WR Rashad Still Commits to Gophers!

[DoubleB]

Also locals might have been thinking they were going to get a WO with this kid saving some scholies for other players.

If Kill and Company see enough in him I would say its good enough for me.

we need to have the right type of player on the outside.

this guy might be that type!

as long as we continue to see progress on the filed and in recruiting( i ma seeing small steps forward in recruiting) then lets have trust and see where it gets us. Kill has proven he is no Brewster

 

[hungan1]

Now that the Gophers have the two WR commitments they wanted in Hunter & Rashad, is TJ going to be offered to play DB or a walk-on opportunity as a WR?

 

[die hard gopher]

I think this is a huge project. He does have raw athletic talent but I was hoping they would have gone the route of local talent who is more of a possession receiver similar to what we have seen in Fruechte or Decker. We have had a few misses on athletic receivers who just couldn't run routes or get open. The fact he has not a single offer from anyone really is astonishing that could be a starter in the big ten in a few years-- hope I am totally wrong on my hesitation on him

Still and Register are both much better prospects than Jesper Horsted if that is who you are referring too. Would have been a hell of a PWO though.

 

[Plinnius]

Does that mean that the local school, UTEP, was not even interested?

It could mean that UTEP was trying to keep him hidden. Look at the number of kids from their 2014 class that committed in February and look at how many kids they currently have committed for 2015.

 

[John Galt]

I can take Dr. Don's corny jokes. But this offer list CRAP really gets to me. There was a guy named Karl Mecklenburg who was a 12th round pick by Denver and played in 6 pro bowls. He was not recruited at all and came here as a walk on. Decker was what, a 2 star? Was Maxx a 4 star? No. So don't worry about their stars. Go back a few years and look at the Parade All American team. How many of those guys were stars in college?

Thanks for pointing out 3 under-recruited players who made it out of the thousands who have played football for the Gophers. While you're at it, are you also going to make the list of those that didn't make it, or are you expecting someone else to do the heavy lifting for that...

 

[KD6-3.7]

I can take Dr. Don's corny jokes. But this offer list CRAP really gets to me. There was a guy named Karl Mecklenburg who was a 12th round pick by Denver and played in 6 pro bowls. He was not recruited at all and came here as a walk on. Decker was what, a 2 star? Was Maxx a 4 star? No. So don't worry about their stars. Go back a few years and look at the Parade All American team. How many of those guys were stars in college?

you're confusing 2 different things: stars and offers. a scholarship offer means that a school wants to pay for an athlete to attend their school and that equals many thousands of dollars. a star rating is what retired postal carriers apply to recruits and what a lot of recruiting sites sell. if you want to compare stars, fine. the fact is that this kid plays football in a state that takes some pride in football (to say the least), and yet does not even have an offer from the university in the same town in which he plays high school is an interesting fact to note.

 

[nsmike]

I did a little research on UTEP they got a new coach two years ago who has installed a new offense and defense. They need players that can play now and simply not in the position to take on a project. I'm willing to bet the lack of intrest in Still is just a matter of where they are in the building cycle.

 

[Spoofin]

I did a little research on UTEP they got a new coach two years ago who has installed a new offense and defense. They need players that can play now and simply not in the position to take on a project. I'm willing to bet the lack of intrest in Still is just a matter of where they are in the building cycle.

Or maybe Still made it known to them that he didn't want to play at UTEP. Or maybe........
So many possibilities.


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[Costa Rican Gopher]

Getting big, yet athletic receivers who are also willing blockers isn't always easy. Lot's of WR's simply aren't very physical, don't want to or have never been required to block. It's very similar to how pass blocking often keeps RB's off the field. Still had a highlight film full of crushing blocks, so you'd think it's something he is willing to do and takes pride in.

 

[60's Guy]

Exactly

Getting big, yet athletic receivers who are also willing blockers isn't always easy. Lot's of WR's simply aren't very physical, don't want to or have never been required to block. It's very similar to how pass blocking often keeps RB's off the field. Still had a highlight film full of crushing blocks, so you'd think it's something he is willing to do and takes pride in.

I can't imagine how somebody wouldn't be intrigued by this guy at a minimum. Hey, Kill and company have missed on a few guys, absolutely. But they have a huge pile of productive successful players they saw something in that most others did not. I like their track record and trust their choices.

Sometimes you just get lucky, this from ESPN: "Rated a three-star recruit out of high school by ESPN.com, Cobb received interest from schools like Stanford, Oklahoma State and Houston. But most suitors wanted him to play defense, and he found himself with few firm offers he liked when signing day rolled around in 2011. Cobb said he was "starting to panic a bit" and then remembered that Minnesota had shown some interest earlier in the process. So he called up then-Gophers running backs coach Thomas Hammock -- who now holds the same job at Wisconsin -- on the morning of signing day and asked if he could come and visit. Two weeks later, he was a Gopher.

“I really wasn’t familiar with Minnesota at all,” he said. “All I knew is that they told me it would be cold. And it was cold.”

With a new staff in place, Minnesota was willing to take some swings on players in that first class and liked Cobb’s pure ability.

“You saw on the video tape the things that you’re seeing now,” Anderson said. “Vision, power, burst through the hole. He packs a punch when he runs. He’s a hard guy to handle one-on-one.”

I too would offer Still. I'm very excited he is expected to be a Gopher.

 

[btowngopher]

Lets be honest guys, WR is probably going to be the toughest position for Kill and co to recruit until they show they can generate a stronger passing game. Under the radar guys are going to be the norm until then. It just makes sense for polished wrs with many options to opt to play in offenses where they'll be effective.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I can't imagine how somebody wouldn't be intrigued by this guy at a minimum. Hey, Kill and company have missed on a few guys, absolutely. But they have a huge pile of productive successful players they saw something in that most others did not. I like their track record and trust their choices.

Sometimes you just get lucky, this from ESPN: "Rated a three-star recruit out of high school by ESPN.com, Cobb received interest from schools like Stanford, Oklahoma State and Houston. But most suitors wanted him to play defense, and he found himself with few firm offers he liked when signing day rolled around in 2011. Cobb said he was "starting to panic a bit" and then remembered that Minnesota had shown some interest earlier in the process. So he called up then-Gophers running backs coach Thomas Hammock -- who now holds the same job at Wisconsin -- on the morning of signing day and asked if he could come and visit. Two weeks later, he was a Gopher.

“I really wasn’t familiar with Minnesota at all,” he said. “All I knew is that they told me it would be cold. And it was cold.”

With a new staff in place, Minnesota was willing to take some swings on players in that first class and liked Cobb’s pure ability.

“You saw on the video tape the things that you’re seeing now,” Anderson said. “Vision, power, burst through the hole. He packs a punch when he runs. He’s a hard guy to handle one-on-one.”

I too would offer Still. I'm very excited he is expected to be a Gopher.

Your point about taking some chances is valid and the staff has had some luck doing that. On the same token comparing Still to Cobb doesn't make much sense because Cobb was not a complete unknown. It says right in your post that he was being recruited by places like Stanford and Oklahoma State albeit to play defense (yet another similarity between Cobb and MB3). According to some of the posters in this thread Still didn't even have a profile on most of the recruiting sites.

Still is one of those low risk/high reward type of players that may be a bit of a long shot to pan out but could be well worth it in the long run.

 

[Sparlimb]

Your point about taking some chances is valid and the staff has had some luck doing that. On the same token comparing Still to Cobb doesn't make much sense because Cobb was not a complete unknown. It says right in your post that he was being recruited by places like Stanford and Oklahoma State albeit to play defense (yet another similarity between Cobb and MB3). According to some of the posters in this thread Still didn't even have a profile on most of the recruiting sites.

Still is one of those low risk/high reward type of players that may be a bit of a long shot to pan out but could be well worth it in the long run.

Cobb was committed to Stanford and was going had Harbaugh stayed. And seeing how he turned out, he likely would have fit right in there as well. We picked Cobb up due to the coaching change. None of these seem to describe the Still situation. Doesn't mean Still won't be a solid player, just means the situations are completely different.

 

[Rescooter]

Your point about taking some chances is valid and the staff has had some luck doing that. On the same token comparing Still to Cobb doesn't make much sense because Cobb was not a complete unknown. It says right in your post that he was being recruited by places like Stanford and Oklahoma State albeit to play defense (yet another similarity between Cobb and MB3). According to some of the posters in this thread Still didn't even have a profile on most of the recruiting sites.

Still is one of those low risk/high reward type of players that may be a bit of a long shot to pan out but could be well worth it in the long run.

Now I'm going way back (Brewster era): I think a fair comparison would be Da'jon McKnight. Very much an under the radar guy - in fact I think he was part of the Skyline 4 package deal. We were his only major offer (I think he had Louisiana Tech). Same body type 6'3" 185. I think that would be a fair comparison.

I think McKnight was Brewsters most successful "under the radar guy", but I see similarities here.

 

[die hard gopher]

Now I'm going way back (Brewster era): I think a fair comparison would be Da'jon McKnight. Very much an under the radar guy - in fact I think he was part of the Skyline 4 package deal. We were his only major offer (I think he had Louisiana Tech). Same body type 6'3" 185. I think that would be a fair comparison.

I think McKnight was Brewsters most successful "under the radar guy", but I see similarities here.

Except Mcknight played for Skyline in Dallas and Still plays for Andress in El Paso. Huge difference.

 

[MadtownGopher]

I'm really liking our WR recruits. Just hope they stick around and stay out of trouble!

 

[MNVCGUY]

Now I'm going way back (Brewster era): I think a fair comparison would be Da'jon McKnight. Very much an under the radar guy - in fact I think he was part of the Skyline 4 package deal. We were his only major offer (I think he had Louisiana Tech). Same body type 6'3" 185. I think that would be a fair comparison.

I think McKnight was Brewsters most successful "under the radar guy", but I see similarities here.

The obvious hope is that Still is the next Eric Decker. Decker wasn't a complete unknown but he was an overlooked kid from a small town who was getting little to no attention from D1 schools until the Gophers snatched him away from St. John's. Stories like that are not the norm but they do happen. McKnight played at a football factory so while he might not have been getting a ton of offers he was well known.

 

[Killjoy]

Lets be honest guys, WR is probably going to be the toughest position for Kill and co to recruit until they show they can generate a stronger passing game. Under the radar guys are going to be the norm until then. It just makes sense for polished wrs with many options to opt to play in offenses where they'll be effective.

Kill has already proven that he can generate a stronger passing game. He did it at Northern Illinois. He is also doing it here but some people don't seem to notice what he and his staff are actually doing. Instead they prefer to whine and bitch.

Not surprising he focused on defense and the running game first. Then he turned around the kicking/specialty game. Now he is doing the same thing with the passing game. Patience my friends.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Kill has already proven that he can generate a stronger passing game. He did it at Northern Illinois. He is also doing it here but some people don't seem to notice what he and his staff are actually doing. Instead they prefer to whine and bitch.

Not surprising he focused on defense and the running game first. Then he turned around the kicking/specialty game. Now he is doing the same thing with the passing game. Patience my friends.

Outside of a small uptick in yards per game the passing numbers have been moving in the wrong direction the past few seasons so I do think there are valid reasons to be concerned about this staffs ability to develop a strong passing game in the Big Ten. The run game, kicking game and defense as a whole seem to be getting the job done, but the passing game has been seriously lacking and didn't really make any significant strides from 2013 to 2014. For this team to take the next step in the conference the passing game has to be better then it has been. We all know it is not for a lack of effort on the part of the coaching staff which means the issue is the execution of the players. Hopefully another off season of development for Mitch and the emergence of a few decent options on the outside will finally get things going in the right direction in that part of the offense.

 

[die hard gopher]

Lets be honest guys, WR is probably going to be the toughest position for Kill and co to recruit until they show they can generate a stronger passing game. Under the radar guys are going to be the norm until then. It just makes sense for polished wrs with many options to opt to play in offenses where they'll be effective.

IMO, Kill has recruited just as well if not better at WR than any other position. Mcdonald, Harbeson, Donovahn Jones, Melvin Holland, Isaiah Gentry and Almonzo Brown were either very highly regarded by the recruiting services, had multiple power 5 offers or both. We were also able to get Brayden Lenius and Dorian Baker to take OVs last year and both were highly regarded. And if you look at our DBs, besides Craig James, none of them really and any power 5 offers and most of them were 2 star guys. Also in this class, none of our DBs are thought of very highly. For RB, besides Jeff Jones, none of the other 4 guys from the 2015 and 2014 classes had other power 5 offers or are highly regarded at all. O-line is really the only position where I see our on field success and style of play to translate into success in recruiting.

 

[Spoofin]

Now I'm going way back (Brewster era): I think a fair comparison would be Da'jon McKnight. Very much an under the radar guy - in fact I think he was part of the Skyline 4 package deal. We were his only major offer (I think he had Louisiana Tech). Same body type 6'3" 185. I think that would be a fair comparison.

I think McKnight was Brewsters most successful "under the radar guy", but I see similarities here.

McKnight may have played at a FB 'factory', but you are right that he was under the radar. The biggest reason being, like Still, he only played 2 (or maybe only 1 in DM's case?) years in HS. That is another similarity between the two. I'm with you on this comparison.


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[btowngopher]

Kill has already proven that he can generate a stronger passing game. He did it at Northern Illinois. He is also doing it here but some people don't seem to notice what he and his staff are actually doing. Instead they prefer to whine and bitch.

Not surprising he focused on defense and the running game first. Then he turned around the kicking/specialty game. Now he is doing the same thing with the passing game. Patience my friends.

Doing it in the Mac with a qb he didn't recruit is different than doing it in the big10. I'm not bitching about anything. It is what it is. Our wrs have put up pitiful numbers the past 2 years.

 

[dpodoll68]

Doing it in the Mac with a qb he didn't recruit

Who are you referring to?

 

[Unregistered User]

Who are you referring to?

*To whom are you referring?

 

[btowngopher]

IMO, Kill has recruited just as well if not better at WR than any other position. Mcdonald, Harbeson, Donovahn Jones, Melvin Holland, Isaiah Gentry and Almonzo Brown were either very highly regarded by the recruiting services, had multiple power 5 offers or both. We were also able to get Brayden Lenius and Dorian Baker to take OVs last year and both were highly regarded. And if you look at our DBs, besides Craig James, none of them really and any power 5 offers and most of them were 2 star guys. Also in this class, none of our DBs are thought of very highly. For RB, besides Jeff Jones, none of the other 4 guys from the 2015 and 2014 classes had other power 5 offers or are highly regarded at all. O-line is really the only position where I see our on field success and style of play to translate into success in recruiting.

McDonald and harbeson were before the poor wr production started. I think Gentry was a late qualifier and holland was a late bloomer and not that highly regarded. Both were landed really late. The db recruits don't have many offers many times but they also commit early and seem to be the guys the staff wants. I think we are seeing the effects this year.

 

[btowngopher]

Who are you referring to?

Harnish

 

[die hard gopher]

McDonald and harbeson were before the poor wr production started. I think Gentry was a late qualifier and holland was a late bloomer and not that highly regarded. Both were landed really late. The db recruits don't have many offers many times but they also commit early and seem to be the guys the staff wants. I think we are seeing the effects this year.

Even with Holland being a late bloomer he still visited Rutgers and Wake Forrest also had offers from Wisconsin and Boston College. Plus he was an ESPN 4 star and a top 100 receiver on 247 as well. And all of those guys that I mentioned above were high priorities for the staff too. Register has been our #1 receiver target since late summer/fall and even slightly ahead of Jared Pinkney who is very highly regarded. I think the staff really wanted Brown too.

 

[nsmike]

Harnish

I guess Jordan Lynch doesn't count! FYI he was recruited by Jeff Phelps!

 

[btowngopher]

I guess Jordan Lynch doesn't count! FYI he was recruited by Jeff Phelps!

Count for what? He flourished after Kill left. My point is you cant blame higher profile wrs for looking elsewhere at this point.

 

[btowngopher]

And Brown decommitted. Register is an under the radar guy with few offers. That supports my point. Yeah Holland picked up some late offers and got bumped up the ratings late. Still was under the radar most of the recruiting cycle. Look at the wrs we are after this year and have a shot at. Theyre all under the radar, I don't know how anyone could argue that.