Avante Dickerson declines to sign, taking it to February

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It's possible he was swayed by our season last year, with the win over auburn, and in the time since doubts have crept in. He didn't get to visit campus, and then we had a less than stellar year this year.
 

omaha.com

Still searching for 'final decision,' Avante Dickerson delays signing with Minnesota

Avante Dickerson was supposed to sign with Minnesota on Wednesday. He's changed his mind — for now — holding off to make a "final decision."
omaha.com omaha.com

Westside coach Brett Froendt said Wednesday it had been a couple of weeks since Dickerson told him he wasn’t ready to sign.

“I think he’d love to tour a school or two. He loves Minnesota, he still likes Minnesota, it's just a matter of he's not comfortable making a decision yet," Froendt said. “It's just as simple as that. There's nothing else, no one else pulling at him, it's just a matter of he just didn't feel at this time he’s ready to make the commitment for the next four or five years.
“He didn’t want to make a big splash. And he's not opening his recruitment by any means. It's just he wasn't ready to make the decision. Some kids are more determined and other kids just need more time. And he needs more time.”

I think this article helps to not overreact too hard here. Froendt is the head coach at this high school. Nothing set in stone and we could still lose him but I like this.
 

skiumah1 said:
omaha.com

Still searching for 'final decision,' Avante Dickerson delays signing with Minnesota

Avante Dickerson was supposed to sign with Minnesota on Wednesday. He's changed his mind — for now — holding off to make a "final decision."
omaha.com omaha.com

Westside coach Brett Froendt said Wednesday it had been a couple of weeks since Dickerson told him he wasn’t ready to sign.

“I think he’d love to tour a school or two. He loves Minnesota, he still likes Minnesota, it's just a matter of he's not comfortable making a decision yet," Froendt said. “It's just as simple as that. There's nothing else, no one else pulling at him, it's just a matter of he just didn't feel at this time he’s ready to make the commitment for the next four or five years.
“He didn’t want to make a big splash. And he's not opening his recruitment by any means. It's just he wasn't ready to make the decision. Some kids are more determined and other kids just need more time. And he needs more time.”

I think this article helps to not overreact too hard here. Froendt is the head coach at this high school. Nothing set in stone and we could still lose him but I like this.
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Meaning PJ Fleck may reserve a slot for him or other latecomers?
 

From what I read, his best friend and HS teammate is going to Nebraska. At that age, it can't be easy when people you are close to are trying to get you to change your mind.

In the end, I would rather see a kid wait and make a decision they're comfortable with - as opposed to making a forced decision that they might regret a month later.

Bottom line - if he really wants to play for MN, he will. and if he doesn't, he won't.

if a school has a solid program, one kid is not going to make or break the program, no matter how talented he may be.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
From what I read, his best friend and HS teammate is going to Nebraska. At that age, it can't be easy when people you are close to are trying to get you to change your mind.

In the end, I would rather see a kid wait and make a decision they're comfortable with - as opposed to making a forced decision that they might regret a month later.

Bottom line - if he really wants to play for MN, he will. and if he doesn't, he won't.

if a school has a solid program, one kid is not going to make or break the program, no matter how talented he may be.
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Well said. Hopefully he decides to sign eventually but in the end he will need to make the decision he feels is best and would rather have him be 100% on board before signing as opposed to signing now and then regretting it later.

People will jump to conclusions or over react, just need to let it play out and see what happens. The program will survive if he decides to stay home or go somewhere else. But hopefully that won't be the case.
 


He's definitely got a tough decision with a lot of pressure. Wherever he goes it needs to be because he actually wants to be there. I would hate to see him go to Nebraska because he doesn't want to let people down, and then realize that it wasn't the right choice as so many other Nebraska recruits have recently. Hopefully he chooses to blaze his own path at UMN.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Well said. Hopefully he decides to sign eventually but in the end he will need to make the decision he feels is best and would rather have him be 100% on board before signing as opposed to signing now and then regretting it later.

People will jump to conclusions or over react, just need to let it play out and see what happens. The program will survive if he decides to stay home or go somewhere else. But hopefully that won't be the case.
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Amen.

I do believe he stays true to the Gophs when Feb. rolls around though. Unbiased of course...
 


The Gophers may not be as generous at awarding scholies to PWO next season if enough Seniors and Grad Transfers decide to stay an extra year. This may be good for developing the young pups behind them.
 



I want Dickerson, of course. If he chooses to go elsewhere I'll be disappointed but I think we've learned one player doesn't make a class or a team. Guys need to buy in and improve while here.

Some previous 4 stars that the Gophers have signed:
Jeff Jones, Hayo Carpenter, Clint Brewster, Moses Alipate...also Coughlin, Bateman.

Interesting nugget: if Dickerson signs 5/25 players signing to the gophers in the internet era will be in the class of 2021.
 

hello-world said:
What benefit does he get from signing early? Would much rather see him make the right decision for him than commit to a college before he's ready.

Fleck has built a positive and fun culture. It would be great if he wants to be a part of it, but if he doesn't, then that's totally fine.
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If there was no benefit to signing early, then wouldn't most recruits wait? How can it be that 17 out of 18 have enough confidence to decide now?
 

UpAndUnder43 said:
I want Dickerson, of course. If he chooses to go elsewhere I'll be disappointed but I think we've learned one player doesn't make a class or a team. Guys need to buy in and improve while here.

Some previous 4 stars that the Gophers have signed:
Jeff Jones, Hayo Carpenter, Clint Brewster, Moses Alipate...also Coughlin, Bateman.

Interesting nugget: if Dickerson signs 5/25 players signing to the gophers in the internet era will be in the class of 2021.
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Yeah the nature of recruiting is that some are hit and some are miss.

There are plenty of guys who I wanted and didn't sign and ... I looked them up apparently it wasn't the end times that we didn't get them.


This team will get better with a volume of quality, not one dude.
 

hungan1 said:
The Gophers may not be as generous at awarding scholies to PWO next season if enough Seniors and Grad Transfers decide to stay an extra year. This may be good for developing the young pups behind them.
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I think a lot of teams are wondering how many they really want to take right now, trying to figure out scholarships and also planning for the possibility that transfers might not have to sit out a year. ASU started nudging a few of their marginal prospects out the door a few months ago and only signed 9 so far. There are two 4 stars they probably wanted to sign now (CB and C), but the rumor is they're worried about a scholarship crunch with people staying around and wanting to keep options open for high value prospects coming or announcing later, or high end transfers.

The transfer portal will be very interesting I think. I'd expect a lot of movement for teams with a few slots open, so not filling up now is certainly not the end of the world. No reason to go take a marginal guy that might never have the talent to help because someone wanted to take their time. Probably a bad year for walk on scholarships though.
 



MplsGopher said:
If there was no benefit to signing early, then wouldn't most recruits wait? How can it be that 17 out of 18 have enough confidence to decide now?
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the key word of it that the OP mentioned was "he" gets no benefit, not all or most get no benefit. If he's unsure, he gets no benefit from making harried decision now aside from protecting a spot he's unsure he wants (and if someone moves on, that may be the affirmation he needed that that spot wasn't right for him if they weren't willing to wait for him). For those that are sure, you get the benefit of you can't lose your spot once you've signed. The kids are all different and weighing different pros and cons. I feel like he still signs with us. Right now I'm sure he's feeling some pull from his friends to go to Nebraska with them. They just won a state championship together and I'm sure they're saying crap like they could do it again at Nebraska. In reality, once the dust settles and especially if he gets to visit here, I think it becomes a no-brainer for him. No need to over-react at this point. He just wants to be sure and I would want him to be sure if I was going to be his coach.
 

Im not super in the know about his situation. However, Anyone who thinks it’s unreasonable for a 18 year old kid to want to visit a place before he commits to being there for the next 4-5 years needs a reality check. I’m not sure if that’s his rationale, but I’m not gonna fault anyone in his position with similar thoughts. If he’s questioning the football side of things that’s a different story, and I think Fleck has a right to give his spot to someone else if he chooses.
 

hello-world said:
What benefit does he get from signing early? Would much rather see him make the right decision for him than commit to a college before he's ready.

Fleck has built a positive and fun culture. It would be great if he wants to be a part of it, but if he doesn't, then that's totally fine.
Click to expand...

From what I've gathered over the years reading articles and whatnot....the recruiting process can be stressful. Especially when you have coaches, friends, family, etc hounding you.

Some kids see a benefit in signing and taking some of that pressure off. For guys like Dickerson, who aren't 100% sure? Clearly there isn't a benefit to signing early.
 

hello-world said:
What benefit does he get from signing early? Would much rather see him make the right decision for him than commit to a college before he's ready.

Fleck has built a positive and fun culture. It would be great if he wants to be a part of it, but if he doesn't, then that's totally fine.
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He gets a lock on a scholarship. We most likely won't back off on the offer, but we could. There are a lot of transfers out there looking for a home, and they can immediately play.
 

Livingat45north said:
He gets a lock on a scholarship. We most likely won't back off on the offer, but we could. There are a lot of transfers out there looking for a home, and they can immediately play.
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Early enrollment has become a big deal too. Get in early, get the off time S&C, spring practices, etc. That's very important now.
 

Took a peek at the Nebraska Board regarding Dickerson. They sure hate Fleck and took many shots at Goldy as well! Think he's lame! I'm glad we don't have their mascot.
 

upnorthkid said:
Right now I'm sure he's feeling some pull from his friends to go to Nebraska with them. They just won a state championship together and I'm sure they're saying crap like they could do it again at Nebraska. In reality, once the dust settles and especially if he gets to visit here, I think it becomes a no-brainer for him. No need to over-react at this point. He just wants to be sure and I would want him to be sure if I was going to be his coach.
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This is exactly the way I look at it. When alls said and done we may still lose him if those voices grow a little louder and more believable, but I like our chances.
 

#2Gopher said:
Took a peek at the Nebraska Board regarding Dickerson. They sure hate Fleck and took many shots at Goldy as well! Think he's lame! I'm glad we don't have their mascot.
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Losers need to do something. You guys humiliated them last year, and then somehow winning by 1 TD while missing 30whatever people might even be more embarrassing for them this year.

That program is broken. Frost isn't a bad coach, but the culture is just wrong. It's very similar to the post Mack Brown peak era Texas- All sorts of arrogance and elitism, but just a bad locker room (and boosters, fans) atmosphere. And they don't trip and fall into an army of blue chips every year.

Give it another decade or two and their message boards will be named the same as this one, except without the built in irony and humor.
 
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#2Gopher said:
Took a peek at the Nebraska Board regarding Dickerson. They sure hate Fleck and took many shots at Goldy as well! Think he's lame! I'm glad we don't have their mascot.
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I'm curious, but not curious enough to waste time on a Nebby board. Is there much love for Frosty happening on their board? And yes, Goldy is great! Big Red or Herpies or whatever it is they have for a mascot, is lame.
 

Taji34 said:
It's possible he was swayed by our season last year, with the win over auburn, and in the time since doubts have crept in. He didn't get to visit campus, and then we had a less than stellar year this year.
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This would make sense if he doesn't end up at Nebraska.
 

#2Gopher said:
Took a peek at the Nebraska Board regarding Dickerson. They sure hate Fleck and took many shots at Goldy as well! Think he's lame! I'm glad we don't have their mascot.
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I thought their rips on Fleck were pretty much status quo. They seem to think he is annoying but a good coach. I would think that is what 99% of us would think if he was at Nebraska talking about "Howskers". That said, I haven't checked the site for awhile.
 

#2Gopher said:
Took a peek at the Nebraska Board regarding Dickerson. They sure hate Fleck and took many shots at Goldy as well! Think he's lame! I'm glad we don't have their mascot.
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That's kinda weird.

Even other B1G fans seem to like Goldy.
 


MplsGopher said:
If there was no benefit to signing early, then wouldn't most recruits wait? How can it be that 17 out of 18 have enough confidence to decide now?
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17 out of 18 young men are not the top recruit in MN's class, and might not have a spot if they waited to sign. He will so I hope he takes the time he needs to make the right decision.

As much as these athletes end up with a silver spoon in their mouth, they also work their asses off and are going to be in the same system for 4-5 years, so taking an extra 3 months to get it correct is the right thing to do if he needs it.
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
I thought their rips on Fleck were pretty much status quo. They seem to think he is annoying but a good coach. I would think that is what 99% of us would think if he was at Nebraska talking about "Howskers". That said, I haven't checked the site for awhile.
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Oooohh.... HOWSKERS.

I like that!
 

February such a dull month, why would anyone want to wait until then?
 

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