SHAMA with some Gopher Stuff

[MaxyJR1]

Link to site

The lack of four or five-star players doesn’t catch Johnson’s attention as much as the absence of competition the Gophers had for most of their commits.

“This is probably odd coming from me since I work for Rivals and Rivals is built on the star system, but I typically don’t look at the stars when I look at a kid who is committing,” Johnson said. “I’ll take a look at what other schools have offered the kid. So I guess I would be more concerned (with Gophers commits) that a good chunk of these kids didn’t have any other BCS offers other than their offer from Minnesota.

 

[RoyalGopher]

From the article: Redshirt freshman running back Lamonte Edwards didn’t see game action for the Gophers last year, and at Woodbury High School he was also a defensive back. “Lamonte could be a tremendous football player,” Kill said last weekend. “He’s just gotta learn how to play running back, but he’s had a good camp so far.”

I don't know where Shama got the idea that Edwards played defensive back at WHS. Lamonte was a running back and defensive end at Woodbury.

 

[RodentRampage]

What is needed is to look at the players. I'll take Kill's word that the players he is recruiting are good fits for his system. Anyone can look at the offers a recruit has, but that's not real analysis. Look at the players and see for yourself if they are any good. Otherwise you aren't offering anything any better than what random posters on message boards can do.

 

[Blackhammer]

Shama is a poor man's shooter.Can't even do his homework well enough to know that Edwards never played d-back at Woodbury.

 

[Lakeville Goldy]

What is needed is to look at the players. I'll take Kill's word that the players he is recruiting are good fits for his system. Anyone can look at the offers a recruit has, but that's not real analysis. Look at the players and see for yourself if they are any good. Otherwise you aren't offering anything any better than what random posters on message boards can do.

True, but it's not like Minnesota runs a completely different scheme from the other B1G teams. If the player fits here he's sure to fit in at one or more of the other teams as well. Let alone the other BCS teams. The point is that you'd expect competition from at least WI or IA on a lot of these players, especially the MN kids. What does it mean when they aren't pursuing them? Well it could be that they are firm enough to MN that IA and WI decided it wasn't worth pursuing. Or it could be they really don't fit their systems. Or...

 

[RodentRampage]

What DOES it mean that other schools haven't made offers? To answer that, you have to evaluate the players, not just look at offers. It is still pretty early, maybe these players would have had offers if they had waited longer to make a decision. I don't claim to know, but until he evaluates the players, and doesn't just look at offers, he doesn't either.

I suppose Kill could sit on his hands and not offer scholarships until other BCS schools have, that would make the offer lists look more impressive. I'll give Kill the benefit of the doubt about his recruiting offers for the time being.
Well it could be that they are firm enough to MN that IA and WI decided it wasn't worth pursuing. Or it could be they really don't fit their systems. Or...[/QUOTE]

 

[umn99]

I think it was Tracy Claeys who mentioned to someone (Doogie?) that he had spent much more time on the road this off season evaluating players than he ever has in the past. I'm guessing he was not the only one on the staff. They may be evaluating players earlier than other schools, getting the offer out first and accepting the commitment first. Since they have been so successful in the past, I have to think that they are only offering players that they feel can fit their system. In time, once they have established themselves at Minnesota, they might be in on more players that have the stars and tons of offers, but I do trust them that they have a game plan when it comes to recruiting.

 

[MaxyJR1]

This is also their first class and I think it is important to get MN kids and "character" kids to lay a foundation for the future.

 

[Unregistered User]

Plus you also have guys like Phil Nelson who has no other BCS offers, but do you believe that he would not receive offers from Iowa or whiskey if he didn't commit early?

 

[umn99]

Plus you also have guys like Phil Nelson who has no other BCS offers, but do you believe that he would not receive offers from Iowa or whiskey if he didn't commit early?

Exactly. Kind of like Tommy Olson last year.

 

[akgopher]

I went to Rivals and compared our recruit's offers to some other Big Ten programs and what was said by GI is true. Our guy's offer sheets look a lot like those going to Northwestern. I'd be concerned if this was a Tim Brewster recruiting class. Coach Kill has said he has a system that he believes in.

After watching the scrimmage yesterday and observing how demanding he is to detail and instilling discipline, and the comments he's made about his strength coach, it appears to me that he is confident in his ability in molding guys. The recruiting accolades aren't there, and he has signed a bunch of these guys early, so he obviously saw something he likes in each of these guys. It will be interesting to watch his methods develop. A lot of Mason's best recruits were OSU rejects and under the radar Minnesota kids, so who knows.