Jack Brewer & Karon Riley

Iceland12

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Weren't both of the guys recruited by Wacker? Didn't they go to SMU originally and then transfer up here after sitting out a year? They came up here and played for Mason but didn't Wacker recruit them before the went to SMU? If I remember the talk these guys were coming-up here and there was some worry that they wouldn't after Wacker was fired but they came anyway.

I also think that Tellis Redmon came from SMU, and was a cousin to one of those guys.

Does anybody remember the story?
 

Redmon and Brewer were cousins. I can't remember if Wacker recruited them but they all first showed up on our roster in 1998. Redmon as a freshman, Brewer (sophomore) & Riley (junior) as transfers.
 

Karon Riley's senior year was in 2000. Wacker's last year was 1996. I don't think the numbers add up.
 

they transferred up here because of mason IIRC. He was open to taking any transfers of D1 schools, or so he said, because they were so thin.
 

Karon Riley's senior year was in 2000. Wacker's last year was 1996. I don't think the numbers add up.

If the question was "did Wacker recruit them in High School" yeah the years certainly add up:

Brewer: "1997 (FR): Had 19 receptions for 352 yards and four touchdowns at SMU his 352 yards receiving led the team and his 19 receptions was one of the team's top had five receptions for 112 yards, including a 77-yarder, in the Mustangs' 31-9 win over Arkansas also had four kickoff returns for an 18.3 average teammate of Golden Gopher defensive end Karon Riley.

Riley:"1996 (FR): Played in five games as a true freshman for SMU moved into the starting defensive end position at midseason tallied 30 tackles, which included 20 solos to go along with three pass breakups on the season had a career-high nine tackles vs. New Mexico registered seven tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass breakups against TCU made six tackles at UTEP collected at least four tackles in every game in which he appeared earned his first collegiate letter.

So yes, they were in High School when Wacker was coaching the team. My memory is that Wacker recruited one or both of them in High School but they went to SMU. Then when they were thinking of transfering they talked to Wacker about.

I just don't know if it was true.
 



Wasn't this related to SMU getting the death penalty and not having football for a time?
 





Sometimes Jack Brewer's rants on KFAN's postgame show get a little old.
He lets us know each week that he played on a Gopher team where ELEVEN players went to the NFL.
My question for Jack:
With all of these future NFLers, how did you NOT play in a New Year's Day bowl game?
 

Karon Riley was a man among boys, it was too bad he was undersized for the NFL. He Was Awesome
 

I think Brewer and Riley were recruited by Mason to go Kansas and then when he accepted the Georgia job they decided to go to SMU despite Mason returning to Kansas....then when Mason came to Minnesota they transferred...I believe that was the connection.
 

If the question was "did Wacker recruit them in High School" yeah the years certainly add up:

Brewer: "1997 (FR): Had 19 receptions for 352 yards and four touchdowns at SMU his 352 yards receiving led the team and his 19 receptions was one of the team's top had five receptions for 112 yards, including a 77-yarder, in the Mustangs' 31-9 win over Arkansas also had four kickoff returns for an 18.3 average teammate of Golden Gopher defensive end Karon Riley.

Riley:"1996 (FR): Played in five games as a true freshman for SMU moved into the starting defensive end position at midseason tallied 30 tackles, which included 20 solos to go along with three pass breakups on the season had a career-high nine tackles vs. New Mexico registered seven tackles, one tackle for loss and two pass breakups against TCU made six tackles at UTEP collected at least four tackles in every game in which he appeared earned his first collegiate letter.

So yes, they were in High School when Wacker was coaching the team. My memory is that Wacker recruited one or both of them in High School but they went to SMU. Then when they were thinking of transfering they talked to Wacker about.

I just don't know if it was true.


Sorry, I misread your original post. I thought you were asking if they transferred while Wacker was here.
 



Sometimes Jack Brewer's rants on KFAN's postgame show get a little old.
He lets us know each week that he played on a Gopher team where ELEVEN players went to the NFL.
My question for Jack:
With all of these future NFLers, how did you NOT play in a New Year's Day bowl game?

Gophers QUALIFIED for a New Year's Day Bowl. But were passed over in the bowl selection process for schools that travel better. In fact, if happened three times in the Mason era that we should have been playing on New Year's Day!
 

There were two years in which we had outside shots at a New Year's Day bowl. One in which we really should've gone. We finished as high as a fourth-place tie twice -- in 1999 and 2003. Could've gone to the Outback in 1999, but had no claim on a NYD bowl in 2003.

In 1999, we tied for fourth with Penn State. We beat PSU, but they were rated higher in the polls. Inexplicably, Purdue jumped both of us to go to the Outback. PSU went to the Alamo and we went to the Sun Bowl. If only we had beaten Purdue.

In 2003 we finished in a three-way tie for fourth with Iowa and MSU. Iowa and Minnesota had identical BT and overall records, though our overall record was better than MSU's. Both teams beat us that season, and Iowa beat us by 18 points. We complained -- and still do -- about missing out on the Alamo Bowl that year, but we can't say we deserved the Outback, which is where Iowa went.
 

Maybe if that star-studded '99 team hadn't pissed away home games against Wisconsin, Ohio State and Purdue, a New Year's Day game would have been a lock.
 




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