Official 2013 Class Recruiting Updates Thread

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As stated before, it's a bummer about losing Andrews but not totally unexpected. That being said, if Kill and company can sign the commits they have now and add a few more significant pieces, I feel that this class has a lot of promise. My wish list for remaing recruits would be Wolitarsky, Reggie Spearman, Webb, & Riley. If we could land even 3 of those 4 I would be satisfied.
 

Bisker82 said:
As stated before, it's a bummer about losing Andrews but not totally unexpected. That being said, if Kill and company can sign the commits they have now and add a few more significant pieces, I feel that this class has a lot of promise. My wish list for remaing recruits would be Wolitarsky, Reggie Spearman, Webb, & Riley. If we could land even 3 of those 4 I would be satisfied.
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"Even" 3 of those 4? You realize how unlikely that is?
 


Gopherprof said:
"Even" 3 of those 4? You realize how unlikely that is?
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Probably, but that's the fun part about the recruiting game, speculating and hoping. From what I've read everyone seems pretty convinced about Wolitarsky (fingers crossed). As far as the other 3 are concerned, I've kind of got a feeling about Spearman. Don't know why but I think we definitely have a shot.

"I'd think Wolitarsky, Webb, and Tedric Thompson would be a much more likely 3 to sign."

I forgot about Tedric, but he would be a very nice get.
 

Grant said:
What have those guys contributed to? A lot of big ten losses? Sure, they have been on the field some but the team has lost most of the big ten games they have played in. None of those guys have shown me anything that makes me think they make a difference in the big ten. They are bodies.
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It's a process. They've contributed to the improvement of a program have they not? Also Kill is getting WAY more out of his two stars than Brewster got out of his two stars. McKnight was nice, but his last three years he brought in Cameron Wilson, Logan Hutton, J.D. Pride, Dwayne Mitchell, Dwight Tillman, Nick Rengel, Xzavion Brandon, Ryan Grant, Johnny Johnson, John Nance, and Ben Perry.
 


Gopherprof said:
"Even" 3 of those 4? You realize how unlikely that is?
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I think Webb and Wolitarsky are likely. The other two would be a very pleasant surprise. I doubt Brewster would give up on Andrews though, so we'll see what Kill does with him. I know Kill didn't go after guys like Rucker after they committed.
 

Grant said:
What have those guys contributed to? A lot of big ten losses? Sure, they have been on the field some but the team has lost most of the big ten games they have played in. None of those guys have shown me anything that makes me think they make a difference in the big ten. They are bodies.
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You consider Wells to just be another body? Did you watch the games? You realize that productive players can play on poor teams right?
 

I don't think anyone has a clue about Reggie Spearman. He clearly likes the attention that comes from recruiting (not a knock on him...I was pretty full of myself in high school too, and nobody gave me a dime to play sports). Those kids are just impossible to predict.
 




Wells was nothing special in B1G games. Did he get any all big ten consideration? He projects to an average big ten player imo. And this class looks like a bunch more bodies who will be overmatched on the field against all bit the worst of big ten teams. Just my humble opinion.
 

Grant said:
Wells was nothing special in B1G games. Did he get any all big ten consideration? He projects to an average big ten player imo. And this class looks like a bunch more bodies who will be overmatched on the field against all bit the worst of big ten teams. Just my humble opinion.
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Sooo every player in this class, or just some? Can you name some people?
 

Grant said:
What have those guys contributed to? A lot of big ten losses? Sure, they have been on the field some but the team has lost most of the big ten games they have played in. None of those guys have shown me anything that makes me think they make a difference in the big ten. They are bodies.
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Oh, haven't they? you mean none of our true freshmen, RS freshmen and true sophomores have impressed you yet? That's too bad. They've impressed me by cracking the 2-deeps early and seeing solid playing time in the Big Ten. They are young, solid players that are being developed. When they are juniors and seniors, they will likely impress more. That's how it's supposed to work. This isn't Ohio State, buddy. Players need to grow and develop in the program. They're being built right now, but they aren't finished products yet. How about a little patience?
 

tpbeight said:
Oh, haven't they? you mean none of our true freshmen, RS freshmen and true sophomores have impressed you yet? That's too bad. They've impressed me by cracking the 2-deeps early and seeing solid playing time in the Big Ten. They are young, solid players that are being developed. When they are juniors and seniors, they will likely impress more. That's how it's supposed to work. This isn't Ohio State, buddy. Players need to grow and develop in the program. They're being built right now, but they aren't finished products yet. How about a little patience?
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patience is a four letter word!
 



GopherGod said:
He should be able to out recruit at least a few of the following schools like Purdue, Indiana, Penn State on probation, and Illinois however on a semi-regular basis. If he can't do that, he can coach up all he wants but he will not be able to get and stay in the upper half of the big ten much less compete for anything of significance. The fact is the majority of the other programs in the Big Ten have good coaches as well that know how to coach them up, and if they are starting with better talent to begin with, it will be hard to leapfrog them. Diamonds in the rough are great but your whole recruiting class cannot be reliant upon those every year. I think Kill is a good coach and has loyal assistants, but he needs a guy who can flat out recruit and I haven't seen it yet from this staff.
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Do you know this for a fact? Has anyone told TCU, or Boise State that you can't win big games without a roster of 4 & 5-star recruits? Has it ever occurred to you that Kill doesn't see every one of his recruits as a "diamonds in the rough"? Jerry Kill and his staff aren't tied to the "star" system of recruiting. If they were, which system should they follow? They all rate the kids differently. Which one is correct? Have they ever been wrong?

Kill & staff get the films and make their evaluations. I doubt they're calling the recruiting services to ask their opinions. I think they might feel like they can evaluate players for their system better than the guys at Rivals, none of whom have ever won a BCS game or built any kind of program on their own as far as i know.
 

Grant said:
Wells was nothing special in B1G games. Did he get any all big ten consideration? He projects to an average big ten player imo. And this class looks like a bunch more bodies who will be overmatched on the field against all bit the worst of big ten teams. Just my humble opinion.
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You very much may be right, but are you basing this on looking at their rivals profile and maybe watching a few highlight videos or have you actually seen and scouted some of these guys?
 

I'm trusting the scouting of rivals, scout, espn, and all the other big ten football coaches When you look at it that way the class seems pretty weak compared to other B1G teams.
 

tpbeight said:
Oh, haven't they? you mean none of our true freshmen, RS freshmen and true sophomores have impressed you yet? That's too bad. They've impressed me by cracking the 2-deeps early and seeing solid playing time in the Big Ten. They are young, solid players that are being developed. When they are juniors and seniors, they will likely impress more. That's how it's supposed to work. This isn't Ohio State, buddy. Players need to grow and develop in the program. They're being built right now, but they aren't finished products yet. How about a little patience?
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+1 The operative word is patience. There is a reason why Kill's contract is for seven years. I have always wondered if people like Grant realize what it takes to turn a program like Minnesota's around. Kill is doing all the right things to accomplish that. The good news is that there are becoming fewer and fewer people like Grant and more and more people who understand how Kill is building the program and the progress that is being made. Just like he has done everywhere else.

One or the things that I find really encouraging this year is how he has recruited several Minnesota recruits to walk on when they could have earned a scholarships somewhere else. They obviously believe in him even though Grant doesn't. I think I prefer it this way than the other way around.
 


Grant said:
Wells was nothing special in B1G games. Did he get any all big ten consideration? He projects to an average big ten player imo. And this class looks like a bunch more bodies who will be overmatched on the field against all bit the worst of big ten teams. Just my humble opinion.
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This is the type of criticism that I hate and is all too common among some Gopher fans. If you feel that an incoming recruiting class is just "a bunch more bodies who will be overmatched against on the field against all *but the worst of big ten teams." Provide some reasons as to why you feel this way. Don't just make some blanket criticism but explain why you believe player X is deficient in a certain skill that will make him overmatched against B10 teams.

I don't understand how someone can believe that every recruit coming in, even after a red-shirt year, practicing and being part of collegiate weight training program for a few years, will be overmatched on the field in the B10. Just my humble opinion.
 

Grant said:
I'm trusting the scouting of rivals, scout, espn, and all the other big ten football coaches When you look at it that way the class seems pretty weak compared to other B1G teams.
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LOL - Thanks for the info. It explains a lot. You do realize that those scouting services are primarily about making money don't you?
 

Grant said:
Wells was nothing special in B1G games. Did he get any all big ten consideration? He projects to an average big ten player imo. And this class looks like a bunch more bodies who will be overmatched on the field against all bit the worst of big ten teams. Just my humble opinion.
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You don't even follow your own humble opinion.

First you argue that Wells is nothing but an average Big 10 player, at best. You seem to point to the fact that he didn't get All Big 10 consideration as a true SO. Fair enough. He was already an average Big 10 player, but you don't project much more out of him. Time will tell.

You then go on to say that this class, because they are ranked like Wells, will go on to be overmatched on the field against all but the worst of the Big 10 teams?

How would a team full of average players be THAT bad? How is that possible? Wouldn't they be an average Big 10 team?
 

I think recruiting definitely matters and I even think rivals does a better job than most at predicting success. However, some coaches do a nice job of finding talented players in other places. WI has been doing it for years (they don't have bad recruiting, but you wouldn't look at their recruiting and think they'd go to the Rose Bowl 3 straight years), NWestern has been doing it, etc.

I think Kill has had some success in his short time in MN at finding decent players who weren't very well recruited. If you think PLsek and Wells are just "an average Big 10 player at best", well then they should be ranked much higher than a 2 star. The average Big 10 recruit is not 2 stars.

Time will tell with these guys, but it's you'll never understand recruiting if you just analyze the commit lists on NSD. It's a matter of fit, attrition, balancing classes, and doing slightly better than rivals would suggest. There is a really fine difference between a "bad" recruiting class (Purdue 15 recruits at 2.8 stars) and a good recruiting class (Penn State 17 recruits at 3.0 stars). If 1 player doesn't get in, a player overperforms or walkon establishes himself....those classes could easily switch.
 

Bob_Loblaw

Bob_Loblaw said:
I think recruiting definitely matters and I even think rivals does a better job than most at predicting success. However, some coaches do a nice job of finding talented players in other places. WI has been doing it for years (they don't have bad recruiting, but you wouldn't look at their recruiting and think they'd go to the Rose Bowl 3 straight years), NWestern has been doing it, etc.

I think Kill has had some success in his short time in MN at finding decent players who weren't very well recruited. If you think PLsek and Wells are just "an average Big 10 player at best", well then they should be ranked much higher than a 2 star. The average Big 10 recruit is not 2 stars.

Time will tell with these guys, but it's you'll never understand recruiting if you just analyze the commit lists on NSD. It's a matter of fit, attrition, balancing classes, and doing slightly better than rivals would suggest. There is a really fine difference between a "bad" recruiting class (Purdue 15 recruits at 2.8 stars) and a good recruiting class (Penn State 17 recruits at 3.0 stars). If 1 player doesn't get in, a player overperforms or walkon establishes himself....those classes could easily switch.
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+1 Bob - Even NFL draft where the players are more mature and more is known about the players, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about the quality of a team's drafts. College and professional football coaches both the say they really won't know the quality of their recruits or their draft until a few seasons later.

I always have to laugh after a draft and team will say something like we had this guy rated a first rounder and we were surprised he was still available in the third round when we took him. Maybe they were right and that player was a first rounder or maybe they were wrong and he was a fifth rounder.

Another example would be the stock market where there can be huge difference in opinions on the value of a stock. People need to realize the rankings are just somebodies opinion and they are far from infallible. They have there place but they are not truth. They are just opinions. Sort of like the GopherHole.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I think recruiting definitely matters and I even think rivals does a better job than most at predicting success. However, some coaches do a nice job of finding talented players in other places. WI has been doing it for years (they don't have bad recruiting, but you wouldn't look at their recruiting and think they'd go to the Rose Bowl 3 straight years), NWestern has been doing it, etc.

I think Kill has had some success in his short time in MN at finding decent players who weren't very well recruited. If you think PLsek and Wells are just "an average Big 10 player at best", well then they should be ranked much higher than a 2 star. The average Big 10 recruit is not 2 stars.

Time will tell with these guys, but it's you'll never understand recruiting if you just analyze the commit lists on NSD. It's a matter of fit, attrition, balancing classes, and doing slightly better than rivals would suggest. There is a really fine difference between a "bad" recruiting class (Purdue 15 recruits at 2.8 stars) and a good recruiting class (Penn State 17 recruits at 3.0 stars). If 1 player doesn't get in, a player overperforms or walkon establishes himself....those classes could easily switch.
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Nice post. Espn b10 blog had an interesting analysis of the top recruits from 4yrs ago. Shows how much of a crapshoot recruiting can be. The top rated guys don't necessarily become all-world

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=bigten&id=70383
 

Someone on the Gopher Hole that understands.

GopherGod said:
He should be able to out recruit at least a few of the following schools like Purdue, Indiana, Penn State on probation, and Illinois however on a semi-regular basis. If he can't do that, he can coach up all he wants but he will not be able to get and stay in the upper half of the big ten much less compete for anything of significance. The fact is the majority of the other programs in the Big Ten have good coaches as well that know how to coach them up, and if they are starting with better talent to begin with, it will be hard to leapfrog them. Diamonds in the rough are great but your whole recruiting class cannot be reliant upon those every year. I think Kill is a good coach and has loyal assistants, but he needs a guy who can flat out recruit and I haven't seen it yet from this staff.
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3399 said:
Someone on the Gopher Hole that understands.
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The question when you judge the recruiting class. If you're judging it on NSD, you're missing the point.

I wish Coach Kill would recruit a bit better, but I can't even realistically make that claim.

The only way you can gauge Kill's ability as a recruiter is to judge the overall talent in a couple years. If we are still a step behind everyone in overall team talent, he has failed as a recruiter. If we aren't, he has been successful.

Would it really make everyone feel better if we had a Marquis Hill or Hasan Lipscomb? They'd sure help our recruiting rankings.
 

It's funny that people are saying this now. I think there's an argument to be made that Kill and co. aren't the best salesmen (they are certainly more substance over style...not that they really have a choice). But after a kid from the Mobile region commits to FSU? What do you expect?

Also, in many ways, this class is better than last year in terms of recruiting chops. This year's crop of in-state kids are terrible, having one in-state commit is always going to weigh your recruiting rankings down, as is having less than 20 offers. Last year they had a great in-state class, but were still reaching near the end to fill some of their spots.

We'll see how they finish, but I haven't seen anyone in this class where I say "who?!?". Most of the guys committed they've been after for many months, and have at least a little bit of traction in terms of outside offers. A guy like Ben Lauer or Duke Anyanwu this year would probably still be a PWO.

No, there's no star in this class, and the decommitments of two defensive backs is a bit troubling considering our lack of depth at corner, but, really, if you were going to make this argument, I don't know why you're just making it now.
 

@goldengopherad: Inspiring to see Coach Kill speak to recruits tonight. The man has a gift. @GopherFootball #SkiUMah

Go Gophers!!
 


Can someone lease tell me what thread I can read to get some updates on the football recruits because obvious the one titled "Recruiting Update" is not it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why do so many threads have to be hijacked by a cat fight between posters. They take it so far off topic while beating the same old horse to death? Can you please start another thread where you can discuss the star ratings and let the troll with the ludicrous opinions get people wound up over there?
 

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