Grayson Levine has an official visit this weekend....

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Bob_Loblaw

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The DB from Eden Prarie is having an official visit to the U and it sounds like if the U offerred, they'd get him. He can really run and is pretty tough kid (played in the box a lot, good tackler). I am hoping by this time next week Levine will be part of our incoming class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2byw7oZlBI&feature=related
 


me too, the kid looks like a solid safety prospect. Levine and Bjorklund are the two kids that I think should have offers. I'm not really sold on the other in-state guys left out there, but these two are solid players.
 

sonnygarcia said:
me too, the kid looks like a solid safety prospect. Levine and Bjorklund are the two kids that I think should have offers. I'm not really sold on the other in-state guys left out there, but these two are solid players.
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Yeah, I would like Levine, Bjorklund and Veldman to get offers, but I think Levine is the best of that bunch.
 



I think if we have offers that will go unfilled, it is much better to take a chance on an in state guy (barring they have potential) than any of the guys that Brewster did. I think that Bjorklund, Levine, and Heifort all have a place with the team and could be solid contributors.
 

50PoundHead said:
Add Heifort and I'm with you.
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Yeah, Heifort looks good but I was less impressed with his highlights (i've seen the other three play) than I was the other three players. There are a few other guys who I wouldn't mind getting offers either.

I think now that Lacosse is heading to Illinois, Eric Kline makes even more sense. Kline was the QB last season for Blaine (dual threat kid) who projects to more of a WR or even a TE if he can add 30 lbs. He's like Lacosse except for being a bit smaller.
 

gophervet said:
I think if we have offers that will go unfilled, it is much better to take a chance on an in state guy (barring they have potential) than any of the guys that Brewster did. I think that Bjorklund, Levine, and Heifort all have a place with the team and could be solid contributors.
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Yep, i'm with you. I think if all things are equal, a "tie" should go to the local kid. There have been a few posts about this earlier but we are having a coaching change during a fortunate year for the U. There seems to be a slew of kids who are borderline Big 10/Mid-Major type prospects in the state this season. That is lucky for us because most of the "blue chip" type kids would have been scooped by now and these kids are still there to help us round out our class. I am not saying I want our classes to be highlighted by these MN kids without a bunch of other BCS offers but it's nice that they are available this season (at a higher rate) so that we aren't completely scrambling.
 

I think Brewster was more interested in bring in borderline kids from across the country just to get his foot in the door at a lot of schools. Rather than taking a chance on equally talented/project type MN kids right in his own backyard. I hope Coach Kill can bring in more MN kids rather than watching them head to the Dakota's or UMD.
 



gophervet said:
I think if we have offers that will go unfilled, it is much better to take a chance on an in state guy (barring they have potential) than any of the guys that Brewster did. I think that Bjorklund, Levine, and Heifort all have a place with the team and could be solid contributors.
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+1. These are the types of kids who help build programs. They'll work their tails off, play any position you ask, dominate on scout team for two years, and then step in as very solid players when they're upperclassmen. If the scholarship is going to go unfilled, use in on kids like this.
 



Bob, my thinking on Heifort is that he would put on some weight and play DE.

MGGopher, I agree on the last remaining scholarships. I'm not going to single out anyone, but Vraa compares favorably with the last couple of WRs we signed last year.
 



I really hope Bjorklund gets committed soon, he's got some great feet and mobility for his size, definite LT potential.
Veldman, Heifort, and Kline are classic in state talents that should receive attention and be closely evaluated for their potential at several positions. Offer them preferred walk-on's right now, with the potential and possibly promise for a schollie if transfers occur(they likely will). Ala Mike Rallis.

Levine is a MAC/bordline Big Ten guy, the type that we should not overlook in a transition year like this one. Brewster used his first class to open doors at high schools around the country, reestablish some old recruiting ties, and take some risks on speedy but troubled kids. He was also committed to honoring the commits that had already been made.
He would have been better off filling his class with solid contributors and hard working types like Levine when bigger targets dried up.
Sign him up, get a handful of corner and safety commits and a few impact JUCOS(S, CB, WR, maybe DE) and let's go to work!
 

Bleed For the Maroon and Gold!

gophervet said:
I think if we have offers that will go unfilled, it is much better to take a chance on an in state guy (barring they have potential) than any of the guys that Brewster did. I think that Bjorklund, Levine, and Heifort all have a place with the team and could be solid contributors.
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Agreed!!
 

50PoundHead said:
Bob, my thinking on Heifort is that he would put on some weight and play DE.

MGGopher, I agree on the last remaining scholarships. I'm not going to single out anyone, but Vraa compares favorably with the last couple of WRs we signed last year.
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You can't know that. If he compared as a WR prospect he would have had an offer from another Bowl subdivision school.

The key is trusting your ability to evaluate talent as a coach and offer the right kid with potential. Did Eric Decker work out and become a great receiver? Yes he did, but that doesn't mean that every MN Kid will be the same. Was McKnight probably considered a throwaway scholarship to help get other members of the Skyline 4 here? He probably was and he will probably end up being the best player of the bunch.

Those late offers should go to a player that can offer a potential payoff in the future of another recruit. Maybe that is continuing to build relationships with high schools coaches both in MN or other recruiting grounds.

I would like to have as many local kids as possible play for a competitive Gopher football team. But as the hockey team has shown us, just because the kid is from Minnesota and dreams of playing at the U doesn't mean that their effort will necessarily be better than a kid from out of state. That is up to the individual player and Minnesota doesn't have a higher concentration of heart and soul guys than any other state.
 

silvio, all good points and if you have your eye on a highly-ranked junior (and are getting favorable buzz back from said player), you may want to offer a senior at that school to keep your foot well inside the door. I won't argue that.

But in the absence of that or the desire to really build up a strong recruiting base in an area outside your state, I think, like Bob_Loblaw, when there's a tie, the nod should go to the in-state kid. Calculating the "tie" is the tricky part. Note that neither Bob_Loblaw nor I are saying offer inferior state kids to superior kids from other states.
 

50PoundHead said:
silvio, all good points and if you have your eye on a highly-ranked junior (and are getting favorable buzz back from said player), you may want to offer a senior at that school to keep your foot well inside the door. I won't argue that.

But in the absence of that or the desire to really build up a strong recruiting base in an area outside your state, I think, like Bob_Loblaw, when there's a tie, the nod should go to the in-state kid. Calculating the "tie" is the tricky part. Note that neither Bob_Loblaw nor I are saying offer inferior state kids to superior kids from other states.
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I understand your point. I just believe their is never a tie.
 

Ole said:
I really hope Bjorklund gets committed soon, he's got some great feet and mobility for his size, definite LT potential.
Veldman, Heifort, and Kline are classic in state talents that should receive attention and be closely evaluated for their potential at several positions. Offer them preferred walk-on's right now, with the potential and possibly promise for a schollie if transfers occur(they likely will). Ala Mike Rallis.

Levine is a MAC/bordline Big Ten guy, the type that we should not overlook in a transition year like this one. Brewster used his first class to open doors at high schools around the country, reestablish some old recruiting ties, and take some risks on speedy but troubled kids. He was also committed to honoring the commits that had already been made.
He would have been better off filling his class with solid contributors and hard working types like Levine when bigger targets dried up.
Sign him up, get a handful of corner and safety commits and a few impact JUCOS(S, CB, WR, maybe DE) and let's go to work!
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I tend to agree with almost everything on here. I would personally rank Levine higher than Bjorklund (i'm not sure how the services have them) and I would probably rank Bjorklund and Veldman about equal.

But generally, i'd be all in favor of offering Veldman, Bjorklund and Levine (you'd probably not offer Veldman), and then offer Kline, Heifort, Dylan Ulferts, Jameer Jackson, Nick Jacobs, and Wyatt Peiffer prefferred walk ons.
 

He looks athletic, I think he can become a good player with some quality coaching.

But let me ask this of the coach types on this board: Why are Minnesota high-school players all a bunch of hand-tacklers?
 

I agree totally about recruiting Minnesota kids. Our neighbors to the east and to the south have built their programs on in state "3" kids and some higher rated out of state kids. Lou H I believe said the heart and soul of the Gophers could be MN kids but the arms and legs need to be warm weather kids. I believe Brew could have done a better job on Minnesota kids and mason was just too lazy and turned off too many coaches. It appears Coach Kill knows how to develop players and I look forward to seeing how are players react and improve as I believe we have a ton of freshman, redshirt freshman and sophs.
 

Well if we are going to take Coach Kill at face value he stated he would prefer to recruit mostly in a 5-hour radius. Sure he will land kids from all over the country as well, but his focus will be again 5-hours. That would likely mean that Minnesota and Wisconsin being the prime base. Then you take in for example the likes of Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha, and other cities of those nature are 6-8 hour region. Coach Kill has spent most of his life recruiting kids in this region and down to the Southern Plains.

So to close, he isn't going just recruit some kid out in Mississippi to gain ground on other better recruits like Brewster might do. Kill will likely prefer to focus on taking those Borderline D-1/MAC kids in a 8 hour radius if I were to guess? I think your out of region focus will be mainly in Texas, Florida, and possibly over to Ohio/Penn.
 

Goldmember said:
Why are Minnesota high-school players all a bunch of hand-tacklers?
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Don't know how to tackle. Lack of repetitions.

The only time they'll practice tackling is between mid-August and early September each year. Even then, the amount of time practicing technique differs between programs. Some may only spend a week on this stuff per year. And by a week, I mean 1 hour a day for 5 straight days. Maybe even less.

Then you're expecting these kids to be fully prepared come Friday night? Yeah, right.
 

KoolAid said:
Don't know how to tackle. Lack of repetitions.

The only time they'll practice tackling is between mid-August and early September each year. Even then, the amount of time practicing technique differs between programs. Some may only spend a week on this stuff per year. And by a week, I mean 1 hour a day for 5 straight days. Maybe even less.

Then you're expecting these kids to be fully prepared come Friday night? Yeah, right.
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I've noticed it too.
It's IMO a strange evolution of the sport locally. I coach track at my HS, in talking to my guys about their football 2adays it became very obvious that the physical drills and live tackling had been drastically reduced from my playing days. No hamburger drill, no oklahoma, no live scrimmages, etc.
I suppose they ended up getting kids hurt before the season and end up hamstrung the rest of the year, but it was a key part of our drillwork along with technique and form tackling practice.
I really hope it's not due to parents complaining or lawsuits and all that nonsense schools end up worrying about nowdays, but I have a deep suspicion it is. I also think it's an issue that isn't considered in other big time football states like texas, where coaches get away with whatever they see fit as long as they win. I dunno, interesting aside topic though.
 

Back in the days of leather helmets you were taught to tackle low because if you have the legs wrapped up the bc ain't going anywhere. Winfield of the Vikes is a great example of technique. Now it seems everyone tackles from the waist up or rather than wrapping up a runner they try to throw a block into him.
 

Hit,Lift,Carry Technique

tap said:
Back in the days of leather helmets you were taught to tackle low because if you have the legs wrapped up the bc ain't going anywhere. Winfield of the Vikes is a great example of technique. Now it seems everyone tackles from the waist up or rather than wrapping up a runner they try to throw a block into him.
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What happened to the " hit,lift, and carry " technique they used to teach to Jr. High School and High School players ? I believe that too many defensive players are blocking instead of tackling. That is one reason for excessive concussions too.
 

Grayson looks pretty good. He shreds blocks, tackles well and can really shut down the run, especially on a blitz. It appears he can deliver a hit, too. I wish the highlights would have shown some more pass coverage though. Does he have the wheels to be a cover guy? This is where we fell short with the likes of Collado, et al. Best thing Brew did was to put Stoudermire back on defense.
 

Uffda said:
What happened to the " hit,lift, and carry " technique they used to teach to Jr. High School and High School players ? I believe that too many defensive players are blocking instead of tackling. That is one reason for excessive concussions too.
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And it is the primary reason there are more missed tackles these days then there used to be. If anyone saw the UMD game last Saturday you saw very few "blocking" takles. There were more great open field tackles in that game than in any game I have watched in quite awhile.
 

KoolAid said:
Don't know how to tackle. Lack of repetitions.

The only time they'll practice tackling is between mid-August and early September each year. Even then, the amount of time practicing technique differs between programs. Some may only spend a week on this stuff per year. And by a week, I mean 1 hour a day for 5 straight days. Maybe even less.

Then you're expecting these kids to be fully prepared come Friday night? Yeah, right.
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I think that tackling has changed all the way up through the NFL. You don't see a lot of classical "form" tackling anymore. It's all about torpedoe-ing the guys legs out, or tripping up ankles in the open field. Much of this has to do with running backs being so much bigger than they used to be, I believe. Big trees fall hard.
 

It seems many would rather make a tackle that will get them on sportscenter. It amazes me how many guys go high when trying to bring someone down. If you're chasing a guy from behind, why would you try and go high on the guy? Swipe your arm across his legs and he will go down. It amazes me sometimes.
 

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