Official 2021 Gophers Football Recruiting Updates Thread: Links, Tweets, Videos etc

[PitinoFan]

PJ is not forgetting kids in the Gophers' backyard. This is a great thing the for inner city MPLS/St. Paul and for TJ's alma mater Minneapolis North HS.

The neighborhood are probably feeling like they are not forgotten. If more kids from the neighborhood get offers from D1 programs starting with the Gophers, it will help slow the talent drain to Hopkins and other suburban high schools.

What Tyler Johnson did single-handedly is immeasurable. He lifted his entire HS and community by staying home. Let's hope they continue to produce local talent and funnel them to the U. TJ saved his HS from being closed.

That was very thoughtful of PJ Fleck to extend an offer to Davon Townley. He looks like like a good fit for the Gophers development program.

I don’t think he offered him to be thoughtful. He probably thinks he can be a good player. My understanding is that It was expected that he would pursue basketball at the next level, so his football recruitment is just getting started.

 

[Veritas]

He looks to be more of a football player at the P5 level than a BB player at that level.

 

[hungan1]

I don’t think he offered him to be thoughtful. He probably thinks he can be a good player. My understanding is that It was expected that he would pursue basketball at the next level, so his football recruitment is just getting started.

Agreed. He is a seriously good-looking football prospect.

PJ is keeping tabs on instate players. He sounds very connected to MNSHL coaches. The Gophers will lose players like Riley Mahlman and Aaaron Witt. But, they are are more than made up by national recruits like Avante Dickerson and Steven Ortiz.

 

[SixBySix]

Turns out Brockington has a brother who is a SDE. Not rated yet, but plenty of G5 offers and apparently starting to get P5 interest. Will be interesting to see if we offer.

 

[Gophergrandpa]

Agreed. He is a seriously good-looking football prospect.

PJ is keeping tabs on instate players. He sounds very connected to MNSHL coaches. The Gophers will lose players like Riley Mahlman and Aaaron Witt. But, they are are more than made up by national recruits like Avante Dickerson and Steven Ortiz.

Mahlman is a mystery to me. I get why, given recent history, a lineman would want to play at Wisconsin. But the six guys we have forming the nucleus of our line could mostly end up in the NFL, too. Good coaching. We have both tackle spots up for grabs soon. At Wisconsin there are a group of 4 and 5 stars waiting to get their shot at OT. Lot of true talent to crawl over. Mahlman could sit a long time. He has significantly better odds to crack the lineup at the U, and he gets to be a local hero instead of a “meh.” Hard to figure.

 

[builtbadgers]

He looks to be more of a football player at the P5 level than a BB player at that level.

Far further along in football than in hoops.

 

[GopherPete]

Mahlman is a mystery to me. I get why, given recent history, a lineman would want to play at Wisconsin. But the six guys we have forming the nucleus of our line could mostly end up in the NFL, too. Good coaching. We have both tackle spots up for grabs soon. At Wisconsin there are a group of 4 and 5 stars waiting to get their shot at OT. Lot of true talent to crawl over. Mahlman could sit a long time. He has significantly better odds to crack the lineup at the U, and he gets to be a local hero instead of a “meh.” Hard to figure.

Is Wisconsin rolling 5 stars?

 

[Gophergrandpa]

Is Wisconsin rolling 5 stars?

Should have said 5 “Star.” Here are Wisconsin’s OT signees and commits for 2019, -20 and -21:

Logan Brown 0.9915 5*
Trey Weddig 0.9643 4*
Jack Nelson 0.9540 4*
JP Benzschawel 0.9436 4*
Riley Mahlman 0.9315 4*
Joe Tippman 0.8967 4*

Wisconsin has signed some good 3* OTs, too. I just named the 4*s and 5*. That’s a lot of competition for two OT spots, and the -21 class isn’t done yet. And there’s always the -22 class.

 

[btowngopher]

Wouldn't mind this kid at OT. Looks like we offered recently on April 23rd. https://www.hudl.com/profile/9774971/Austin-Barber

Looks like both the gophers and badgers offered this other OT on April 23rd as well.
https://247sports.com/player/tomas-rimac-46100919/

 

[Replacement Gopher]

You'd think a kid from North would rather play at the U than go down to farmland Ames, Iowa. But I guess we'll see.

There's also the part of it that we don't get to know, being is an offer "commitable".

I dunno man, Stacey left Crenshaw for Kansas.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Turns out Brockington has a brother who is a SDE. Not rated yet, but plenty of G5 offers and apparently starting to get P5 interest. Will be interesting to see if we offer.

That almost seems like a procedurally generated name ... and I kinda love it.

 

[stemar]

I dunno man, Stacey left Crenshaw for Kansas.

He did have Sharif going with him.

 

[Westfield Gopher]

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247sports.com

 

[WriterGoph]

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247sports.com

Well, that's a done deal with Wilfong predicting Louisville. Hopefully we have another good safety in mind

 

[MNVCGUY]

Well, that's a done deal with Wilfong predicting Louisville. Hopefully we have another good safety in mind

I mean....he does get them wrong sometimes and has missed on one guy so far in 2021 so there is probably some sliver of hope left....but yeah, in all likelihood givin how accurate Wilfong has been so far this year he is most likely gone.

 

[btowngopher]

Well, that's a done deal with Wilfong predicting Louisville. Hopefully we have another good safety in mind

I was hoping to get Perry, but there does appear to be good depth at the position for the next 2-3 years. Could get away with not offering another one this year.

 

[Hopeful Pessimist]

Well, that's a done deal with Wilfong predicting Louisville. Hopefully we have another good safety in mind

I'll stick with what I said several weeks ago. My back-up option if the Gophers want a safety is Darius Green of Georgia.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I'll stick with what I said several weeks ago. My back-up option if the Gophers want a safety is Darius Green of Georgia.

That is the great thing about recruiting, there is always a backup option. A bit of a bummer when top targets or high rated guys choose to go elsewhere but it is what it is.

That said, hopefully we snag another commit here is the somewhat near future if for no other reason then it gives us something fun to talk about

 

[WriterGoph]

I believe I also heard there was talk about Athan's brother (Dino) potentially being a safety. He has the size for it. Anyone else recall reading/hearing that?

 

[MNVCGUY]

I believe I also heard there was talk about Athan's brother (Dino) potentially being a safety. He has the size for it. Anyone else recall reading/hearing that?

Given the number of WR and ATH players we have in this class and have had in others I think it is safe to assume some of them will end up at DB. Dino would seem like a strong candidate based on rankings and what not but obviously will come down to how guys do once they get here.

 

[Westfield Gopher]

 

[Westfield Gopher]

 

[SixBySix]

247 suggests that the Huskers are trying to retaliate for Dickerson, too. Must be a wild couple days for the guy!

 

[WriterGoph]

247 suggests that the Huskers are trying to retaliate for Dickerson, too. Must be a wild couple days for the guy!

Meaning they are trying to flip Dickerson? Or someone else?

 

[btowngopher]

247 suggests that the Huskers are trying to retaliate for Dickerson, too. Must be a wild couple days for the guy!

They offer Townley?

 

[BleedGopher]

Why Gophers football has a top-10 recruiting class

When Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck was courting four-star Omaha cornerback Avante Dickerson last month, Dickerson’s high school coach Brett Froendt had a blunt message for Fleck during a FaceTime chat.

“ ‘Your approach scares a lot of recruits away,’ ” recalled Froendt, a high school coach in Nebraska for nearly 30 years. “The expectations are high both culturally and academically. If kids can’t live up to that, then they’re not going to be drawn to that.”

But Froendt said that was what attracted Dickerson to Minnesota, so he committed to the Gophers in April. With Dickerson as the U’s top-rated recruit in the 2021 class, the Gophers’ recruiting ranks in top three in the Big Ten and top 10 in the nation, according to 247sports.com’s composite rankings.

The Gophers have four recruits who have received four-star rankings, the most the U has had in one class since recruiting services started in the early-2000s. Besides Dickerson, a top-100 player in the country, Minnesota has four-star players in Antioch, Ill., quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, Desert Edge, Ariz., cornerback Steven Ortiz and Naperville, Ill., athlete Sam Jackson.

“From all sides those guys are legitimate blue-chip prospects,” said 247sports’ Midwest recruiting analyst Allen Trieu, who pointed out the schools Minnesota beat.

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Go Gophers!!

 

[WinLoseOrTy]

They offer Townley?

Nebraska did offer Townley yesterday, yes.

 

[GopherDog1]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">“Row The Boat” or “Husk Some Corn”<br><br>Now wonder the boat is filling up so fast... Nebraska makin it too easy. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RowTheBoat?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc^tfw">#RowTheBoat</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FootballComedy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc^tfw">#FootballComedy</a> <a href="https://t.co/etzAXpKDWW">pic.twitter.com/etzAXpKDWW</a></p>&mdash; Ron Johnson (@3RonJohnson) <a href="">May 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[MNVCGUY]

Why Gophers football has a top-10 recruiting class



“ ‘Your approach scares a lot of recruits away,’ ” recalled Froendt, a high school coach in Nebraska for nearly 30 years. “The expectations are high both culturally and academically. If kids can’t live up to that, then they’re not going to be drawn to that.”

But Froendt said that was what attracted Dickerson to Minnesota, so he committed to the Gophers in April. With Dickerson as the U’s top-rated recruit in the 2021 class, the Gophers’ recruiting ranks in top three in the Big Ten and top 10 in the nation, according to 247sports.com’s composite rankings.

The Gophers have four recruits who have received four-star rankings, the most the U has had in one class since recruiting services started in the early-2000s. Besides Dickerson, a top-100 player in the country, Minnesota has four-star players in Antioch, Ill., quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, Desert Edge, Ariz., cornerback Steven Ortiz and Naperville, Ill., athlete Sam Jackson.

“From all sides those guys are legitimate blue-chip prospects,” said 247sports’ Midwest recruiting analyst Allen Trieu, who pointed out the schools Minnesota beat.

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www.twincities.com

Go Gophers!!

The part in bold really sums up the message Fleck tries to get across all the time. He has made it clear from day 1 that he is not for everyone. But in recruiting, he doesn't need everyone, he just needs to find 25 solid football players who will buy in 100% to his vision for the program. When you have that kind of investment and buy in you can do amazing things.

 

[Gold Rush]

Why Gophers football has a top-10 recruiting class

When Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck was courting four-star Omaha cornerback Avante Dickerson last month, Dickerson’s high school coach Brett Froendt had a blunt message for Fleck during a FaceTime chat.

“ ‘Your approach scares a lot of recruits away,’ ” recalled Froendt, a high school coach in Nebraska for nearly 30 years. “The expectations are high both culturally and academically. If kids can’t live up to that, then they’re not going to be drawn to that.”

But Froendt said that was what attracted Dickerson to Minnesota, so he committed to the Gophers in April. With Dickerson as the U’s top-rated recruit in the 2021 class, the Gophers’ recruiting ranks in top three in the Big Ten and top 10 in the nation, according to 247sports.com’s composite rankings.

The Gophers have four recruits who have received four-star rankings, the most the U has had in one class since recruiting services started in the early-2000s. Besides Dickerson, a top-100 player in the country, Minnesota has four-star players in Antioch, Ill., quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis, Desert Edge, Ariz., cornerback Steven Ortiz and Naperville, Ill., athlete Sam Jackson.

“From all sides those guys are legitimate blue-chip prospects,” said 247sports’ Midwest recruiting analyst Allen Trieu, who pointed out the schools Minnesota beat.

Loading…

www.twincities.com

Go Gophers!!

Fleck's approach might be "scaring a lot of kids away" but it looks like it is working bigtime in his favor. The kids that don't think they can live up to higher expectations may very well be precisely the kids who will be the most trouble, too.