Max Grand - PWO from Ellsworth, WI commits!

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MennoSota

MennoSota

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"I absolutely love head coach PJ Fleck's energy, and I feel like I will really do well under his philosophy," 2022 Ellsworth (Wisc.) running back Max Grand said about his decision to commit to Gopher Football as a preferred walk-on. "I fell in love with the gameday atmosphere, and the Minnesota coaching staff as well. Ultimately I just felt at home at Minnesota and it all made sense. I also believe seeing the recent run game success Minnesota is having definitely excites me. When I told my mom this is what I wanted to do, she was 100% supportive! She has been very supportive throughout the whole recruiting process. It was a very exciting and sentimental moment for her and I."

"To commit, I had an ELITE FaceTime call with Coach Fleck and RB coach Kenni Burns. It was a moment I will never forget because as soon as I said I was committing, Coach Fleck almost flew out of his seat with excitement! We also went over what being a walk-on at Minnesota would be like and that he believes I will be on scholarship “very soon”! He told me how being a walk-on there, everything will be the same except that I will be paying for school. One of the things that stood out right away for Coach Fleck is the number of PWO's he awards scholarships to every year. I believe the number is around 4.5 a year which is almost unheard of."

RB coach Kenni Burns will also be excited to work with Grand.

"After camp in July, running backs coach Kenni Burns took me aside and explained to me the situation. Being that he doesn’t have any more scholarships available, and how he has a commitment already from a 2022 running back, he said he believes I am more than capable of playing at Minnesota. And if I would like to come here, he would have a roster spot for me. This is the first opportunity given to me to play at the FBS level and it feels good to know all my hard work and sacrifices are beginning to pay off. But I am definitely not satisfied yet. It feels great to be a Minnesota commit now. I feel like I will really flourish at Minnesota and I already feel a part of the family. Row the Boat, Ski-U-Mah and Go Gophers!"

247sports.com

Ellsworth RB Max Grand details his Minnesota Football PWO commitment

Ellsworth RB Max Grand details his Minnesota Football PWO commitment
247sports.com 247sports.com
 


Another victory for a developmental program. Let's get more from Badger Country.

Carson Hinzman, do you want to play for the future Big Ten West champion?
 

MennoSota said:
"I absolutely love head coach PJ Fleck's energy, and I feel like I will really do well under his philosophy," 2022 Ellsworth (Wisc.) running back Max Grand said about his decision to commit to Gopher Football as a preferred walk-on. "I fell in love with the gameday atmosphere, and the Minnesota coaching staff as well. Ultimately I just felt at home at Minnesota and it all made sense. I also believe seeing the recent run game success Minnesota is having definitely excites me. When I told my mom this is what I wanted to do, she was 100% supportive! She has been very supportive throughout the whole recruiting process. It was a very exciting and sentimental moment for her and I."

"To commit, I had an ELITE FaceTime call with Coach Fleck and RB coach Kenni Burns. It was a moment I will never forget because as soon as I said I was committing, Coach Fleck almost flew out of his seat with excitement! We also went over what being a walk-on at Minnesota would be like and that he believes I will be on scholarship “very soon”! He told me how being a walk-on there, everything will be the same except that I will be paying for school. One of the things that stood out right away for Coach Fleck is the number of PWO's he awards scholarships to every year. I believe the number is around 4.5 a year which is almost unheard of."

RB coach Kenni Burns will also be excited to work with Grand.

"After camp in July, running backs coach Kenni Burns took me aside and explained to me the situation. Being that he doesn’t have any more scholarships available, and how he has a commitment already from a 2022 running back, he said he believes I am more than capable of playing at Minnesota. And if I would like to come here, he would have a roster spot for me. This is the first opportunity given to me to play at the FBS level and it feels good to know all my hard work and sacrifices are beginning to pay off. But I am definitely not satisfied yet. It feels great to be a Minnesota commit now. I feel like I will really flourish at Minnesota and I already feel a part of the family. Row the Boat, Ski-U-Mah and Go Gophers!"

247sports.com

Ellsworth RB Max Grand details his Minnesota Football PWO commitment

Ellsworth RB Max Grand details his Minnesota Football PWO commitment
247sports.com 247sports.com
Click to expand...
Have we really awarded ~16-23 scholarships to walkons?
 

Welcome! Make an impact young man!
 


I’ve seen Grand play several times….he’s a very productive high school back. Ellsworth has a very good team (undefeated going into 3rd round of playoffs). I don’t know if he’s big enough to be a Big 10 running back but he’s the kind of kid who will contribute eventually and earn a scholarship. Good get for a PWO.
 


cheeseheadgophfan said:
"I don’t know if he’s big enough to be a Big 10 running back but he’s the kind of kid who will contribute eventually and earn a scholarship. Good get for a PWO."
Click to expand...
Former Minnesota Viking Darrin Nelson is 5'9", 187 pounds. Grand can Max out buck-wise. In 2 to 3 years, he will be a tank running behind a Big Ten OL.
 

hungan1 said:
Former Minnesota Viking Darrin Nelson is 5'9", 187 pounds. Grand can Max out buck-wise. In 2 to 3 years, he will be a tank running behind a Big Ten OL.
Click to expand...
That’s like comparing the size of the Washington Hogs to lineman now. Nelson is 62. That is irrelevant. Smaller backs can make it but to compare him to Darrin Nelson is so strange.
 



UpAndUnder43 said:
That’s like comparing the size of the Washington Hogs to lineman now. Nelson is 62. That is irrelevant. Smaller backs can make it but to compare him to Darrin Nelson is so strange.
Click to expand...

Are you saying smaller backs no longer have as good a chance to star as they did in Nelson's era?

If so, I'm wondering if actual hard facts — data — would bear that out.
 



RememberMurray said:
Are you saying smaller backs no longer have as good a chance to star as they did in Nelson's era?

If so, I'm wondering if actual hard facts — data — would bear that out.
Click to expand...
I didn’t say that at all. I said smaller backs can make it in my post. Did you read that part? My uncle coached one of the most prolific small backs of the recent era in the NFL. Plenty of room for them. But why Darrin Nelson? Are they similar speed or types of runners? Lots more to a back than height and weight.
 



Welcome Max! You should probably think about adding an X to your name at Minnesota.
Rooting for you to be an asset to the Gophers on scholarship! Go Gophers!
Mo proved you don't have to be 6'4 250 to be ELITE!
 
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UpAndUnder43 said:
I didn’t say that at all. I said smaller backs can make it in my post. Did you read that part? My uncle coached one of the most prolific small backs of the recent era in the NFL. Plenty of room for them. But why Darrin Nelson? Are they similar speed or types of runners? Lots more to a back than height and weight.
Click to expand...

Reading your post, you mentioned the Hogs, from the 1970s Washington teams, and you also specifically listed Nelson's age. You said comparing him to Nelson was therefore irrelevant.

So if it isn't about dismissing a comparison because the player mentioned is from a different era, then I'm afraid I'm not sure exactly what meant.

And it actually is about height and weight... at least, that had been the thread of the conversation.

See post #6:

"I don’t know if he’s big enough to be a Big 10 running back but he’s the kind of kid who will contribute eventually and earn a scholarship. Good get for a PWO."
 
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RememberMurray said:
Reading your post, you mentioned the Hogs, from the 1970s Washington teams, and you also specifically listed Nelson's age. You said comparing him to Nelson was therefore irrelevant.

So if it isn't about dismissing a comparison because the player mentioned is from a different era, then I'm afraid I'm not sure exactly what meant.

And it actually is about height and weight... at least, that had been the thread of the conversation.

See post #6:

"I don’t know if he’s big enough to be a Big 10 running back but he’s the kind of kid who will contribute eventually and earn a scholarship. Good get for a PWO."
Click to expand...
I didn’t reply to post #6.
Darrin Nelson in today’s NFL would be small and slow.
 








Walk on RB from Wisconsin, Derik LeCaptain, became a LB on the Gophers … until this week, when he moved back to RB. He looked good. I’ll take another walk-on RB from Wisconsin, thank you.
 

cheeseheadgophfan said:
I’ve seen Grand play several times….he’s a very productive high school back. Ellsworth has a very good team (undefeated going into 3rd round of playoffs). I don’t know if he’s big enough to be a Big 10 running back but he’s the kind of kid who will contribute eventually and earn a scholarship. Good get for a PWO.
Click to expand...
Kenneth Walker III, the Michigan State RB who destroyed the Wolverines with 5 touchdowns today, was 5’ 9-1/2” 191 lbs coming out of HS. He was rated 0.8122 and was Wake Forest’s lowest rated recruit in 2019. Players can develop if they have drive and ability. Grand, at 5’ 9” 188 lbs is big enough … if he is mentally up for the grind.
 

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