BleedGopher
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Dillon van der Wal had a 10-school summer tour planned with his parents this year, but he couldn't make it at the last minute.
Instead, van der Wal's parents traveled across the country to high-profile programs such as Nebraska, Texas and Penn State, schools that were interested but hadn't offered their son a scholarship.
Of the schools that offered, though, the van der Wals fell in love with the University of Minnesota because of the coaches, the campus, the academics and TCF Bank Stadium.
The Gophers (1-1) suffered an embarrassing 41-38 loss to South Dakota last week, but that didn't change the van der Wals' feelings about the school and coach Tim Brewster's football program.
Now, young van der Wal is ready to see it for himself.
The 6-foot-7, 240-pound four-star tight end from Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, Calif., realizes the Gophers are struggling. He hopes they can be competitive Saturday against No. 18-ranked Southern Cal (2-0), but said it didn't matter if they lost.
Van der Wal, the highest-rated player among the five national recruits scheduled to make their official visit this weekend, is looking forward to seeing how he might fit in. He also is thrilled about the possibility of being a walk-on for basketball coach Tubby Smith.
Brewster's 2011 class is void of four-star recruits. And there's a strong possibility van der Wal would be the first.
"It's a good opportunity at Minnesota, so we'll see how I like it," he said. "I'm really excited to see what they can do. The big thing for me is being able to just compete (with Southern Cal). A win would be great, but it's good just seeing how the team works and competes. It's going to be a tough game because of what they're going through. But you just want to see what the team has and what the coaching staff has going into something like that."
The Trojans, who play only 30 miles from van der Wal's high school in Los Angeles, haven't offered him a scholarship. Minnesota was one of the first schools that did.
The other recruits with offers from the Gophers visiting Saturday include Cincinnati Colerain High School (Ohio) running back Trayion Durham, Guyer High School (Texas) receiver Quentin Gardner, Cedar Hill High School (Texas) receiver Lovett Gibson and Miramar High School (Fla.) safety Steven Montgomery.
"That's a very athletic group," CBS College Sports recruiting expert Tom Lemming said. "They aren't top 100 guys, but they're the next level down."
Saturday's shocking loss to South Dakota and the heavy criticism directed at Brewster and his program doesn't seem to have hurt recruiting — yet.
"He talked about the coach's longevity and that people are saying Brewster is on the hot seat," van der Wal's father, Fred, said. "But I told him that you don't know what's going to happen. The school and the education are first, because not everybody is going to the NFL — although that's where he wants to go."
Brewster, who van der Wal's father said discovered his son on a YouTube video highlight, isn't selling only himself. Other programs are giving van der Wal that option, but Brewster used sophomore wide receiver Bryant Allen as an example. Allen was a reserve point guard on Smith's basketball team last season.
"Playing two sports in college would be hard," van der Wal said. "But it's real cool that coach Tubby encourages football players to come and try out for basketball. Basketball is something I really love."
Van der Wal's doctors have told him he's still growing and could be 6-8 soon — and possibly even taller in college. His athletic ability (32-inch vertical), length and hands could make van der Wal a standout tight end at the next level, Lemming said.
Van der Wal is also projected as a defensive end. The Gophers produced NFL tight ends Matt Spaeth (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Ben Utecht (Tennessee Titans) under former coach Glen Mason. Brewster is also a former NFL tight ends coach.
"He's a basketball-type-looking kid right now, but he has real potential," said Lemming, who ranks van der Wal as one of the top 20 tight ends in the nation. "He is on one of the more prolific offenses nationally, so he would be a good catch for Minnesota."
GOPHERS' NATIONAL RECRUITS VISITING SOUTHERN CAL GAME
Name, position School (State) Highest star rating
Trayion Durham, RB Cincinnati Colerain High School (Ohio) ***
Quentin Gardner, WR Guyer High School (Texas) ***
Lovett Gibson, WR Cedar Hill High School (Texas) ***
Steven Montgomery, S Miramar High School (Fla.) ***
Dillon van der Wal, TE Oaks Christian High School (Calif.) ****
http://www.twincities.com/gophers/ci_16090990?nclick_check=1
Go Gophers!!
Instead, van der Wal's parents traveled across the country to high-profile programs such as Nebraska, Texas and Penn State, schools that were interested but hadn't offered their son a scholarship.
Of the schools that offered, though, the van der Wals fell in love with the University of Minnesota because of the coaches, the campus, the academics and TCF Bank Stadium.
The Gophers (1-1) suffered an embarrassing 41-38 loss to South Dakota last week, but that didn't change the van der Wals' feelings about the school and coach Tim Brewster's football program.
Now, young van der Wal is ready to see it for himself.
The 6-foot-7, 240-pound four-star tight end from Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, Calif., realizes the Gophers are struggling. He hopes they can be competitive Saturday against No. 18-ranked Southern Cal (2-0), but said it didn't matter if they lost.
Van der Wal, the highest-rated player among the five national recruits scheduled to make their official visit this weekend, is looking forward to seeing how he might fit in. He also is thrilled about the possibility of being a walk-on for basketball coach Tubby Smith.
Brewster's 2011 class is void of four-star recruits. And there's a strong possibility van der Wal would be the first.
"It's a good opportunity at Minnesota, so we'll see how I like it," he said. "I'm really excited to see what they can do. The big thing for me is being able to just compete (with Southern Cal). A win would be great, but it's good just seeing how the team works and competes. It's going to be a tough game because of what they're going through. But you just want to see what the team has and what the coaching staff has going into something like that."
The Trojans, who play only 30 miles from van der Wal's high school in Los Angeles, haven't offered him a scholarship. Minnesota was one of the first schools that did.
The other recruits with offers from the Gophers visiting Saturday include Cincinnati Colerain High School (Ohio) running back Trayion Durham, Guyer High School (Texas) receiver Quentin Gardner, Cedar Hill High School (Texas) receiver Lovett Gibson and Miramar High School (Fla.) safety Steven Montgomery.
"That's a very athletic group," CBS College Sports recruiting expert Tom Lemming said. "They aren't top 100 guys, but they're the next level down."
Saturday's shocking loss to South Dakota and the heavy criticism directed at Brewster and his program doesn't seem to have hurt recruiting — yet.
"He talked about the coach's longevity and that people are saying Brewster is on the hot seat," van der Wal's father, Fred, said. "But I told him that you don't know what's going to happen. The school and the education are first, because not everybody is going to the NFL — although that's where he wants to go."
Brewster, who van der Wal's father said discovered his son on a YouTube video highlight, isn't selling only himself. Other programs are giving van der Wal that option, but Brewster used sophomore wide receiver Bryant Allen as an example. Allen was a reserve point guard on Smith's basketball team last season.
"Playing two sports in college would be hard," van der Wal said. "But it's real cool that coach Tubby encourages football players to come and try out for basketball. Basketball is something I really love."
Van der Wal's doctors have told him he's still growing and could be 6-8 soon — and possibly even taller in college. His athletic ability (32-inch vertical), length and hands could make van der Wal a standout tight end at the next level, Lemming said.
Van der Wal is also projected as a defensive end. The Gophers produced NFL tight ends Matt Spaeth (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Ben Utecht (Tennessee Titans) under former coach Glen Mason. Brewster is also a former NFL tight ends coach.
"He's a basketball-type-looking kid right now, but he has real potential," said Lemming, who ranks van der Wal as one of the top 20 tight ends in the nation. "He is on one of the more prolific offenses nationally, so he would be a good catch for Minnesota."
GOPHERS' NATIONAL RECRUITS VISITING SOUTHERN CAL GAME
Name, position School (State) Highest star rating
Trayion Durham, RB Cincinnati Colerain High School (Ohio) ***
Quentin Gardner, WR Guyer High School (Texas) ***
Lovett Gibson, WR Cedar Hill High School (Texas) ***
Steven Montgomery, S Miramar High School (Fla.) ***
Dillon van der Wal, TE Oaks Christian High School (Calif.) ****
http://www.twincities.com/gophers/ci_16090990?nclick_check=1
Go Gophers!!
