John Galt
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I was ripped for choosing 2015, so here goes with 2014. A few of these guys were redshirt seniors on the roster this year, and several others graduated and finished their eligibility in 2017. Rodney will be back for a 6th season next year, so he will be the only remaining player from this class on the roster following the bowl game.
This class was ranked 57th nationally, and 11th in the B1G. https://247sports.com/college/minnesota/Season/2014-Football/Commits/
The class had 21 enrollees plus Rashaun Croney, who never made it into school. The headliner of the class was Jeff Jones, the highest-rated recruit in the history of Gopher football. Unfortunately for Jeff and fans, he gave it all up for a life of crime and drugs. Jones failed to ever play in a single game. Five of the 22 recruits never played a single game or made it past year 1 (Jones, McKinzy, Krizancic, Gant and Croney). 12 of the 22 never finished their career as Gophers - Jones, Mayes, Holland, Elmore, McKinzy (the top 5 rated recruits didn't finish their careers as Gophers), Gentry, James, Krizancic, Rasmussen, Kafo, Gant, Croney). Of the 12 that left, only Elmore was a consistent starter and impact player. Here is how the remaining 10 shake out:
Andrew Stelter - solid contributor on the d-line, but played sparingly as a senior
Rodney Smith - a home run recruit. Will go down as one of the top 5 Gopher RBs of all-time.
Jerry Gibson - played sparingly this year as a redshirt senior.
Brandon Lingen - appeared to be very good when healthy as an underclassman, but his career was derailed by injuries. Starter when healthy.
Steve Richardson - a multi-year starter
Everett Williams - played sparingly
Cody Poock - started as a junior, but played sparingly as a senior after being beaten out by Barber
Jared Weyler - multi-year starter and very good offensive linemen
Gary Moore - contributor
Jon Celestin - multi-year starter
This was a class that makes it look like the recruiting rankings don't matter. The top players in the class had little to no success as D-1 football players, while many of the mid-level recruits were solid multi-year contributors, including one who is an all-time great. We ended up with 5 consistent starters from this class - Rodney, Lingen, Richardson, Weyler and Celestin. The class didn't have a functional QB, and I would imagine the 3 WR recruits caught less than 5 career passes. This class was definitely better than the 2015 class, but still lacked the number of starters and top-end talent that is needed to win the West division.
This class was ranked 57th nationally, and 11th in the B1G. https://247sports.com/college/minnesota/Season/2014-Football/Commits/
The class had 21 enrollees plus Rashaun Croney, who never made it into school. The headliner of the class was Jeff Jones, the highest-rated recruit in the history of Gopher football. Unfortunately for Jeff and fans, he gave it all up for a life of crime and drugs. Jones failed to ever play in a single game. Five of the 22 recruits never played a single game or made it past year 1 (Jones, McKinzy, Krizancic, Gant and Croney). 12 of the 22 never finished their career as Gophers - Jones, Mayes, Holland, Elmore, McKinzy (the top 5 rated recruits didn't finish their careers as Gophers), Gentry, James, Krizancic, Rasmussen, Kafo, Gant, Croney). Of the 12 that left, only Elmore was a consistent starter and impact player. Here is how the remaining 10 shake out:
Andrew Stelter - solid contributor on the d-line, but played sparingly as a senior
Rodney Smith - a home run recruit. Will go down as one of the top 5 Gopher RBs of all-time.
Jerry Gibson - played sparingly this year as a redshirt senior.
Brandon Lingen - appeared to be very good when healthy as an underclassman, but his career was derailed by injuries. Starter when healthy.
Steve Richardson - a multi-year starter
Everett Williams - played sparingly
Cody Poock - started as a junior, but played sparingly as a senior after being beaten out by Barber
Jared Weyler - multi-year starter and very good offensive linemen
Gary Moore - contributor
Jon Celestin - multi-year starter
This was a class that makes it look like the recruiting rankings don't matter. The top players in the class had little to no success as D-1 football players, while many of the mid-level recruits were solid multi-year contributors, including one who is an all-time great. We ended up with 5 consistent starters from this class - Rodney, Lingen, Richardson, Weyler and Celestin. The class didn't have a functional QB, and I would imagine the 3 WR recruits caught less than 5 career passes. This class was definitely better than the 2015 class, but still lacked the number of starters and top-end talent that is needed to win the West division.