No gophers invited to the NFL Combine

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betterdeadthanred said:
I figured McKnight would get invited but I guess not. The Gophers were 1 of 7 teams in the Big Six conferences not to send anyone.
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Boy, if that doesn't get your dad gum chili hot . . . :cry: :mad: :(

A sad commentary on our program over the past 4-5 years, and the "leadership" responsible for it.

How thankful and relieved I am that the individuals that orchestrated the mess are respectively, long gone, and effectively gone. Neither can hurt the program anymore - at least going forward (and barring some unforeseen scandal that surfaces related to either of them).

This is good as I've felt about Gopher Football in a long time.
 

I'm kinda surprised that McKnight and/or Tinsley didn't get an invite. I guess they'll have to rely on the pro-day.
 

This upsets me.
Going deeper inside the invitees...
McKnight isn't a top 47 receiver in the country (of those who have declared for the draft)?
Tinsley isn't a top 33 linebacker?
 


Anybody here see McKnight run in the open field against Michigan State?
 

This has happened a few times over the past 10 years. It's been extremely rare for the Gophers to have more than 2 players at the combine for as long as I can remember. The Gophers had Lawrence, Campbell, Tripplett all get invites a few years ago, but it's been pretty bare. The Gophers have had just two first round draft picks in the past Since 2001, the Gophers have had just two first round draft picks (Middlebrooks in '01, Maroney in '06) and I can't remember if we have even had a second round pick since prior to 2001 (Spaeth and Decker were 3rd round picks).

It's certainly something that recruits notice and it needs to change.
 

I believe Barber III was a second rounder.

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I'm only a bit surprised. I don't think this means McKnight or Tinsley won't get a chance at the next level. Still, it would have been nice to see them get a chance to compare them to the best players (or should I say most physically gifted) in the country.
 

50PoundHead said:
I'm only a bit surprised. I don't think this means McKnight or Tinsley won't get a chance at the next level. Still, it would have been nice to see them get a chance to compare them to the best players (or should I say most physically gifted) in the country.
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I think they'll both be on rosters next year. How many players will be invited (total)? About 196 will be drafted. I think those two will be better players than a lot of the guys at the combine. One hurt by the lack of an effective passing QB for much of he year and the other hurt by playing behind an o-line that was challenged in terms of experience and depth.
 





Studwell55 said:
Anybody here see McKnight run in the open field against Michigan State?
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Yeah, bum knee but that wasn't exactly a great display for him.

On the other hand, his ball skills are excellent and I think that'll get him plenty of looks anyhow.
 

With the way the NFL uses TE's now and the way the passing game has changed, I don't see McKnight having the speed to succeed at the next level. I'm sure he will get a tryout and maybe make a practice squad.
 

I don't get how this is possible. According to dpodoll68 the 2008 class was so awesome. All of those stars that dpodoll68 likes to drool over only got us back to back 3-9 seasons and zero players invited to the combine?

There must be something wrong here. No way can an entire recruiting class turn out this way when Rivals rates them so highly with all those stars can it? Something isn't right. Rivals told us 4 years ago we had one of the best classes in the country, so I don't get this at all.
 

This isn't exactly a surprise. Only McKnight is getting any serious draft buzz, and it's limited at best. There will be a few under-the-radar players who are drafted without receiving a combine invite (happens every year), but for the most part, this confirms what we already know. The seniors are going to have to work for a camp invite and make their way from there. It's certainly possible, just look at Marcus Sherels and Adam Weber for recent history.
 

DMB123 said:
I don't get how this is possible. According to dpodoll68 the 2008 class was so awesome. All of those stars that dpodoll68 likes to drool over only got us back to back 3-9 seasons and zero players invited to the combine?

There must be something wrong here. No way can an entire recruiting class turn out this way when Rivals rates them so highly with all those stars can it? Something isn't right. Rivals told us 4 years ago we had one of the best classes in the country, so I don't get this at all.
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How many of those guys are even done this year? I can actually only think of McKnight and Tinsley. A bunch of them are still here, about to contribute in 2012. A few JUCOs like Traye Simmons, Simoni Lawrence, and Tramaine Brock have been/are on rosters. If we have zero once again next year, then you have something there.
 

DMB123 said:
I don't get how this is possible. According to dpodoll68 the 2008 class was so awesome. All of those stars that dpodoll68 likes to drool over only got us back to back 3-9 seasons and zero players invited to the combine?

There must be something wrong here. No way can an entire recruiting class turn out this way when Rivals rates them so highly with all those stars can it? Something isn't right. Rivals told us 4 years ago we had one of the best classes in the country, so I don't get this at all.
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Surely you must have heard of something called player development?
 

1. A bunch of those guys from 2008 are still on the team. Gray will get drafted next year somewhere just because he's such a great athlete similar to Joe Webb. With a good season, guys like Stoudermire and Cooper could get invited.
2. Others had the talent to make it to the next level, just screwed it up. Edwards could be playing on Sunday's if he wasn't such an idiot.
3. Ratings of players are based on potential. Potential doesn't guarantee anything. Some people don't understand that.
 

DMB123 said:
I don't get how this is possible. According to dpodoll68 the 2008 class was so awesome. All of those stars that dpodoll68 likes to drool over only got us back to back 3-9 seasons and zero players invited to the combine?

There must be something wrong here. No way can an entire recruiting class turn out this way when Rivals rates them so highly with all those stars can it? Something isn't right. Rivals told us 4 years ago we had one of the best classes in the country, so I don't get this at all.
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They did have all that great coaching to benefit them... oh, wait...

The entire football world agrees that the 2008 football class was a good glass, it is hardly just a couple posters. As has been pointed out, there are already players from that class in the NFL, and there are still players from that class on the Gophers roster.

The 2008 class was followed up by classes that were not as highly regarded. The 2008 class didn't lose all those games by themselves.
 


Dean S said:
Did not even break the top 10 for reception yards according to the GH football stats page, that is if it has been updated.
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It has not been updated. McKnight had 1859 yards receiving in his career, which would put him in 7th all-time according to GH.
 

GophersInIowa said:
It has not been updated. McKnight had 1859 yards receiving in his career, which would put him in 7th all-time according to GH.
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Not bad, especially considering how many offensive coordinators/head coaches/interim head coaches/position coaches he had...
 

For some reason, some posters have used the 2008 class as proof that rankings don't work and that Brew couldn't recruit. It's entirely bizarre.

If every one of our classes was as good as the 2008 class, we'd have a good football team. The 2009 and 2010 classes were absolutely empty.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
For some reason, some posters have used the 2008 class as proof that rankings don't work and that Brew couldn't recruit. It's entirely bizarre.
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Maturi and Brewster hatred are a disease in GopherHole. Somehow 40 years of Gopher football futility never existed and Mason's 32-48 Big 10 record is something for which we all should be proud. For the record no Gopher Coach since Murray Warmath has recruited worth a damn, or won anything worth sh*t.
 

You guys are flawed in your thinking. McKnight will run faster than someone who is drafted.

Brew also had a "slow" Barber get a combine invite. At the risk of repeating myself, the current coaching staff did a huge disservice to this group of seniors. It's one thing to coach to the future but quite another to do what they did. Again....if you tell anyone who is listening that you have no talent....folks might actually believe you. Especially when other coaches are going to the opposite extreme.

It's all self serving; coaches who over sold their players were doing so recruits could see they have an opportunity to get to the league (in some cases...surprise...they actually were looking out for their players) The coaches who under sold, did so for extensions (pay checks) and more time to turn the program around.

Take two pictures of the same house and but them in a real-estate magazine at the same for sale price. Under one, talk about how wonderful the home is. Under the other talk about how god awful it is. Which one do you think will get more showings and purchased first?

Player evaulations at the start of the season (players who are already one the radar) or not as scientific has one would believe. It's nothing more than players who are hyped. Part-time scouts from organizations contracted by the NFL wondering around college campuses talking to coaches, reading preseason publications and watching film. There are some good (who hope to become a team scout) ones who actually are able to form their own evaluation and there are some bad ones who just read the publications and are easily influenced by the coaches.
 

And if you tell people how fantastic they are, they coast. Jerry Kill has done no disservice. After Brewster, Kill would have been torn to shreds if he had raved about the fantastic talent level, and that is no good for the team.

Which house gets sold faster? If you gush over how fantastic the house is, people will look at it, and see every flaw that you didn't mention, and they aren't going to trust anything you say about the house.
 

Barber was a tackling machine, that is what got him invited to the combine. He was 30th in the nation in solo tackles.
 

Royston was 14th in the nation for the same stat and had a considerably higher tackle per game average when you average in the group tackles.

Barber likely benifited from being Marion's younger brother more than anything Brewster was doing to get him invited.
 

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