Gophers Recruiting CB Avante Dickerson Again Now That He's In Portal

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skiumah1 said:
I think you need a subscription. I'm an MN guy. No Omaha papers for me. Wonder if that article can't be found somewhere else. Or what do we got for quotes that we'll love?
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Try accessing it from this tweet. If it doesn’t work, let me know, and I’ll copy and paste the important parts. There are some good quotes in there. I don’t have a subscription, and I’m able to link to it.

 

I couldn't get it. Looks like the Omaha paper has it re-directed with all the links. Those 2 quotes are nice to here already though.
 

skiumah1 said:
I think you need a subscription. I'm an MN guy. No Omaha papers for me. Wonder if that article can't be found somewhere else. Or what do we got for quotes that we'll love?
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I had no issue reading the article and i do not subscribe.
 

skiumah1 said:
I couldn't get it. Looks like the Omaha paper has it re-directed with all the links. Those 2 quotes are nice to here already though.
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Here you go. This isn’t the entire article. The last few paragraphs list a bunch of other instate recruits Nebraska has missed on in recent years.

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Omaha Westside’s Avante Dickerson, the state’s top football recruit in the 2021 class, announced his commitment to Minnesota on Friday.

It was the long-standing relationship with Golden Gopher coach P.J. Fleck, cornerbacks coach Paul Haynes and co-defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak that landed the commitment from Dickerson, and he trusts that they can turn him into an NFL player.

“I picked Minnesota because Coach Fleck, Coach Haynes and Coach Harasymiak are guys that I know can get me prepared for the NFL,” the 6-foot, 165-pound defensive back said. “They make me feel like family and not just another recruit. They are building something special at Minnesota.”

Dickerson had more than two dozen Division I scholarship offers, including from the home-state Huskers. But he’s instead chosen to play for one of Nebraska’s divisional rivals. Boston College and Oregon were the other two schools Dickerson said were in consideration.

He is a four-star prospect, according to the 247Sports composite, ranked No. 93 in the nation and No. 8 at cornerback. He is the highest-rated recruit in the Fleck era at Minnesota.

“Throughout this whole process even head coaches would just offer and then wouldn’t talk to me,” he said. “Minnesota was my third offer, and that was my sophomore year. They have recruited me hard ever since.”

The Gophers on Friday flipped a linebacker commit from Kentucky as well, and now have the nation’s No. 7 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports composite.

Dickerson has never visited Minnesota, but said that did not matter in his decision. With in-person recruiting suspended by the NCAA, Dickerson did take a “virtual visit” to Minnesota last month, getting to speak with coaches via FaceTime and see the campus through video tours.

“If I didn’t feel it in my heart, trust me, I would not be committing,” he said. “It is insane how everything is so nice there. By doing a virtual visit, I felt like I was there. They have amazing facilities and amazing coaches. It can’t get any better than that.”

Dickerson had taken numerous in-person visits to Nebraska over the last couple of years. And though the Huskers will likely continue to recruit Dickerson, he sounds unlikely to listen.

“I’m shutting everything down and excited to be committed to Minnesota,” he said. “They (Nebraska) didn’t do anything wrong. The coaches are wonderful, and I just felt in my heart it was best for me to leave the state and go to Minnesota.”

Florida had long been his dream school. The Gators never contacted him or offered a scholarship.

“Doesn’t matter,” he said. “They took too long and obviously didn’t want me.”

www.omaha.com

Omaha Westside's Avante Dickerson commits to Minnesota over home-state Huskers

Avante Dickerson is the No. 1 player in the state of Nebraska for the 2021 class and one of the top 100 prospects nationally.
www.omaha.com www.omaha.com
 




Well, in reading his comments, he certainly sounds like he's shutting it down.

There's no doubt Nebraska will be in his ear between now and signing day, which is a long ways off.

Nevertheless, there doesn't seem like there's much hesitation regarding the verbal.

I'm a 'wait-and-see kind of guy when it comes to commitments, but I'll say this about Dickerson, he doesn't beat around the bush.
 

MplsGopher said:
Lincoln, Iowa City, and Madison, are all the same type of place: relatively small-ish, college town, big football stadium, bunch of white people.

I can totally understand why a recruit might want to go to a place with more culture.
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I'm guessing the items you listed played very little into his decision
 

Gophers need to show their commitment with a good old fashioned Nebraska beatdown on November 27.
 










MplsGopher said:
Maybe not?

Why do you think Boston College was one of his finalists?
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Maybe he's really intrigued by Catholics?
Red Sox, Celtics, or Bruins fan?
Maybe he wants to regularly walk the Freedom Trail?
 

The pressure thing doesn't make sense. I think the recruit deserves the truth. "There are a finite number of spots of available, we want to fill one of those spots with you. If we don't have you locked in, we will have to look elsewhere to fill that spot." I'm sure PJ is saying it in a much more eloquent way than I am, but that kind of "pressure" is just the truth and I think many recruits would appreciate that kind of transparency. It also doesn't seem like we have a large number of decommits.

As far as PJ's success during this time period. I get it. PJ seems like someone who would be much more comfortable pivoting to such a reliance on technology during these recruiting visits. His positivity is also really refreshing during these times. When he was on with Pat McAfee a few weeks ago, it was genuinely refreshing. Pat joked about voting for him for POTUS. That energy and outlook is refreshing during these strange times.
 

Midwest Spotlight: The 12 biggest commitments this spring

This spring has brought a very unique recruiting landscape, forcing coaches to adjust their recruiting approaches. Some staffs are doing that better than others, and being rewarded with new additions to their 2021 recruiting classes. Here is a look at the 12 biggest commitments in the Midwest region through the first four weeks of the spring season.

1. AVANTE DICKERSON, Minnesota

P.J. Fleck has been bulldozing recruiting obstacles and setting new expectations since his time at Western Michigan. He went into Florida and signed a pair of four-star linemen in his first, full recruiting class, and now he goes into the backyard of his Big Ten West rival and lands a Rivals250 defensive back who had never visited Minnesota’s campus. That type of recruiting feat gives the Gophers' the nod for the biggest Midwest commitment this spring.

12. DEVON WILLIAMS, Minnesota


Securing commitments during this time has not been particularly difficult, but flipping commitments without the benefit of hosting prospects on campus is a whole different matter. Minnesota was able to flip Williams from his nearly three-month Kentucky commitment without getting him on campus and despite the fact that he was going from a school he can easily drive to to one he almost certainly has to fly to. That was an impressive feat.

uga.rivals.com

UGASports - Midwest Spotlight: The 12 biggest commitments this spring

Four-star DB Jaylen Reed committed to Penn State in early April.
uga.rivals.com uga.rivals.com

Go Gophers!!
 


One-on-One with Westside's Avante Dickerson

Ross: “What impressed you about the facilities at Minnesota?”
Avante: “The locker room, everything is amazing you got to see it.”

Ross: “The weather in Minnesota is cold. How did that impact your decision?”
Avante: “You have to play in the cold no matter what, after that State Championship game I think I can handle everything.”

Ross: “What is your response to Husker fans on why you did not choose to go to Nebraska?”
Avnate: “Well Nebraska I love guys I will always have a spot in my heart, I love you guys, the best fit for me was Minnesota and that is what I picked."

Westside Head Coach Brett Froendt on Dickerson's Commitment to Minnesota:

"It was about relationships with the coaches, it was about who could develop him at the next level both athletically and to be a man and he never compromised those one time. So when he came back to me with his list, that is exactly what that reflected and all the way down to his final choice, because the best relationships that he had with those coaches up there, the opportunity that they have to develop him, and his position coach up there is top notch and he never compromised that. Coach Fleck is a special recruiter he was heavily involved in the recruiting, both with Avante and with me and so that was a fun experience, but he is going to a genuine cultured, strong cultured opportunity and an opportunity to get on the field early, so I am proud of his process and I am proud of his decision."

www.wowt.com

One-on-One with Westside's Avante Dickerson

Westside's Avante Dickerson is the most highly recruited high school football player in Nebraska. The junior defensive back announced his commitment to Minnesota. WOWT6 Sports Director Ross Jernstrom went one-on-one with Dickerson in his first t-v interview and talked about his decision to join...
www.wowt.com www.wowt.com

Go Gophers!!
 

GoldenRodents said:
Gophers need to show their commitment with a good old fashioned Nebraska beatdown on November 27.
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That is how its done to get the attention of the top recruit in the state of Nebraska.
 

Huskers are now going to lose out on a legacy recruit in their backyard . Sounds like a playmaker from Nebraska is going to go to iowa instead of neb .....there that's better
 
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madeup said:
gophers are now going to lose out on a legacy recruit in their backyard . Sounds like a playmaker from Nebraska is going to go to iowa instead of neb ..
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Great stuff! So glad you could join GH.
 

madeup said:
gophers are now going to lose out on a legacy recruit in their backyard . Sounds like a playmaker from Nebraska is going to go to iowa instead of neb ..
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(imagine the money is photoshopped to be our recruiting class)
 

madeup said:
gophers are now going to lose out on a legacy recruit in their backyard . Sounds like a playmaker from Nebraska is going to go to iowa instead of neb ..
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Like the screen name “madeup.” Classy.
 


damn I did error there .. yes its huskers losing legacy .. where is the face palm dude
 


per Sid:

• Avante Dickerson is one of the highest-rated high school football recruits to ever choose playing for the Gophers. The cornerback from Omaha told the Lincoln Star Journal why he picked coach P.J. Fleck’s program over schools such as Ohio State, LSU, Penn State, Texas, Oregon and USC. “Some schools just offered and then didn’t talk to me,” Dickerson said. “[The Gophers] were my third offer and the fact they stayed in contact ever since showed how much they cared. They didn’t just treat me like another athlete, they treated me like I was a big priority for them.”

www.startribune.com

Vikings receivers Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson were both diamonds in the rough

Adam Thielen didn't receive a single Division I offer after graduating from Detroit Lakes. Justin Jefferson was rated 308th among receiver prospects in the Class of 2017. LSU was the only program to offer him a scholarship.
www.startribune.com www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!
 



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