Kiante Hardin commits to Gophers!

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oleboy41 said:
Eric Murray - no other major offers
Ced Thompson - no other major offers (unless you count Northern Arizona)
BBC - don't remember this but apparently only Ill also offered
Myrick - Co St, MTSU
Travis - Western Michigan
Johnson - only MAC schools
Wells - Ball St
James - Mizzou, Ill, IA

So looking at our secondary which many consider one of the best in the conference, the best offers belong to James, who plays the least (granted he's a true frosh), and the only other major conference offer is BBC from ILL. At this point shouldn't you trust that this staff can field a top secondary with talented players regardless of the offers? Its not like they're getting by on grit and grime either, these guys have size and athleticism
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You make a good point but let's wait and see how our final 3 games pan out. Even though I was one of the few that voted we finish 10-2 (7-1) in the B1G.
 

Busky said:
You make a good point but let's wait and see how our final 3 games pan out. Even though I was one of the few that voted we finish 10-2 (7-1) in the B1G.
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I think we've already established that we have some very talented d-backs who are much better than their rankings/offers suggest. The final games probably will not change that.
 

Jaykay said:
I think we've already established that we have some very talented d-backs who are much better than their rankings/offers suggest. The final games probably will not change that.
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That's fine. I just want to see how the secondary will perform in our biggest (last) three games of the season. I fully expect us to play well against Purdue, Illinois, and Iowa. I am looking forward to seeing their performance against Bucky, Nebraska, and Ohio State, when the spotlight is the brightest.
 

Busky said:
That's fine. I just want to see how the secondary will perform in our biggest (last) three games of the season. I fully expect us to play well against Purdue, Illinois, and Iowa. I am looking forward to seeing their performance against Bucky, Nebraska, and Ohio State, when the spotlight is the brightest.
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The only one of those teams with a really good passing game is OSU. Nebraska is efficient but not great and Wisconsin is abysmal.
 

Hardin's commitment is another example of Kill taking advantage of relationships. Not only did Kill coach at Hardin's Webb City (MO) High School in 1988-89, but Webb City's current coach, John Roderique, played for Kill at Pittsburg State when both were there in 1986 and '87. Roderique then was Kill's running backs coach at Pitt State when Kill left WCHS for his second stint at Pitt in '90-'93. Roderique later became Webb City's coach in 1997 (and had graduated high school from there in '86). So Kill has a direct pipeline to WCHS. My understanding is Kill and Roderique are in contact quite a bit.

By all accounts, Hardin is about the best corner (and speedy receiver) Webb City has ever had. He's also a great kid, respectful ("yes sir, no sir"), works hard, has good "ball sense" and is the ultimate team player. Did I mention he was fast?
 


He reminds me a little bit of Marcus Jones with his size and versatility. Welcome aboard!
 

A few thoughts....

- This one was a surprise.

- Hardin like most Kill recruits has position flexibility. Sounds like the staff wanted one smaller, quicker, corner to cover slot receivers & it seems they got one. That said, he could also play slot receiver on offense if needed him there.

- Has been in the 4.4's several times this past summer at camps. Personal best was 4.44 at Arkansas Camp. Others say he's a high 4.4/low 4.5 guy. That's down from 4.67 his Sophomore season. Any way you measure it, this kid is really fast & getting faster.

- Let's not get hung up on his size, because he's not that small. Listed at 5'10 1/2" 160lbs. Even if he's fudging it & goes 5'9 1/2", that still makes him probably 2 full inches taller than Marcus Jones. Forget his measurables, just look at how physical & aggressive he plays in the 30 second link below.

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/444978/highlights/158467421
 

Looks like a KJ type player. Maybe slot WR, may PR/KR specialist. Maybe CB if they feel he's tall enough. But, this is unlikely as he turns his head. Sawvel will need to beat that out of him. :cool02:

If he's 5' 10 Steven Richardson is 6' 0. No matter, some guys play bigger than their listed height. He could have grown.
 




Welcome aboard Kiante! Love how this team is built around good coaching and a very good defense.
 

Busky said:
That's fine. I just want to see how the secondary will perform in our biggest (last) three games of the season. I fully expect us to play well against Purdue, Illinois, and Iowa. I am looking forward to seeing their performance against Bucky, Nebraska, and Ohio State, when the spotlight is the brightest.
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The last three games will likely be the biggest test for our front 4-7, than then the back 4-5.
 

Rankings today are strongly influenced by a kids ability/willingness to attend camps.

Skill position players can travel the country playing in 7 on 7 camps as early as 5th grade.


If they do not attend camps there rating will be artificially low. For example, Thomas Barber is a '16 prospect and currently not ranked. Brother of Dom and Marion III...and an absolute beast. Currently only has an offer from the gophs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

gopherlaney said:
Rankings today are strongly influenced by a kids ability/willingness to attend camps.

Skill position players can travel the country playing in 7 on 7 camps as early as 5th grade.


If they do not attend camps there rating will be artificially low. For example, Thomas Barber is a '16 prospect and currently not ranked. Brother of Dom and Marion III...and an absolute beast. Currently only has an offer from the gophs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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What position does brother Thomas play?
 




gopherlaney said:
Rankings today are strongly influenced by a kids ability/willingness to attend camps.

Skill position players can travel the country playing in 7 on 7 camps as early as 5th grade.


If they do not attend camps there rating will be artificially low. For example, Thomas Barber is a '16 prospect and currently not ranked. Brother of Dom and Marion III...and an absolute beast. Currently only has an offer from the gophs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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He does not have an offer from the gophers.
 

Busky said:
That's fine. I just want to see how the secondary will perform in our biggest (last) three games of the season. I fully expect us to play well against Purdue, Illinois, and Iowa. I am looking forward to seeing their performance against Bucky, Nebraska, and Ohio State, when the spotlight is the brightest.
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This same secondary minus Vereen played well last year against MSU, UNL and WI so I don't really see what you're getting at. TCU has put up 50 on everyone but us this year despite our 5 TOs. The secondary has proven its worth at this point
 

oleboy41 said:
This same secondary minus Vereen played well last year against MSU, UNL and WI so I don't really see what you're getting at. TCU has put up 50 on everyone but us this year despite our 5 TOs. The secondary has proven its worth at this point
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This is nitpicking, but TCU actually has only put up 50+ on SMU and Baylor. 48 against Samford and 37 vs Oklahoma.
 


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