News Record: Bush will play football at University of Minnesota

[WAGopher]

When i see a school like Wisconsin recruiting players ranked as low as 12th in their state (meaning there are at least 12 Big Ten quality players to recruit in state) and realize that in Minnesota we are lucky to get 10 Division 1 quality recruits it becomes clear rather quickly as to why we struggle. Our championship teams connected with our level of instate talent, and our decline coincides with this. Until our state starts producing more quality players it will be difficult to have year in and year out championship quality teams like Wisconsin does. I think Brewster did a great job recruiting in state, but the reality is in many years after player 4 or 5 they just are not Big Ten quality players.

Is Wisconsin high school football much better at turning out Big 10 quality players than Minnesota? The states are of similar populations, climate and demographics, so it would be logical they would produce similar athletes. Or is UW better at taking more in-state players and then coaching them up?

 

[gophmeister]

Is Wisconsin high school football much better at turning out Big 10 quality players than Minnesota? The states are of similar populations, climate and demographics, so it would be logical they would produce similar athletes. Or is UW better at taking more in-state players and then coaching them up?

Alvarez changed the culture in Wisconsin. Before him kids did not grow dreaming about being badgers like they do now. The change in turn helped motivate high school kids in Wisconsin to work harder because they know if they do x, y and z they're going to get an opportunity to be a badger and all the 'glory' that comes with it. We haven't been as successful, which doesn't help, and even worse, I believe a lot of Minnesota kids over say the last 20 years or so have felt pretty spurned by the U. Especially under Wacker and Mason it was apparent that borderline kids wouldn't get much of a chance since they had their established recruiting areas (Texas and Ohio respectively). The thing about Kill that I like is he's the first coach we've hired probably since Cal Stoll who isn't a stranger to Minnesota high school football. I sincerely hope a couple borderline kids like Veldman or Heifort get a chance with the gophers. One thing that has always bothered me about gopher football is the attrition rate among our "blue chip" recruits from out of state. Wouldn't it be better to have a kid here for 4-5 years who needs a little development time than a kid who can contribute right away but leaves after a year or two? Obviously, we can't win with just Minnesota or even with kids who live a 5 hours drive from Minneapolis, but we cannot win without them being a significant part of the program.

 

[fridge2012]

There are too many good Minnesota kids playing for NDSU, SDSU and the like. I think our high school football is just as good as Wisky's (if not better) but a bigger percentage those guys need to be in maroon and gold. Becky is just way better at keeping instate recruits at home unfortunately

 

[gophmeister]

Becky is just way better at keeping instate recruits at home unfortunately

Probably because they put an emphasize and are sincere about it.

 

[Huckleberry]

I would think for the most part that Wisconsin and Minnesota would produce the same percentage of D1 athletes. If that is the case could the fact the Minnesota produces an extraordinary amount of D1 hockey players have an impact on the number of D1 football players particularly in the skill positions?

Also I really think Minnesota kids simply don't get as good of oppertunity to play D1 football as in states that are considered football hotbeds. I think the top MN schools could play with most anybody in the country if given the chance. A few years ago Rockhurst was scheduling a game every year against a Minnesota school. Rockhurst seemed to always be ranked in the top 25 or so teams in the country and have 3-4 D1 commits on both sides of the ball, and they would come up and play teams that wouldn't even be ranked in MN and the game would be competative. They even scheduled Becker one year when they were still a 3A school and I think the game was 28-14 or something in Rockhurst's favor. A nice win sure but it wasn't a dominating win, I think they also had a close game with Edina.

I'm not saying that Minnesota is a hotbed for football and loaded with D1 talent or even has more than any other state but there is a lot more talent hear than given credit for. Just look at the success of UMD, the Dakota schools, and the D3 teams. Those teams are filled with Minnesota kids and have great success at the lower levels, there has to be kids on those teams that could have been solid starters at a Big Ten school if given the chance and with good coaching. I'm not even saying Minnesota is a hidden gem with talent, I just believe there is a certain percentage of players that can play D1 ball no matter where they are from.

In addition to Minnesota kids I think ther are probably more kids with raw talent in North and South Dakota, and even North of the border that could be coached up. Football isn't a sport that takes years and years of practice to develop like some other sports. It is a sport based on speed, size, and strength with the exception of a few positions. Those are traits you are born with for the most part, and I would guess the percentage of kids born with those traits are similar all around the country.

It would be interesting to see statistics on the percentage of kids that receive D1 scholarships that make it to the NFL from each state.

 

[dpodoll68]

The thing about Kill that I like is he's the first coach we've hired probably since Cal Stoll who isn't a stranger to Minnesota high school football.

What experience did Kill have with MN HS football before the last 2+ weeks?

 

[dpodoll68]

There are too many good Minnesota kids playing for NDSU, SDSU and the like. I think our high school football is just as good as Wisky's (if not better) but a bigger percentage those guys need to be in maroon and gold. Becky is just way better at keeping instate recruits at home unfortunately

This topic has been somewhat talked to death on this board, but I'll bring it up again. The Gophers in-state recruiting suffers from having several DII schools in-state, as well as four I-AA schools within a few hours' drive. For most (not all) kids, the choice between paying for at least one year and trying to earn a scholarship at the U or receiving a free education at SDSU/USD/NDSU/UND/SCSU/UMD/etc. is a no-brainer. Conversely, Wisconsin has only one DII school (Parkside) that doesn't even offer football, but no less than 18 DIII schools. If you really want to play in-state, and you think you're good enough, the opportunity to walk on at Madison has to be pretty appealing, especially since you'd be paying your own way at any of those DIII schools as well.

The other factor is that Wisconsin's recent history has been good enough that they are able to keep in-state kids home over offers from the helmet schools. I posted a stat the other day that over the last 10 recruiting cycles, Minnesota has kept only 3 out of 22 kids offered by the helmet schools (Hageman, Maresh, and Spaeth). We will do better with that level of recruit if and only if Minnesota starts winning again. I have a feeling that Kill will offer more of those "marginal" in-state recruits than Brewster or Mason did. I know one other thing will never happen under Kill - he will never let good in-state recruits walk away without a fight (like Mason did by not even offering Dominique Byrd or Nate Swift).

 

[Anderson8284]

GV BADGER:

The reason there is so much angst about it on this board, is it (the concept) seems to work better for the Badgers than for the Gophers. That is, your guys win more games than our guys do.

 

[gophmeister]

What experience did Kill have with MN HS football before the last 2+ weeks?

First off, he coached Trevor Olson whose dad is the AD at Richfield and I think the former football coach at Edina. Also, he's been up here recruiting for both NIU and SIU. He's no Mike Grant, but it's not like he's a complete unknown.

 

[dpodoll68]

First off, he coached Trevor Olson whose dad is the AD at Richfield and I think the former football coach at Edina. Also, he's been up here recruiting for both NIU and SIU. He's no Mike Grant, but it's not like he's a complete unknown.

You said it yourself - he coached, not recruited, Trevor Olson. Kill didn't sign a single MN recruit during 10 years at SIU and NIU. It's pretty safe to say that he's a complete unknown to 99.9% of MN HS coaches and administrators.

 

[WIgopher]

This is my local paper (I live in and went to high school at Neenah (Menasha's rival)). Needless to say, this kid is probably the only good football player to leave Menasha in almost 15 years. But I will say I watched him a few times this year and the kid's good. He does have a good fundamental base to build on, and his attitude that was highlighted in this article will allow him to develop into a great player. Assuming the new coaches know how to properly develop players this kid has a great future.