Five who stayed...Five who left

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CWCWCW

CWCWCW

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I'm certainly not a recruitnik. I like when our top native Minnesotans play for the Gophers, but don't get too worked up when they choose to go elsewhere, especially when it's not another Big 10 school.
I recently had a conversation with a buddy who is a passive Gopher fan and avid Vikings fan. He stated that Minnesota always loses their top recruits. While it's true we didn't land Ashely, Henderson, Laws, and the like, we've done okay with the ones that decided to stay here.
Going back to the early Mason years, pick the five native Minnesotans who have had the biggest impact on their teams and then do the same for the Gophers. Mine is below:

Theirs:
5. John Carlson .... I really liked him. I thought he would have been a great Gopher
4. Trevor Laws ..... pretty good, and pretty mouthy.
3. Michael Floyd .... we've just begun to see his talent. Not too many in MN like this.
2. James Laurinaitis.. great college player. Would he have had the same success at MN?
1. Larry Fitzgerald... see #3, except even better.

Ours:
5. Willie VandeSteeg... barely recruited. Created havoc as a d-end. We could use another.
4. Thomas Tapeh .... easy to root for. Tough, but injuries hampered him.
3. Mark Setterstrom... um, give me four more him please.
2. Eric Decker... many may argue he should be #1.
1. Matt Spaeth....one tough SOB. Excellent blocker and decent receiver. What's not to like?

Interesting notes are that's a lot of receivers coming from our lumberjack state. Not much for defense. I think our list stacks up pretty well against the away team?

Did I miss someone?
 

CWCWCW said:
Did I miss someone?
Click to expand...

Yes. Marion Barber.

And I would not count Fitzgerald because Pennsylvania claims him as an in-state recruit. We can't have it both ways.
 

CWCWCW said:
I'm certainly not a recruitnik. I like when our top native Minnesotans play for the Gophers, but don't get too worked up when they choose to go elsewhere, especially when it's not another Big 10 school.
I recently had a conversation with a buddy who is a passive Gopher fan and avid Vikings fan. He stated that Minnesota always loses their top recruits. While it's true we didn't land Ashely, Henderson, Laws, and the like, we've done okay with the ones that decided to stay here.
Going back to the early Mason years, pick the five native Minnesotans who have had the biggest impact on their teams and then do the same for the Gophers. Mine is below:

Theirs:
5. John Carlson .... I really liked him. I thought he would have been a great Gopher
4. Trevor Laws ..... pretty good, and pretty mouthy.
3. Michael Floyd .... we've just begun to see his talent. Not too many in MN like this.
2. James Laurinaitis.. great college player. Would he have had the same success at MN?
1. Larry Fitzgerald... see #3, except even better.

Ours:
5. Willie VandeSteeg... barely recruited. Created havoc as a d-end. We could use another.
4. Thomas Tapeh .... easy to root for. Tough, but injuries hampered him.
3. Mark Setterstrom... um, give me four more him please.
2. Eric Decker... many may argue he should be #1.
1. Matt Spaeth....one tough SOB. Excellent blocker and decent receiver. What's not to like?

Interesting notes are that's a lot of receivers coming from our lumberjack state. Not much for defense. I think our list stacks up pretty well against the away team?

Did I miss someone?
Click to expand...

Marion Barber III
 

As already mentioned, Marion Barber is a huge omission from the list. Should be #2 behind Decker and ahead of Spaeth.

For those who chose to leave, I would have Ryan Harris in the mix there somewhere. Too early to say for sure, but I would probably also include Klug and Binns in the near future.
 

CWCWCW said:
I'm certainly not a recruitnik. I like when our top native Minnesotans play for the Gophers, but don't get too worked up when they choose to go elsewhere, especially when it's not another Big 10 school.
I recently had a conversation with a buddy who is a passive Gopher fan and avid Vikings fan. He stated that Minnesota always loses their top recruits. While it's true we didn't land Ashely, Henderson, Laws, and the like, we've done okay with the ones that decided to stay here.
Going back to the early Mason years, pick the five native Minnesotans who have had the biggest impact on their teams and then do the same for the Gophers. Mine is below:

Theirs:
5. John Carlson .... I really liked him. I thought he would have been a great Gopher
4. Trevor Laws ..... pretty good, and pretty mouthy.
3. Michael Floyd .... we've just begun to see his talent. Not too many in MN like this.
2. James Laurinaitis.. great college player. Would he have had the same success at MN?
1. Larry Fitzgerald... see #3, except even better.

Ours:
5. Willie VandeSteeg... barely recruited. Created havoc as a d-end. We could use another.
4. Thomas Tapeh .... easy to root for. Tough, but injuries hampered him.
3. Mark Setterstrom... um, give me four more him please.
2. Eric Decker... many may argue he should be #1.
1. Matt Spaeth....one tough SOB. Excellent blocker and decent receiver. What's not to like?

Interesting notes are that's a lot of receivers coming from our lumberjack state. Not much for defense. I think our list stacks up pretty well against the away team?

Did I miss someone?
Click to expand...

You missed quite a few but time only allow me to add:

Ryan Harris
Dominick Bird
 



Klug while a native Minnesotan should be shown with an asterisk. He was so close to the border that he was out of range of Gopher radio coverage.
 

Walker Lee Ashley Jr.?

Except I don't know if he stayed, left, came back, maybe still ... aw, hell, ... forget it.
 




I think your list proves the Gophers are not doing ok at keeping in state talent home. The Gophers don't "always lose their top in state recruitS", but they almost always lose the top in state recruit.

Your list of kids that left include 4 guys who were drafted in the first or second round of the NFL draft and another who likely will go in round one.

Your list of kids that stayed includes nodody drafted higher than round 3 of the NFL draft.

Further the kids who stayed include an offensive guard, a blocking TE, and a RB/FB hybrid. Those positions don't have the dramatic impact of a must double WR like Fitzgerald/Floyd, a MLB like Laurinaitis, or a penetrating DT like Laws (or LT like Ryan Harris was in college). The no.1 kid who did stay was Marion Barber III. It's interesting that the biggest impact from Minnesota high school kids at the skill positions has come from lighly recruited kids like Barber and Decker. To take it a step further, has their been a Minnesota native at CB that played better than Marcus Sherels for the Gophers in the past decade?
 

EG#9 said:
I think your list proves the Gophers are not doing ok at keeping in state talent home. The Gophers don't "always lose their top in state recruitS", but they almost always lose the top in state recruit.

Your list of kids that left include 4 guys who were drafted in the first or second round of the NFL draft and another who likely will go in round one.

Your list of kids that stayed includes nodody drafted higher than round 3 of the NFL draft.

Further the kids who stayed include an offensive guard, a blocking TE, and a RB/FB hybrid. Those positions don't have the dramatic impact of a must double WR like Fitzgerald/Floyd, a MLB like Laurinaitis, or a penetrating DT like Laws (or LT like Ryan Harris was in college). The no.1 kid who did stay was Marion Barber III. It's interesting that the biggest impact from Minnesota high school kids at the skill positions has come from lighly recruited kids like Barber and Decker. To take it a step further, has their been a Minnesota native at CB that played better than Marcus Sherels for the Gophers in the past decade?
Click to expand...

Mike Lehan?
 

koppco1 said:
Mike Lehan?
Click to expand...

Good catch on Lehan, obviously better than Sherels and actually had a few good years with the Dolphins. Looks like Lehan's last year with the Gophers was 2002 from his ESPN.com profile and he is now with the Saints(had no idea).
 

Ben Utech should probably be on this list...if not for a HORRIBLE injury, he'd probably would have made a name for himself in the NFL.
 




You're right.

InTheGame said:
Ben Hamilton?
Click to expand...

An obvious miss was Barber III. If I did the list over, Hamilton would probably make the top 5 too. We were spoiled at the C position with Hamilton and then Eslinger.
 

EG#9 said:
I think your list proves the Gophers are not doing ok at keeping in state talent home. The Gophers don't "always lose their top in state recruitS", but they almost always lose the top in state recruit.

Why are we so obsessed in Minnesota about kids leaving? Top kids committing out of State HAPPENS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!

Just quickly looking at Rivals:
-The top Pennsylvania athlete is committed to Notre Dame. Not Penn State or Pitt.
-The top Illinois kid is headed to Kentucky.
-The top 4 Indiana kids are heading to Ohio State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Stanford. No Purdue, Notre Dame or Indiana.
-The top Michigan kid is heading to Michigan State and not to the mighty Michigan.

And to go further, the majority of States #1 ranked athletes have yet to commit anywhere, including States like Florida, Georgia, and Ohio State.
Click to expand...
 

I used to do a little study about how the Big Ten schools in keeping in-state kids home. Penn State and Minn were always on top. But of course the data was largely ignored and people went back to believing what they wanted to believe quickly if not immediately.
 

CWCWCW said:
I'm certainly not a recruitnik. I like when our top native Minnesotans play for the Gophers, but don't get too worked up when they choose to go elsewhere, especially when it's not another Big 10 school.
I recently had a conversation with a buddy who is a passive Gopher fan and avid Vikings fan. He stated that Minnesota always loses their top recruits. While it's true we didn't land Ashely, Henderson, Laws, and the like, we've done okay with the ones that decided to stay here.
Going back to the early Mason years, pick the five native Minnesotans who have had the biggest impact on their teams and then do the same for the Gophers. Mine is below:

Theirs:
5. John Carlson .... I really liked him. I thought he would have been a great Gopher
4. Trevor Laws ..... pretty good, and pretty mouthy.
3. Michael Floyd .... we've just begun to see his talent. Not too many in MN like this.
2. James Laurinaitis.. great college player. Would he have had the same success at MN?
1. Larry Fitzgerald... see #3, except even better.

Ours:
5. Willie VandeSteeg... barely recruited. Created havoc as a d-end. We could use another.
4. Thomas Tapeh .... easy to root for. Tough, but injuries hampered him.
3. Mark Setterstrom... um, give me four more him please.
2. Eric Decker... many may argue he should be #1.
1. Matt Spaeth....one tough SOB. Excellent blocker and decent receiver. What's not to like?

Interesting notes are that's a lot of receivers coming from our lumberjack state. Not much for defense. I think our list stacks up pretty well against the away team?

Did I miss someone?
Click to expand...

Broderick Binns has been a beast at times for Iowa and is only a junior this season - believe he was a Cretin kid
 


i looked at ESPN Fantasy and it had Laurinitis as 2nd best LB. Suprising..
 

GoGophers2005 said:
EG#9 said:
I think your list proves the Gophers are not doing ok at keeping in state talent home. The Gophers don't "always lose their top in state recruitS", but they almost always lose the top in state recruit.

Why are we so obsessed in Minnesota about kids leaving? Top kids committing out of State HAPPENS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!

Just quickly looking at Rivals:
-The top Pennsylvania athlete is committed to Notre Dame. Not Penn State or Pitt.
-The top Illinois kid is headed to Kentucky.
-The top 4 Indiana kids are heading to Ohio State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Stanford. No Purdue, Notre Dame or Indiana.
-The top Michigan kid is heading to Michigan State and not to the mighty Michigan.

And to go further, the majority of States #1 ranked athletes have yet to commit anywhere, including States like Florida, Georgia, and Ohio State.
Click to expand...

You're right, but here's my angle (and I'm old and I realize things have changed). If the top in-state kids aren't considering the hometown squad, what does that say to recruits in other parts of the country? I don't think we need to get them all, but it's nice when we are in the last two or three "serious" considerations for in-state kids because that promotes the program, at least indirectly, to other good football players throughout the country.

The other point is that it's very rare that the top two or three kids in Minnesota would be in the Top 10 in Ohio or Pennsylvania. Ohio State can lose a couple of top-rated Ohio kids because there's a lot more kids in Ohio whose talents readily translate to Big 10 football.

I don't think there's a right answer here and there needs to be a balance, but if it boils down to two kids of relatively equal ability, I'll opt for the in-state kid almost every time.
Click to expand...
 

GoGophers2005 said:
EG#9 said:
I think your list proves the Gophers are not doing ok at keeping in state talent home. The Gophers don't "always lose their top in state recruitS", but they almost always lose the top in state recruit.

Why are we so obsessed in Minnesota about kids leaving? Top kids committing out of State HAPPENS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!

Just quickly looking at Rivals:
-The top Pennsylvania athlete is committed to Notre Dame. Not Penn State or Pitt.
-The top Illinois kid is headed to Kentucky.
-The top 4 Indiana kids are heading to Ohio State, North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Stanford. No Purdue, Notre Dame or Indiana.
-The top Michigan kid is heading to Michigan State and not to the mighty Michigan.

And to go further, the majority of States #1 ranked athletes have yet to commit anywhere, including States like Florida, Georgia, and Ohio State.
Click to expand...

I think your missing the point. Mn will only win on a consistent basis once the Gophers routinely get the top 3-7 kids out of Mn on an annual basis. Minnesota produces MORE than enough talent to compete annually for the BigTen championship (ie national championship), however the talent pool is shallow therefore the gophers must bat almost 100% in recruiting Mn football players.

The other states you mentioned can have the same current success rate has Mn and get away with it. The thing that is always missed is we do produce enough talent in the state to compete on a national level.
Click to expand...
 

Sportsfan24 said:
GoGophers2005 said:
I think your missing the point. Mn will only win on a consistent basis once the Gophers routinely get the top 3-7 kids out of Mn on an annual basis. Minnesota produces MORE than enough talent to compete annually for the BigTen championship (ie national championship), however the talent pool is shallow therefore the gophers must bat almost 100% in recruiting Mn football players.

The other states you mentioned can have the same current success rate has Mn and get away with it. The thing that is always missed is we do produce enough talent in the state to compete on a national level.
Click to expand...

I would disagree, when you look at the total number of division 1 recruits from Minnesota. Minnesota ranks 35th in the country in total number of Division 1 recruits, including many states with much smaller populations. The emphasis and development of high school football and athletes just isn't as great here as many other places.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/items/starsearchstatesoverall.pdf
Click to expand...
 

A slight case of Tunnel Vision here...

GopherGod said:
Sportsfan24 said:
I would disagree, when you look at the total number of division 1 recruits from Minnesota. Minnesota ranks 35th in the country in total number of Division 1 recruits, including many states with much smaller populations. The emphasis and development of high school football and athletes just isn't as great here as many other places.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/webextra/content/items/starsearchstatesoverall.pdf
Click to expand...

Hockey, Hockey, and Hockey again. This state produces a lot of talent in this sport, but that is where the majority of the focus goes. A lot of early development programs, summers spent on ice, etc. How hockey is here, football is elsewhere. I have always contented that the number of true athletes from this state is comparable by population to any other, but many, many pick hockey early and stay with it. I have always said that we need to close our borders (within reason) but it is really hard to change the focus of the entire state from hockey to football, and lesser extents Basketball, Baseball, and the "Olympic" sports. Indiana faces the same problem with Basketball. GopherGod is right on with his summation.
Click to expand...
 

Paterno couldn't keep Pryor going to Ohio State.
Michigan or Michigan State couldn't keep Heisman winner Ingram from going to Alabama.
Virginia or Virginia Tech couldn't land Percy Harvin.
USC, Cal, Stanford, UCLA couldn't land Jimmy Clausen.

This isn't a Minnesota thing. Guys like Seantrel and Floyd are going to be recruited nationally and it will be a coin toss where they will land.

The important thing, and it isn't the most glamorous thing, is for the Gophers to get a good chunk of the top Minnesota kids. Everyone wants to put such a high importance landing what a recruiting website says is the #1 kid in the state. There are so many intangibles that a kid deals with when he gets 6 offers (his parents might have gone to Wisconsin, he might have family near Clemson, he went to a Catholic high school and wants to attend a Catholic university).
 

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