New Gopher committ

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I wonder who this could be. Hmmmmmm.
 


Hopefully he has some potential for a contribution on D, because he won't see any time in the backfield here for a while.
 

dpodoll68 said:
Hopefully he has some potential for a contribution on D, because he won't see any time in the backfield here for a while.
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I don't know if I'd say that. I wouldn't expect him to come in and get carries at RB right away, but who knows what will happen with the other guys we have and how good he'll wind up being. Let them all come in and compete, and if he spends a couple years on the bench and special teams before seeing the field as a RB there's nothing wrong with that. Plus with his size he could wind up as a FB, a position we don't really have any younger guys at or anyone left other than Hoese after 2009.
 


dpodoll68 said:
Hopefully he has some potential for a contribution on D, because he won't see any time in the backfield here for a while.
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How could you possibly make that assumption based on what you've seen? Most of us hadn't even heard of him until he got his offer this week.
 


I'm somewhat surprised that there hasn't been an actual article published on Rivals or Scout yet that has confirmed his commitment. Maybe one is forthcoming.

When it comes to recruiting, I tend to wait things like this out a little bit.
 

Gold Vision said:
How could you possibly make that assumption based on what you've seen? Most of us hadn't even heard of him until he got his offer this week.
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It has nothing whatsoever to do with him. In fact, I know nothing about him.

It has to do with the fact that the top 5 RBs on our depth chart are all sophomores or freshman.

Unless he's the next Maroney (highly, highly doubtful), he's not going to play RB for a while.

ESPN:

"All the physical attributes to get recruited as a linebacker as well."

This has to be what the coaching staff is thinking.
 



dpodoll68 said:
It has nothing whatsoever to do with him. In fact, I know nothing about him.

It has to do with the fact that the top 5 RBs on our depth chart are all sophomores or freshman.

Unless he's the next Maroney (highly, highly doubtful), he's not going to play RB for a while.

ESPN:

"All the physical attributes to get recruited as a linebacker as well."

This has to be what the coaching staff is thinking.
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What if he is the next Thomas Tapeh? Judging from his video, Tapeh is the former Gopher he compares to the best. He has the size and blocking ability to play FB. He also appears faster than the avg. FB so they could line him up as RB and let him pound teams and loosen them up and then give way to a Hasan Lipscomb that can run between the tackles and take it to the house.

And yes, the size/speed combination is also the same that is desired for LB (probably MLB with a little more bulk added in college).

Your guess is as good as mine but that is what I saw in the video.
 

He will be the power back. We have a lot of RBs but none with his size. WIth us moving to a power run game I think he is a guy we really need.
 

While we can speculate all we want about position, I'm jsust glad we have another good athlete on our hands. Whether he eventually plays LB, HB or FB, doesn't matter right now, IMO. Dude's a big, strong athlete. Plus I would prefer that guys don't play much before their 3rd year in a program for the most part. Juniors and Seniors fill the depth charts of top programs usually
 

isn't that more of a basketball school where he is from???
 



First, to answer BigPlay's question, yes, DeMatha is known primarily for its basketball and for good reason. Their former coach, Morgan Wooten, is (or at least was at one time) the winningest high school hoops coach in history. Having said that, I wouldn't mind getting a good football player from there because I think they've done alright in that regard in the past as well.

Second, I just checked out some video of Coker just to get an idea of what he is all about. I can say this for him: The kid is a physical specimen. Whether that means he's a running back or linebacker, I don't know. But he's a big strong young man who certainly doesn't mind physical play. Not especially quick, but I would think he would be a really good linebacker if it comes down to that.

Like another poster said, he also reminds me of a young Thomas Tapeh, both in his build and in his style as a runner. If the commit turns out to be true, it will certainly interesting to see where the Gophers decide to play him.
 

Scout has him as "low interest" in Minnesota, behind 6 teams, and without an offer. Rivals shows him with a "medium interest" and with an offer. Either way, this is a surprise commit.
 


If this is indeed a commit, I'd take him! Whatever position he plays, he looks to be strong and physical, and we need to get both stronger and more physical in all facets (especially if we are in fact going to have more of a power running emphsis on offense). I noticed on the highlights that some appear to be from an ESPN broadcast, so the program he comes from can't be too bad. This is the type of committ that I don't put a lot of stock in at this point (from a long ways away - MD, with offers from other big-time programs, very early in the recruiting process), but if true - welcome Marcus! We'd love to have you!
 

On just a quick google search of his name, I found an article from May 15th quoting Coker that said Maryland and Minnesota were the top two contenders among the schools offering him. This doesn't mean he won't de-commit, but it does indicate it wasn't coming out of left field either.
 

Did I read that right he benchs 355, and squats 465? Here's a question how many linemen on the roster are benching 355? Make that the team.
This is a big powerfull running back. Who on the roster right now has this package?
 


What did Gary Russell's and Thomas Tapeh high school video look like??

TT - #44 - one of my favorite Gophers of all time

GM
 

Rivals is now running a story that news of Coker's commitment is apparently "premature." He apparently told the author that he is still open and considering other schools as well as Minnesota. I must admit, I was a little skeptical when there wasn't any confirmation in the form of a feature article announcing the commitment.

Of course, none of this means we're out of the running by any means. It simply means he apparently has not committed.
 

Likely a frontrunner still though, but yeah, he hasn't committed.
 

B 10 powerful running backs

Purdue had one a number years ago that no one could stop. I think his name was "Alcott" and still holds the all time running back yardage at Purdue.
 

Rog said:
Purdue had one a number years ago that no one could stop. I think his name was "Alcott" and still holds the all time running back yardage at Purdue.
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That would be Mike Alstott
 

this was a non story from the beginning, i talked to someone who had called his mom for a comment and she had no clue about any commitment and didn't even know Minnesota was a school under consideration.
 

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