My take on S. Henderson...

[Art Vandelay]

First off, he's arguably one of the top 5 high school players in the country and #1 on some lists. Any college coach would love to have him...obviously.

That being said, is he a program changer? Well, depends on how you look at it. He's an offensive lineman, not a skill position player. He will not win games like a QB, RB, or even WR can. Personally, I think Michael Floyd would have had a much bigger impact at the U. He's a playmaker that can takeover a game. No doubt SH would help solidify the OL but can he do it all alone??

Henderson's impact at the U would be greater off the field. It would show top in state players that the U is good enough for them and it would help the coaching staff's relationship with the CDH coaches and keep the pipeline coming from the state's best HS program when it comes to producing DI talent.

 

[AhliBobwa]

Mr Vandelay, despite the fact that your gopher handle references a particularly great Seinfeld episode, I'm going to have to take exception to your analysis. Left Tackle is the most important position on passing plays for a right handed QB. This team's single greatest flaw is it's lack of ability in the trenches. The Gophers are NOT hurting for explosive playes (or prospects) at WR. What the Gophers need most are a couple dominant players to build a stellar O-line around. Remember when Eslinger and Setterstrom came to the U? Instant impact. Remember what Adam Weber looks like when he actually has time to throw?

The reason why Seantrel Henderson is perfect for the U is that he is the #1 recruit and can remedy our greatest weakness. He can take credit for improving the Gophers in a way that he'll never be able to at USC. By this time next year he could be getting mentioned all over BTN and ESPN if the Gophers are 6-1. Hopefully, that fact combined with the Gophers elite bball program is enough to get him here.

 

[centerofmn]

First off, he's arguably one of the top 5 high school players in the country and #1 on some lists. Any college coach would love to have him...obviously.

That being said, is he a program changer? Well, depends on how you look at it. He's an offensive lineman, not a skill position player. He will not win games like a QB, RB, or even WR can. Personally, I think Michael Floyd would have had a much bigger impact at the U. He's a playmaker that can takeover a game. No doubt SH would help solidify the OL but can he do it all alone??

Henderson's impact at the U would be greater off the field. It would show top in state players that the U is good enough for them and it would help the coaching staff's relationship with the CDH coaches and keep the pipeline coming from the state's best HS program when it comes to producing DI talent.

Have you watched our offensive line play this year? Games our won and lost at the line of scrimmage, more often than not. We have been losing this battle against the better teams we have faced, which is why we have only beaten NW and Purdue in B10 play.

 

[Maximus]

He can take credit for improving the Gophers in a way that he'll never be able to at USC. By this time next year he could be getting mentioned all over BTN and ESPN if the Gophers are 6-1.

So according to some if he goes to USC it's because of ego and now if he stays, it's because of ego?

If he's as good as advertised, he will get as much pub at USC plus play in 70 degree weather with the USC song girls watching from the sidelines.

Assuming he's not a bust, he can't make a bad decision about where to go to college.

 

[GopherHomer]

Usually I disagree with Art, but here I believe he is correct. I'm sure Henderson will be a wonderful left tackle, but the biggest impact that his signing would have would be symbolic in nature. Admittedly offensive line play is very important to overall team success, but OL I believe is the one position that is the toughest to project from high school to college and depends largely on coaching. If we have the right people in place, we can cultivate a very good o-line with/without Henderson.

 

[Section2]

Usually I disagree with Art, but here I believe he is correct. I'm sure Henderson will be a wonderful left tackle, but the biggest impact that his signing would have would be symbolic in nature. Admittedly offensive line play is very important to overall team success, but OL I believe is the one position that is the toughest to project from high school to college and depends largely on coaching. If we have the right people in place, we can cultivate a very good o-line with/without Henderson.

So, we can't count on SH developing since it all depends on coaching, but we can count on cultivating a very good o liine without him? Look folks, people who do this for a living rate him as the best player in the country. It's a team game so one recruit won't make that big of a difference regardless of what position they play. But LT is a pretty important one, look at all the LTs taken in the first 5 picks of the NFL draft if you doubt.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

Usually I disagree with Art, but here I believe he is correct. I'm sure Henderson will be a wonderful left tackle, but the biggest impact that his signing would have would be symbolic in nature. Admittedly offensive line play is very important to overall team success, but OL I believe is the one position that is the toughest to project from high school to college and depends largely on coaching. If we have the right people in place, we can cultivate a very good o-line with/without Henderson.

I agree that the biggest impact is symbolic, but I think that would have been true about Michael Floyd as well. Floyd is a tremendous talent, but remember he is accomplishing what he is behind a good offensive line and an excellent QB. Those are things that we flat out do not have. Floyd would have been good in Maroon and Gold, but not as good as he is at Notre Dame.

Henderson is a better football player than Michael Floyd, and I think he would have a bigger impact on the field than Floyd. Henderson isn't merely a good OL, he is elite (think Orlando Pace at tOSU). A guy like Henderson would make everyone look so much better. The rest of our line wouldn't have to worry about Henderson, he would be put on an island on every play during his college career and win probably 80% of those battles. Weber/Gray would have more time to throw (probably more receivers out running routes as well), and we would have more time in our running game. Floyd's on the field success would be more tangible, Henderson would be the catalyst that would improve the entire offensive side of the ball.

 

[GopherHomer]

Don't get me wrong, folks. I would be very pumped if we get him, because like I said he surely will be a great player. Section2, I don't know where you got it that I thought that Henderson wouldn't develop...I clearly stated that I felt that we would be a great player. I was merely stating that we could still develop an elite o-line without him...especially considering the skill set of the typical in-state recruit. Guys like Michael Floyd and Bryce McNeal were bigger losses because it is so rare get top-flight skill position recruits in this state.

 

[ski-u-mah]

Biggest impact would be LT in football, Rebounder in hoops, and DH in baseball. Am I missing anything?

 

[GopherHomer]

3-point shooter/point guard trumps rebounder (at least in college) and pitcher trumps DH

 

[WAGopher]

Biggest impact would be LT in football, Rebounder in hoops, and DH in baseball. Am I missing anything?

Having a stud at DH is exciting, but no way does a player that only gets 3 or 4 chances a ball game to make an impact outweigh position players that get around 30, or pitchers and catchers that get many more, chances to impact a game.

 

[IDFM]

Mr Vandelay, despite the fact that your gopher handle references a particularly great Seinfeld episode, I'm going to have to take exception to your analysis. Left Tackle is the most important position on passing plays for a right handed QB. This team's single greatest flaw is it's lack of ability in the trenches. The Gophers are NOT hurting for explosive playes (or prospects) at WR. What the Gophers need most are a couple dominant players to build a stellar O-line around. Remember when Eslinger and Setterstrom came to the U? Instant impact. Remember what Adam Weber looks like when he actually has time to throw?

The reason why Seantrel Henderson is perfect for the U is that he is the #1 recruit and can remedy our greatest weakness. He can take credit for improving the Gophers in a way that he'll never be able to at USC. By this time next year he could be getting mentioned all over BTN and ESPN if the Gophers are 6-1. Hopefully, that fact combined with the Gophers elite bball program is enough to get him here.

I could not agree more with this statement. LTs make the second most amount of money behind quarterbacks in the NFL. A great LT is hard to come by

 

[Schlic Daddy]

I think he will be a program changer because we're not just getting him. We've also got Gjere and Olson and maybe some others coming. We could have the best group of freshmen o-linemen in the country with Henderson.

 

[GO4INLALALAND]

The tackles, guards and center, in that order, are the most important positions on offense. I do not care how good of a qb you have, he can not make throws laying on his back. If there is no pass protection or anyone opening up holes for the running back, you can have the best position players in the country and they are going to look like crap with a bad offensive line. Good skill position players are a dime a dozen. Good offensive linemen are hard to come by. SH would be a great get for the program. Make no mistake. He is a bigger get then Floyd. We are doing just fine with Decker and we have a lot of great receivers in the pipe line.

 

[50PoundHead]

Art, in other threads, some folks laud the Iowa program (I count myself among them) for its fairly consistent high level of performance. Why is it consistent? It starts with the offensive and defensive lines. Build those units and create a consistent approach which makes good players great and average players good and you're onto something. That's why guys like Henderson are important. You can have the greatest skilled player in the world, but skilled players can't win games by themselves. As great as Floyd is, he'd be the most under-utilized star in the world if the QB is on his back all the time.

 

[1983]

Henderson's impact at the U would be greater off the field.

If only he would realize that come mid January. There are lots of upsides to staying home if the NFL is truly in his sights. Does not hurt to have Tubby and a hot BB team.