Duke Anyanwu is Golden

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John Galt said:
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.
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Jewhan Edwards was arguable our best defensive player in 2010. He had to go, he was a jerk of a person, but he was our best defensive lineman in 2010 and likely would have been in 2011.

Kevin Whaley started ahead of Bennett. I am not entirely sure he was much better than Bennett, but he certainly was right in that ballpark (in terms of ability, not attitude or dedication).

Brodrick Smith likely would have been our #1 or #2 WR. He led KState in receiving in 2010 before severely breaking his leg. He was a really good athlete, likely as good as McKnight.

Bryant Allen was one of our better returning WRs before he chose to transfer.

Tim Dandridge actually finished with a decent career at Jackson St., and has an outside shot of playing in the NFL next season (most NFL scouting services have him just behind Royston in rankings)

In a purely hypothetical world, if those guys were able to stay in school and play, we would have been a significantly better football. Each of them would have likely started (maybe not Whaley).

However, I do see your point. You need some big guns to compete in the Big 10. But my argument was that if you had 65 players contributing, the best players will rise to the top and we will have those big time performers. I really didn't expect that all 65 would be borderline backup / special teams contributors. Players are going to step up and be our "big dogs" and the players that don't need to find a role and excel in that role.
 

Gopherprof

Gopherprof said:
Those fake numbers are no better than the fake numbers that Brewster's recruits had.
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I’m curious, given that we don’t have times that in most cases can’t be substantiated, do you think the players that Jerry Kill is recruiting this year are faster than in previous year. If not, do you not think a major focus of this year's recruiting is to become faster? Then why do believe that they will not be successful in recruiting faster players? Or is it that you don't trust anything that has been said by Jerry Kill or his ability to do it? Or do you want to see it before they believe it as I expect many do? I personally believe that Jerry Kill’s past should give us enough insight as to what he is doing now. It is not a guarantee but few things are.
 

Killjoy said:
I’m curious, given that we don’t have times that in most cases can’t be substantiated, do you think the players that Jerry Kill is recruiting this year are faster than in previous year. If not, do you not think a major focus of this year's recruiting is to become faster? Then why do believe that they will not be successful in recruiting faster players? Or is it that you don't trust anything that has been said by Jerry Kill or his ability to do it? Or do you want to see it before they believe it as I expect many do? I personally believe that Jerry Kill’s past should give us enough insight as to what he is doing now. It is not a guarantee but few things are.
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That's a lot of questions.

I have no idea if this batch of players is faster, considering that all of these numbers are completely made up (which was my point). There's a lot of kool-aid drinking on this board, but even the biggest homers don't think Freutche can actually run a 4.4

Your second question about Kill not being able to back up his words is interesting, because Kill has promised very little in terms of damn near anything. When Kill says he wants to "recruit speed", he's saying something that 99% of all head coaches say. It's just the same as people constantly saying "Kill recruits players who want to be here." Those types of statements are so opaque as to be completely meaningless. It's just coachspeak and shouldn't be taken that seriously.
 

Gopherprof said:
That's a lot of questions.

There's a lot of kool-aid drinking on this board, but even the biggest homers don't think Freutche can actually run a 4.4

These boards are made for GOPHER FANS!!! So, yeah some people actuall like the team and want them to do well and actually have postive things to say. As you put it "drink their Kool-Aid." Secondly, who are you to say that Issac doesn't run a 4.4, have you watched him run a 40 yard dash or even watched the kid play? My guess is that you haven't, and sure some of the numbers may be a little off but who cares they are in the ball park.

My last point is that this board is suppossed to be about Duke becoming a Gopher and it has turned into how fast kids can run. Let's wait a few years before we start judging these kids and thinking that we are experts. We don't go to their games, meet them personally, and more than half of us haven't played a down of college football, so who are we to judge off a few highlights.
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Gopherprof said:
That's a lot of questions.

I have no idea if this batch of players is faster, considering that all of these numbers are completely made up (which was my point). There's a lot of kool-aid drinking on this board, but even the biggest homers don't think Freutche can actually run a 4.4

Your second question about Kill not being able to back up his words is interesting, because Kill has promised very little in terms of damn near anything. When Kill says he wants to "recruit speed", he's saying something that 99% of all head coaches say. It's just the same as people constantly saying "Kill recruits players who want to be here." Those types of statements are so opaque as to be completely meaningless. It's just coachspeak and shouldn't be taken that seriously.
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My point is that Kill is a turn around specialist and we have his past record as a good indicator as what he will do here. I don't take everything what Kill says as truth but when he says something he has a definite purpose in saying it. My point is that Kill is very focused on becoming more athletic and faster. This isn't coachspeak from him and it should be taken very serious. I am sometime amazed how little some people understand about who Jerry Kill is.
 


dbush said:
These boards are made for GOPHER FANS!!! So, yeah some people actuall like the team and want them to do well and actually have postive things to say. As you put it "drink their Kool-Aid." Secondly, who are you to say that Issac doesn't run a 4.4, have you watched him run a 40 yard dash or even watched the kid play? My guess is that you haven't, and sure some of the numbers may be a little off but who cares they are in the ball park.

My last point is that this board is suppossed to be about Duke becoming a Gopher and it has turned into how fast kids can run. Let's wait a few years before we start judging these kids and thinking that we are experts. We don't go to their games, meet them personally, and more than half of us haven't played a down of college football, so who are we to judge off a few highlights.
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As far as Duke goes, I think he was a solid commit considering he was one of our last offers.

How do I know Freutche doesn't run a 4.4.? Well, I have a brain? Have you ever watched the NFL combine? If Freutche could actually run a 4.4 he would be a top NFL prospect, let alone someone who would have offers from almost every team in the country.
 

Killjoy said:
My point is that Kill is a turn around specialist and we have his past record as a good indicator as what he will do here. I don't take everything what Kill says as truth but when he says something he has a definite purpose in saying it. My point is that Kill is very focused on becoming more athletic and faster. This isn't coachspeak from him and it should be taken very serious. I am sometime amazed how little some people understand about who Jerry Kill is.
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Every single coach in the country has that desire.
 

Gopherprof said:
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.
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He's probably listed at (roughly) 200, because he weighed in at that weight at a combine. In an interview with ESPNHS Minnesota he said he gained 25 lbs over the off-season. Thus how Rivals came at 225.

ESPNHS: How did you get ready for this season?

Anyanwu: I worked out a lot. I lifted by myself, worked on my velocity, did a lot of cone training work to be quick off a dead stance and I worked on my cutting a lot. I also just worked on sheer strength. I gained 25 pounds over the summer just from working. And I played AAU basketball, which helped my conditioning and helped me stay in shape. I was definitely working hard all summer.
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RoyalGopher said:
He's probably listed at (roughly) 200, because he weighed in at that weight at a combine. In an interview with ESPNHS Minnesota he said he gained 25 lbs over the off-season. Thus how Rivals came at 225.
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Well that's good to hear. I wonder if the videos posted were from his junior year (not gonna lie, too lazy to check). He certainly doesn't look 6'4" 225lbs in those videos, although that's obviously not a very scientific way of doing it.
 

Killjoy said:
We are talking past each other. It not what they want it is what they do. I talking about what Kill does.
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No, I do get that. And for those that want to take his record from SIU and NIU and extrapolate that to Minnesota, that does make sense. That said, if you're isolating the issue of speed by itself, you would have to someway prove that superior speed was one of the primary reasons why Kill was successful at SIU and NIU, as opposed to a myriad of other factors.

Personally, I think the primary reasons for Kill's success are program stability and hard work. He's not known as a great recruiter, and I've never expected him to be that. I think Maturi hired him because he's the anti-Brewster: he works hard (to be fair, I have no idea if Brewster worked hard or not, but there's certainly the perception he tried to take shortcuts), he has a plan, and he has a loyal staff. That's good enough for me for now; if he happens to be a solid recruiter, all the better.
 

dbush said:
Gopherprof said:
My last point is that this board is suppossed to be about Duke becoming a Gopher and it has turned into how fast kids can run. Let's wait a few years before we start judging these kids and thinking that we are experts. We don't go to their games, meet them personally, and more than half of us haven't played a down of college football, so who are we to judge off a few highlights.
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The purpose of the board is to discuss football and speculate. I doubt many on here are secretly D-1 coaches. I honestly hope Duke becomes an All-American and the greatest Gopher of all-time, and helps lead us to 4 Rose Bowls. But the fact is this: it's 2 weeks before signing day, and prior to the Gopher offer, he had offers from Air Force, North Dakota, SDSU, and Northern Iowa. Even the Gophers didn't offer him after summer camp. I feel much better about players like Eric Murray and Nick Rallis, who the staff saw in person and decided to offer right away.
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John Galt said:
The purpose of the board is to discuss football and speculate. I doubt many on here are secretly D-1 coaches. I honestly hope Duke becomes an All-American and the greatest Gopher of all-time, and helps lead us to 4 Rose Bowls. But the fact is this: it's 2 weeks before signing day, and prior to the Gopher offer, he had offers from Air Force, North Dakota, SDSU, and Northern Iowa. Even the Gophers didn't offer him after summer camp. I feel much better about players like Eric Murray and Nick Rallis, who the staff saw in person and decided to offer right away.
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you keep posting like this and people will confuse you for me......
 



Are we 100% sure that he will be on scholarship?
 

John Galt said:
dbush said:
The purpose of the board is to discuss football and speculate. I doubt many on here are secretly D-1 coaches. I honestly hope Duke becomes an All-American and the greatest Gopher of all-time, and helps lead us to 4 Rose Bowls. But the fact is this: it's 2 weeks before signing day, and prior to the Gopher offer, he had offers from Air Force, North Dakota, SDSU, and Northern Iowa. Even the Gophers didn't offer him after summer camp. I feel much better about players like Eric Murray and Nick Rallis, who the staff saw in person and decided to offer right away.
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Exactly, yet you are questioning a D1 coach who thinks he is good enough to play. The people who like the signing are agreeing with Coach Kill, you are the one with a different opinion. So the people questioning the signing are more acting like covert D1 coaches.

However, things always change throughout the course of a recruiting process. The first impression is not always the only one that matters, as you see with guys like Twitty and Ballesteros. Furthermore, Duke's recruiting process was a bit different.

Duke was in a different situation as he attended the U's camp as a QB. Murray attended the camp as a WR, and from all accounts wasn't thought of as an automatic offer until an injury occurred at camp and they put Murray in on defense (where he shined and we called him a CB ever since). According to Duke and Duke's coach, he went to the U's camp as a QB and the staff thought that he might get an offer at a different position. He was a guy they wanted to see his SR film, they did, they noticed he gained weight, and thought he fit. This isn't any speculation, just go read the several Duke Anyanwu articles on GH.
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FYI. Anyanwu received an Air Force offer on Friday. Probably not to grayshirt...he's got a decision.
 

Duke has had the Air Force offer for a long time. He had it before he visited and since like October (I believe). But he definitely had it before he visited and committed to the U. He already made his decision.
 

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