Gophers Land Alabama DT Transfer O.J. Smith

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Since he has to sit out a year as a transfer, does he count as one of our 25 recruits for this year, and/or as one of the 85 total scholarships we can hand out?
 

Livingat45north said:
Since he has to sit out a year as a transfer, does he count as one of our 25 recruits for this year, and/or as one of the 85 total scholarships we can hand out?
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He does not count against the 2018 scholarship limit, but does count toward the total I think.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
I hope the guy can help the team. I suppose a Bama recruit - any Bama recruit - has some talent.

But - just wondering here - if the Gophers had signed a transfer from a non-helmet school who had played a handful of snaps in two years, would anyone be celebrating?

I think this points up the need to improve the level of recruiting if the Gophers are ever going to be in the same conversation as the big boys. Imagine a day when another school is excited because they got a transfer from the U of MN who had only played a handful of snaps. Now that would be a sign of progress.
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We have a huge hole at upper class man DL and a transfer from Bama fits the bill. If he didn't get hurt and played a majority of the snaps, he wouldn't be transferring! Upper class man that have not yet proven themselves (because of injuries or whatnot) at the helmet schools typically get passed over on the depth chart by the next incoming 5 star.

We get all excited about JC transfers, why not OJ?


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Ski U Master said:
I'm sure the English department is excited to get him in the classroom!
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I know for a fact you have never made an error in your life. And thanks for ripping on a new Gopher. Great way to welcome him.
 



Halsey Hall said:
I know for a fact you have never made an error in your life. And thanks for ripping on a new Gopher. Great way to welcome him.
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It's not a rip on him.

If a guy comes in and is undersized people would say, "I be the S&C team can't wait to get him in the weight room". It's about potential and realizing that potential at the U.
 

The juice is loose!

As others have said he's probably a talented player but there is phenomenal competition at Alabama.

If Fleck is philosophically opposed to JUCOs then this fits the bill. It always seemed like immediate playing time could attract some top JUCOs or transfers for 2018 so I wasn't as alarmed as some. Even if the young DTs (the Illinois kid comes to mind) are ready to play as true freshmen (like Richardson) we can't have enough serviceable linemen in Robb's scheme.
 

Ski U Master said:
It's not a rip on him.

If a guy comes in and is undersized people would say, "I be the S&C team can't wait to get him in the weight room". It's about potential and realizing that potential at the U.
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Seemed like a "rip on him" to me too....
 

Pompous Elitist said:
The juice is loose!

As others have said he's probably a talented player but there is phenomenal competition at Alabama.

If Fleck is philosophically opposed to JUCOs then this fits the bill. It always seemed like immediate playing time could attract some top JUCOs or transfers for 2018 so I wasn't as alarmed as some. Even if the young DTs (the Illinois kid comes to mind) are ready to play as true freshmen (like Richardson) we can't have enough serviceable linemen in Robb's scheme.
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I'm thinking he was a depth guy from the start at Bama.


Granted.... we could probabbly do well if we picked up a lot of depth guys from teams like that so awesome I say.
 



Halsey Hall said:
I know for a fact you have never made an error in your life. And thanks for ripping on a new Gopher. Great way to welcome him.
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A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
Seemed like a "rip on him" to me too....
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You guys might be a little too sensitive here. He misspelled MN and SUM found it amusing. No one, including OJ, should be offended. Lighten up.


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Spoofin said:
You guys might be a little too sensitive here. He misspelled MN and SUM found it amusing. No one, including OJ, should be offended. Lighten up.


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short ornery norwegian said:
I hope the guy can help the team. I suppose a Bama recruit - any Bama recruit - has some talent.

But - just wondering here - if the Gophers had signed a transfer from a non-helmet school who had played a handful of snaps in two years, would anyone be celebrating?

I think this points up the need to improve the level of recruiting if the Gophers are ever going to be in the same conversation as the big boys. Imagine a day when another school is excited because they got a transfer from the U of MN who had only played a handful of snaps. Now that would be a sign of progress.
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To answer your question, yes. Might be homerish, but it's better than ****ting on a kid who wants to play for Minnesota.

Also, the more important point, this is not just a helmet school, this is Alabama. They have made the playoffs the last three years and the final two of the last three. Perhaps the only helmet school that might come close to having as much talent is Ohio state.
 


HoustonTXGopher said:
Just saying, I hope he contributes at an elite level and he seems to fit an area of need, but we have a whole team that can sit on Alabama's bench just as OJ did.
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How many players do you think we have, that would crack the 2 deeps at Bama? Could the Gophers beat Bama's 2nd string?
 


Anyone know if he got any snaps in a game whilst at Bama?


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Costa Rican Gopher said:
How many players do you think we have, that would crack the 2 deeps at Bama? Could the Gophers beat Bama's 2nd string?
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Not many. There's a reason why they have 7-10 players drafted every year and are still playing in the National Championship Game every year.
 

bigtenchamps1899 said:
To answer your question, yes. Might be homerish, but it's better than ****ting on a kid who wants to play for Minnesota.

Also, the more important point, this is not just a helmet school, this is Alabama. They have made the playoffs the last three years and the final two of the last three. Perhaps the only helmet school that might come close to having as much talent is Ohio state.
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Do you mean talent, "talent", or talent*...?
 




AtTheLibrary said:
I wonder who recruited his official visit. Fleck was at B1G media days and the Scott County Fair during his visit (according to Twitter). Looks like we have some ELITE closers on the staff!
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He probably flew back from Media Days in time for the visit. Most of his responsibilities were likely done by early afternoon and Smith didn't get here until late afternoon.

Scott County Fair is in Jordan, which is only 39 miles from Gibson-Nagurski. Easy trip back to close the deal if necessary.
 

bigtenchamps1899 said:
To answer your question, yes. Might be homerish, but it's better than ****ting on a kid who wants to play for Minnesota.

Also, the more important point, this is not just a helmet school, this is Alabama. They have made the playoffs the last three years and the final two of the last three. Perhaps the only helmet school that might come close to having as much talent is Ohio state.
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All this talk about Bama and getting a player from them reminds me of Brian Bobek

It's great we got an Alabama player to transfer here, he will certainly have a chance to get quality playing time. Let's hope he has an impact in a year.

Welcome to the Gophers OJ



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GFBfan said:
All this talk about Bama and getting a player from them reminds me of Brian Bobek

It's great we got an Alabama player to transfer here, he will certainly have a chance to get quality playing time. Let's hope he has an impact in a year.

Welcome to the Gophers OJ



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Transfers are always tricky.

However, this is a position where we absolutely needed some experienced depth for next season. You never want to be forced to play someone in the interior before they are ready (wasting a redshirt, hard to compete if you physically aren't strong enough).

I'm always a bit meh on transfers, but this one is big for the program. It is, at worst, a needed safety net. At best, much more.
 

HoustonTXGopher said:
He was only good enough to sit on Alabama's bench.
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Considering Alabama had two DTs drafted in the first two rounds of this year's draft (one in the top 20, one in the 2nd), and an amazing 10 players drafted in the top 100 (basically, the last of them at 112 overall), I couldn't be less concerned about whether he was starting at Alabama.

Thats not to say he'll be good here. I'm just not going to base anything on it.
 

GFBfan said:
All this talk about Bama and getting a player from them reminds me of Brian Bobek

It's great we got an Alabama player to transfer here, he will certainly have a chance to get quality playing time. Let's hope he has an impact in a year.

Welcome to the Gophers OJ



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Bobek had quite the roller-coaster career? Kid got hurt at tOSU and they pretty much told him he wasn't gonna make the field for them again. He worked very hard to get back into shape, came here and sat out his redshirt year. Had to look up his bio at Iowa State to get things right.

Then he missed 2013 due to illness.

In 2014 he was an Academic Big Ten player. One who only played in 3 games before an injury took him out for the year.

2015 again Academic Big Ten player. Started the first 5 games at center. Then got hurt and missed the rest of the season.

Got his undergrad degree in Business and Marketing from the U.

2016 ay ISU?

Dury Moss Outstanding Co-Newcomer of the Year … one of Iowa State’s top offensive linemen, starting all 12 games at center … one of five players to start all 12 games … aided the Cyclones to prolific offensive numbers, averaging 421.6 yards of total offense, the fifth-best total in school history … the Cyclones averaged 29.4 points and 439.8 yards of total offense in league play, both school records in the Big 12 era (1996-present) … helped pave the way for three 500-yard rushers, the first time a Cyclone team has achieved that feat.

He's now working on his Master's Degree.

Good luck to him and O.J. going forward as well.
 

Iceland12 said:
2015 again Academic Big Ten player. Started the first 5 games at center. Then got hurt and missed the rest of the season.

Got his undergrad degree in Business and Marketing from the U.
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Wow, I don't even remember him playing. I must be getting old.
 

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