Aaron Philo Commits!!!!

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Dakota2 said:
We have to trust Uncle Eddie and the Philo family -- let's toss PJ and staff in there too -- to keep this kid on a straight line to the U of M. He is going to be about as far under the radar as the Chinese flu.
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I read a lot of negativity directed at PJ Fleck online. Gophers fans should be proud of their coach, and the direction of the program. I’ve been told he’s “authentic and genuine” and that immediately came across. Coach Harbaugh too. Recruiting is a dirty game and it’s difficult to build trust and they did so quickly. And that matters to Aaron.
 



pj10eddie said:
I read a lot of negativity directed at PJ Fleck online. Gophers fans should be proud of their coach, and the direction of the program. I’ve been told he’s “authentic and genuine” and that immediately came across. Coach Harbaugh too. Recruiting is a dirty game and it’s difficult to build trust and they did so quickly. And that matters to Aaron.
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A majority of them are fans of other teams, especially Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska. Those fans bases are obsessed with him. There are a lot of those fans that live in the Twin Cities.

There are other local fans that are only Vikings fans and have a weird obsession with him too.

There are some Gopher fans that don't like all the cliches, Row the Boat, etc but overall most really like him.
 



Stuff said:
Impressive stats, smaller school, 9 months yet until early signing day. I'm not saying he's going to commit somewhere else, just I see other schools offering.
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PJ told him that this is a marriage. We are committing to each other. I won’t recruit any other quarterbacks and you won’t entertain any other offers, calls, etc. Aaron is locked in.

Before he committed, Aaron called the coach of every single school that offered him to tell them that he was choosing Minnesota. That speaks to his character. Not many kids would do that today.
 





pj10eddie said:
PJ told him that this is a marriage. We are committing to each other. I won’t recruit any other quarterbacks and you won’t entertain any other offers, calls, etc. Aaron is locked in.

Before he committed, Aaron called the coach of every single school that offered him to tell them that he was choosing Minnesota. That speaks to his character. Not many kids would do that today.
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That's awesome to hear and thank you for all the insight into Aaron. It is rare for us as fans to get this much info about a recruit.

We have pulled some really good players from the state of Georgia and Aaron comes across as another. If you sense reservation from people it is just because we have been burned by decommits and guys not panning out. Add that to all the transfers these days and it gets tough to get too excited about any one recruit until you actually get to see them in action with the Gophers.

Ignore the trolls and negative comments online, there are some people that just aren't happy unless they have something to complain about.

Please keep the info coming about Aaron as he competes in camps and gets ready for his senior year. His highlight video was very impressive, I especially enjoyed some of the plays where he rolled to his left and still managed to deliver a dart to a receiver.

Excited to see how he develops and what he is able to do once he gets here.
 

I liked Aaron Philo’s commitment as soon as I heard about it, and I like it even more now! The potential is there for breakthrough roster building that leads to top tier on field success.
 

pj10eddie said:
I read a lot of negativity directed at PJ Fleck online. Gophers fans should be proud of their coach, and the direction of the program. I’ve been told he’s “authentic and genuine” and that immediately came across. Coach Harbaugh too. Recruiting is a dirty game and it’s difficult to build trust and they did so quickly. And that matters to Aaron.
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We were a team that before PJ was lucky to get in a bowl game. Now we win them every year. So PJ raised expectations and of course people expect more.
 

If you look at PJ's recruiting record - people he went after and how they turned out, it is rock solid. If PJ likes this kid, I like this kid. I do think with Athan, Knuth and now Philo coming in, that is a great pipeline of QB's (I know we have more, but these 3 seam to be the favorites) to follow one after the other. Now the challenge will be keeping them happy. Hope, PJ is more willing to let the backups come in when we are up.
 



pj10eddie said:
I’m a close friend of the Philo family, have known Aaron for most of his life, and have closely followed his career. First off, what’s up with all of the negative comments on social media from some of the Gophers fans, y’all? (Not quite as bad here as on Twitter) A promising kid commits to your school and the welcome he gets are a bunch of off handed comments or questions about his ability? One “fan” even made a negative comment about his picture. SMH. Rough crowd. Some weird energy going on there among certain fans. Show him some love. He’ll recruit hard for the 2024 class.

Here’s the skinny on Aaron: He’s an exceptional young man. Mature, polite, humble, a true leader with great work ethic, excellent student. Aaron possesses a quiet confidence like I have never seen, and leads by example. Great upbringing with a great family. He’s a winner, competitive, and I always say that he was born to play the position. He’s not “wishy washy” in his commitment as was previously noted. He loves the staff and they have shown him consistent love throughout the process. Minnesota has been one of his top choices, and his unofficial visit affirmed that for him, and his family. Top notch school, facilities, and people throughout the program.

Aaron the player: all I can say is watch the tape. Exceptional arm strength, accuracy, and decision making, the ball just flies out of his hand effortlessly. He would also be an D1 baseball recruit if he played (threw a perfect game in his first varsity start). Aaron is not the fastest kid, but slides in the pocket very well to extend plays and can run when needed as you’ll see on the film. Runs thru people. He consistently makes throws as good, if not better, than any other quarterback in his class and can drop the ball in on a dime anywhere on the field.

Aaron competed in the Elite 11 regional in Nashville last spring. He competed against many other top QBs in the 2023 and 2024 class. In the release time and velocity portion, he beat Jaxon Smolik (Penn State), Brock Glenn (FSU), Kenny Minchey (ND), and Nico Iamaleava (Tennessee). I’ll be happy to share the graphic from Elite 11 if anyone wants to see it. In the overall pro day results, he finished tied for second just behind CJ Carr (ND), and beat several others including Walker White (2024 Auburn commit). He’ll be back for another Elite 11 in May at the Atlanta regional. Let’s support him in that- the bigger his profile becomes, the more attention that will bring to the Minnesota program and more recruits will follow him there.

Level of competition: Prince is an elite program. Top 10 in a state that is arguably the most talent rich in the country. Aaron is 27-2 in two years as a starter, one loss coming in the 2021 state championship game against a team with a handful of D1 commits. They’ve beaten many good teams. Teams won’t schedule them out of conference because of it. Class A teams in Georgia could probably compete with higher classification teams in almost every other state. Aaron was mentored by and maintains a close friendship with Brock Vandagriff (UGA), who also led the team to a state title, and was recruited by every school in the country as a 5 star. In the state championship game this past fall, Aaron went for almost 500 yards and 6 TDs against a defense that featured Ty Adams (UNC commit) and Demelo Jones (offers from Bama, Georgia and every other major). What else do people want to see? Prince also beat state champions from Tennessee (Baylor) and South Carolina (Hammond) in their non conference schedule. The majority of the teams they faced, especially in the playoffs, featured at least one or more high D1 commits or recruits.

Aaron is a tremendous addition to your program moving forward. In my opinion, he’s being overlooked by many (this opinion is held by many others “in the know”) and will end up the process as one of the top QBs in the class when all is said and done. Just wait and see. He’s a rising star in the 2024 class and will pick up his 4th star in no time, probably after the Elite 11. Follow this kid on Twitter and show him some love and support. He’s going to do great things for the Gopher program!
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I am sold! RTB, SUM, GG
 


pj10eddie said:
PJ told him that this is a marriage. We are committing to each other. I won’t recruit any other quarterbacks and you won’t entertain any other offers, calls, etc. Aaron is locked in.

Before he committed, Aaron called the coach of every single school that offered him to tell them that he was choosing Minnesota. That speaks to his character. Not many kids would do that today.
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Is Philo a Greek name? That would be quite the line of Greek qbs here.
 


btowngopher said:
Between Athan, Knuth, and Philo this might be the most pure arm talent I’ve seen on the team assuming Philo sticks. Strictly judging by what they can do as passers, not sure I’ve seen better.
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I didn’t even include Drew Viotto in this, I don’t want to short change him either.
 

pj10eddie said:
I read a lot of negativity directed at PJ Fleck online. Gophers fans should be proud of their coach, and the direction of the program. I’ve been told he’s “authentic and genuine” and that immediately came across. Coach Harbaugh too. Recruiting is a dirty game and it’s difficult to build trust and they did so quickly. And that matters to Aaron.
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PJ is top notch and does it the right way. He is strong motivator that uses a lot of slogans and methods to drive home his points. It is something that his opponents tend to attack as hype, mostly out of envy. Pay it no mind, you will love him.
 




My personal guess is that this will prove to be an even bigger get out of Georgia for PJ and his staff than Rashod Bateman was. And I'm hoping it starts a chain reaction of other Georgia athletes jumping in the Gopher boat.
 

Cedar Rapids Gopher said:
We were a team that before PJ was lucky to get in a bowl game. Now we win them every year. So PJ raised expectations and of course people expect more.
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False. We went to bowl games 5 of the 6 years before Peej. Only 2011 did we miss a bowl game.
 







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