other teammates, the Michigan upset was the highlight. Works in real estate in addition to coaching at Cretin D-H. Said the trend of kids from that school leaving the state are over and got some cheap applause. Coach Limegrover was at Cretin within three hours of starting the job. Best line of the night was when Darrell said it's good to have Ray at a recruiting event since he coaches at Cretin, he knows a little something about recruiting.
--Coach Kill takes the podium, introduces every coach and support staff member and has them line up in front of him. Hammock gets the biggest applause, Coach starts giving him a hard time, says I'm sure glad I kept you, how much did you have to pay those people. He also brought his wife up and made some of the same jokes as he did when first hired. Also made a point to give Coach Horton credit and said he called him earlier in the day and asked him how "We" did.
--Next he went through the kids with a little comment on each, he went pretty fast so it was hard to take notes. After that they showed the video clips of the kids but nowdays all these kids have YouTube highlight videos so most of us had seen them before.
Amaefula-- Was pretty excited about him, we beat out Maryland, mentioned the doctor factor in his decision. Is closer to 230, runs a 4.6, can really turn the corner.
Bauducco--was recruited by the old staff, they liked what they saw on film from him.
Bjorklund--really couldn't say enough positive things about Joe. Had grown pretty close to him since taking the job, was the first recruit he met, was such a nice guy that he figured he had to take him since he liked him so much. Tremendous, quick, feet, a real athlete.
Bush--Had him in camp the last two years, very mobile.
Campion--called him a special kid, one who went to extreme measures to play for the Gophers after what he's gone through. Turned down Miami(FL.) should contribute immediately.
Cockran--Exactly what he wants in a DE, comes off the edge with speed, has long arms to knock down passes, ran a 4.5.
Crawford-Tufts--was also really high on him, they watched his film of football and track and just said over and over speed, very fast.
Gardner--like DCT, can fly, we need more like those two, great athlete, can go up and get the ball.
Goodger--good hands, can play multiple positions.
Harris--position of need, should help immediately.
Hawthorne--joked that he had some interesting stories about him but would be better saved for another setting, sounds like its his job to lose, just put the ball between the uprights he said.
Jones--thought his size kept alot of people away but the kid can fly, compared him to Gilreath, good kid who really can hit, big heart.
Levine--very excited about him, comes from great program, athletic, very physical, smart.
Matilus--hard nosed, tuff, mobile LB that can hit, can play inside or out, closer to 235 than listed 218, joked that he was enjoying the recruiting circut to much, turned down alot of opportunities to back out and play for other BCs programs but said he was loyal and wants to be a Gopher.
McAvoy's-- twins but different players, known about them for a long time, coaches there cousin.
Montgomery--can play either S or CB, needs to get thicker, we really need more speed in the secondary but need physical guys like this who can tackle.
Olsen--couldn't say enough good things about him, called him the definition of a football player, nasty on film, asked if dad gave him a dollar for every pancake block he had, expectations are extremely high and will have a chance to play right away.
Rabe--already on campus, a better athlete than they thought when they recruited him.
Shortell-- Brady Hoke tried hard to get him but coach Z did a great job keeping him, big, strong arm, but more mobile than originally thought. Will have a chance to compete right away.
Wells--DB with speed and length whcih is what they look for in secondary players.
Westerhaus--Player of the Year in Minnesota, he had to hold the phone a couple feet away from his ear becasue the kid was so excited, said "Coach, I can't wait to play at MN next year" which is what they want all Minnesota kids to sound like.
--regarding the walk-ons, singled out Heifort and Christenson as guys who turned down offers to come here and will get a chance to earn scholarship. Really likes Christenson, very smart kid, 3.9 GPa and also a very good football player from a good program.
--we are not done and may sign some more scholarship guys and also more walk-ons, thought they would bring in 35-37 kids this year.
Finally he took questions although I was watching the end of the basketball game so I missed part of it.
He said My job is to get the program to the point where letterman like the ones in attendance tonight can walk around and be proud of there University and team. Stressed again that we have to be better on defense, better tackling, play smarter. Need to find speed. Was limited some by which positions he could recruit this year like defenseive line becasue they already have a full roster at that position. Next year it should start sorting itself out. already getting great feedback for 2012 and expect to sign a very full class. He suprised some players the other day by jumping into the middle of a blocking drill to show how he wanted it done. Wants the guys to steadily improve each day, doesn't want a rollar coaster where one day we are good, the next bad. Doesn't want to hear about the weather excuse, said if a kid brings it up and complains, then maybe its time to move on to the next, it is what is is and there isn't anything you can do about it. thats about all I can remember, he said to all fans that he looks forward to seeing them in the spring and then we can judge if they are making progress.
