National Signing Day

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MNVCGUY said:
Always fascinating to see how the numbers work out. Current GopherSports roster show 109 players on it with probably 27 done with eligibility, declaring for draft, or retiring so far. So with 31-32 recruits we are at around 114 players or so before the portal opens.

Roster limit is 105 but not sure how many players are still grandfathered in and don't count towards that number. Will be interesting to see how many guys transfer out and how many we can bring in.
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I wonder if there are guys that have told the staff already they will be transferring out after the season. Or how often players get pushed out of the program.
 


Scottsdale Gopher said:
Sincerely don't know the answer to this: Do JUCO players sign on NSD or are they technically part of the portal?
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They sign like everyone else. Remember, this signing period is open until Friday and then there is another one in early Feb. So players can wait, although most coaches want it done this week so they know what to look for in the portal.
 




So when coaches announce they are leaving before the ink is dry can the kids pull out of signing and sign somewhere else. Kansas State for example.
 

I wonder how many will enroll early? With this much transition, it'd be a good way to get a head start on competition.
 


USAF said:
Pretty decent class. Glad Estrada stayed on it. Have a feeling he's going to be a good one. Aytch seems like a future gem as well.

"This is a development program."

HS recruiting still forms the backbone of future Gopher teams, way more than the portal.
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This is Fleck's best class at Minnesota. Nicely done, keeping all of the top-rated guys who committed (outside of the last month to sign). I think we're still waiting on the JUCO? Currently the 8th best class in the B1G. 24th in the country.
 
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18 early enrollees is insane. It’s almost entire starting line up. I like seeing Palmer, Blassingame, and Hopkins on the list but man does it hurt that guys like Voss, Howie, Estrada, Stevens aren’t on there. It’s tough to project HS kids to play their first year but the ones with the best chances, imo, won’t get here till summer.
 

USAF said:
Pretty decent class. Glad Estrada stayed on it. Have a feeling he's going to be a good one. Aytch seems like a future gem as well.

"This is a development program."

HS recruiting still forms the backbone of future Gopher teams, way more than the portal.
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Yep, example is the OL this year. While the transfer adds this year weren’t good, the complete lack of success recruiting/retaining HS OL from 21-23 was the killer.
 

MNVCGUY said:
The Nebraska situation is actually more surprising then Penn State. I can understand Penn State having trouble getting a lot of commits without a coach and I am sure they lost some to VT as well with Franklin going there.

But Nebraska has a coach so unless they have just decided to punt high school recruiting in favor of the portal, them just having 9 commits is surprising.
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Nebraska had 91 players rostered this year that were redshirt sophomores or younger. I don’t think they have much room this year.
 

GophersInIowa said:
If Estrada and Thomas sign, that would be 12 players rated 88 and above on 247. 90 is a 4 star, 88 & 89 are high end 3 star guys. For comparison:

2025: 8
2024: 8
2023: 7
2022: 4

Edit: As I was typing this, Estrada and Thomas did sign.
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I'm wondering with some programs leaning more heavily towards transfers and focusing less on HS recruiting, is there an opportunity to lean MORE into HS recruiting and get some higher rated guys than they used to? It seems that in the supply/demand equation of HS recruiting that demand is slightly down. So can a place like MN take advantage of that?

For example:
Indiana has 22 commits
Oregon has 21 commits
Nebraska has 9 commits
Maryland has 16 commits
Wisconsin has 14 commits
Iowa has 18 commits

If schools used to typically sign 25, that adds up to a lot of players that have less suitors. Fickell for example is in a "win now" mode and will likely have to sign a bunch of transfers to try and get to 7+ wins next year to retain his job. So he will sacrifice the HS recruits this year (hence why we got a number of WI guys this year). With not having a ton of NIL $ to woo top transfers, I think there is an avenue to try and get higher rated HS recruits and try and hold on to them if they pan out.
 




Gopher_Devil said:
18 early enrollees is insane. It’s almost entire starting line up. I like seeing Palmer, Blassingame, and Hopkins on the list but man does it hurt that guys like Voss, Howie, Estrada, Stevens aren’t on there. It’s tough to project HS kids to play their first year but the ones with the best chances, imo, won’t get here till summer.
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Hey GD, where can I find the list of early enrollees?
 


pharmacygopher said:
If you look on 247, the guys that have a little clock logo by their name are noted as early enrollees. I think they're fairly accurate.
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Thanks, but it's behind a pay wall. I dropped my 247 subscription and added it to my DTA donations.
 

forever a gopher said:
I'm wondering with some programs leaning more heavily towards transfers and focusing less on HS recruiting, is there an opportunity to lean MORE into HS recruiting and get some higher rated guys than they used to? It seems that in the supply/demand equation of HS recruiting that demand is slightly down. So can a place like MN take advantage of that?

For example:
Indiana has 22 commits
Oregon has 21 commits
Nebraska has 9 commits
Maryland has 16 commits
Wisconsin has 14 commits
Iowa has 18 commits

If schools used to typically sign 25, that adds up to a lot of players that have less suitors. Fickell for example is in a "win now" mode and will likely have to sign a bunch of transfers to try and get to 7+ wins next year to retain his job. So he will sacrifice the HS recruits this year (hence why we got a number of WI guys this year). With not having a ton of NIL $ to woo top transfers, I think there is an avenue to try and get higher rated HS recruits and try and hold on to them.
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A few factors. How big is the senior class? How many kids do you expect to transfer or be asked to transfer? Do you trust the depth you have in development? All contribute to the size of a HS class. Fleck is signing 31+ kids today. They could add more late depending on transfers. If a true freshmen transfers they possibly add another HS kid. If a 2nd or 3rd year player transfers, they likely add from the portal.
 

Gopher_Devil said:
18 early enrollees is insane. It’s almost entire starting line up. I like seeing Palmer, Blassingame, and Hopkins on the list but man does it hurt that guys like Voss, Howie, Estrada, Stevens aren’t on there. It’s tough to project HS kids to play their first year but the ones with the best chances, imo, won’t get here till summer.
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I like getting OL, DL enrolling early to get them in a nutrition and strength training programs. QB to get extra time learning the offense.
 


Gopher_Devil said:
18 early enrollees is insane. It’s almost entire starting line up. I like seeing Palmer, Blassingame, and Hopkins on the list but man does it hurt that guys like Voss, Howie, Estrada, Stevens aren’t on there. It’s tough to project HS kids to play their first year but the ones with the best chances, imo, won’t get here till summer.
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If they are expecting to redshirt to build muscle and bulk, it doesn't need to be at the expense of their senior year of HS. I know they want Howie bulked up to DT strength and weight. Voss has never played TE, so he likely redshirts.

18 is a lot of early kids.
 


Looks like Wisconsin’s top qb and rb commits have yet to sign, also waiting on the juco linebacker out of Iowa that we were recruiting as well.
 




forever a gopher said:
I'm wondering with some programs leaning more heavily towards transfers and focusing less on HS recruiting, is there an opportunity to lean MORE into HS recruiting and get some higher rated guys than they used to? It seems that in the supply/demand equation of HS recruiting that demand is slightly down. So can a place like MN take advantage of that?

For example:
Indiana has 22 commits
Oregon has 21 commits
Nebraska has 9 commits
Maryland has 16 commits
Wisconsin has 14 commits
Iowa has 18 commits

If schools used to typically sign 25, that adds up to a lot of players that have less suitors. Fickell for example is in a "win now" mode and will likely have to sign a bunch of transfers to try and get to 7+ wins next year to retain his job. So he will sacrifice the HS recruits this year (hence why we got a number of WI guys this year). With not having a ton of NIL $ to woo top transfers, I think there is an avenue to try and get higher rated HS recruits and try and hold on to them if they pan out.
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Good observation. I think that's definitely a possibility. And can be very successful for programs like Minnesota who have been able to keep most of their top talent from transferring.
 




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