Hole Poll: What grade would you give the Gophers Class of 2022 recruiting class?

Hole Poll: What grade would you give the Gophers Class of 2022 recruiting class?

  • A

    Votes: 22 10.6%

  • B

    Votes: 121 58.5%

  • C

    Votes: 63 30.4%

  • D

    Votes: 1 0.5%

  • F

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    207
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USAF said:
Agree with the comment about us having little to go on, but...only 2 4-stars, low ones at that. Average going down.

I was hoping by now we'd be top 15-ish.

I like PJ a lot. I was hoping he'd be recruiting higher rated prospects. We aren't going to be competing for B1G titles with this level of recruiting.
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I know the ratings are subjective, but with PJs recruiting prowess, I would think we would land higher rated prospects than IU. I noticed we did not get a player out of Illinois this cycle which was generally a focus area. Hopefully that is not because of the Bielma effect, just a lack of players. The main thing is we have to win the west, then we will start having a leg up on the recruiting front.
 

I saw the B1G Today had Allen Trieu on and they showed the B1G recruiting class rankings. Literally the East had 1-7 and the West had 8-14. Really weird to see.
 



btowngopher said:
No one in the West consistently lands top 15ish classes. How could this be your expectation when Kill was fortunate to break into the top 50?
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1. I'm glad we're no longer recruiting at the Kill level. That's one reason his teams had a low ceiling.

2. I want US to consistently land top 15ish classes, and was hoping by now PJ would be doing so. What others do, or don't do, is irrelevant. For that matter, so is what MN has done in the past.

MN football is in a better position than it's been in a long, long time. I get that. It's still a C grade. I hope nobody is satisfied.
 


USAF said:
1. I'm glad we're no longer recruiting at the Kill level. That's one reason his teams had a low ceiling.

2. I want US to consistently land top 15ish classes, and was hoping by now PJ would be doing so. What others do, or don't do, is irrelevant. For that matter, so is what MN has done in the past.

MN football is in a better position than it's been in a long, long time. I get that. It's still a C grade. I hope nobody is satisfied.
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What others do is relevant if you are measuring how realistic expectations are. That 15ish goal also isn't required to compete for B1G titles.
 

btowngopher said:
What others do is relevant if you are measuring how realistic expectations are. That 15ish goal also isn't required to compete for B1G titles.
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You're not going to consistently play with OSU, Michigan, PSU if you're not recruiting comparably. How often does the B1G West win the B1G? And as far as the west, we're not moving ahead of anyone there either, unless we start recruiting at a higher level.

IMO there's nothing unrealistic about that level of recruiting. Change your best.

This is a C level effort, at best. Lower half of the B1G. I hope many of these players end up better than their rankings. But that's hope. Not strategy.
 
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jonnyganas said:
I saw the B1G Today had Allen Trieu on and they showed the B1G recruiting class rankings. Literally the East had 1-7 and the West had 8-14. Really weird to see.
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Interesting and wonder the reasons:

1. What is the COVID impact on recruiting?
2. What is the honeymoon period of coaches affects on recruiting?
3. There is more 4* and 5* players as you head east, not west from MN.
4. Is there a bias toward the East? Maryland keeps recruiting well and sucks
5. Bielema affect in Illinois and Missouri affect on MN, WI, and Iowa.
6. Campbell at Iowa State affect
7. How much does West coast recruiting affect B1G west teams?
8. Are the West coaches just not as good?
9. West coaches better at development?

Who knows?
 

I'm honestly a bit disappointed. Two good years out of three, which the off year was COVID related. I was expecting to see a bigger splash, but it seemed more same old.

I voted C option, although I debated on D option. It would be more acceptable if we were making more waves in the portal, but that doesn't seem too promising either. I have faith the coaching staff will do well with what they have, but you can't help but think "what if" if we had comparable talent even up to Iowa/WI.

EDIT - Iowa and WI consistently. Even better if you get up to the MSU and IU level they seem to be achieving this year.
 



MNVCGUY said:
Honest question for those that feel this is a C class. What are you expecting to see at this point that you aren't on the recruiting front? Is it just a case of not enough 4* players or is it something else?

I'm on record with it being a B class in my opinion due to the lack of headliners but with lots of solid players and addressing positions of need. Curious how others are coming up with their grade for the class.
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Average rating is not much different than other classes he has had. Ranked 13th in B1G using that number for 2022, only Illinois is lower. Ranked 10th by overall points, but that is more driven by class size, and that's where he has been more years. Hopefully there are a lot of rough diamonds or overlooked talent.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Interesting and wonder the reasons:

1. What is the COVID impact on recruiting?
2. What is the honeymoon period of coaches affects on recruiting?
3. There is more 4* and 5* players as you head east, not west from MN.
4. Is there a bias toward the East? Maryland keeps recruiting well and sucks
5. Bielema affect in Illinois and Missouri affect on MN, WI, and Iowa.
6. Campbell at Iowa State affect
7. How much does West coast recruiting affect B1G west teams?
8. Are the West coaches just not as good?
9. West coaches better at development?

Who knows?
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#5...definitely no Bert effect this year...
 

Basically Half our class is rated 85 or lower.... I voted b only because of our top 4 recruits... But overall comparing everyone together in one big pile... It's a c class
 

If we win the west next year and prove 2019 was not a fluke, I'd say 2022 might be in the top 3 recruiting classes Fleck has had here since he can drum up some hype toward the end and try to land some high 3 star/low 4 stars late in the cycle and then 2023's class will be his best yet. Had 2020 gone better and we hadn't dropped Illinois and bowling green this year, I think the class is higher ranked than now.

PJ still has to contend with "Is MN really better than it was?" and he needs another 10+ season or two in the next couple years to show it.
 



Surprised no contrarian D or F.

Went with solid B. Portal could raise this to an A- pretty easy.

This is Minnesota don't 'cha know...brick by brick...stroke by stroke...
 


I went with a B. Flipping a kid from Air Force is a huge get in my mind. If Fleck continues to produce Academic All Americans and great young individuals this program will expolode.
 

Rivals rankings as of 6PM CST

1. Ohio State 2 five* players - 14 four* players
2. Penn State 1 - 15
3. Michigan 1 - 9
4. Michigan St 0 - 4
5. Indiana 0 - 7
6. Iowa 1 - 4
7. Purdue. 0 - 2
8. Rutgers 0 - 6
9. Maryland. 0 - 2
10. Illinois 0 - 0
11. Minnesota 0 - 2
12. NW. 0 - 2
13. Wisconsin 0 - 1
14. Nebraska 0 - 1
 

Based on rivals team ranking for football we have not shown in significant improvement in the last 10 years.
Looking at how we compare nationally is interesting, but I think it is more important to compare to the schools in your conference and we have not improved
10 year history
Year Position 4 star recruits
2013 12/12 0
2014 8/14 0
2015 9/14 1
2016 10/14 1
2017 12/14 0
2018 9/14 3
2019 9/14 2
2020 10/14 1
2021 9/14 1
2022 11/14 2

We are starting to get more 4 star players then in the past, so at least that has shown improvement

We are never going to be a top 15 class. That just does not happen to Big 10 schools not called Ohio State, U of Michigan or Penn State. (Whisky and Nebraska each got ranked in top 15 once in last 5 years)

But better team rankings do not always translate to on field performance, Nebraska has been ranked 5-3-3-4-4 in the Big 10 the last five years. Think that would get you better the 3-9 in 2021

My grade was a "B" We will know in three years what the real grade is
 
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Iowa went from zero DB commits to 4 in one week.
 

There is nobody under a 5 star in my book.
Honestly though, I gave it a B.

1) Nice class. Addressed young linemen and some nice skill players.
2) As USAF said, I also expected higher by this point, but I'm also not disappointed. Tough school to turn around into a recruiting hotbed. I think it will happen though. But this class has some very nice players.
3) Reference #2. I'm happy to have expected more, but I don't want to sound ungrateful. This class is definitely a good class and hopefully the "fit" is better than the ratings. Knuth is huge, Smith, Bixby, Hoskins, Evans should be very good (not based on personal knowledge, based on perception). Nice pieces coming in.

But I agree with USAF to a degree, that I was hoping for players like Hinzman (or maybe I should say players rated like him), or some of the dark horses down in Florida, Texas, Cali. Not pouting about it not happening, but was thinking it would happen by now. I also realize that this is a very complicated and difficult job to get that. It has definitely improved over the last few years overall, but I would love to run around drunk and naked because the Gophers beat Bama for the number one rated position X.

Very good class, and I'm excited to see these kids manhandle Shitsconsin and Whyowa multiple years. I'd like them to go their whole career without losing to those 2 crap ass teams.
 

MaxyJR1 said:
Iowa went from zero DB commits to 4 in one week.
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I don't know if they got lucky or what. They've had a player win the DB of the year in the B1G 5 of the last 10 years. I'm surprised it took them this long to get a few guys on board. But for whatever reason it looks like they got it done.
 

Went with a C grade.

Based on the rankings it’s a comparable class to the other teams in the B1G West.

A top 50 ranking but appears to be an average class overall.
 

swelna said:
If we win the west next year and prove 2019 was not a fluke, I'd say 2022 might be in the top 3 recruiting classes Fleck has had here since he can drum up some hype toward the end and try to land some high 3 star/low 4 stars late in the cycle and then 2023's class will be his best yet. Had 2020 gone better and we hadn't dropped Illinois and bowling green this year, I think the class is higher ranked than now.

PJ still has to contend with "Is MN really better than it was?" and he needs another 10+ season or two in the next couple years to show it.
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If that logic is sound then how does Indiana put together a nice class in a year they stunk?
 

Freaking VANDERBILT has a better recruiting class than us..... I'm a redo my vote... C....
 

Xerxes_ said:
Rivals rankings as of 6PM CST

1. Ohio State 2 five* players - 14 four* players
2. Penn State 1 - 15
3. Michigan 1 - 9
4. Michigan St 0 - 4
5. Indiana 0 - 7
6. Iowa 1 - 4
7. Purdue. 0 - 2
8. Rutgers 0 - 6
9. Maryland. 0 - 2
10. Illinois 0 - 0
11. Minnesota 0 - 2
12. NW. 0 - 2
13. Wisconsin 0 - 1
14. Nebraska 0 - 1
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247 says 10th in the league. 10th or 11th seems like a C, though I do love the D-lineman from PA.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Honest question for those that feel this is a C class. What are you expecting to see at this point that you aren't on the recruiting front? Is it just a case of not enough 4* players or is it something else?

I'm on record with it being a B class in my opinion due to the lack of headliners but with lots of solid players and addressing positions of need. Curious how others are coming up with their grade for the class.
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If you had to answer the question: Is PJ a better X's and O's game tactician or recruiter/salesman?
What would you say? I "think" he should be a better recruiter but the numbers don't support that.

Depending on your criteria we have the 9th to 12th best class in the Big Ten. That can't be acceptable. We gotta be better than that.

There probably is an individual post season award winner in our class but there is nobody the analysts predict is going to be. We need at least one somebody that has some hype...somebody that is supposed to make a difference coming in. Then two, then 3 but we don't ever seem to even get the one.

I just feel PJ should be able to better than 43rd and that number is that high because we took a lot of guys....not because they are individually highly rated. LSU has 13 guys in a week and they are #18. Iowa State is 14 spots ahead of us in a lesser conference, lesser state and lesser metropolitan area. Our normal has to be better.
 

Off-GridTNgopher said:
Freaking VANDERBILT has a better recruiting class than us..... I'm a redo my vote... C....
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Takes like these are why I get so annoyed with recruiting. Look at Venderbilt's class and then tell me you can really say that class is better than ours. Team rankings are worthless, the top 10 teams or so are recruiting at a higher level than everyone else. After that it is a big mess of teams where there is very little difference in the classes from top to bottom.

People get way too hung up on the numbers next to a kids name. Or do some people really believe recruiting sites can accurately evaluate players from all over the country playing against all different levels of competition and be spot on every time?
 

60's Guy said:
If you had to answer the question: Is PJ a better X's and O's game tactician or recruiter/salesman?
What would you say? I "think" he should be a better recruiter but the numbers don't support that.

Depending on your criteria we have the 9th to 12th best class in the Big Ten. That can't be acceptable. We gotta be better than that.

There probably is an individual post season award winner in our class but there is nobody the analysts predict is going to be. We need at least one somebody that has some hype...somebody that is supposed to make a difference coming in. Then two, then 3 but we don't ever seem to even get the one.

I just feel PJ should be able to better than 43rd and that number is that high because we took a lot of guys....not because they are individually highly rated. LSU has 13 guys in a week and they are #18. Iowa State is 14 spots ahead of us in a lesser conference, lesser state and lesser metropolitan area. Our normal has to be better.
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This is Fleck’s lowest ranked class isn’t it? I don’t think he is the phenom recruiter people think/want him to be nor is he the great Xs and Os guy. He’s a phenomenal program manager and he brings in people that fit his model. He doesn’t seem to chase marginal character guys for the sake of talent very often.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Honest question for those that feel this is a C class. What are you expecting to see at this point that you aren't on the recruiting front? Is it just a case of not enough 4* players or is it something else?

I'm on record with it being a B class in my opinion due to the lack of headliners but with lots of solid players and addressing positions of need. Curious how others are coming up with their grade for the class.
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I would go with a C as well. I truly am looking for more 4 stars as these are the guys that normally pan out and in order to compete with the big boys in the league (both Divisions), we need more highly ranked players, which means more stars. I had high hopes when Fleck came in due to what was stated as his recruiting prowess and the mention that he should elevate recruiting significantly.

He HAS improved recruiting, but by a margin much less than I anticipated. I really thought we could elevate recruiting to get into the 20's and perhaps even higher as winning makes people want to play for winning programs. This year to me is a bigger disappointment (hence the C grade) than past years as we've not built on the spectacular '19 year. Seems we lost all momentum from that year and people will point to '20 as breaking that momentum due to the pandemic but look at other programs like Rutgers and Indiana. How have they elevated recruiting so much faster than us? Iowa has 5 less recruits than us and they're rated higher.

I know you don't like 'star' chasers and all that but by looking at these recruiting standings... aren't where we're rated all based on Team 'points', which are based on Player 'averages' which equates to their star value, which is what people don't like?

Go ahead, swing away at me but I'm sorry, in year 5 of Fleck, I thought we'd be further up in overall rankings and certainly in B1G recruiting rankings.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Takes like these are why I get so annoyed with recruiting. Look at Venderbilt's class and then tell me you can really say that class is better than ours. Team rankings are worthless, the top 10 teams or so are recruiting at a higher level than everyone else. After that it is a big mess of teams where there is very little difference in the classes from top to bottom.

People get way too hung up on the numbers next to a kids name. Or do some people really believe recruiting sites can accurately evaluate players from all over the country playing against all different levels of competition and be spot on every time?
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Perhaps you should just vote for the rest of us.
 

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