Duke Anyanwu is Golden


I actually think a 17 year old in a college lifting program could see HUGE gains in strength and size if they want him at DE or TE
 

Anyanwu>Grant I have nothing against Grant. I'm glad he's in the program. Grant was listed at 6'1" 215 lbs coming out of high school. Anyanwu is listed at 6'4" 225. Also, Anyanwu is MUCH more athletic and can potentially add more weight than Grant could coming out of high school due to his age and frame.

He might be light, but he has a big enough frame to add weight. He's 6'4", so he's a big man regardless. Keep in mind, Cockran was only 221 lbs coming out of high school.
I doubt Duke is currently 225. Scout and ESPN both have him listed at 200 (ESPN says he's 6'2" and at another spot say he's 215). If you look at the videos posted, he certainly doesn't look that large.

That's all to say that's pretty much par for the course. Everyone exaggerates everything for what is essentially a meat market.

If he ends up on defense, I think he's an outside linebacker or a safety.
 

Sonny, is that something you're speculating on or have you heard some indication that this was the plan? It would be fantastic if he does greyshirt...

Sounds like greyshirt, if we were to lose out on a bunch of targets down the stretch it may change.
 



Busy day with the football playoffs and Gopher basketball game after spending the day in La Crosse Saturday watching a few potential Gopher hoops recruits. Talked to Duke and will put a story on him soon.

Chris Monter
 

Busy day with the football playoffs and Gopher basketball game after spending the day in La Crosse Saturday watching a few potential Gopher hoops recruits. Talked to Duke and will put a story on him soon.

Chris Monter

Awesome.. Keep up with the good work!
 

That's exactly it GopherProf....

He's currently light for a DE/TE and he probably isn't fast enough for WR.

Assuming they all stay at H-Back (I expect Maxx to be more of an end of the line TE, and Duke being more of a traditional H-Back), but I think it's important to note that Maxx will probably not be RS and Duke probably will. So they won't be in the same class (most likely). I am not sure about Plsek.

I do expect us to constantly recruit the TE/H-Back position pretty intensely. It's a position where we regularly will be playing 2-3 of these types of players on each play.

+1
 

He might be light, but he has a big enough frame to add weight. He's 6'4", so he's a big man regardless.

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Yeah, I have no doubt that he'll be able to add the weight. I was just saying that part of the reason why he hasn't been even more recruited is because he is currently between positions.
 



i LOLed.... if he contributes its a big win for us...... is this really your outlook?

Sure, there are 85 guys on scholarships. If you can get 65 guys to contribute (RSing 20 kids), you're going to be an excellent program.

Furthermore, I would think you would ecstatic about this signing. You've made it known that the only players who are good enough to play in the Big 10 are kids who gets offered to play in the Big 10. In your eyes, I would think Duke, suddenly, because a Big 10 quality recruit, since the offer has arrived. We aren't in a position where we are desperate, we have a lot of kids and not a ton of spots, so Kill must've thought he was good enough and you kept arguing when I (and others) were saying that a lot of kids in the state are good enough to play in the Big 10, that if they were, they'd have offers. So, Duke must've just improved a lot in your books.
 

Sure, there are 85 guys on scholarships. If you can get 65 guys to contribute (RSing 20 kids), you're going to be an excellent program.

Furthermore, I would think you would ecstatic about this signing. You've made it known that the only players who are good enough to play in the Big 10 are kids who gets offered to play in the Big 10. In your eyes, I would think Duke, suddenly, because a Big 10 quality recruit, since the offer has arrived. We aren't in a position where we are desperate, we have a lot of kids and not a ton of spots, so Kill must've thought he was good enough and you kept arguing when I (and others) were saying that a lot of kids in the state are good enough to play in the Big 10, that if they were, they'd have offers. So, Duke must've just improved a lot in your books.


what i made known was my opinion that some players while may be the best in the state doesnt mean that they deserve an offer from the u... scout has him as the 273rd or so wr recruit in the nation... rivals doesnt have him ranked... but because kill offered him at the end of the recruiting season im supposed to believe he is a b10 tallent? im sorry i dont see it.. and as i have always stated... i hope i am wrong on these recruits..

Sure, there are 85 guys on scholarships. If you can get 65 guys to contribute (RSing 20 kids), you're going to be an excellent program.

im going to disagree with this... im sorry but if your tallent doesnt match up to the others in your confrence you will not have an excellent program....
 

He's not being recruited as a WR. There is your flaw.
 

your right hes being recruited as an athelete... atheletes are someone who can play multiple positions on the offence or the def.. i get that... get him into camp and figure it out... if in 2-3 -4 years i deserve to eat crow i will be the first to bring it up...
 



what i made known was my opinion that some players while may be the best in the state doesnt mean that they deserve an offer from the u... scout has him as the 273rd or so wr recruit in the nation... rivals doesnt have him ranked... but because kill offered him at the end of the recruiting season im supposed to believe he is a b10 tallent? im sorry i dont see it.. and as i have always stated... i hope i am wrong on these recruits..

Sure, there are 85 guys on scholarships. If you can get 65 guys to contribute (RSing 20 kids), you're going to be an excellent program.

im going to disagree with this... im sorry but if your tallent doesnt match up to the others in your confrence you will not have an excellent program....

No one ever argued that all the best players in the state deserve offers. People argued a couple of weeks ago that there were some kids in the state, who normally would have gotten an offer (and been good enough to play in the Big 10), that won't be getting offers this year because this is a particularly deep class. So people pointed to the large amount of kids with MAC offers and you made some reference to how if they haven't gotten a Big 10 offer, they don't have Big 10 talent. Well....now Duke has that Big 10 offer, and you still don't come around. So what is it? It isn't a consistent belief system to say on one hand "I trust Coach Kill's scouting abilities" when the local kid doesn't get an offer, and then to not trust Coach Kill's scouting abilities when the local kid DOES get the offer.

Having 65 kids contributing in the Big 10, would make us an excellent program. The problem most schools have is that they lack depth and people who can contribute. The U hasn't been bad because of guys like Shady, Ryan Grant, Jimmy Johnson, and Colin McGarry (guys who played their whole time, contributing on special teams, and started some). We've been unsuccessful because of guys like Bryant Allen, Tim Dandridge, B. Smith S. Maresh, K. Whaley, J. Edwards, etc (guys who got scholarship offers and wasted them).
 

If the staff hits on the last few schollies then he will greyshirt. If not then he will come in the fall. Hes said he doesn't mind greyshirtkmg. Also he himself claims to be 225. He is a much better prospect than Grant who is not a B10 athlete but has value as a snapper. Duke looks like he could grow into a nice sized LB, DE or TE. He ks very athletic but doesn't have great speed
 

We will see how the whole process works out and it seems like whether or not Duke greyshirts depends on how well Kill and his staff do in the final 3 weeks of recruiting (as Oleboy41 has already stated above).

I would just like to point out that Duke went to camp at Minnesota, did not get an offer, then played his entire Senior year and did not get an offer. I think you have to spin pretty hard to say that Duke getting an offer (especially if he doesn't greyshirt) does not show that recruiting hasn't went as well as the staff had hoped.

That's not to say that Duke won't work out, some of the best recruits at various schools have been kids that coaches took as their last scholarship. The arguments made about Duke being young for his grade and already 6'4 225lb are intriguing.
 



Local KID (not even 18), high school QB, lots of physical gifts, and strong academics. Sounds like he is a prototype of the kind of recruit Kill wants to bring in. Strong character with lots of potential.

I really like the offer and commitment. THANK YOU FOR STAYING HOME.
 

This team needs speed, Kill has said it himself. I don't see it right now with this class. I have no problem w/ Anyanwu getting an offer if the staff thinks he's a B1G talent, but it's concerning how late he got it as EG points out. I've never seen him play and hope he turns out to be a stud, but obviously he wasn't the 1st choice. We have 1 WR (Fruechte) and 1 other (Harbison) who we don't know how solid he is. I can only feel good about this class if we add McDonald, C. Miller, or Gregory. All three seem unlikely right now, but I'll be happy if I'm wrong.
 

Just to make it clear, a grayshirt is a full scholarship. In this case, it counts back toward 2012, but not until 2013. A grayshirt football player doesn't go on scholarship until the second semester, in this case, January 2013. He can wait to enroll then, or enroll this year on his own dime.
 

Just to make it clear, a grayshirt is a full scholarship. In this case, it counts back toward 2012, but not until 2013. A grayshirt football player doesn't go on scholarship until the second semester, in this case, January 2013. He can wait to enroll then, or enroll this year on his own dime.


Stop confusing GH experts with details.
 

Just to make it clear, a grayshirt is a full scholarship. In this case, it counts back toward 2012, but not until 2013. A grayshirt football player doesn't go on scholarship until the second semester, in this case, January 2013. He can wait to enroll then, or enroll this year on his own dime.

Why would his count back towards 2012? I realize they can set it up like that, so the scholarship counts back to 2012, but they can also count Duke into 2013. I realize our senior class is going to be tiny next year, so there might be some motivation to keep him as a 2012 recruit. If I were to guess, I think Duke would probably get a 2013 scholarship, just to bring in more people as fast as possible. I could be wrong though, and I could certainly be misreading the rules.
 

This team needs speed, Kill has said it himself. I don't see it right now with this class. I have no problem w/ Anyanwu getting an offer if the staff thinks he's a B1G talent, but it's concerning how late he got it as EG points out. I've never seen him play and hope he turns out to be a stud, but obviously he wasn't the 1st choice. We have 1 WR (Fruechte) and 1 other (Harbison) who we don't know how solid he is. I can only feel good about this class if we add McDonald, C. Miller, or Gregory. All three seem unlikely right now, but I'll be happy if I'm wrong.

I hear what you're saying, but I think he has been recruiting a lot of speed in this class. It isn't all elite WR type speed, but a lot of players who are exceptionally fast for their position.

Pirsig and Hayes are both much more athletic and fast than the average OL at their position.

Jack Lynn (OLB) is really fast for a LB. He has been one of the better WRs in Suburban Chicago this season and he will be an OLB here.

Alex Keith is in the Theiren Cockran mold, tall, lean and fast for a DE.

Plsek is a track guy who is being recruited to play TE.

Duke is a WR/CB who will be an H-Back / DE at the U.

There are a few other examples. This is the first class that I can remember that is full of athletes where almost every player we have is planning on putting up weight and moving "up" a position. When Kill was talking about team speed, I really think he was talking about overall team speed from all of the positions.
 

Bob, I agree with everything you said above. My point is if we are truly trying to get to the top of the Big Ten, you need to have some "home run" potential at WR, RB, and top end speed at DB. I don't know if we've added enough of it in this class......
 

No one ever argued that all the best players in the state deserve offers. People argued a couple of weeks ago that there were some kids in the state, who normally would have gotten an offer (and been good enough to play in the Big 10), that won't be getting offers this year because this is a particularly deep class. So people pointed to the large amount of kids with MAC offers and you made some reference to how if they haven't gotten a Big 10 offer, they don't have Big 10 talent. Well....now Duke has that Big 10 offer, and you still don't come around. So what is it? It isn't a consistent belief system to say on one hand "I trust Coach Kill's scouting abilities" when the local kid doesn't get an offer, and then to not trust Coach Kill's scouting abilities when the local kid DOES get the offer.

Having 65 kids contributing in the Big 10, would make us an excellent program. The problem most schools have is that they lack depth and people who can contribute. The U hasn't been bad because of guys like Shady, Ryan Grant, Jimmy Johnson, and Colin McGarry (guys who played their whole time, contributing on special teams, and started some). We've been unsuccessful because of guys like Bryant Allen, Tim Dandridge, B. Smith S. Maresh, K. Whaley, J. Edwards, etc (guys who got scholarship offers and wasted them).

The attrition hurt and definitely cost us a few wins per year, but we still didn't have the horses to be a top-tier team. Some scholarship players will be career back-ups and that's ok, they are still a vital piece of the program, but at the end of the day you need to get some all conference type players.
 

Bob, I agree with everything you said above. My point is if we are truly trying to get to the top of the Big Ten, you need to have some "home run" potential at WR, RB, and top end speed at DB. I don't know if we've added enough of it in this class......
You really shouldn't expect the first class after 2 3 win seasons to be full of home run potential.
 


Speed and Athleticism

I see our Chicken Little experts are telling us the sky is falling. I happen to believe it isn't and think Jerry Kill is doing exactly what he said he was going to do, i.e. recruit more athletic and faster players.

He didn't say that they would be four or five star players but he did say they would be more athletic and faster than players we presently have now. In order to recruit this type of player he is going to need to sign players that will require a few more years’ maturity and strength and conditioning. You may not like it but this is going to require PATIENCE! It is a journey, not a sprint. That is why Jerry Kill has a seven year contract.

In case you don't believe he is recruiting faster players here is the time listed for those players who have times posted. We all know that they are not correct but we should realize these players are faster than previous classes.

Philip Nelson 4.48
Mitch Leidner 4.9
Rodrick Williams 4.5
Jamel Harbison 4.51
Isaac Fruechte 4.40
Maxx Williams 4.75
Isaac Hayes 5.10
Alex Keith 4.7
Lincoln Plsek 4.7
Scott Ekpe 4.8
Drew Davis 4.68
Brian Nicholson 4.63
Jeremy Baltazar 4.5
Dinero Moss 4.48
Martez Shabazz 4.36
Antonio Johnson 4.5
 

I see our Chicken Little experts are telling us the sky is falling. I happen to believe it isn't and think Jerry Kill is doing exactly what he said he was going to do, i.e. recruit more athletic and faster players.

He didn't say that they would be four or five star players but he did say they would be more athletic and faster than players we presently have now. In order to recruit this type of player he is going to need to sign players that will require a few more years’ maturity and strength and conditioning. You may not like it but this is going to require PATIENCE! It is a journey, not a sprint. That is why Jerry Kill has a seven year contract.

In case you don't believe he is recruiting faster players here is the time listed for those players who have times posted. We all know that they are not correct but we should realize these players are faster than previous classes.

Philip Nelson 4.48
Mitch Leidner 4.9
Rodrick Williams 4.5
Jamel Harbison 4.51
Isaac Fruechte 4.40
Maxx Williams 4.75
Isaac Hayes 5.10
Alex Keith 4.7
Lincoln Plsek 4.7
Scott Ekpe 4.8
Drew Davis 4.68
Brian Nicholson 4.63
Jeremy Baltazar 4.5
Dinero Moss 4.48
Martez Shabazz 4.36
Antonio Johnson 4.5
Those fake numbers are no better than the fake numbers that Brewster's recruits had.
 




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