Minnesota and Dallas Skyline

[Handsome Pete]

I've noticed the Gophers have had zero success recruiting Skyline since the "Four" signed here in 2008. We were o-fer last year and this year, two of our offerees have already committed elsewhere. I'm somewhat curious because it seems we are not only losing out on signing Skyline players after our earlier success, but we are not even being considered by Skyline players. Is there possibly some discontent among the Skyline Four (I seem to remember reading/hearing that Cooper was upset we were going after other safeties in '09)? Seems to me Spencer Reeves is super-excited to get rolling here and Troy Stoudermire in particular looked unbelievable with plenty of PT last season. Or is this lack of success at that school just a simple function of going after highly recruited star-quality players at star-quality schools?

As a particular example, Steve Williams re-opened his recruitment last year after committing to Oklahoma. I don't remember him ever even considering visiting Minnesota before ultimately signing with California.

Probably much ado about nothing but I thought I'd throw it out there...

 

[oleboy41]

I don't think you can count on consistently recruiting a school located on the opposite side of the country. We've gotten some consideration but these guys are all highly recruited. Most school pipelines teams have are with instate schools or schools where the HS coach has some connection to the program. ND has the whole catholic school connection with Cretin but that is rare

 

[TCF=UnitedWeStand]

you're right, handsome - much ado about nothing. It'd be nice to have a pipeline such as Skyline, but i'm happy to see we are pulling kids from all over. Different strokes for different folks, but the stars aligned our way with the Skyline four from two years ago and we're better for it.

Don't discount the fact that while others from Skyline may not have committed here since, the 4's presence here may have influenced the decisions of other players from Texas (Lipscomb?) and may continue to.

 

[Schnoodler]

Outside of the big guy the other three weren't considered big time recruits. And he was a last minute switch. It's the 3 star types we have a shot at the big guys are going to get a lot of local love. think about how tough that is to pull a top kid out of Texas. It's not like wisconsin where the coach is a dick and we're next door.

 

[paulser21]

I also thought that we would have better success from Denver Mullen. Where Brewster's sons and Kyle Theret went to school. I thought I remember reading somewhere that Mullen was one of the best player producing schools in Colorado.

 

[mckerney]

Don't discount the fact that while others from Skyline may not have committed here since, the 4's presence here may have influenced the decisions of other players from Texas (Lipscomb?) and may continue to.

Speaking of Lipscomb and pipelines, Minnesota may have a decent chance at landing Lipscomb's former teammate, WR Kevin Johnson.

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[GopherGod]

Outside of the big guy the other three weren't considered big time recruits. And he was a last minute switch. It's the 3 star types we have a shot at the big guys are going to get a lot of local love. think about how tough that is to pull a top kid out of Texas. It's not like wisconsin where the coach is a dick and we're next door.

I agree, it is a tough task to consistently pull these guys from these top programs in Texas because they are obviously on everyones radar being a premier power in the state of Texas as Skyline historically is and there are so many big time football programs descending on these schools who have more of a history with the coaches and the athletes there(i.e. Texas, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, TCU, LSU, as well as the rest of the Big 12. If Minnesota can pull a player out of there every once in a while that would be great but to expect it all the time would be unreasonable.

 

[Handsome Pete]

Just to clarify, my concern is not that we're not landing these guys. That's no problem and the price of admission when going after top talent. My concern is that Minnesota is not being considered and does not seem to be making any progress at all after having an explosion of success in only their first full year recruiting the school, 2008 I know we are after players down there, I think we've already offered four so far this year. I know we will get another top class for 2010 from all over the country but I am obviously quite perplexed by the situation at Skyline.

 

[GopherGod]

Just to clarify, my concern is not that we're not landing these guys. That's no problem and the price of admission when going after top talent. My concern is that Minnesota is not being considered and does not seem to be making any progress at all after having an explosion of success in only their first full year recruiting the school, 2008 I know we are after players down there, I think we've already offered four so far this year. I know we will get another top class for 2010 from all over the country but I am obviously quite perplexed by the situation at Skyline.

I think if we win it will take care of itself, but to be brutally honest I think a lot of these players quite frankly have better options at this point in time. They can go to schools that they grew up watching and that their families can watch them play at in Texas or the Big 12 and that have a history of winning at a high level. Minnesota does not have this yet(kids don't care what we did over 40 years ago) and they have no association to the big ten or this area so we will face an uphill battle always but especially until we are competing at a high level nationally and getting the national attention.

 

[grunkiejr]

I wouldn't say that the players we offered from down there haven't considered us. Three of the four we offered this spring have already committed (LSU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma) and the last one remaining, Corey Nelson, is the best of the four and we're unlikely to get him over offers from Texas, OU, LSU, Miami, Michigan, and virtually everyone else in the country. At this time of year the player has to pay his own way for visits so it is an uphill climb to get Dallas kids that are interested in committing in the spring of their junior year.

Nobody else mentioned it so I will. Why would Cooper care if we are recruiting safeties in 2009? Keanon Cooper is a linebacker and he always has been.

 

[paulser21]

QB Jarvia Hall http://minnesota.scout.com/a.z?s=176&p=8&c=1&nid=3428156 from Skyline is still listed on scouts with interest in MN but I don't know how that will change with the addition of Parrish. That is unless we are recruiting him for another position.

RB Keldon Hampton http://minnesota.scout.com/a.z?s=176&p=8&c=1&nid=3428077 also had interest in MN last year but I don't think that he was ever offered a sholarship.

So I don't think we can say that the players from Skyline haven't considered us. They have just chosen to play somewhere else or were not offered a scholarship.

 

[[censored]]

It was just recently reported that Javia Hall still has interest in Minnesota. He performed well at a recent camp and has created a little buzz. He said that San Diego St. was the first to contact him, and that Kansas and Texas Tech were planning to evaluate him this spring. He's still waiting for his first offer, and apparently does have the ability to play WR/CB at the next level if QB doesn't work out. Similar to JD Pride perhaps?

Another Skyline prospect Brewster might have run across (due to needs at DT) is DT Rodney Williams. He currently holds no offers, but has Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Alabama, UTEP, and Arkansas looking at him.

Minnesota is also the only team to reportedly have an offer out to Cedar Hill OG Josh Allen.

As far as recruiting Skyline, I think Gopher fans should be more focused on just getting a handful of Texas kids each year, no matter what school they come from.

Hopefully the Gophers can grab Josh Allen and Elisha Olabode from Cedar Hill, Kevin Johnson out of Houston, and maybe Dominique Sanders from Fort Worth.

Quentin Hayes and Tyler Stephenson from Lancaster may be tough gets. Hayes might get an offer from Oklahoma, and Stephenson recently named Tennessee as his leader.

 

[grunkiejr]

I love Stephenson. If we could only pull one player out of TX this year (I certainly hope there are more) I would choose to have Stephenson follow Kerry Lewis up here.

 

[Handsome Pete]

I wouldn't say that the players we offered from down there haven't considered us. Three of the four we offered this spring have already committed (LSU, Texas A&M, Oklahoma) and the last one remaining, Corey Nelson, is the best of the four and we're unlikely to get him over offers from Texas, OU, LSU, Miami, Michigan, and virtually everyone else in the country. At this time of year the player has to pay his own way for visits so it is an uphill climb to get Dallas kids that are interested in committing in the spring of their junior year.

Nobody else mentioned it so I will. Why would Cooper care if we are recruiting safeties in 2009? Keanon Cooper is a linebacker and he always has been.

I don't know why Cooper would care, but he did. It was reported on this board last year sometime- some snide comment he made about us going after someone. I'm too lazy to do a search but if someone isn't, they will find it.

 

[Gopher It]

I seem to recall that it was a 2007 recruit, Curtis Thomas from Aldine, TX, that complained about the recruiting of more safeties, not Cooper.

 

[eker0016]

I remember it...Keanon seemed to be offended we were bringing in other safety prospects. His Facebook status had some message that made it sound like he was ticked off...but once again, you never know with those things (a la Devron Bostick). Now I feel like the stalker who watches these kids' every move...I just remember it being talked about on the board.

 

[GopherGod]

Dallas Skyline is a good program with a lot of history in Texas but they are many many more programs in Texas that are just as good if not better than Skyline(i.e. Southlake Carroll, Lake Travis, Galena Park,Midland Lee, Odessa, etc.). I am questioning why we do not have more offers out to the top prospects because when I look at the rankings of the guys we have offered that have been rated thus far very few are top ranked prospects. It also seems as if we are going after guys from every corner of the country which I question how effective the coaches can be at covering that area and establishing relationships with the high school coaches there effectively. I would think it would be more effective to focus on for instance the upper midwest and Texas and just scour that area with our coaches.

 

[harrys ghost]

Dallas Skyline is a good program with a lot of history in Texas but they are many many more programs in Texas that are just as good if not better than Skyline(i.e. Southlake Carroll, Lake Travis, Galena Park,Midland Lee, Odessa, etc.). I am questioning why we do not have more offers out to the top prospects because when I look at the rankings of the guys we have offered that have been rated thus far very few are top ranked prospects. It also seems as if we are going after guys from every corner of the country which I question how effective the coaches can be at covering that area and establishing relationships with the high school coaches there effectively. I would think it would be more effective to focus on for instance the upper midwest and Texas and just scour that area with our coaches.

So, how do you tell who we have offered? The U can't say. The only info we have is what is reported to various websites by prospects. My understanding is that we have offered Darius White and Corey Nelson but how would you verify that (or determine that it wasn't true). For example, last year Scout was not even showing Ronnie Wingo as a prospect right up to the time he scheduled an official visit with us.

 

[GopherGod]

So, how do you tell who we have offered? The U can't say. The only info we have is what is reported to various websites by prospects. My understanding is that we have offered Darius White and Corey Nelson but how would you verify that (or determine that it wasn't true). For example, last year Scout was not even showing Ronnie Wingo as a prospect right up to the time he scheduled an official visit with us.

I am merely going by what is on Rivals and yes they depend on the kids to tell them but many of the top players have been rated by Rivals already and have their scholarship offer lists available. I am simply going on what the recruits have stated to the mods of the different schools rival sites that are pursuing them. When the top prospects are being hounded by the mods from 10 different rivals sites you would expect the list of offers to come up in one of those discussions as they appear they have on many of the top players.

 

[grunkiejr]

I remember it...Keanon seemed to be offended we were bringing in other safety prospects. His Facebook status had some message that made it sound like he was ticked off...but once again, you never know with those things (a la Devron Bostick). Now I feel like the stalker who watches these kids' every move...I just remember it being talked about on the board.

So you're telling me that a linebacker was pissed off because we were recruiting a safety prospect. The things people make up on these boards is ridiculous.

Keanon Cooper was recruited by the Gophers to play linebacker. He redshirted last season because he needed to gain weight to play LB in the Big Ten. Anybody who tells you anything differently is wrong.

 

[harrys ghost]

I am merely going by what is on Rivals and yes they depend on the kids to tell them but many of the top players have been rated by Rivals already and have their scholarship offer lists available. I am simply going on what the recruits have stated to the mods of the different schools rival sites that are pursuing them. When the top prospects are being hounded by the mods from 10 different rivals sites you would expect the list of offers to come up in one of those discussions as they appear they have on many of the top players.

What you are going by, apparently, is the level of interest a player may have in us rather than whether or not we offered. For example, we were going after Jake Heaps very early and were one of the first to offer. Rivals no longer shows us being on his list.

 

[grunkiejr]

What you are going by, apparently, is the level of interest a player may have in us rather than whether or not we offered. For example, we were going after Jake Heaps very early and were one of the first to offer. Rivals no longer shows us being on his list.

It is a combo. For the players like Corey Nelson, Jake Heaps, Seantrell Henderson, etc that have gigantic offer lists they list the ones that the player seems the most interested in. For most players they list everybody that is known to have an offer outstanding to the player.

 

[harrys ghost]

It is a combo. For the players like Corey Nelson, Jake Heaps, Seantrell Henderson, etc that have gigantic offer lists they list the ones that the player seems the most interested in. For most players they list everybody that is known to have an offer outstanding to the player.

True, but the comment I was reacting to was, "I am questioning why we do not have more offers out to the top prospects because when I look at the rankings of the guys we have offered that have been rated thus far very few are top ranked prospects."

The point I was trying to make is that you can not reliably make that statement by what is shown on the recruiting web sites. My personal opinion is that Brewster is not at all shy about making offers to top kids. I also think he is VERY persistent in his recruiting. It just may not be reflected in what is on Rivals or Scout.

 

[grunkiejr]

True, but the comment I was reacting to was, "I am questioning why we do not have more offers out to the top prospects because when I look at the rankings of the guys we have offered that have been rated thus far very few are top ranked prospects."

The point I was trying to make is that you can not reliably make that statement by what is shown on the recruiting web sites. My personal opinion is that Brewster is not at all shy about making offers to top kids. I also think he is VERY persistent in his recruiting. It just may not be reflected in what is on Rivals or Scout.

Fair point.

I'm not sure I agree with the statement that we don't have offers out to top players. It is open to debate how many Top 100, top 250, etc should have Gopher offers but I'm not disappointed in our offer list. Off the top of my head: Henderon (OL), Prater (WR), Nelson (OLB), White (WR) and Lewis (WR) in the top 100. I would love to have more but lets be honest and say that it is an uphill battle to pull top 100 players until we have more success as a team. The coaches time is probably best spent on the next 400 players which is the mid-to-high 3-stars and above.

 

[harrys ghost]

Fair point.

I'm not sure I agree with the statement that we don't have offers out to top players. It is open to debate how many Top 100, top 250, etc should have Gopher offers but I'm not disappointed in our offer list. Off the top of my head: Henderon (OL), Prater (WR), Nelson (OLB), White (WR) and Lewis (WR) in the top 100. I would love to have more but lets be honest and say that it is an uphill battle to pull top 100 players until we have more success as a team. The coaches time is probably best spent on the next 400 players which is the mid-to-high 3-stars and above.

Ah, but White, Nelson and Lewis don't show up on Rivals, Scout, or ESPN as being recruited by us. So, from GG's perspective we have not offered them. My point is that, unless our coaches tell you (and they are not supposed to), how do you know who we have offered?

 

[grunkiejr]

Ah, but White, Nelson and Lewis don't show up on Rivals, Scout, or ESPN as being recruited by us. So, from GG's perspective we have not offered them. My point is that, unless our coaches tell you (and they are not supposed to), how do you know who we have offered?

That sounds like 1 pt. for Harrys ghost.

 

[Handsome Pete]

So you're telling me that a linebacker was pissed off because we were recruiting a safety prospect. The things people make up on these boards is ridiculous.

Keanon Cooper was recruited by the Gophers to play linebacker. He redshirted last season because he needed to gain weight to play LB in the Big Ten. Anybody who tells you anything differently is wrong.

Grunkie- you're getting a little bent out of shape over nothing. I swear I saw that post about Cooper being upset we were drafting another safety, but if I'm wrong, so what? I respect your opinion but maybe Cooper was just toeing the line as competitors do. I don't think anyone here disputes that you know the position Cooper was drafted for. I think everyone in this thread has been pretty tempered in there assessments. This is just a little rhetoric, that's all.

 

[grunkiejr]

Grunkie- you're getting a little bent out of shape over nothing. I swear I saw that post about Cooper being upset we were drafting another safety, but if I'm wrong, so what? I respect your opinion but maybe Cooper was just toeing the line as competitors do. I don't think anyone here disputes that you know the position Cooper was drafted for. I think everyone in this thread has been pretty tempered in there assessments. This is just a little rhetoric, that's all.

Handsome Pete I was trying to make a point. People spread rumros as truth without really thinking about the subject matter and group think occurs. A little common sense would tell you that a LB being mad about recruiting a Safety as competition doesn't make sense. Even if he was a safety--which he is not--we play cover 2 (in a cover 2 there is virtually difference between the FS & SS) so recruiting a second safety would just mean we need more help/depth at other position.