Carey Woods - Bemidji

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lakesbison said:
wont be near will or andre's area, sorry, but I happen to live in woods/mollberg's area. sorry for living up here bob.
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Detroit Lakes and Bemidji are almost 2 hours away. That's like saying I happen to live in Wally Ellenson's area (Rice Lake is a little less than 2 hour drive from the east metro).
 

lakesgopher said:
carey lives in bemidji that is the only reason none of you have heard of him. most gopher fans think that unless a kid plays for a metro school he is not talented or fast enough for the U. well carey could be an asset for the U, he has speed and decent size. with a redshirt and a college speed and strength program he could be a very good get. carey was the best player on the field on fri, nelson is a stud but carey touched the ball like 6 times and changed the game. nelson touched the ball on every offensive play and was nowhere near the threat that i thought he would be.
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Huh?

Phil Nelson is from Mankato, which is not in the Metro Area.

Jonah Pirsig is from Blue Earth, again, not in the Metro Area.

Most Gopher fans know that the best player ever to wear the treasured M is from International Falls.

Most Gopher fans remember that the most recent star was from Rocori.

Most Gopher fans would love to know the scoop on stars from up north. Seems to be a perfect job for somebody who monitors high school football in the northern part of the state. Otherwise, most Gopher fans have to rely on what is stated in the media.

I think the problem is your irrational fixation on what people think in the Metro area, as opposed to what most gopher fans actually believe.

I'll bet that all this false advertising about what people at the U believe has a far greater impact on this kid wanting to come here than the truth. For example, look to Nebraska that has a long standing tradition of NE walking on at the school as "duty." They believe in the glory of Nebraska and generally think scholarships should go to out of state kids for the good of the program.
 

Gophers not aggressive enough

I talked to a close relative of Carey on Wednesday, Nov.23, and was told the Gophers are only offering a "preferred walk-on" status, and NDSU is offering a full ride. The kid is not from a wealthy family, so if that's the best the Gophers can do, I doubt he'll be interested. NDSU is coming for an in-home visit on Sunday, so unless the Gophers change their minds quickly, he'll not be a Gopher. I've watched this kid play for years, four year starter at cornerback, only started playing WR and RB for the Jacks last year, although he was by far the most talented Lumberjack even before then. I don't get the Gophers. Woods is at least 6'0", not skinny, very fast, good hands, hard worker, and can't even get a sniff from the lowly Gophers. Nobody in all the games I've seen can cover him one on one, you've got to put a safety over the top on him, and even then he routinely makes the circus catches in double coverage. Has great moves after the catch. It's not like the Gophers are loaded with talent. I predict at least 2 TD's for Woods against Rocori, with at least 2 explosive plays showing off his speed, unless Rocori does what Spring Lake Park did and play the DB's 20 yards off the line and give Bemidji the underneath passes, in which case he'll kill them all day with the shorter routes. Come on Kill, wake up, give this kid some scholarship money, he will perform highly at the Big Ten level.
 


If NDSU is the only competition, don't think the U has to be overly aggresive. I don't mean that as a slight to the NDSU or Woods, but if in February his only offer is to NDSU and the U decides to offer him, I feel pretty good about our chances to get him.

It's also not very fair to rip on the Gophers for "only" offering him a preferred walk on. That's an honor in and of itself. There are plenty of really talented kids who are waiting for a Gopher offer (Michaelson (EP), Harden (CDH), Ford (Wayzata), Lauer (Wayzata, Larson (EP), Sura (SSP)). It's got nothing to do with locale, as you can see those kids are some of the best players in the metro.

The Gopher staff has evaluated kids who are as talented as Woods for 15 years, most Bemidji fans, well this is there first glance at a D1 talented WR at the high school level. They know what they are doing, they will hit and miss on some kids, but there is reason that even the "lowly" Gophers need to do offer every kid in MN who is borderline.
 

bemidjifan said:
The kid is not from a wealthy family, so if that's the best the Gophers can do, I doubt he'll be interested. NDSU is coming for an in-home visit on Sunday, so unless the Gophers change their minds quickly, he'll not be a Gopher.
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Good luck to him in Fargo.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
If NDSU is the only competition, don't think the U has to be overly aggresive. I don't mean that as a slight to the NDSU or Woods, but if in February his only offer is to NDSU and the U decides to offer him, I feel pretty good about our chances to get him.

It's also not very fair to rip on the Gophers for "only" offering him a preferred walk on. That's an honor in and of itself. There are plenty of really talented kids who are waiting for a Gopher offer (Michaelson (EP), Harden (CDH), Ford (Wayzata), Lauer (Wayzata, Larson (EP), Sura (SSP)). It's got nothing to do with locale, as you can see those kids are some of the best players in the metro.

The Gopher staff has evaluated kids who are as talented as Woods for 15 years, most Bemidji fans, well this is there first glance at a D1 talented WR at the high school level. They know what they are doing, they will hit and miss on some kids, but there is reason that even the "lowly" Gophers need to do offer every kid in MN who is borderline.
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As per usual, Bob does a better job summing up my thoughts than I do. To me, if you have some scholarships left after the dust has settled and your top targets have made their decision, I ascribe to the theory of "the tie goes to the in-state kid." I felt that way about Vraa and I feel that way about Woods. If there's a scholarship or two left, Woods is a kid who should warrant a long look.

But Bob is right. A preferred walk-on slot is nothing to sneeze at. The problem gets to be that with the price of college heading ever skyward, some of the kids offered a preferred walk-on slot may well opt for a full ride (or at least a more lucrative financial aid package) somewhere else.

I imagine Kill and his player evaluation team know more about this than I ever will.
 

I didn't say that NDSU is the only school after him. UND is also in the mix with scholarship money, as well as several other schools in the Missouri Valley Conference and the Great West Conference. Just seems to me that a school like Minnesota, which has struggled in recent years, and who is trying to become relevant again in the Minnesota sports scene, would be all over a kid like Woods. I can only imagine what kind of stats Woods would have put up this year if Bemidji hadn't shown mercy to every team its played this year by removing the first team offense shortly after halftime. In the Section 7 semi-final against Grand Rapids Bemidji led 42-0 before putting in the 2nd and 3rd units, finishing with a 9th grade QB. All season they got off to leads of 28-0, 35-7, etc. but unlike Mankato West, Bemidji showed some mercy and got a lot of valuable playing time for it's underclassmen. I'm sorry, Rocori, but I can't see this one being with 3 TD's. Bemidji 42, Rocori 7. This Bemidji team is used to getting off to hugh first half leads, and throwing in the bench players for the second half. Routinely this year, Woods, Hendricks, Rutledge, etc. would be relaxing on the bench with 8 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, their work being done for the night. This is a special group of athletes, and I think the rest of Minnesota will realize that after the game on Saturday. I would really like to see a one game playoff with the 5A champ, I think it would be one heckuva high school football game.
 



I'm just saying that money is an issue for most folks up here in Bemidji. Most families can't afford the 20K it costs to go to school at Minnesota. I'm sure Woods would love to play for the Gophers, but in the real world a full ride to NDSU or any other college football program is pretty hard to turn down for an average kid from a middle class family in northern Minnesota. I know that it's not as glamorous as the Big Ten, but it's still pretty good football. As far as considering a walk-on opportunity from the big school in your home state as being loyal to the state and doing one's duty for the home state, well, when it's going to cost you $80000 for a 4 year degree compared to a fully paid scholarship, I know which way my kid would go. Especially given Woods' talent level, I think in 2 or 3 years Gopher fans (like me) will be lamenting "another Minnesota kid who got away".
 

bemidjifan said:
I talked to a close relative of Carey on Wednesday, Nov.23, and was told the Gophers are only offering a "preferred walk-on" status, and NDSU is offering a full ride. The kid is not from a wealthy family, so if that's the best the Gophers can do, I doubt he'll be interested. NDSU is coming for an in-home visit on Sunday, so unless the Gophers change their minds quickly, he'll not be a Gopher. I've watched this kid play for years, four year starter at cornerback, only started playing WR and RB for the Jacks last year, although he was by far the most talented Lumberjack even before then. I don't get the Gophers. Woods is at least 6'0", not skinny, very fast, good hands, hard worker, and can't even get a sniff from the lowly Gophers. Nobody in all the games I've seen can cover him one on one, you've got to put a safety over the top on him, and even then he routinely makes the circus catches in double coverage. Has great moves after the catch. It's not like the Gophers are loaded with talent. I predict at least 2 TD's for Woods against Rocori, with at least 2 explosive plays showing off his speed, unless Rocori does what Spring Lake Park did and play the DB's 20 yards off the line and give Bemidji the underneath passes, in which case he'll kill them all day with the shorter routes. Come on Kill, wake up, give this kid some scholarship money, he will perform highly at the Big Ten level.
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He can't get an offer from any other FBS teams either. But let's ignore that, eh?
 

bemidjifan said:
I'm just saying that money is an issue for most folks up here in Bemidji. Most families can't afford the 20K it costs to go to school at Minnesota. I'm sure Woods would love to play for the Gophers, but in the real world a full ride to NDSU or any other college football program is pretty hard to turn down for an average kid from a middle class family in northern Minnesota. I know that it's not as glamorous as the Big Ten, but it's still pretty good football. As far as considering a walk-on opportunity from the big school in your home state as being loyal to the state and doing one's duty for the home state, well, when it's going to cost you $80000 for a 4 year degree compared to a fully paid scholarship, I know which way my kid would go. Especially given Woods' talent level, I think in 2 or 3 years Gopher fans (like me) will be lamenting "another Minnesota kid who got away".
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Absolutely, and I do agree with what you're saying. The Gopher fan/MN sports rube in me would actually love to see this kid offered. I would also NEVER blame a kid for taking an opportunity to get a scholarship elsewhere. I have been on here whining about the U not offering Harden (a kid who went to my HS who wouldn't walk on at the U), so I really don't blame you for your position.

I guess my whole point is that the U coaches have a ton of experience evaluating these kids entire profiles (ability, potential, academics) and until they prove otherwise, I guess i'll just take their 15 years of experience worth of evaluating athletes. We might get proven wrong, but this staff seems pretty open to bringing in kids from outstate MN (Nelson, Pirsig, Fruechte, Williams), so they do seem to be doing their homework on these guys.
 





FBS = Football Bowl Subdivision

FCS = Football Championship Subdivision
 

By FBS, I assume you mean D1 major programs after a google search. I've heard rumors of Michigan. But of course we're so far up in the sticks in Bemidji that even the homestate Gophers apparently don't know much about him. Obviously, metro football fans don't get much information about outstate kids, especially anyone unfortunate enough to live north of Brainerd. But I thought that was what the Prep Bowl is good for, exposing kids from the more remote programs to a wider audience. Now Woods had one decent game at the Dome, and he will be on state-wide TV on Saturday for all to see. I would think that some of the other Big Ten football programs will have someone on their staff available to at least get some video of the games at the Prep Bowl. If he goes for 7 catches, 150 yards and 3 TD's on Saturday, don't you think that will help spread the word that maybe this kid from the sticks of northern Minnesota might be able to play a little football?
 

bemidjifan said:
I'm sorry, but what does FBS mean?
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FBS is Football Bowl Subdivision. B1G, BIG 12, ACC, SEC, PAC 12, Big East, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and MAC.

FCS is Football Championship Subdivision. Big Sky, Big South, CAA, Ivy League, Great West, Missouri Valley, etc.
 

bemidjifan said:
I've heard rumors of Michigan. But of course we're so far up in the sticks in Bemidji that even the homestate Gophers apparently don't know much about him. Obviously, metro football fans don't get much information about outstate kids, especially anyone unfortunate enough to live north of Brainerd.
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I really don't think that's the case anymore. If you look at our current commits from Minnesota, we have Phil Nelson from Mankato, Jonah Pirsig from Blue Earth, Maxx Williams from Waconia, Issac Fruechte from Caledonia. These guys all play for non-Metro schools and for programs not as good as Bemidji

I don't think it's a case of him being overlooked because he is from Bemidji. There are a handful of really talented kids from MN who go to the programs that get the most exposure (EP, CDH, Wayzata, Minnetonka) who are in the exact same position as Woods.

I think the Michigan rumors circulating are Western Michigan/Eastern Michigan.
 

bemidjifan said:
By FBS, I assume you mean D1 major programs after a google search. I've heard rumors of Michigan. But of course we're so far up in the sticks in Bemidji that even the homestate Gophers apparently don't know much about him. Obviously, metro football fans don't get much information about outstate kids, especially anyone unfortunate enough to live north of Brainerd. But I thought that was what the Prep Bowl is good for, exposing kids from the more remote programs to a wider audience. Now Woods had one decent game at the Dome, and he will be on state-wide TV on Saturday for all to see. I would think that some of the other Big Ten football programs will have someone on their staff available to at least get some video of the games at the Prep Bowl. If he goes for 7 catches, 150 yards and 3 TD's on Saturday, don't you think that will help spread the word that maybe this kid from the sticks of northern Minnesota might be able to play a little football?
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Jonah Pirsig is from Blue Earth and he had offers from major programs as early as last year.

But I'm not even talking about major programs, FBS also means teams like Wyoming, Akron, Western Michigan, Air Force, etc. All of whom have offered guys like Brett Pierce, Drake Michaelson, Charles Webb, Jonathan Harden, and Duke Anyanwu. Now, you may be absolutely correct that part of this is because schools like that scan the metro, offer guys they like, and never bother to look out-state. But part of that is the lack of big-time football played outside of the metro.

Kill has also managed to find (as others have mentioned) players from Rochester and Mankato. Maybe he has a bit of a blind eye to the guys from up north (Joe Mollberg never seemed to get much consideration), but I don't think that's killing the program either way. I'm hardly upset at Coach Kill for not offering a scholarship when even lesser programs have failed to do so as well. If Woods was a sure-fire Big Ten prospect, somebody would have found him. If it's Kill, great, but I doubt it will be anyone else.
 

With all the camps and word of mouth on high school kids these days, there is little possibility of a kid going totally undetected. Kids used to fall out of the sky a generation ago. All the attention dedicated to recruiting these days prevents that from happening. You still have less heralded kids getting a shot and doing well, but there's more "book" on kids throughout the country now.

You make Bemidji sound like it's a mile south of the Arctic Circle.
 

I guess my point is now that Woods is on the radar of metro fans, they kind of have an idea of the kind of player he is, if he goes off in the 4A championship game and has a few big plays where he can show his talents and Bemidji wins big, wouldn't that make him harder to overlook? I'm saying 7 catches, 2 or 3 TD's, 100-200 yards receiving/rushing, shouldn't that help his FBS outlook? I mean, he's got to be running a 4.4 or 4.5 40, Philip Nelson was the Mankato player whom he got around on his 92 yard TD, and I hear Nelson's 40 time is not too bad. I mean, if the whole state sees what this kid can do, and the big time programs continue to ignore him, then what more can the kid do? Maybe you're right, I mean, Kill and his staff know football, I have no doubt about that, but to me this kid has all the tools (size, speed, quickness, moves, good hands, courage to go over the middle) but I, as a lifelong football fan, feel he can't miss. I don't know, If I'm wrong, I will never attempt to judge a high school player's ability again, but from all I've seen, and I've seen his body of work over the last four years, including as a 4 year starter in basketball, this kid is a natural, and if I'm wrong and he's a bust, then I'll admit I was wrong.
 

I don't know, I saw an ESPN story on Fred Jackson of the Buffalo Bills, he didn't even start as a high school player in Arlington, Texas, went to tiny Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and has turned into one of the top RB's in the NFL. He's hurt now, but he's having a great NFL career. How did he fall through the cracks? I think scouts still miss on kids, even with all their networking, etc. Actually, Bemidji is only a 3.5 hour car trip from the metro, and we even have paved roads now, so it's not that hard to scout our players up here. Heck, we even take road trips to the St. Cloud area, so it's makes it even easier to watch.
 





If Nelson can run a true 4.7 40, that's plenty fast for a 200+ lb quarterback. Anything less is icing on the cake.
 

bemidjifan said:
I don't know, I saw an ESPN story on Fred Jackson of the Buffalo Bills, he didn't even start as a high school player in Arlington, Texas, went to tiny Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and has turned into one of the top RB's in the NFL. He's hurt now, but he's having a great NFL career. How did he fall through the cracks? I think scouts still miss on kids, even with all their networking, etc. Actually, Bemidji is only a 3.5 hour car trip from the metro, and we even have paved roads now, so it's not that hard to scout our players up here. Heck, we even take road trips to the St. Cloud area, so it's makes it even easier to watch.
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It has nothing to do with this. I don't know why every single outstate person plays this card in these arguments.

The vast majority of posters on here don't know much about Andrew Larson and he is the best player (arguably) on the premier program in the state. It's because the vast majority of people don't follow HS football. They don't follow the football that is close to them and they aren't going to follow the HS football played 4 hours from them.

This argument doesn't jive with reality. The Gophers currently have a bunch of outstate kids signed, from areas MORE remote than Bemidji and there are a lot of good metro players who don't have offers.

I know saying that he isn't getting looks because he is from Bemidji is the easy explanation, it's simply not inline with reality.

(For further proof, if you look at the NDSU players who they Gophers really missed on, i'd say that the majority of them are Metro kids (Billy Turner- Mounds View, Marcus Williams - Hopkins, Littlejohn - North, Vraa - Rosemount).
 

I say we give the kid an offer we have nothing to lose. He looks like he could play DB or WR, love the way he adjusts to the ball in the air thats one of the hardest things to teach a player, he also seems like he is one of the faster players in the state. IMO give him an offer.
 

Gopherprof said:
If Nelson can run a true 4.7 40, that's plenty fast for a 200+ lb quarterback. Anything less is icing on the cake.
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Yep, i'd say he is at about a legit 4.7 electronic timed. There aren't many kids in the state of MN who run under a legit 4.6.
 

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