Melvin Holland is GOLDEN - UPDATED with GopherHole Q&A w/ Holland

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RunGopherRun said:
Great signing! I think we really got a good one here. In my mind, it was the early recognition from our coaches and getting our foot in the door earlier than the other FBS schools that made the big difference. It's exciting to think about where our offense could be in a few years!
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Yep, that and playing time.

I don't know if there is another 8 win BCS conference team that is more wide open at WR.
 

RunGopherRun said:
Great signing! I think we really got a good one here. In my mind, it was the early recognition from our coaches and getting our foot in the door earlier than the other FBS schools that made the big difference. It's exciting to think about where our offense could be in a few years!
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The coaching staff seems to be able to identify these talents before other schools come knocking. It's pretty impressive that they seem to find guys that should probably be recruited harder, earlier in the process. Holland blew up this year, Nate Andrews last year.
 

YEEEEEEESSSSSSS! just got back into internet service area after the storm and cold and this thread (and a lot of the board) was a beautiful sight to see!
 




PhillyGopher said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>New <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gopher&src=hash">#Gopher</a> WR commit Melvin Holland (<a href="https://twitter.com/MelloYllw21">@MelloYllw21</a>) will shut down his recruiting completely and tells GI that he's 100% a Gopher now.</p>— Ryan Burns (@RyanBurnsGI) <a href="https://twitter.com/RyanBurnsGI/statuses/427985206230790144">January 28, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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I am really glad to hear this. Rutgers was on Holland as well and they had the #14 ranked receiver in the nation flip from them to Penn State today. They will probably be back on the market for WR's now.
 

highwayman said:
I logged in Saturday night to see if the hockey team won after FSN went out. 16 people were on the Hockey Forum. 647 on here.
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There was just an unusual amount on the football board for the middle of January, so I knew something was up, good or bad.
 





Welcome Melvin! This is as big as it gets :). A great day for the U!

Ski-U-Mah and Go Gophers!
 



I couldn't be happier about this signing. He's a thoroughbred athlete. Just a little bit bigger, stronger, faster, more coordinated than the rest. Like Andre McDonald was. Like Donovahn Jones is.

I think he'll play next year at WR due to his build & physicality, not necessarily his pass catching skills.

Often overlooked by most fans is that blocking & physicality is really, really important in our system & to our staff. It's not as easy as you'd think. You need the aggressive mentality to want to take the fight to the D. Not all WR's are wired like that. Holland is a Defensive player who just started at WR this year. I think he brings that physical, deliver-the-blow mindset to the WR position. Also, there are a lot of gutty receivers who'll get after it, but don't have the body to make it happen. This guy is a load. Physically ready to go as a true Freshman.
 



ESPN cracks me up with their descriptions of players. I remember Mel Kiper saying a guy played "angular" once. I also remember watching the draft countdown with buddies & one of Kiper's descriptions of some DL prospect was "Thick through the legs, nice bubble". My buddy asked me "Did he just say he's likes his big, thick butt?". Ok, I understand analysts evaluate thousands of players and don't want to use the same 10 adjectives over and over but some of these are kind of funny.

"Can be a short strider with a bit of tension in the hips as a result."

- Oh snap. Tense hips.

"He's not a sudden, cat-like player"

- Even my cat is not sudden AND cat-like.

"Ball Skills Has big, strong, soft hands."

- Is he a hand model? Why do I feel strangely aroused?
 

Well this is great news, and a nice way to start the day. Congratulations to everyone involved - coach Kill, and Holland family, and us fans. :)
 


I checked out the Wisconsin 247 board to see their reaction and am seeing a typical Wisconsin fan response to Holland committing to Minnesota. They are pretty much convinced they have a silent verbal from a WR and that's why they backed off Holland leaving him to commit to Minnesota. It couldn't be because we started recruiting him earlier, developed a relationship, have no other WR commits, and Holland just flat out liked Minnesota better. No possible way a recruit would pick Minnesota over Wisconsin right? (cough Gaelin Elmore cough).

I'll admit they could be right, but it'd be great to see George Rushing (the other WR) commit somewhere else.
 

U2Gopher said:
I am really glad to hear this. Rutgers was on Holland as well and they had the #14 ranked receiver in the nation flip from them to Penn State today. They will probably be back on the market for WR's now.
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Damn. They lost another one? That's the eleventh decommitment Rutgers has had the last couple months; they've went from a top ten class nationally to probably last in the Big Ten. Really is a sinking ship over there.
 

jaymil said:
I checked out the Wisconsin 247 board to see their reaction and am seeing a typical Wisconsin fan response to Holland committing to Minnesota. They are pretty much convinced they have a silent verbal from a WR and that's why they backed off Holland leaving him to commit to Minnesota. It couldn't be because we started recruiting him earlier, developed a relationship, have no other WR commits, and Holland just flat out liked Minnesota better. No possible way a recruit would pick Minnesota over Wisconsin right? (cough Gaelin Elmore cough).

I'll admit they could be right, but it'd be great to see George Rushing (the other WR) commit somewhere else.
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the LSU fans had a great reaction to him coming hear and most of them said they will be rooting for him and the gophers in the future. They wanted them to offer him bad and they had an 18 page thread on him, they actually had 4 threads about him

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/...e-Melvin-Holland-Jr-Commits-to-Minnesota.aspx

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/p/47904623/Melvin-Holland-Jr-Commits-to-Minnesota.aspx

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/p/47474051/Melvin-Holland-Jrdiamond-in-the-rough.aspx
 

die hard gopher said:
the LSU fans had a great reaction to him coming hear and most of them said they will be rooting for him and the gophers in the future. They wanted them to offer him bad and they had an 18 page thread on him, they actually had 4 threads about him

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/...e-Melvin-Holland-Jr-Commits-to-Minnesota.aspx

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/p/47904623/Melvin-Holland-Jr-Commits-to-Minnesota.aspx

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/p/47474051/Melvin-Holland-Jrdiamond-in-the-rough.aspx
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The reaction kind of blew me away. Nice to read. I doubt 'we' would have reacted the same way if he went to LSU.
 

tikited said:
The reaction kind of blew me away. Nice to read. I doubt 'we' would have reacted the same way if he went to LSU.
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we wouldn't have reacted the same way even if it was us not offering Gentry and him sticking to Kent State
 

die hard gopher said:
the LSU fans had a great reaction to him coming hear and most of them said they will be rooting for him and the gophers in the future. They wanted them to offer him bad and they had an 18 page thread on him, they actually had 4 threads about him

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/...e-Melvin-Holland-Jr-Commits-to-Minnesota.aspx

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/p/47904623/Melvin-Holland-Jr-Commits-to-Minnesota.aspx

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/p/47474051/Melvin-Holland-Jrdiamond-in-the-rough.aspx
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That 18 page thread is pretty crazy. LSU fans posting there were pretty much the reason their coaching staff looked at Holland's film. Holland Sr. was also posting on there. Good thing LSU never offered.
 

die hard gopher said:
the LSU fans had a great reaction to him coming hear and most of them said they will be rooting for him and the gophers in the future. They wanted them to offer him bad and they had an 18 page thread on him, they actually had 4 threads about him

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/...e-Melvin-Holland-Jr-Commits-to-Minnesota.aspx

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/p/47904623/Melvin-Holland-Jr-Commits-to-Minnesota.aspx

http://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/p/47474051/Melvin-Holland-Jrdiamond-in-the-rough.aspx
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One of my favorites from that last thread:
"Last time i was working in Minnesota was early Feb about 6 years ago. One morning it was -8 with wind chill -35. I thought I would die in my car on the way to the office.

I will say this, however.... That night the restaurants were full and people were having a good time. They just say screw it to weather like that, party on."

Got that right, we don't care, we just roll out anyway lol.
 

I know this is a really big get for the Gophers, but it would be nice if Ryan Burns didn't use the same adjectives to describe our 4* recruits as he does our 2* recruits. I feel like every get is "huge" or "great" in his eyes. Just once I'd like him to say "mediocre" or "meh."
 

afurry91 said:
I know this is a really big get for the Gophers, but it would be nice if Ryan Burns didn't use the same adjectives to describe our 4* recruits as he does our 2* recruits. I feel like every get is "huge" or "great" in his eyes. Just once I'd like him to say "mediocre" or "meh."
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They're a business, dude. They're not going to say, "Hey, come pay a subscription fee to read about this mediocre recruit."
 

afurry91 said:
I know this is a really big get for the Gophers, but it would be nice if Ryan Burns didn't use the same adjectives to describe our 4* recruits as he does our 2* recruits. I feel like every get is "huge" or "great" in his eyes. Just once I'd like him to say "mediocre" or "meh."
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Why? Every kid that commits to play for the gophers deserves to be thought highly of.
I hate this attitude of trying to downplay the positive. It's like the negative cynics who defend themselves by being "realistic".
Burn and GI are in essence a propaganda machine for the program, and really in the end all of this is for fun. There's absolutely no reason to publicly tweet a "meh" when a kid commits to sweat and bleed for the program for the next 4-5 years. I bet in private they will be willing to share their opinions and not all are glowing of every recruit, but in the mean time lighten up.
 

afurry91 said:
I know this is a really big get for the Gophers, but it would be nice if Ryan Burns didn't use the same adjectives to describe our 4* recruits as he does our 2* recruits. I feel like every get is "huge" or "great" in his eyes. Just once I'd like him to say "mediocre" or "meh."
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That's just not good business. Terms like "mediocre" imply "not good", which why would he want to put out that? Especially if the coaching staff is working hard to pursue a kid and they're hyped to get him, and then you got your own recruiting guy talking about a mediocre pickup. Maybe "good" pickup would be better, vs. a "huge" pickup, but I don't see the value in him doing that.

I think you can make your own judgments on the quality of a recruit without Burns having to adjust his verbiage. For the common fan who may be following him, I think it's good if they're excited about every single kid who decides to commit here. No reason to downplay anyone.
 


afurry91 said:
I know this is a really big get for the Gophers, but it would be nice if Ryan Burns didn't use the same adjectives to describe our 4* recruits as he does our 2* recruits. I feel like every get is "huge" or "great" in his eyes. Just once I'd like him to say "mediocre" or "meh."
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i feel you. Melvin Holland is a really big get but i agree when guys like Celestin commit it is annoying when he describes him as a "huge" get. of course i wouldn't expect him to downgrade them but i know what you mean
 

I'm so giddy about the future of our offense and the team overall, the Gopher Football program has loads of potential and it's beyond fun to see (and be a part of) it starting to come to fruition.

#brickbybrick
 

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