2023 Prior Lake offensive lineman Greg Johnson commits to the gophers

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Welcome Greg Johnson! He will get better in the Gopher system, and more importantly please hungan1 in his desire for the Gophers to have more lineman readily available.
 




Bob_Loblaw said:
I think his future might be at guard. I'm greedy, so I'd still like to get Chapman from Anoka.

Welcome aboard Greg Johnson!
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My sentiments exactly. We don't want him going to Wisconsin.
 





Great to score with the hometown recruits. Not throwing on the wet blanket, but not a strong class.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Great to score with the hometown recruits. Not throwing on the wet blanket, but not a strong class.
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But, hopefully we view the class differently in five years if we can land them all or even if it's just those we get. That's up to those players to elevate beyond projections. That's why they are coming to Minnesota...to change their best!
 




PMWinSTP said:
Great to score with the hometown recruits. Not throwing on the wet blanket, but not a strong class.
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We never how a class will jell, way too early to say its not a strong class. Take your wet blanket home with you!
 

mkAz said:
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Nice, thanks for the link.

To pick on him a little bit, he has a bit of waist bend in pass block sometimes. The "highlight" against the Hopkins DE about a minute in was him just plain getting beat, but the Hopkins DE tripped over the RB who was helping and then Johnson fell on top of him. :D

Huge potential of course. Love the speed for his size/frame to get out on those long pull plays.
 
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Linemen are rarely going to "pop" like a big-time playmaker - QB, RB, WR.

But you don't have a team without linemen, and if we've learned anything from the last few years, it's that you can never have too many quality linemen. whenever you think your depth is great, you get an injury, covid, or someone goes into the dreaded portal.

And - when top in-state recruits commit to the U of MN, it sends a message to other in-state recruits - and it sends a message to other teams trying to come in and grab MN recruits.....cough, cough, WI......cough, cough, IA.
 

PMWinSTP said:
Great to score with the hometown recruits. Not throwing on the wet blanket, but not a strong class.
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I'm struggling to understand this comment, especially given we're like 7 months away from early signing period. I'm not a star chaser (but also don't think ratings are irrelevant). All of the current recruits have P5 offers and I swear for years I've read we should be able to find OL within the state (and the surrounding states), even if under recruited.

Jerome Williams - Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, West Virginia
Darius Taylor - wisconsin, Iowa, Boston College, Kansas, Louisville,Maryland, Michigan State, Missouri, Pitt, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Vanderbilt
Zaquan Bryan - North Carolina, Iowa State
Reese Tripp - Iowa State
Greg Johnson - Iowa State
Pierce Walsh - Rutgers
Martin Owusu -Cal, Iowa State, Kansas State, Washington, Washington State, Vanderbilt

If this is the new definition of a weak class, then recruiting is definitely on the uptick here, especially considering PJ is in with quite a few other quality recruits. I have a feeling this is another class that is right in line with other B1G rivals and coaching/development will dictate the future (not talent).
 


pharmacygopher said:
I'm struggling to understand this comment, especially given we're like 7 months away from early signing period. I'm not a star chaser (but also don't think ratings are irrelevant). All of the current recruits have P5 offers and I swear for years I've read we should be able to find OL within the state (and the surrounding states), even if under recruited.

Jerome Williams - Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, West Virginia
Darius Taylor - wisconsin, Iowa, Boston College, Kansas, Louisville,Maryland, Michigan State, Missouri, Pitt, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Vanderbilt
Zaquan Bryan - North Carolina, Iowa State
Reese Tripp - Iowa State
Greg Johnson - Iowa State
Pierce Walsh - Rutgers
Martin Owusu -Cal, Iowa State, Kansas State, Washington, Washington State, Vanderbilt

If this is the new definition of a weak class, then recruiting is definitely on the uptick here, especially considering PJ is in with quite a few other quality recruits. I have a feeling this is another class that is right in line with other B1G rivals and coaching/development will dictate the future (not talent).
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On paper, like all future classes. One 4* and just two in the top 500 in the nation. Not a strong class.
 

Jaxon Howard and Grant Chapman in this recruiting class will put a smile on my face. :)

Anthony Brown re-committing will be icing on the cake.
 


pharmacygopher said:
I'm struggling to understand this comment, especially given we're like 7 months away from early signing period. I'm not a star chaser (but also don't think ratings are irrelevant). All of the current recruits have P5 offers and I swear for years I've read we should be able to find OL within the state (and the surrounding states), even if under recruited.

Jerome Williams - Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, West Virginia
Darius Taylor - wisconsin, Iowa, Boston College, Kansas, Louisville,Maryland, Michigan State, Missouri, Pitt, Purdue, Rutgers, Syracuse, Vanderbilt
Zaquan Bryan - North Carolina, Iowa State
Reese Tripp - Iowa State
Greg Johnson - Iowa State
Pierce Walsh - Rutgers
Martin Owusu -Cal, Iowa State, Kansas State, Washington, Washington State, Vanderbilt

If this is the new definition of a weak class, then recruiting is definitely on the uptick here, especially considering PJ is in with quite a few other quality recruits. I have a feeling this is another class that is right in line with other B1G rivals and coaching/development will dictate the future (not talent).
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I trust the Gophers' player evaluations.
 

PMWinSTP said:
On paper, like all future classes. One 4* and just two in the top 500 in the nation. Not a strong class.
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Wtf does this even mean....'on paper, like all future classes'. Is this a riddle?

Do you think judging a class 7 months before signing day is a touch premature?

What are your dislikes about each player (outside of their ranking)? I'm really curious on your evaluation since you've deemed it 'not a strong class' already.

I'm totally cherry picking for fun but Mafe and AWJr were both rated 82 and in the 1400s nationally....so maybe hold off on judgment and let it play out.

P.S. sorry to derail. I'm excited about another local kid staying home!
 
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Gophers_4life said:
Nice, thanks for the link.

To pick on him a little bit, he has a bit of waist bend in pass block sometimes. The "highlight" against the Hopkins DE about a minute in was him just plain getting beat, but the Hopkins DE tripped over the RB who was helping and then Anderson fell on top of him. :D

Huge potential of course. Love the speed for his size/frame to get out on those long pull plays.
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Agree with you. I also liked that he could block and drive low on the rushing plays. Some linemen have trouble with that and it takes a lot of coaching to correct. He looks very athletic and could probably play TE in a pinch (maybe not after a year of putting on the pounds as a Gopher).
 

With the age of the portal and NIL, I almost wonder if the strategy isn't recruit the local guys who really want to be here and hit the portal up for transfers to fill out the rest.

You bet on out-of-state recruits, probably a bit more likely to transfer. Keep the roster flexibility by playing more portal players since there is an an abundance out there.
 

Face The Facts said:
With the age of the portal and NIL, I almost wonder if the strategy isn't recruit the local guys who really want to be here and hit the portal up for transfers to fill out the rest.

You bet on out-of-state recruits, probably a bit more likely to transfer. Keep the roster flexibility by playing more portal players since there is an an abundance out there.
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I agree. I think Fleck is definitely moving earlier on the instate guys this year. I think they are less likely to transfer or will at least be more patient. I think the portal allows you to take some more chances on developmental guys too.
 

Gophers_4life said:
Nice, thanks for the link.

To pick on him a little bit, he has a bit of waist bend in pass block sometimes. The "highlight" against the Hopkins DE about a minute in was him just plain getting beat, but the Hopkins DE tripped over the RB who was helping and then Johnson fell on top of him. :D

Huge potential of course. Love the speed for his size/frame to get out on those long pull plays.
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Good post. His athleticism & speed are the real highlights. Lots of big maulers out there, but not many who can pull, and get into space to lead the play like Johnson does in his video.

The technique stuff can be taught, and most HS linemen lack great pass blocking technique anyhow.

Solid pick-up. Give him 3 years in the program & he could turn into a really good Guard for us.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Linemen are rarely going to "pop" like a big-time playmaker - QB, RB, WR.

But you don't have a team without linemen, and if we've learned anything from the last few years, it's that you can never have too many quality linemen. whenever you think your depth is great, you get an injury, covid, or someone goes into the dreaded portal.

And - when top in-state recruits commit to the U of MN, it sends a message to other in-state recruits - and it sends a message to other teams trying to come in and grab MN recruits.....cough, cough, WI......cough, cough, IA.
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Guys on either line make everyone else pop.

They're the pop enablers, without them ... nobody else is doing much popping.
 


A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Guys on either line make everyone else pop.

They're the pop enablers, without them ... nobody else is doing much popping.
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100%. Look at last year. Our passing game was crap, so every opponent knew we were going to run the ball all game. Yet thanks to an amazing OL, even our 4th & 5th string RB's looked great.
 

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