Football Recruiting Nuggets & Tid-Bits: Gophers Gearing Up for Big Recruiting Weekend

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Football Recruiting Nuggets & Tid-Bits: Gophers Gearing Up for Big Recruiting Weekend

Football Recruiting Nuggets & Tid-Bits: Gophers Gearing Up for Big Recruiting Weekend!!!
By Chris Monter

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/311980?referrer_id=388419

The Minnesota-Wisconsin game figures to be one of the most important contests in recent Gopher history. It also could be the most important recruiting weekend in some time as well.

Minnesota is expected to host nine official visitors and many other players who are making unofficial trips (including Frank Ragnow) to TCF Bank Stadium, which may make this the biggest recruiting weekend since the Ohio State-Minnesota game on September 29, 2007.

The Gophers lost to the Buckeyes 30-7 that Saturday night, but scored big as official visitors Gary Tinsley, Troy Stoudermire, Traye Simmons, Spencer Reeves, Da’Jon McKnight, MarQueis Gray, Jewhan Edwards, Tim Dandridge and Keanon Cooper all signed with Minnesota.

The Gophers are hoping that their better than expected 8-2 start and a festive, loud crowd could help them land several of their talented visitors.

Wichita Northwestern running back Deron Thompson has offers from Army, Colorado State, Idaho, Kansas State, Minnesota and Western Michigan. Northwest finished 5-5, losing to Garden City 40-36 in the playoffs. Thompson finished with 162 carries for 988 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and 17 rushing touchdowns. He had four games of over 100 yards.

Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb running back J'Vonte Herrod has offers from Minnesota, Utah State, Georgia State and Western Kentucky.

Jonesburo (GA) Mundy's Mill running back Rodney Smith has paced the Tigers to a 7-4 mark this season. They face Lee County Friday in the second round of the playoffs. He rushed 28 times for 348 yards and four rushing touchdowns in their 33-12 win over Houston County in the first round. Smith has rushed 206 times for 1709 yards and 20 rushing scores. He has offers from East Carolina, Jacksonville State, N.C. A&T, Samford, Savannah State, South Alabama and Southern Mississippi.

Linebacker Christian Russell from East Mississippi Community College has paced the NJCAA second-ranked Lions to their third state football title in five years with a 61-24 home victory over fourth-ranked Jones County. Russell had a 25 yard interception in the win, his second touchdown on the year. He was named to the NJCAA All-Region 23 Football Team. Russell, who will graduate in December, has offers from Minnesota, Tennessee and Central Florida, where he is expected to visit next weekend. East Mississippi will play Georgia Military College in the NJCAA title game December 8th

Khari Blasingame, a 6-foot-1, 202-pound safety from New Market (Ala.) Buckhorn, attended the Gopher spring game and has been thought to a strong Minnesota lean. He has offers from Appalachian State, Mercer, Middle Tennessee, Minnesota, South Alabama and UAB. Blasingame has become friends with Gopher commit Dimonic McKinzy, who will visit this weekend. The two meet at the spring game and have kept in contact throughout the fall.

Here is a link to a story on Blasingame.

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/272064?referrer_id=388419

Dimonic McKinzy committed to the Gophers a few months back and led the Bulldogs to a 4-5 mark this season. He completed 156 of 295 passes for 2527 yards and 26 passing scores. McKinzy rushed 92 times for 519 yards and nine more touchdowns.

Here is a link to a story on McKinzy.

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/250971?referrer_id=331171

Julien Kafo, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end from Mont-Tremblant (Quebec) Vanier, attended the Minnesota Gopher Friday Nights football camp and will make a return trip to the Twin Cities this weekend.

Here is the link to a story on Kafo.

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/274189?referrer_id=388419

Cody Poock, a 6-foot-3, 230 pound freshman linebacker from Iowa Western Community College. Has helped lead the NJCAA #3 Reivers to a 10-1 mark. They will face #5 Butler Community College in the Graphic Edge Bowl at the UNI Dome December 8th. Poock, who is from Spirit Lake, Iowa, was a full qualifier. He is visiting TCU next weekend and has offers from Georgia State, New Mexico, North Dakota State, Old Dominion and added an offer from Illinois earlier today.

James Folston Jr. a 6-3, 202-pound from Cocoa (FL), visited Pittsburgh two weeks ago to watch the Panthers play Notre Dame. His older brother Tarean is a freshman running back for the Fighting Irish. He comes from an athletic family. His father James Folston Sr., was a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Raiders and played eight seasons in the NFL. His sister, Jazzmine, runs track at TCU.

Only time will tell if this weekend rivals the Ohio State-Minnesota game of six years ago, but Gophers fans have plenty of reasons to be excited about their favorite team on and off the field.
 

Let's put on a good performance and get some verbals!
 

This game is HUGE on so many levels.... Is it Saturday yet?
 


diamonds in the ruff

I hope with our current winning that eventually we can get recruits who have better offers, sure some are diamonds in the ruff, but I doubt all are. Kansas st and Illinois are the best offers these guys have gotten unless i cut and pasted wrong. Go gophers!

GopherHole Staff said:
Football Recruiting Nuggets & Tid-Bits: Gophers Wichita Northwestern running back Deron Thompson has offers from Army, Colorado State, Idaho, Kansas State, Minnesota and Western Michigan. Northwest finished 5-5, Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb running back J'Vonte Herrod has offers from Minnesota, Utah State, Georgia State and Western Kentucky.

Jonesburo (GA) Mundy's Mill running back Rodney Smith has paced the Tigers to a 7-4 mark this season. He has offers from East Carolina, Jacksonville State, N.C. A&T, Samford, Savannah State, South Alabama and Southern Mississippi.

. Russell, who will graduate in December, has offers from Minnesota, Tennessee and Central Florida. He has offers from Appalachian State, Mercer, Middle Tennessee, Minnesota, South Alabama and UAB. .

Julien Kafo, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end from Mont-Tremblant (Quebec) Vanier, attended the Minnesota Gopher Friday Nights football camp and will make a return trip to the Twin Cities this weekend.

Cody Poock, a 6-foot-3, 230 pound freshman linebacker from Iowa Western Community College. He is visiting TCU next weekend and has offers from Georgia State, New Mexico, North Dakota State, Old Dominion and added an offer from Illinois earlier today.

QUOTE]
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march madness said:
I hope with our current winning that eventually we can get recruits who have better offers, sure some are diamonds in the ruff, but I doubt all are. Kansas st and Illinois are the best offers these guys have gotten unless i cut and pasted wrong. Go gophers!

GopherHole Staff said:
Football Recruiting Nuggets & Tid-Bits: Gophers Wichita Northwestern running back Deron Thompson has offers from Army, Colorado State, Idaho, Kansas State, Minnesota and Western Michigan. Northwest finished 5-5, Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb running back J'Vonte Herrod has offers from Minnesota, Utah State, Georgia State and Western Kentucky.

Jonesburo (GA) Mundy's Mill running back Rodney Smith has paced the Tigers to a 7-4 mark this season. He has offers from East Carolina, Jacksonville State, N.C. A&T, Samford, Savannah State, South Alabama and Southern Mississippi.

. Russell, who will graduate in December, has offers from Minnesota, Tennessee and Central Florida. He has offers from Appalachian State, Mercer, Middle Tennessee, Minnesota, South Alabama and UAB. .

Julien Kafo, a 6-foot-4, 245-pound defensive end from Mont-Tremblant (Quebec) Vanier, attended the Minnesota Gopher Friday Nights football camp and will make a return trip to the Twin Cities this weekend.

Cody Poock, a 6-foot-3, 230 pound freshman linebacker from Iowa Western Community College. He is visiting TCU next weekend and has offers from Georgia State, New Mexico, North Dakota State, Old Dominion and added an offer from Illinois earlier today.

QUOTE]
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Trust the staff to target guys that fit in their systems.
From what I gather(not an expert, I just see some trends in the staff's recruiting I'd like to share):
Thompson-Small RB, but fast and tough. Just not enough size to be a #1 for most teams. Berkely Edwardsesque. Might be able to play the slot too.

Herrod-Probably an overlooked guy in his state, medium fish in huge talent pool. We've gone after underrecruited georgia guys before. Big strong back with good balance, ok speed.

Smith- Similar to Herrod, not sure he's a top target, but maybe a fallback option.

Russell-Legit 4 star out of HS, got caught in the UNC scandal/coaching turnover, then had grades issues. JUCOs are only targeted by schools if they fit a need. Kill and Co likely want more thump to replace Hill than the freshmen/soph on roster.

Kafo-They must see him as a raw talent. Playing in Canada isn't going to get you very noticed. Camp offer, which has an excellent track record of working out with this staff(Murray, Leidner)

Blasinggame- A super early offer, the staff must really like something about him.

Poock- 3 year JUCO, tough player, maybe a fallback if Russell doesn't work out.

Folston-Dripping with athleticism, think a LB version of Theiran Cockran. Just too skinny to be a top target for alot of major programs, he'll need some time to mature, but has legit bloodlines and moves really well.

I really want: Ragnow, Thompson, Gibson, Folston, Russell, Blasingame, Kafo, Herrod, and Canty. That might be more than we can sign right now, and we're going to need another corner IMO, maybe they can figure out a way to get Perra to join the team and have McKinzy play DB if he doesn't win PT right away. If Herrod and Thompson both commit this weekend I'd be worried about Jeff Jones, but those 2 are good players.
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I love that Kill is hitting the Deep South as hard as he is. Lots of kids down there.
 

It appears to me that coaching staff is still trying to address some what they talked about when they first go here; the need for more speed and athleticism.I like that in class which will likely be small, they're targeting an area of need (LB depth) and then bringing in athletes. Running backs are often able to make good transitions to other positions because they're athletically gifted.
 



I like this Poock kid a lot.

GopherHole Staff said:
GopherHole Q&A: JUCO LB Cody Poock Discusses Upcoming Official Visit to Minnesota, Recruitment and More

http://www.gopherhole.com/news_article/show/312089?referrer_id=388419
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I like how this Poock kid takes on blocks and finishes tackles, he looks like a hidden gem. I'm surprised more teams are not on him or that Iowa State left him out being in there backyard and all.
That Poock kid is the kind of tackler you build a D core around because he looks like he gets it and get's people in the right spots. I hope he picks us and chooses to be a Gopher. He is my kind of linebacker and look's to me like he just takes charge on the field from the few highligts I have been able to see. There is a lot to like about this Poock. I suppose the competition level that Spirit Lake faced is why he did not stand out to the coaches or the summer camp thing. This kid looks legit to me, I hope coach Miller and coach Kill can covince him to come here. The plus is his family woud be able to drive up for the games pretty easy one advantage we may have. That and we have Pro sports teams like the Twins(Twins hire quite a few summer interns), Wild, Wolves and Vikes that he could intern with if he goes for the Sports management program.
 

I think it will be a good atmosphere but I wish they would bring these southern guys in earlier in the season. Maybe their high school seasons had to get over before they could make the trip.
 

It's a nice story, but w/o telling me their star ratings I don't know if I am supposed to be excited or not???
 

MNSpaniel said:
I think it will be a good atmosphere but I wish they would bring these southern guys in earlier in the season. Maybe their high school seasons had to get over before they could make the trip.
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Might as well show them the worst it can be. If they can't take it....do we really want em?? (I do see your point about bringing them em in shorts weather)

Spoofin said:
It's a nice story, but w/o telling me their star ratings I don't know if I am supposed to be excited or not???
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HAHAHAHAHA
 




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