Official 2022 Gophers Football Recruiting Thread: Links, Tweets, Videos, Rumors

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A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Probably just depends on what type of person you are.

When faced with the unknown, do you just hope for the best or worry the sky is falling?

🤷🏻‍♂️
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Gasp! I questioned PJ’s recruiting class! I’m a negative Nellie! You pegged it.
 

bfriedrichs10 said:
So you'll speak bad of the recruiting... for what reason exactly? Tell us more about the formula you use to declare this class "bad" and "a huge drop off."
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There is an entire industry that developed formulas. They work pretty well with predicting success.
 



bfriedrichs10 said:
And you know why that happens I'm sure...
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I know that Alabama, Ohio St and Clemson consistently have top 5 classes and are among the best teams in the country. I know that Iowa and Wisconsin consistently have higher rated classes than we do, beat us on the field, and then we can’t understand why it happens.
 


John Galt said:
I know that Alabama, Ohio St and Clemson consistently have top 5 classes and are among the best teams in the country. I know that Iowa and Wisconsin consistently have higher rated classes than we do, beat us on the field, and then we can’t understand why it happens.
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And that didn't answer my question. I guess we're done here.
 

This year I can’t imagine the industry built on HS recruiting rankings gets it as accurate as other years as a result of COVID and less exposure. If ever there is a class you’re hoping your coaches are great at evaluating on their own… this is it. And as I alluded to earlier in this thread. PJ has been an early mover and/or been able to identify talent that has gone under the radar relative to other coaches a number of times already in his brief tenure. I like our chances.
 

John Galt said:
This class is bad, and there isn’t a ways to go. They only have space for 2-3 more recruits. This will be a bottom of the barrel Big Ten class. A huge drop off from last year.
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I really don't think you're ok. Please take some aspirin and go to bed.
 

John Galt said:
This class is bad, and there isn’t a ways to go. They only have space for 2-3 more recruits. This will be a bottom of the barrel Big Ten class. A huge drop off from last year.
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Not sure what has you so wound up but you are wrong on your assessment of this class. it won't be a bottom of the barrel group and it won't be far off from what we have been bringing in under Fleck. Not top of the conference but also right in line with the talent being brought in by the majority of the conference. As opposed to how it used to be where our talent rankings were significantly below the other schools in the Big Ten.

If you are just obsessing over the rankings you should probably at least hold off until the three unranked guys get their composite scores which should fall somewhere in the mid 80s. Those 3 along with Smith will all give us a nice bump in the team rankings.

Maybe that will allow you to take a deep breath and step back from the ledge a little bit.

If you are expecting us to be recruiting along the same lines as Alabama and Ohio State than you may as well just get used to disappointment because with our local talent pool that isn't likely to happen anytime soon.
 



John Galt said:
PJ has been our coach for 5 years. No one cares how it compares with any past staff. It’s a huge drop off from his 2021 class.
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Not every class is going to get incrementally better than the last. I doubt the staff is taking guys this early that they believe are way worse than the kids they just signed. I do agree that rankings wise it isn’t shaping up to the previous standard of Fleck’s recruiting, and I also do not want this to be a trend. But I’m also not going to wring my hands too much over one class. The only real head scratcher to me so far is Alvarez as it seemed like the staff was in on some other higher rated tight ends, but they certainly got a close look and liked what they saw. Pyburn to me seems like the type that either becomes a star or is kind of irrelevant. And then Watson has lots of speed, but is quite small, so that’s a bit of a question to me. The rest seem like solid additions to me. Don’t want to bad mouth a kid but just being honest about what I see regardless of ratings.
 
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PoockItInfor6 said:
This year I can’t imagine the industry built on HS recruiting rankings gets it as accurate as other years as a result of COVID and less exposure. If ever there is a class you’re hoping your coaches are great at evaluating on their own… this is it. And as I alluded to earlier in this thread. PJ has been an early mover and/or been able to identify talent that has gone under the radar relative to other coaches a number of times already in his brief tenure. I like our chances.
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Tell me about all these talented “under the radar recruits” PJ has brought in? I can probably name 3. Tanner Morgan, Autman-Bell, and John Michael Schmitz.
 

John Galt said:
When our recruiting rankings are good, it’s ‘way to go staff, we sure are recruiting we’ll.’ When our recruiting rankings aren’t good, it’s “trust the coaches” and the “staff knows way more than you.” You win either way.
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True, but that's just part of offseason talk. Everyone is optimistic until given a reason not to be. I don't mind it. I also don't mind folks like you having dissenting views. Nothing wrong with a little balance around here.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Not sure what has you so wound up but you are wrong on your assessment of this class. it won't be a bottom of the barrel group and it won't be far off from what we have been bringing in under Fleck. Not top of the conference but also right in line with the talent being brought in by the majority of the conference. As opposed to how it used to be where our talent rankings were significantly below the other schools in the Big Ten.

If you are just obsessing over the rankings you should probably at least hold off until the three unranked guys get their composite scores which should fall somewhere in the mid 80s. Those 3 along with Smith will all give us a nice bump in the team rankings.

Maybe that will allow you to take a deep breath and step back from the ledge a little bit.

If you are expecting us to be recruiting along the same lines as Alabama and Ohio State than you may as well just get used to disappointment because with our local talent pool that isn't likely to happen anytime soon.
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Anyone that questions a Fleck recruiting class needs deep breaths and a step back. Great analysis. And I thought we are Ohio St. Anyone that rushes to the defense of the staff as much as you feel the need to is in much more need of fresh air and a change of scenery. It’s a message board, contrary opinions are allowed.

Here is why it’s a bad class so far. My opinion is subject to change if the class changes.

1. We have 13 commitments and the 3rd lowest avg recruit ranking among Power 5 schools, only above Illinois and Vanderbilt. We probably have spots for 2 more recruits, so it’s not like there are 10 more openings and the ranking could skyrocket.

2. We prioritized Heyer and Hasert early and missed on both. In year 5 we’re losing in-state lineman who called MN their “dream offer” to Iowa St and probably NW or Stanford. In-state OL recruiting continues to be horrendous. We were targeting 3-4 this class, and our only commit is Tony Nelson, a kid with no other offers, let alone Power 5 offers.

3. The avg recruit ranking is by far the lowest of any of PJ’s classes since 2018.

4. We have 2 guys without a single P5 offer and only one 4-star recruit.

5. We missed out on our one and only LB target to Indiana.

6. WR recruiting is solid, but we should expect more given the pedigree of Fleck and Simon.
 



John Galt said:
Tell me about all these talented “under the radar recruits” PJ has brought in? I can probably name 3. Tanner Morgan, Autman-Bell, and John Michael Schmitz.
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Early mover advantage with Bateman, Athan committed before he had a composite rating, Mo was under a .84, Mafe was under a .83… Plenty of others that show a lot of promise as well (Carter, Potts, etc.). PJ and crew seem to be able to find talent and given how little tape there is for the industry to get a look at these guys… I feel good knowing our staff is very capable in identifying and developing these guys.
 

PoockItInfor6 said:
Early mover advantage with Bateman, Athan committed before he had a composite rating, Mo was under a .84, Mafe was under a .83… Plenty of others that show a lot of promise as well (Carter, Potts, etc.). PJ and crew seem to be able to find talent and given how little tape there is for the industry to get a look at these guys… I feel good knowing our staff is very capable in identifying and developing these guys.
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I’d expect that this fall these guys will have their ratings bumped as we get to more of a “normal” season.
 


Oh boy, Galt. Letting OTB hysteria leak over to the sports forums? Average recruiting ranking means SO little around in the mid 80s. The rankings given by the "experts" are little more than dart tosses when it comes to guys that aren't top of the class. If Fleck and crew wanted these guys enough to get them to commit early....then they are probably worth taking. No reason to not trust their judgement. Plus....with only 13 commits? Nobody should downplay the fact that he's been doing a great job with the walk-on side of things either.

Take a breath.
 

John Galt said:
In-state OL recruiting continues to be horrendous.
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My suspicion is if this was actually done as a case study ... you'd find very legitimate reasons that those guys all left.

They didn't all go to Iowa State. And by the way, ISU has a real chance to end the season in the top 10, whether that makes any sense to you or not. It's an easy drve from from southern Minnesota (and the Twin Cities, for that matter), and it has a more "rural feel" to campus than the urban core feeling of the U. These things sometimes matter.

NW/Stanford aren't elite football programs, but they're great degrees to have. That can be a factor.


Losing a guy to Notre Dame is obviously nothing you can do about that. Etc.
 

#2Gopher said:
Also. Doesn't a preferred walk on start practices with the team earlier than a regular walk on?
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Correct.

You're treated exactly the same as a scholarship recruit. You arrive early to campus, you compete during fall camp, you have full access to the strength staff, training staff, dining halls, etc.

You just don't have a scholarship, to start. You have to try to earn it, later.


And they have a "halfway between" too, called a Maroon Shirt. That is, your first year you come in as a PWO, but you're guaranteed that you'll get that scholarship starting the second year.
 

stocker08 said:
Oh boy, Galt. Letting OTB hysteria leak over to the sports forums? Average recruiting ranking means SO little around in the mid 80s. The rankings given by the "experts" are little more than dart tosses when it comes to guys that aren't top of the class. If Fleck and crew wanted these guys enough to get them to commit early....then they are probably worth taking. No reason to not trust their judgement. Plus....with only 13 commits? Nobody should downplay the fact that he's been doing a great job with the walk-on side of things either.

Take a breath.
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Legit question here. Please explain how flecks pwo has improved? Do we have a walk on anywhere getting significant snaps and actually producing??? I get walk ons a re depth and ever so often you find a diamond. What diamonds has p.j. found through the walk on program

Again not arguing, just trying to rack my brain with any significant walk ons... And Mr IMG qb was promised a scholly so he does not count
 

stuck_in_scony_go4_fan said:
Legit question here. Please explain how flecks pwo has improved? Do we have a walk on anywhere getting significant snaps and actually producing??? I get walk ons a re depth and ever so often you find a diamond. What diamonds has p.j. found through the walk on program

Again not arguing, just trying to rack my brain with any significant walk ons... And Mr IMG qb was promised a scholly so he does not count
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Howden and Ruschmeyer have both been big contributors thus far. Fact is that he's doing a good job of bringing in numbers. Quite a few with scholarship offers from lower levels. A lot of the walk-ons that he's brought in were unlikely to see significant time early on. I wouldn't be surprised to see more playing more significant amounts now that they are upperclassmen.
 

I think Howden was a weird case, where he didn't have a team really late into summer and we obviously had no scholarships left to give, but he was worthy of one. Something like that?
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
As many have mentioned already, the rankings will change quite a bit over the next few months. Evaluations have been tough with the odd covid seasons, and lack of camps. We currently have 3 recruits that are unrated factoring into the low rating.
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True but that it has the same affect on all but the very top teams. Plenty of spots open and time to improve, just surprised at this point that it is as low as it is. Boy, Rutgers is off to a great start.
 

Gophers1992 said:
Maybe you’re right, but look at the 3 kids Wisconsin got commits from today. Hardly any other P5 offers. Penn State just got a commit from a relative no namer, etc... difficult year to evaluate
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Penn State has seven 4* out of 11 commits. It had six in 2021 class that was ranked 21st. Probably not a great comparison.
 

bfriedrichs10 said:
So you'll speak bad of the recruiting... for what reason exactly? Tell us more about the formula you use to declare this class "bad" and "a huge drop off."
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So if the Gophs had Rutgers current class, you'd have the same level of skepticism about how the players are evaluated?
 

John Galt said:
Anyone that questions a Fleck recruiting class needs deep breaths and a step back. Great analysis. And I thought we are Ohio St. Anyone that rushes to the defense of the staff as much as you feel the need to is in much more need of fresh air and a change of scenery. It’s a message board, contrary opinions are allowed.

Here is why it’s a bad class so far. My opinion is subject to change if the class changes.

1. We have 13 commitments and the 3rd lowest avg recruit ranking among Power 5 schools, only above Illinois and Vanderbilt. We probably have spots for 2 more recruits, so it’s not like there are 10 more openings and the ranking could skyrocket.

2. We prioritized Heyer and Hasert early and missed on both. In year 5 we’re losing in-state lineman who called MN their “dream offer” to Iowa St and probably NW or Stanford. In-state OL recruiting continues to be horrendous. We were targeting 3-4 this class, and our only commit is Tony Nelson, a kid with no other offers, let alone Power 5 offers.

3. The avg recruit ranking is by far the lowest of any of PJ’s classes since 2018.

4. We have 2 guys without a single P5 offer and only one 4-star recruit.

5. We missed out on our one and only LB target to Indiana.

6. WR recruiting is solid, but we should expect more given the pedigree of Fleck and Simon.
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Should have led with this post as opposed to just bashing the class. At least now we can see where you are coming from.

1. If you are going to use the rankings to shape your opinion it might be good to at least understand how they are calculated. Our current per recruit rank does not include .87 Smith and does include 3 guys who don't currently have composites but who are all likely to end up in the .85 - .86 range. When all those come in our ranking will be in line with other Fleck classes and we are likely to see that go up as some guys get bumps. Not the highest rated but not bottom feeders either.

2. Sucks to lose in-state guys to other power 5 programs but it happens everywhere. if a kid doesn't want to come here he doesn't want to come here. Outside of paying them under the table the ins't really anything else you can do.

3. See #1

4. Nelson makes total sense as an o-line project. Unnoticed kid you bring in and develop for a few years. Guys like that make it at OL all the time. Alvarez is the outlier. Clearly the coaches see something there that inspired them to offer a kid who is getting next to no attention right now from the recruiting sites. You can choose to view that as the staff giving up and going after low rated kids or you can trust the staff sees something special enough there to offer a scholarship to a kid that nobody else seems to be after right now. I will be curious to see how he develops but the fact that they offered him a scholarship when on the surface it appears there would have been zero pressure or urgency to do so tells me they saw something special and didn't want to risk missing out.

5. LB doesn't seem to be a priority in this class. But come on you are really going to knock us for losing out on an out of state kid to a fellow Big Ten school? Really?

6. You are just looking for reasons to be negative about the class with this one.
 


MNVCGUY said:
Should have led with this post as opposed to just bashing the class. At least now we can see where you are coming from.

1. If you are going to use the rankings to shape your opinion it might be good to at least understand how they are calculated. Our current per recruit rank does not include .87 Smith and does include 3 guys who don't currently have composites but who are all likely to end up in the .85 - .86 range. When all those come in our ranking will be in line with other Fleck classes and we are likely to see that go up as some guys get bumps. Not the highest rated but not bottom feeders either.

2. Sucks to lose in-state guys to other power 5 programs but it happens everywhere. if a kid doesn't want to come here he doesn't want to come here. Outside of paying them under the table the ins't really anything else you can do.

3. See #1

4. Nelson makes total sense as an o-line project. Unnoticed kid you bring in and develop for a few years. Guys like that make it at OL all the time. Alvarez is the outlier. Clearly the coaches see something there that inspired them to offer a kid who is getting next to no attention right now from the recruiting sites. You can choose to view that as the staff giving up and going after low rated kids or you can trust the staff sees something special enough there to offer a scholarship to a kid that nobody else seems to be after right now. I will be curious to see how he develops but the fact that they offered him a scholarship when on the surface it appears there would have been zero pressure or urgency to do so tells me they saw something special and didn't want to risk missing out.

5. LB doesn't seem to be a priority in this class. But come on you are really going to knock us for losing out on an out of state kid to a fellow Big Ten school? Really?

6. You are just looking for reasons to be negative about the class with this one.
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MD has two unrated commits out of 10 recruits with a higher team average.

Don't get me wrong, I think Fleck is a very good recruiter, he also can have a down class, and it's OK to have higher expectations and point that out. Some of the posters strongly defending Fleck are the same who hammered the last coaching staffs for bringing in lower rated players.
 

PMWinSTP said:
MD has two unrated commits out of 10 recruits with a higher team average.

Don't get me wrong, I think Fleck is a very good recruiter, he also can have a down class, and it's OK to have higher expectations and point that out. Some of the posters strongly defending Fleck are the same who hammered the last coaching staffs for bringing in lower rated players.
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This is not an exciting class to this point and is lacking in big name guys at the top. My only issue is with those calling it a bad class because that is not an accurate assessment of it. It is very much in line with the other classes Fleck has brought in to this point and is comparable with what the majority of the conference is bringing in talent wise on paper.

The fact that some are disappointed in this class is actually a true sign of where we have come in recruiting under Fleck. This class as it is right now would be better than any class that Kill brought in on paper.
 

PMWinSTP said:
So if the Gophs had Rutgers current class, you'd have the same level of skepticism about how the players are evaluated?
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I wouldn't be skeptical for the same reason I'm not skeptical now, and that's because I trust the evaluations of coaches more than 247 or anyone providing info on a message board. I'm sure Schiano is getting players he wants, Fleck is getting players he wants, and they're both missing on some players they want.
 

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