Current recruiting status

Donate To GopherHole
Gopherprof

Gopherprof

Active member
Joined
Jul 25, 2009
Messages
2,479
Reaction score
0
Points
36
Hello all. Long time visitor, first time poster. I've noticed that the recruiting discussions generally tend to revolve around the same 3-4 players whom everyone is aware of, often in cases when our shot at said player is considerably unlikely.

Becuase of this, I thought I'd offer my own recruiting board and of course encourage anyone else who does the same thing to provide their's.

A few explanations:

1) There are some players whom we have offered a scholarship which I have not listed. In these cases, this is strictly because the player has accepted another offer, or has listed a top list of schools without mentioning us. In some cases, such as Seantrel, I have kept the player up when it is clear that while we may not have immediate consideration, we are still in the hunt. I realize that players will switch commits, and I have likely omited some players we may well end up getting, but I would rather focus on players that I know are in play, not prospects I hope are in play.

2) The hometown is an approximation to the closest metropolitan area in most cases. Therefore, a player from Woodbury is Twin Cities. A player from Plantation, FL is from Miami, and so on.

3) The teams in parenthesis are teams that have standing offers out for the player. I only mention other BCS schools. It is rare that a player chooses a non-BCS school when BCS options are available (BYU is a Mormon exception), and there is really no bragging rights in winning such a player. In the instance where there are more than 4-5 BCS offers for a player, I've limited it to those I think most likely due to player comments, proximity to player, past recruiting success, etc. This is by no means an exact science, so offer critiques as you like. Asteriks indicate that a player either has visited this school, or has a scheduled visit. I have the least amount of information on this.

4) The last two numbers are the rivals ranking and the scouts inc ranking. I don't care about stars as much as I do about the number. A 5.7 and a 5.8 are just as close as a 5.7 and a 5.6, but the difference between a 4 star player and a 3 star player is supposed to be a big deal. I personally don't get it.

If there are other standing offers that people know about, please share. As I said, players we have little shot with (Richard Ash, Matt Milton, Cullen Christian, Isaiah Lewis, have been stricken from the record). I think I may receive some backlash from this (probably from wishful homers), but such is life.

Enjoy. I have no premium subscriptions, so I don't claim to be the most informed by any means. My apologies that it is not more readable.


Quarterbacks (2)
*Tom Parish, Milwaukee (committed over Iowa)- 5.7/ 73
*J.D. Pride, Minneapolis (Minnesota)-NR/71

Runningbacks (6)
*Lamonte Edwards, Minnesota (Committed over Wisconsin and Iowa) -5.8/ 76
*Andre Dawson, Iowa (*Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, *Purdue)-5.7/78
*Donnell Kirkwood, Miami (Committed over Pitt, Rutgers)- 5.6/ 77
Marcus Coker, Washington D.C. (Iowa, Maryland)- 5.5/78
*DeAndre Johnson, Miami (Iowa)- 5.5/ 40
Milton Greer, Chicago – 5.4/74

Wide Receivers (3)
Chris Hawkins, Houston (Nebraska, Arkansas, Kansas)- 5.7/78
*Toby Durham, Orlando (Purdue, UCF)- 5.6/77
*Keith Sconiers, Chicago (Arizona, Louisville)- 5.6/40

Tight Ends (1)
Branden Wikenson, Miami- NR/40

Offensive Tackles (5)
*Seantrel Henderson, Minneapolis (USC, Florida, Ohio State)- 6.1/top 150
*Jimmy Gjere, Minneapolis (Committed over Wisconsin) – 5.9/ 79
Javius Townsend, Dallas (Texas Tech)- 5.6/75
*Mark Lenkiewicz, Chicago- Committed- 5.6/ 75
*Matt Eggen, La Crosse, WI- (Committed over Indiana)- 5.5/ 76

Interior Offensive Line (5)
Josh Allen, Dallas- 5.7/77
Parker Mack, Little Rock (*Arkansas, *North Carolina, *Wake Forest)-5.6/77
*Jonathan Ragoo, Miami (Miami)-5.6/ 75
Zac Epping, Milwaukee (Committed)- 5.5/73
Sal Conaboy, Eire (*Pittsburgh, Illinois, West Virginia)- NR/78

Defensive End (2)
C.J. Olaniyan, Detroit (*Penn State,*Michigan, *Michigan State, Oklahoma)- 5.8/80
*Tobi Okuyemi, Minneapolis (Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Michigan State)- 5.5/77

Defensive Tackle (3)
*Beau Allen, Minneapolis (*Notre Dame, *Wisconsin, *Stanford)- 5.6/79
*Antonio Ford, Miami (Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Purdue)- 5.6/75
*Doral Willlis, Miami (Wake Forest)- 5.4/77

Linebackers (4)
*Nduka Onyeali, Denver (Colorado, Kansas, Arizona State)- 5.6/77
Kevin Kisseberth, Houston (Iowa State)-5.6/40
Manasseh Garner, Pittsburgh (Maryland, Pittsburgh, *Wisconsin)-5.5/40
*Dwayne Mitchell, New Orleans-5.2/40

Safety (6)
*Don Shumpert, St. Louis (Illinois, Iowa)- 5.7
Elisha Olabode, Dallas (Kansas, Wisconsin, Nebraska) – 5.6/40
*James Manuel, Indianapolis (*Louisville, Michigan State, Iowa)- 5.5/78
Trevor Releford, Kansas City, KS- 5.2/77 (Oklahoma, Tennessee)Releford's future is in basketball, and is being recruited by the -------BB staff as well. Could be a two-way player.
Anthony Brown, Los Angeles- NR/73
Adrian Bennett, Houston (Iowa State)- NR/40

Cornerback (8)
RobDonovan Lewis, Louisiana (Mississippi State)- 5.7
Brock Vereen, Los Angeles (Stanford)- 5.6/ 40
*Jabari Price, Miami (Purdue, *North Carolina) -5.6/40
Joseph Byrd, Miami (Purdue, Louisville)- 5.6
*Tyrone Bouie, Orlando (Purdue, UCF)-5.5/77
*Antoine Lewis, Chicago (Committed)-5.5/ 76
Gilbert St.Louis, Miami (Maryland, *Indiana, Connecticut)-5.5/70
*Allen Veazie, Houston (Committed)- NR/ 75

Athletes (4)
*Kenny Bell, Denver (Colorado, Texas Tech)- 5.6/76
*Marquise Hill, St. Louis (Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska)- 5.6
Christian Kirksey, St. Louis (Wisconsin, Iowa)- 5.6
Dominique Sanders, Fort Worth (Texas A&M, Texas Tech, *Oklahoma State)-NR/74

Special Teams (1)
*Kip Smith, Denver, (Committed to Minnesota)- 5.5/40

Scouting, no offer
Greg Barksdale, Safety, Chicago - 5.6/76
Churpy Steward, Defensive Tackle, Lafayette- 5.6/40
Jamel Martin, Runningback, Chicago (Indiana)- 5.5
Anthony Boddy, Wide Receiver, Illinois- NR/68
Pat Driscoll, Defensive Tackle, Illinois - NR/71
Kendall Montgomery, Tight End, Miami (Purdue)-5.6/40
Sam Cunningham, Offensive Tackle, Wisconsin- 5.4/73
Justin Sinz, Athlete, Wisconsin- 5.3/78
Billy Turner, Offensive Tackle, Arden Hills- 5.4
Grant Olson, Linebacker, Wayzata- 5.1
Max Busher, Linebaker, Rosemount- 5.1/40
Stephon Washington, Runningback, Omaha- 5.2
Cameron Stingily, Inside Linebacker-NR/40
Harold Legania, Defensive Tackle, New Orleans (Ole Miss, Virginia, Mississippi State)- 5.5/40
Tim O’Conner, Wide Receiver, Cincinnati (Indiana)-NR/72
Joel Bauman, Athlete, Minnesota- NR/66
Larry Bryant, Wide Receiver, Atlanta- NR/40
Cal Reindl, Wisconsin, Tight End-NR/40
 

Prof.
A most impressive first GH post. I am sure the recruitniks will really appreciate your work
 

I think it would be a great story to cover Gopher Recruiting from the inside for a year. The board, the assignments, the travel, the offers, the committments, the signing day. This posting gives a glimpse. It surely is more interesting than the NFL Draft, and how many geeks follow that.
 

husker70 said:
I think it would be a great story to cover Gopher Recruiting from the inside for a year. The board, the assignments, the travel, the offers, the committments, the signing day. This posting gives a glimpse. It surely is more interesting than the NFL Draft, and how many geeks follow that.
Click to expand...

I definitely agree for the most part, although I'm a bit of a draft geek as well. I try not to know the personal lives of the players though. One, because it simply doesn't interest me. Two, because I will eventually have some of these kids in the classroom, and that's a bit awkward if I knew their mother died or what their girlfriend's name is (many students share this information willingly, but that's the point).

In any event, here are a few (realistic) things I'd like to see happen based on my own board.

1) Kirkwood is a great first get, but we need another runningback. We can't assume Lipscomb will ever put on a Gopher uniform, because he probably won't. Of those listed, Andre Dawson is probably the ideal guy. He's a good north-south guy with better fluidity and speed than Kirkwood. Whether he prefers Iowa (where he's from) is unknown to me, but if James White commits to Iowa as expected, that could push him north. Greer would be the likely consolation prize, as we are his only current BCS offer.

2) We could probably get away with just one receiver from this class, which is likely why we've only offered four. Durham and Sconiers both seem likely gets, but Durham may take the more likely playing time at Purdue. No great urgency here in my opinion.

3) Nice to see we are loading up on the lineman. We could probably use at least 2 more. Rozell Gayden seems like a likely JC transfer (was originally a Gopher commit) and of the remaining I'm most intrigued by Josh Allen and Jonathan Ragoo. Ragoo is listed as having a Miami offer, but I find it hard to believe that a Miami kid with a Miami offer would be taking that much time to consider his options.

4) Two defensive lineman should do it for this class. I'm praying that those two are Beau Allen and Okuyemi. Allen is of particular concern now that he has his Notre Dame offer that he's been hoping for. In the long run, he's much better off realizing the extensive playing time he'd get at Minnesota, but I am less optomistic about him.

5) A decent batch of linebackers. 1-2 should be fine.

6) We REALLY need more secondary help. As much as I like the lineman, this should be priority 1,2,3 and 4. I'm hoping that Lamonte Edwards has a future in the defensive backfield (he sure seems like a hitter on tape). On top of the two corner commits we really need about 2-3 more at minimum. Tyrone Bouie should be a huge priority for Brewster (along with cousin Durham). Jabari Price should come and team back up with Michael Carter, and Greg Barksdale should be in line for an offer. It's too bad Inoferio isn't much of a D1 prospect, he certainly seems to have a great attitude.
 



Prof -

When you say recruiting board, do you have a web site? Thanks for your work and insight. It is greatly appreciated.
 

Welcome to the board! I've been thinking of putting together a post/board like this but just have had no time with a busy summer so thank you for doing it!
 


Very impressive and well thought out first post. I do want to say it appears the Gophers have a shot at RB Ethan Grant as well. He is a soft verbal of Oregon but has a friend who is a Gopher and made a visit recently, even after his Oregon verbal.

BTW - agree on the DBs. Gophers need more there. Also on DL. Kinda nervous on those two positions.
 



ButchNashGuy said:
Prof -

When you say recruiting board, do you have a web site? Thanks for your work and insight. It is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
No. I have almost no technical knowledge, not to mention that almost all of my 'information' is second hand. I just like to keep track of these things, it's probably the inner-geek. I do the same thing with the draft, which I actually have considered making a website. I usually will make a 7 round mock that is far more accurate than those of ESPN, FoxSports and the like. It's just a nice diversion from the real world.
 

current recruiting status

Thanks for the information. You have put a lot of time and energy into it and I appreciate it.
 

Gopherprof said:
No. I have almost no technical knowledge, not to mention that almost all of my 'information' is second hand. I just like to keep track of these things, it's probably the inner-geek. I do the same thing with the draft, which I actually have considered making a website. I usually will make a 7 round mock that is far more accurate than those of ESPN, FoxSports and the like. It's just a nice diversion from the real world.
Click to expand...

Normally the info is out there, it is just sifting through what is reasonable and legitimate and throwing out what is biased.
 

For not having premium info you did a very good job of understanding who has legitimate interest in the Gophers. However, there are a number of things that I will tweak in this post.


Gopherprof said:
1) Kirkwood is a great first get, but we need another runningback. We can't assume Lipscomb will ever put on a Gopher uniform, because he probably won't. Of those listed, Andre Dawson is probably the ideal guy. He's a good north-south guy with better fluidity and speed than Kirkwood. Whether he prefers Iowa (where he's from) is unknown to me, but if James White commits to Iowa as expected, that could push him north. Greer would be the likely consolation prize, as we are his only current BCS offer.
Click to expand...

You can pencil Lamonte Edwards in as a RB because that is where the Gophers recruited him.

Iowa fans seem to think that Dawson is a strong Iowa lean--take that fwiw. I don't think we are actually recruiting Dawson to play RB anyway. I think the Gophers have a different position in mind for him.

Gopherprof said:
2) We could probably get away with just one receiver from this class, which is likely why we've only offered four. Durham and Sconiers both seem likely gets, but Durham may take the more likely playing time at Purdue. No great urgency here in my opinion.
Click to expand...

We actually have offered a lot more than four WR's. I would be surprised to see us take less than two WR's in this class. Since our last recruiting class closed we lost Brodrick Smith and we will graduate Decker and Kuznia this year.

Our 2010 team should have:
Sr (1)--Hayo Carpenter
Jr (4)--Brandon Green, Dajon McKnight, Troy Stoudermire, Xzavian Brandon
So (2)--Bryant Allen, Victor Keise
Fr--Expect 2-3 to keep us around 9-10 WR on scholarship.

Gopherprof said:
3) Nice to see we are loading up on the lineman. We could probably use at least 2 more. Rozell Gayden seems like a likely JC transfer (was originally a Gopher commit) and of the remaining I'm most intrigued by Josh Allen and Jonathan Ragoo. Ragoo is listed as having a Miami offer, but I find it hard to believe that a Miami kid with a Miami offer would be taking that much time to consider his options.
Click to expand...

How hard we go after Gayden will depend upon how our OL looks this fall. We only need to add a Juco if it looks like we will have problems at LT in the future. Also, if we think we will get SH we don't really need to add a Juco LT.

Gopherprof said:
4) Two defensive lineman should do it for this class. I'm praying that those two are Beau Allen and Okuyemi. Allen is of particular concern now that he has his Notre Dame offer that he's been hoping for. In the long run, he's much better off realizing the extensive playing time he'd get at Minnesota, but I am less optomistic about him.
Click to expand...

We need to add 4 DL in this class. Aside from CB this is our weakest position for depth. We lose 5 DL this year including 2 starting DT's (Brown, Small), a back up DT in Moen and at DE we lose McKinley (projected starter) and Onwauchi (started last year, projected backup).

Our 2010 DL looks like this (I'm making RS assumptions):
SDE: Jacobs (RsJr)
NT: Edwards (Jr) /
DT: Kirksey (Jr) / Jacques (RsFr)
WDE: Wilhite (RsSo)/ Garin (RsFr)/ KGM (RsFr)

One of Garin & KGM will likely be moved to OLB--my guess is KGM

Joey Searcy could possibly be added at DT but I have yet to hear that he has qualified.

Like I said, we need to add 4 DL (2 DE, 2 DT) in this class and I wouldn't be surprised to see a Juco added.

Gopherprof said:
5) A decent batch of linebackers. 1-2 should be fine.
Click to expand...

We lose 4 LB's this year with Campbell, Lawrence, Triplett, and Sharpe.

Our likely 2010 depth chart:

SLB: Cooper (RsSo) / Singleton (RsFr)
MLB: Maresh (GrSo) / Tinsley (MLB)
WLB: Reeves (GrSo) / Grant (RsSo)

We have nobody in our 3 deep (unless Garin/KGM is moved to WLB) and we need to have 3 players in the three deep--especially if we want to continue to play 3-4 against the spread.

Expect us to add 3 LB's in this class.

Gopherprof said:
6) We REALLY need more secondary help. As much as I like the lineman, this should be priority 1,2,3 and 4. I'm hoping that Lamonte Edwards has a future in the defensive backfield (he sure seems like a hitter on tape). On top of the two corner commits we really need about 2-3 more at minimum. Tyrone Bouie should be a huge priority for Brewster (along with cousin Durham). Jabari Price should come and team back up with Michael Carter, and Greg Barksdale should be in line for an offer. It's too bad Inoferio isn't much of a D1 prospect, he certainly seems to have a great attitude.
Click to expand...

As mentioned above, Lamonte Edwards was recruited to play RB. If he doesn't make it at RB he is the prototype OLB.

Overall our depth at S is fairly strong but we really need to add CB's. We can offer immediate playing time as both starters are seniors and incoming freshman will be competing with Collado and Carter for the two starting CB spots. Even if they can't unseat one of them for starting CB they should be able to get time on nickel and dime situations.

I think there are some other "athletes" that they are looking at that could project at DB too.
 



My # estimates were very conservative. These were the number of players I would expect us to have to get in order to cover our bases. Also, as a general note, who we are losing this year really isn't all that terribly important to how we fill our depth chart. Who we have (or don't have) now as sophmores and freshman now is much more indicative of where we are going. If we're recruiting to fill current gaps due to graduation we're pretty fucked regardless.

I figured as much with Edwards, but I'm just not a fan. He runs tall and isn't very built. I like the way he hits though, you may have a point at OLB in our system, particularly if he doesn't have the skillset to play in the secondary.

At the end of the day, however, I would be quite surprised if he ends up being much of a college runningback.
 

Gopherprof said:
No. I have almost no technical knowledge, not to mention that almost all of my 'information' is second hand. I just like to keep track of these things, it's probably the inner-geek. I do the same thing with the draft, which I actually have considered making a website. I usually will make a 7 round mock that is far more accurate than those of ESPN, FoxSports and the like. It's just a nice diversion from the real world.
Click to expand...

Are you by chance related to this guy? :)

http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/boards/showthread.php?t=4025
 


Gopherprof said:
My # estimates were very conservative. These were the number of players I would expect us to have to get in order to cover our bases. Also, as a general note, who we are losing this year really isn't all that terribly important to how we fill our depth chart. Who we have (or don't have) now as sophmores and freshman now is much more indicative of where we are going. If we're recruiting to fill current gaps due to graduation we're pretty fucked regardless.

I figured as much with Edwards, but I'm just not a fan. He runs tall and isn't very built. I like the way he hits though, you may have a point at OLB in our system, particularly if he doesn't have the skillset to play in the secondary.

At the end of the day, however, I would be quite surprised if he ends up being much of a college runningback.
Click to expand...

The numbers leaving does matter because every team wants to have a certain number of scholarships at every position. Obviously you count on players already in the program to fill vacated starting spots but you count on incoming freshman to provide the depth in the future. It is also why whenever I said who was leaving I showed the future depth chart to show where the holes were in the 2-3 deep.
 

I thought an update might be in order. Haven't had a commit in a few weeks (although there have been visits), but there's been a fair amount of activity on the pre-commitment front, and the board has changed accordingly.

Now that rivals has expanded their coverage in the last few weeks, it's unlikely that I haven't included someone with a Minnesota offer, unless I consider them considerably out of reach.

Comments and suggestions always welcome.
 

Thanks for the work and a suggestion to admins

Excellent work GopherProf! If you put this much effort into tracking Gopher recruiting, I can only imagine how much time you must put into preparation for the courses you teach! I think we can rest assured that the education of all future Gophers is in good hands!

I have a suggestion both for you and the board admin(s). Could this information be maintained on a separate part of Gopherhole, just so it doesn't get lost in the flurry of posts once the season begins? There is currently a "recruiting" section in the Gopher Football section of Gopherhole. Perhaps this could be maintained as, with due apologies to Mel Kiper, a *big board*.

Brian Cook, who writes mgoblog, maintains such a board for Michigan football recruiting (http://mgoblog.com/content/2010-michigan-football-recruiting-board).
 

Dropped:
James White, RB
Sherard Cadogan, TE
Derrick Bryant, DE
Bruce Gaston, DT
Troy Gloster, LB

Committed:
Doral Willis, DT
 

mesothelioma said:
Excellent work GopherProf! If you put this much effort into tracking Gopher recruiting, I can only imagine how much time you must put into preparation for the courses you teach! I think we can rest assured that the education of all future Gophers is in good hands!

I have a suggestion both for you and the board admin(s). Could this information be maintained on a separate part of Gopherhole, just so it doesn't get lost in the flurry of posts once the season begins? There is currently a "recruiting" section in the Gopher Football section of Gopherhole. Perhaps this could be maintained as, with due apologies to Mel Kiper, a *big board*.


I most whole heartily agree. This type of insight would be great to be able to reference in the future. Thanks GopherProf.
Click to expand...
 

Per ESPN:

Beau Allen names top 4.

"In no particular order, I have Minnesota, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Stanford. I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to add a fifth to that, but I think a school like UCLA or Northwestern could possibly take that fifth spot."

Good news indeed, although the main expected names on the list are still there, particularly Notre Dame. Nice to see us more in the hunt than I thought though.
 

Dropped:
Dan Foose, OG
Rozell Gayden, OT

Kevin Johnson, CB, has also committed to Wake Forest, but I've had him off for a while once it was clear he wasn't coming here. Wisky was recruting him hard, however, so at least he didn't go there.
 


I think you can drop Dominque Henderson from the defensive end position since I believe he committed to Baylor the other day.

And, I believe Doral is a 77 on ESPN.
 


Saskatchewan Gopher said:
I think you can drop Dominque Henderson from the defensive end position since I believe he committed to Baylor the other day.

And, I believe Doral is a 77 on ESPN.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the Henderson tip. I had Baylor first since he's been talking them up so this just shuts the door.

I've also heard that Dontae Williams is a soft verbal to Oregon, but I haven't seen that listed anywhere. In any case, he is still scheduled to visit campus (as is Ethan Grant) so we aren't totally out of the running.
 

Gopherprof said:
Thanks for the Henderson tip. I had Baylor first since he's been talking them up so this just shuts the door.

I've also heard that Dontae Williams is a soft verbal to Oregon, but I haven't seen that listed anywhere. In any case, he is still scheduled to visit campus (as is Ethan Grant) so we aren't totally out of the running.
Click to expand...

I can confirm Dontae Williams is a soft verbal to Oregon. There was a blurb on ESPN saying he is a soft commit. He still plans to make a trip to Minnesota and his OV for Oregon is for the USC game (late Oct) at which time he hopes to make it a solid verbal.
 

As great as this news is, so much will change between now and signing day. I like what the staff is doing so far, but who knows what verbals will stay and who we might steal away from other schools (ex. Michael Carter). But great work on keeping up with this and hopefully we'll see another leap in recruiting for the 2010 class!
 

Committed: Dwayne Mitchell, LB, New Orleans

Dropped: Dontae Williams, RB, Houston
Ibraheim Campbell, CB, Philadelphia
Cameron Roberson, RB, Los Angeles

Williams soft verballed to Oregon, but is still visiting Minnesota. Still, per my regulations he drops.

Campbell listed a top 4 of Boston College, Stanford, Vanderbilt, and Northwestern. Kid likes his academics.

Roberson has a final 5 of Arizona, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Oregon, and Washington. Not a surprise there either, he's going to Notre Dame.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.



Top Bottom