BleedGopher
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per the Daily:
As recently as 2012, the Minnesota football roster didn't feature a single player from the state of Georgia. In 2013, the head coach at the time, Jerry Kill, brought in three freshmen from 'The Peach State,' including Jalen Myrick, who would go on to the NFL.
Today, the Gophers football roster has 12 players from Georgia, the most of any state other than Minnesota (41). Despite over 1,100 miles separating the Twin Cities and Atlanta, Head Coach P.J. Fleck says the two locations are closer than people realize.
"There's direct access from Minneapolis to Atlanta," Fleck said. "Nonstop flights, a lot of them per day. I mean a lot. You can be here in 2 1/2 hours on a flight and be closer than most of the cities in Georgia for driving."
Not only have the Gophers succeeded in recruiting prospects from Georgia, they've excelled in bringing in key contributors as well. The most accomplished Georgian on the roster is running back Rodney Smith. The redshirt senior eclipsed the 3,000 yard rushing mark for his career in the maroon and gold in the 2019 season opener against South Dakota State.
Smith has witnessed firsthand the influx of Georgia natives onto the roster. During his first season with the team in 2014, during which he was redshirted, Smith was one of two more Georgia natives the Gophers added to the roster from the year prior, along with fellow Mundy's Mill High School standout Jonathan Celestin.
"When I was coming out of high school, I didn't even know where Minnesota was," Smith said. "A lot of guys going to other schools were like, 'Minnesota? Why are you going to Minnesota?' But now we see a lot of guys taking visits up here and coming up here."
https://www.mndaily.com/article/2019/09/s-georgia-remains-recruiting-hotbed-for-gophers-under-fleck
Go Gophers!!
As recently as 2012, the Minnesota football roster didn't feature a single player from the state of Georgia. In 2013, the head coach at the time, Jerry Kill, brought in three freshmen from 'The Peach State,' including Jalen Myrick, who would go on to the NFL.
Today, the Gophers football roster has 12 players from Georgia, the most of any state other than Minnesota (41). Despite over 1,100 miles separating the Twin Cities and Atlanta, Head Coach P.J. Fleck says the two locations are closer than people realize.
"There's direct access from Minneapolis to Atlanta," Fleck said. "Nonstop flights, a lot of them per day. I mean a lot. You can be here in 2 1/2 hours on a flight and be closer than most of the cities in Georgia for driving."
Not only have the Gophers succeeded in recruiting prospects from Georgia, they've excelled in bringing in key contributors as well. The most accomplished Georgian on the roster is running back Rodney Smith. The redshirt senior eclipsed the 3,000 yard rushing mark for his career in the maroon and gold in the 2019 season opener against South Dakota State.
Smith has witnessed firsthand the influx of Georgia natives onto the roster. During his first season with the team in 2014, during which he was redshirted, Smith was one of two more Georgia natives the Gophers added to the roster from the year prior, along with fellow Mundy's Mill High School standout Jonathan Celestin.
"When I was coming out of high school, I didn't even know where Minnesota was," Smith said. "A lot of guys going to other schools were like, 'Minnesota? Why are you going to Minnesota?' But now we see a lot of guys taking visits up here and coming up here."
https://www.mndaily.com/article/2019/09/s-georgia-remains-recruiting-hotbed-for-gophers-under-fleck
Go Gophers!!