ESPN: College football transfer portal Insider (Five teams off to a good start: Minnesota)

[BleedGopher]

Per ESPN:

Minnesota: P.J. Fleck is leading the way early with 10 transfer commits, more than any other Power 4 program as of Monday morning. The Gophers landed one of the Sun Belt's best running backs, Marshall's A.J. Turner, to pair with leading rusher Darius Taylor, plus two more backs in Cameron Davis (Washington) and Cole Cabana (Michigan) to create strong depth. Miami (Ohio) receiver Javon Tracy was one of the best in the MAC this season and was a big get, and Georgia Tech transfer Zach Pyron could be a steal as well. Minnesota also grabbed two FCS transfers who could be under-the-radar gems in Illinois State's Steven Curtis and Stony Brook's Rushawn Lawrence to boost their defensive line. The Gophers are loading up quickly with quality pickups.

Portal buzz: Early winners, Belichick's plan and the rising cost of QBs

What we're seeing and hearing early on from the winter transfer portal.

www.espn.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[Gold Rush]

Per ESPN:

Minnesota: P.J. Fleck is leading the way early with 10 transfer commits, more than any other Power 4 program as of Monday morning. The Gophers landed one of the Sun Belt's best running backs, Marshall's A.J. Turner, to pair with leading rusher Darius Taylor, plus two more backs in Cameron Davis (Washington) and Cole Cabana (Michigan) to create strong depth. Miami (Ohio) receiver Javon Tracy was one of the best in the MAC this season and was a big get, and Georgia Tech transfer Zach Pyron could be a steal as well. Minnesota also grabbed two FCS transfers who could be under-the-radar gems in Illinois State's Steven Curtis and Stony Brook's Rushawn Lawrence to boost their defensive line. The Gophers are loading up quickly with quality pickups.

Portal buzz: Early winners, Belichick's plan and the rising cost of QBs

What we're seeing and hearing early on from the winter transfer portal.

www.espn.com

Go Gophers!!

The college football landscape is changing very quickly the last few years with new rules and different ways to build your team. The old school way saw teams dominate for years and years with very little chance to move up significantly.

We just don't know how all this will pan out the next several years with NIL deals and transfers. However, the Gophers look like they will not only survive but perhaps thrive. It looks like PJ Fleck has figured out a good plan to quickly build his team, fill holes and remain competitive in a very changing landscape. We may not move into the playoffs next year but I like how we didn't sink to the bottom of the depths of college football, such as Purdue did under the new rules.

I remember when Mason was here and there was considerable debate after every season if he was the right guy for the job and the answer was always we could probably do better but we could probably do worse, too. In the end, they swung for the fences and missed spectacularly with Brewster, but after that, the coaches focused a lot more on defense and that has been a major key for our success.

With Fleck, sure there is probably someone who could do better, but I think Fleck is the right guy for the job and he understands what it will take to be successful here. No debate here in my book -- Fleck is a good coach and hopefully he stays a long time.

 

[fmlizard]

Minnesota is really good at getting early commitments under Fleck.

In both high school and portal recruiting, the Gophers typically jump out from the pack with high numbers early in the cycle.

 

[stocker08]

Fleck has done a fantastic job with the transfer portal. Always going to lose guys that you'd like to keep.....but it seems that year after year we've come out ahead in terms of contributors brought in.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Fleck has done a fantastic job with the transfer portal. Always going to lose guys that you'd like to keep.....but it seems that year after year we've come out ahead in terms of contributors brought in.

Yeah, pretty sure if you made a list of quality players we have brought in vs. players we have lost that have gone on to have good careers at schools similar in size to us we would be way ahead. Like everyone we have lost a lot of depth guys to the portal, but overall we haven't lost a ton of impact players and we have brought in quite a few.

 

[btowngopher]

Minnesota is really good at getting early commitments under Fleck.

In both high school and portal recruiting, the Gophers typically jump out from the pack with high numbers early in the cycle.

One good thing with this strategy is you don’t get stuck having to take on a marginal talent or someone of questionable character or just someone you haven’t had a chance to evaluate thoroughly because you have to fill spots late.

 

[Gopherchase]

PJ is a portal savant.

 

[akgo4]

PJ looks for kids who will work hard and buy into his system. Outside of Irving, we haven't been a big target of other schools to plunder. Can say all you want about "RTB", but the system and the culture help players thrive here. We get kids drafted, which didn't use to get said.