Hole Poll: What Grade Would You Give the Gophers 2014 Recruiting Class?

Hole Poll: What Grade Would You Give the Gophers 2014 Recruiting Class?

  • A

    Votes: 29 17.6%

  • B

    Votes: 119 72.1%

  • C

    Votes: 11 6.7%

  • D

    Votes: 3 1.8%

  • F

    Votes: 3 1.8%
  • Total voters
    165
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TLHGO4 said:
Gave it a "B". It's a "Stud" quarterback away from an "A".
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It kind of shows you how far we've come that people aren't considering McKinzy to be that stud QB. We beat out some pretty good programs to land him, most notably Nebraska. We don't beat Nebraska that often on the recruiting trail.
 

I put "B", but I would be more in the "B+" area. If Ragnow would've stayed with us, I would have given it an A.
 

Gopherguy0723 said:
I mostly agree, but there is no reason Minnesota cannot get recruiting results like Nebraska. Nebraska gets almost no talent from the state itself or the neighboring states, just like Minnesota. The only thing that keeps us from recruiting like them is tradition, and tradition can be built by winning.
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I agree winning will help, but Nebraska still has the built in advantage of their name. Moving to the Big Ten I think has hurt their recruiting. When they were in the Big 12 they were major players in Texas, because kids knew they would still get to play a lot of their games in Texas in front of family and friends and get to play for a name program. They still do well recruiting but their days as a national power are probably over. If we are consistently in the 40's for recruiting rankings I see are program being able to be similar to Iowa/Wisconsin over the past 20 years which would make me happy.
 

GophenGolder said:
How fast is his 40? I hope he can qualify academically, because he hits like a ton of bricks.
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Rumor has it that he runs a "blazing" 40, but he's also dumb as a rock so don't expect him to land here. May be a good thing as he reportedly has character issues and a tendency to blow up locker rooms.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

I gave it an A, because I grade on a curve, although I felt like it probably was closer to a B. Had we gotten all our the targets on Kill's list that were realistic targets, like Ragnow for example, then it would be easily an A on the curve. But the thing is with grading on a curve, if we continue to win and raise our expectations, it will make it harder to achieve a Recruiting A.
 


Agree with what some others have said. It all depends on Jones. If he doesn't make it, the grade goes down quite a bit.
 

I went with B. I think on an absolute basis, it is a B. I will only hand out an A on an absolute basis if we completely lock down the borders (I know this is arbitrary and dependent on talent year to year, but I think JC / Ragnow leaving is a telling sign that this program has a little ways to go).

Relative to expectations, I think it is an A. We are definitely on the right path and I am looking forward to each of these men representing the U very well over the next 4-5 years and beyond.
 

For years we were 12 out of 12 teams on the recruiting front…we move up to 8 and everyone grades it a B. We beat IL, NW, PUR and Iowa (Rutgers and Maryland too). We are now in the middle of the B1G. How is that not an A…you don't go from 12 to 1...
 

CoMn said:
For years we were 12 out of 12 teams on the recruiting front…we move up to 8 and everyone grades it a B. We beat IL, NW, PUR and Iowa (Rutgers and Maryland too). We are now in the middle of the B1G. How is that not an A…you don't go from 12 to 1...
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+1
 




Bob_Loblaw said:
It kind of shows you how far we've come that people aren't considering McKinzy to be that stud QB. We beat out some pretty good programs to land him, most notably Nebraska. We don't beat Nebraska that often on the recruiting trail.
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I do consider McKinzy to be that stud QB. Great arm strength, pass first mentality, and the ability to run. Great player and future.
 





Gopherguy0723 said:
I'd give it a C, which on my curve, is very good for the Gophers.

I like what Kill is doing. I firmly believe that we can crack the top half of the Big Ten in recruiting next season and beyond if we have another good year on the field next season.
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Gopherguy, if a woman didn't meet your curve, you will go home alone, big boy.
 

I''ll rank it by position:

QB- B+ McKinzy from his highlights looks like he has a cannon for an arm and can run; had several other B1G offers, plus we get Perra as a PWO and Krinzizac as a bonus (probably never plays QB, but you never know)
RB- A: It wasn't pretty, but we got Jones, plus another really good looking back in Smith. This would be an A+ if Jones had already qualified.
WR- A-: Really like this group of guys. 2 should be able to help this year.
TE- A: We got Elmore out of Wisky, and Limegrover called him an "in-state recruit." Plus a great blocking TE in Lingen, and a flex guy in Gibson. What more could anyone want?
OL- C: Mayes is an A+, but Weyler and Rasmussen look like reaches. We missed on two in-state lineman which is never good.
DL- B+: Nice to get 4 solid D-lineman. Richardson could be really good.
LB- C: Ok group, we got 3 recruits, but no one that really stands out.
DB: D: I like James, but we really needed 3-4 DBs out of this class.

Overall: B
 

Considering the state of the program this is an A- class. It has to be graded on a curve because what are we going to do, compare it to Ohio state's? Demerits for letting khari get away to a 5 DB Vanderbilt class....and what else? Crickets. They hit on almost every need. JC and Fred were never going to come here. More DBs next year. It will always be something.

I'm beyond thrilled to have Jeff Jones for obvious reasons. He will make everyone better on offense. He can be a Percy Harvin-like weapon next year (if Limegrover plays along...can't wait for the arguments on how we're misusing jones!)

I actually expected to see Holland Jr flipped up till and including today. He is a big and strong receiver I'm excited to see develop. These two alone could give the offense the de-fib spark it needs to come back from the dead.

The class is loaded with potential at a lot of positions. Brew's high-star classes were more of a mirage, I expect these guys to enroll and develop into equivalent or better players down the road. I don't see a Hayo-type overrated class or full of non-qualifiers.

As an aside, it's always heartwarming to see these kids sign their LOI and especially the proud parents looking on.
 

I went with a C (C+ if it was an option) largely on keeping Jeff Jones and the possibility that Jones could start a trend of more of the top guys staying home if he has success. Overall, it's still a class that is decidedly in the bottom half of the B1G and contains a lot of "sleepers" of which I'd argue their aren't many true sleepers any more. Position wise, I would have liked to have seen at least one more DB in this class. Not a bad class in my mind, but not a class that get you excited in comparison to the B1G overall or the rival border schools.
 


I graded this class as a B, even when grading on a curve, you need to hit certain benchmarks to get an A. In recruiting, I see the top 10 to 20 as Helmet school territory and then down to about 35 as A range for everyone else. I think that the next step in recruiting is to get up into the A range.
 

This class will deliver a solid 6-7 to 8-5 record, with an occasional win over a top 15 team. Good solid C+.
 


EG#9 said:
I went with a C (C+ if it was an option) largely on keeping Jeff Jones and the possibility that Jones could start a trend of more of the top guys staying home if he has success. Overall, it's still a class that is decidedly in the bottom half of the B1G and contains a lot of "sleepers" of which I'd argue their aren't many true sleepers any more. Position wise, I would have liked to have seen at least one more DB in this class. Not a bad class in my mind, but not a class that get you excited in comparison to the B1G overall or the rival border schools.
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There are no longer guys that fly under the radar? Every player from everywhere gets the same amount of attention from every school?

Is our class far worse than Iowa's?
 


Tommy Flanagan said:
Just trying to be honest, but what players in this class, along with the previous, do you see getting us over this 6-7, 8-5 hump?
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Well, considering we were almost over the 8-5 hump this year...

We lose some valuable seniors, but we bring back numerous young guys who are now a year older and have already gained experience. We are bringing in more talent/speed than we have recently had. We have depth and experience on both lines. We have a hell of a coaching staff that knows what it is doing. I'd say those are a few reasons to be optimistic that this group will eventually see a year that exceeds 8 wins.
 

Compared to what?

To the other BIG's, then a C. Compared to the top programs in the country, then a D. Compared to Kill's other classes, likely a B- or B.

The bottom line is, its way too early to judge these "paper lions".

A gave it a C.
 

mnsports1 said:
Well, considering we were almost over the 8-5 hump this year...

We lose some valuable seniors, but we bring back numerous young guys who are now a year older and have already gained experience. We are bringing in more talent/speed than we have recently had. We have depth and experience on both lines. We have a hell of a coaching staff that knows what it is doing. I'd say those are a few reasons to be optimistic that this group will eventually see a year that exceeds 8 wins.
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I hope, but how? Every team above us, out recruited us. I believe in the coaching staff, but talent still wins. If this class completely over achieves, we win 10 games.
 

Tommy Flanagan said:
I hope, but how? Every team above us, out recruited us. I believe in the coaching staff, but talent still wins. If this class completely over achieves, we win 10 games.
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I meant 9 games, not 10. If we win 10, I am thrilled!
 

Tommy Flanagan said:
I hope, but how? Every team above us, out recruited us. I believe in the coaching staff, but talent still wins. If this class completely over achieves, we win 10 games.
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For christ sakes, the team was 8-2 at one point last fall. The defense played more than well enough in those last two games to win. The team was just a few offensive playmakers short of going 10-2.

Kill went out and added the highest ranked running back recruit landed by any Big Ten team. He out-recruited Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan, Michigan State, and Indiana for Elmore. He picked up Holland Jr who blew up late in the year and looks to be a wide-out any Big Ten team would have been happy to take. And that's not counting Edwards or Wozniak who will coming off redshirts.

If Kill can go 8-4 with last years talent (including holding MSU and UW to 20 or less in two of the losses), there's no reason he shouldn't be able to reach 10 wins in the next two seasons with a more seasoned defense, the whole OL returning, and the offensive firepower he's added.
 

does anybody know if we are still going after Alex Egurbide, the WR who would be a walk-on? I would assume we aren't going out of our way anymore with him since signing day is over with but we would gladly take him if he wanted to come here. I would gladly take a commit from him as he would be our most highly touted walk-on in terms of offers and stars. A borderline scholarship player at a lot of programs and he would be a nice consolation prize for Lenius who are both 6-5/6-6. Also got a 33 on his ACT.
 

BJN said:
For christ sakes, the team was 8-2 at one point last fall. The defense played more than well enough in those last two games to win. The team was just a few offensive playmakers short of going 10-2.

Kill went out and added the highest ranked running back recruit landed by any Big Ten team. He out-recruited Wisconsin, Nebraska, Michigan, Michigan State, and Indiana for Elmore. He picked up Holland Jr who blew up late in the year and looks to be a wide-out any Big Ten team would have been happy to take. And that's not counting Edwards or Wozniak who will coming off redshirts.

If Kill can go 8-4 with last years talent (including holding MSU and UW to 20 or less in two of the losses), there's no reason he shouldn't be able to reach 10 wins in the next two seasons with a more seasoned defense, the whole OL returning, and the offensive firepower he's added.
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For Christ sakes?! I see progress, but you make 10 wins sound like a given. I give Kill credit for this class, but it is still ranked 9 or 10 in the B1G. That does NOT guarantee 10 wins. This class ranks about the same as the last 15 classes or so. The definition of insanity, is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.
 

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