Official 2014 Recruiting Updates Thread: Links, Tweets, Videos, Stories, Rumors, etc.

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BleedGopher said:
Connor Mayes tweet:

@PuppyloveMayes Top 6 schools in no order:Oklahoma TCU MINNESOTA TEXAS TECH KANSAS STATE BAYLOR

Go Gophers!!
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I wonder if this Top 6 will change soon.

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Bloomington Kennedy QB Travon Hearns (6'4 210) picked up his first D1 offer from Montana today. Travon has been a two year starter for Kennedy. In 9 games, as a junior completed 127 of 246 passes for 1649 yards and 13 TDs. In 11 games as a sophomore, had completed 66 of 133 passes for 842 yards and 9 touchdowns. Even more impressive is his stats playing for a 0-9 team last year. Travon is our 19th player from the Class of 2014 to pick up a D1 offer.

http://www.hudl.com/athlete/2352090/#highlights/45708376
 

@knarfwongar: Offer from Arkansas! #Razorbacks #blessed #SEC

Go Gophers!!
 


Just a flurry of FANTASTIC news re: in-state recruits today! (all from @stevewiltfong247):

#IowaState perhaps leads for Top247 RB & #Minnesota commit Jeff Jones
#Vanderbilt in a good spot for Saint Paul (MN) East Ridge center JC Hassenauer
Chanhassen (MN) High OT Frank Ragnow is adding offers. Which Big Ten schollie does he really want?
 


ESPN: Big Ten recruiting scorecard: June edition

Minnesota

2014 verbal commitments: 3

Spotlight: The Gophers typically take their time, and so you don't see a whole lot of early commitments under Jerry Kill. He has landed one of the top in-state prospects in running back Jeff Jones.

ESPN 150 selections: 0

Highest rated: Jones (ESPN grade: 78)

http://espn.go.com/blog/bigten/post/_/id/77731/big-ten-recruiting-scorecard-june-edition-2

Go Gophers!!
 

@derektysonespn: Coral Gables RB Gregory Howell was offered by #Minnesota. #Gophers


Go Gophers!!
 

Gopherprof said:
It is impressive if you look back on the staff that Brewster was able to assemble here, however.

Everett Withers- moved on to success as a DC at UNC and Ohio State
Jedd Fisch- Not a Gopher favorite, but he's now an NFL offensive coordinator
Ted Roof- Has acquired something of a bad rap, but he has no problem finding work as a DC (Auburn, Penn State, Georgia Tech)
Thomas Hammock- Acquired something of a Benedict Arnold rep as well, but the man can recruit
George McDonald- Moved on to be a receivers coach at helment schools and the NFL, now an OC at Syracuse
Derek Lewis- Tight Ends coach at Florida
Tim Davis- Offensive Line at Florida
John Butler- Defensive Coordinator at Penn State

I mean, having eight guys from your staff get what most people would consider career promotions, especially coming out of the disaster that was Minnesota in the Brewster years? That's pretty damn impressive.
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I've thought about that myself. I think the Butler situation is a bit unique, seeing the mass turnover at Penn State, but there's no question Brewster had some good assistants on board. Trouble was, none of them stuck around. Was that due to Brewster or something else? Draw your own conclusions. No doubt the program was a mess and got messier. I am confident with Kill around, but it's a big job.

Worried about keeping Jones on board.
 

Looks like Carter is trying to work on his former teammate Kendall Gant. Also kinda says to me that Gant isn't really considering us right now.

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Edit: Then again Gant did tweet this shortly thereafter:

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Gopherprof said:
It is impressive if you look back on the staff that Brewster was able to assemble here, however.

Everett Withers- moved on to success as a DC at UNC and Ohio State
Jedd Fisch- Not a Gopher favorite, but he's now an NFL offensive coordinator
Ted Roof- Has acquired something of a bad rap, but he has no problem finding work as a DC (Auburn, Penn State, Georgia Tech)
Thomas Hammock- Acquired something of a Benedict Arnold rep as well, but the man can recruit
George McDonald- Moved on to be a receivers coach at helment schools and the NFL, now an OC at Syracuse
Derek Lewis- Tight Ends coach at Florida
Tim Davis- Offensive Line at Florida
John Butler- Defensive Coordinator at Penn State

I mean, having eight guys from your staff get what most people would consider career promotions, especially coming out of the disaster that was Minnesota in the Brewster years? That's pretty damn impressive.
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It is OFFICIAL, Brewester has a coaching tree!!! He may not have had much success as a head coach, but he has started a good coaching tree...lol
 

Roof does have a national championship in his closet. I think all those coaches saw a ship adrift with no captain and couldn't get out fast enough. I still put a lot of credence in the story of Roof running things the year we started 7-1. If nothing else, Kill has been a steady leader at the helm of the program. Win or lose, you get the same guy. Hopefully the team can put together a good year and incur the benefits in recruiting late...
 

STrib: Dual-threat Bloomington Kennedy QB Travon Hearns getting D-1 looks

Q: What schools have shown the most interest in you?

A: I’ve heard from Iowa State, Wyoming, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, South Dakota, a few others.

Q: Do you have a dream school?

A: Ohio State, by far. I grew up watching them, my favorite player played for them. I would love to play there.

Q: What if Michigan came calling? Would you play there?

A: [Laughs] I’m not really a Michigan fan, but of course I would play there.

Q: Have you heard from Minnesota?

A: I haven’t. It kind of bothers me because I thought I might get some interest from the hometown school, but I guess they’re not interested.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/210155551.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
Q: Have you heard from Minnesota?

A: I haven’t. It kind of bothers me because I thought I might get some interest from the hometown school, but I guess they’re not interested.
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He's the quarterback of a winless team, barely completed more than 50% of his passes, and has no FCS offers, let alone FBS offers. Sometimes (all the time) recruiting is ridiculous.
 



Recruiting update from TDG. Nothing earth shattering, but throws some names to look out for.

http://www.thedailygopher.com/2013/6/5/4396570/a-shotgun-look-at-2014-gopher-football-recruiting

It is early, there are a bazillion offers out there and it is really difficult to tell who the coaching staff is closing in on. But recruiting is in full swing. This month is when there will be several camps on campus, more offers will be given and decisions will start to be made.

To be honest I have paid less attention to recruiting this year than I have in the last several. But below are some notes and opinions on the current process. Your comments are welcome.

Required Reading: Matt's Scholarship Grid (which you can always find by hovering over "Library" at the top of the page)

This 2013 version of the Golden Gopher is going to be lacking in seniors in the starting lineup. Offensively it looks like there will be two seniors starting; Ed Olson and Derrick Engel (who is not currently on scholarship). On defense RaShede Hageman and Brock Vereen are certain starters, Aaron Hill is probably going to be a starting LB and then a few other seniors are expected to be major contributors. This means that there will be fewer available scholarships for the class of 2014. Media Grandpa, Sid talked with Coach Kill...

"With where we're at right now, there's always things that happen, but we'll be probably be right around 14-17 scholarships next year, relatively a small class," Kill said. "Right now we have good prospects and we're looking forward to how recruiting is going. Right now we feel very good about it."

We signed 19 guys a year ago in what was considered a small class. With few scholarships available the hope is that the coaching staff really gets some bang for their buck! To date the staff has received three verbal commitments. One is clearly a highly ranked and sought after recruit, big bang for the scholarship buck. The other two are not as highly ranked but do have some upside.

Jeff Jones - RB - commitment #1 is Washburn's star RB who apparently was very excited to be a Gopher. Jones gave a verbal commitment in February saying, "I wanted to give my verbal that night(Jan 6) and I called Coach Kill and committed then. Coach Kill was really shocked and surprised that I wanted to commit so soon, but he was real excited as well. He asked me a few times if I was sure that this is what I wanted to, and I reassured him that I was sure. He didn't want me to commit then de-commit later on because he was burned like that last class from another in-state kid. I love the state and Twin Cities, I want to be here." Since then there have been persistent rumors about him cooling on his commitment and he is taking other official visits.

Very talented, local kid at a position that always needs depth; but the recruitment is far from over. Jones also has offers from Michigan State, Wisconsin, Iowa, Syracuse, Iowa St, Illinois and Kentucky. And he is having a great summer earning these remarks following a Rivals sponsored camp, "St. Paul (Minn.) Cretin-Derham Hall's Jeff Jones is the second-rated running back in the Midwest, but there will have to be discussion about him moving into that top spot after a near-MVP showing at the Rivals Camp. He is a solidly built kid with outstanding top-end speed and a general smoothness to his running style."

Must hang on to this one.

Dimonick McKinzy - QB/ATH - One of the top players in the state of Kansas and he is excited to be a Gopher. McKinzy chose the Gophers over offers from Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. He plays as a DB and QB in high school. The Gopher staff is recruiting him to play QB but that may change eventually. As a kid with versatility and athletic, play-making ability he is the kind of kid this staff likes to recruit.

Steven Richardson - DT - out of the Chicago area and playing along side 4-star DT, Enoch Smith Jr. Richardson is overshadowed a bit by Smith but he may be slightly overlooked due mostly to his 5'11" height. This Rivals eval of "high risers" believes that if Smith were just a little taller he would easily be a 4-star recruit with dozens of offers. But he is what he is, which is a strong DT who gets into the backfield with his low pad-level.

But that leaves a little over a dozen scholarships remaining. There are a handful of very good local prospects, all of whom the Gophers are pursuing.

Frank Ragnow - OT - Chanhassen tackle who has offers from Arkansas, Cal, Florida State, Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and a few other BCS level schools. In spite of the impressive offer list he says that Minnesota will be a strong contender till the end and he would love to play at home in front of family and friends. I am not anticipating a ton of offensive linemen getting scholarships but Ragnow has to be near the top of the list for the Gopher staff.

J.C. Hassenauer - OC - Woodbury native who has a ton of high-major schools looking closely at him but only Minnesota and Vandy offering at this point. Hassenauer earned the offensive line MVP at the Rivals regional camp in Chicago and was one of their top offensive linemen.

Andrew Stetler - DE - Owatonna - Do you see a pattern here with the Minnesota kids all being linemen? Stetler has a good frame, very good strength and is a kid with a bright future. An offer from Minnesota, strong interest from Iowa and Nebraska. And then he has offers from schools like Princeton, Duke, Harvard, Army and Yale. Duke, Iowa State and Minnesota are his stated top 3. A year to develop, learn technique and grow into his frame and I believe Stetler will become a good Big Ten end!

Preston Woods - DE - does NOT currently hold a Gopher offer but he is a big kid who is on the radar of a number of Big Ten schools. He has good measurables and will likely earn a BCS scholarship before National Signing Day rolls around.

Reid Travis - QB - I fully expect that Travis is going to be a stud college basketball player but the 6'7" quarterback of De La Salle is also a highly sought after football recruit. He does not have a Gopher FB offer but Boston College, Iowa and Rutgers have pulled the trigger. If he does consider football a viable option, I'd be happy to see him in maroon and gold.

And after those local boys, we always need to supplement with quality players from around the country. The list of offers is incredibly long so the names below is not an exhaustive list of guys the staff is pursuing. They are a few names that I would love to see them land and a few names who seem to have some genuine interest.

Connor Mayes - OC - His brother is a true freshman OT this year. Will the younger Mayes follow his brother? His offer list includes Oklahoma, TCU, Baylor, Kansas State, Texas Tech and a recent offer from Texas A&M so the competition for his LOI is going to be tough. Mayes has the size and skills to move to guard eventually or stay as a true center. That stuff works itself out but getting a highly rated and talented kid into the program like the younger Mayes would be a big get for Coach Kill and staff.

Colton Moskal - LB - Chicago area linebacker, former teammate and friend of Jack Lynn. Cincinatti and Syracuse have offered with schools like Wisconsin, Michigan, Missouri and Stanford keeping a sharp eye on him.

Gaelin Elmore - TE - from Wisconsin and at one point Elmore was very interested in moving West to Dinkytown. Elmore is the #3 prospect in Wisconsin and he holds a Badger offer so

Deron Thomspon - RB - Wichita back who took an unofficial visit to the Gophers in April (he is of no relation to Daryl Thompson). He is a very fast back who has earned offers from Kansas State and feels like he is close to getting offers from Nebraska and Kansas.

Andre Maloney - CB - sticking with Kansas prospects, up next is the 6'2" corner from Overland Park. Maloney has "high" interest in Kansas, Missouri and Minnesota. One of my personal favorites on this list due to his size and athletic ability.

Dorian Baker - WR - Cleveland native and high school teammate of De'Niro Laster's. Baker has above average speed and good size at 6'2", 200 lbs. Indiana, Pitt and Vandy are the only other BCS level offers at this point for Baker. Very talented, maybe a bit raw.

Tyre Brady - WR - 6'3" and a Florida native who has one of the Gopher's biggest cheerleaders in his ear. Brady was a work-out buddy with Jordon Hinojosa. He is a 3-star recruit with offers from the big knockers in his own state. Florida, Florida State and UCF have offered along with SEC teams Kentucky and Mississippi State. Those are some pretty good teams to beat out but maybe we have shot.

Rohan Blackwood - DE - 3-star DE out of Florida with good size. Blackwood has a high school coach who is a Minnesota grad and he plans on taking on of his official visits to the Twin Cities. If we get him on campus we'll have a shot over other offers from Louisville, Miami, NC State, Purdue, Miss St, Rutgers, Virginia, Wisconsin and others. Good frame and athleticism make him a great candidate for a red-shirt followed by a long and productive career in maroon and gold.

Craig James - CB - Illinois corner who is holding 6 BCS scholarship offers.

Khari Blasingame - S - Alabama safety who only has a couple of offers at this point, with Minnesota being the only BCS school. 6'1" and 200+ pounds, Blasingame has some explosiveness and strength. One of the top 25 players in the state of Alabama.

Those were 10 names that were somewhat cherry-picked but they are all guys who have at least some public mention of the Gophers. My completely subjective group of players I want to see signing their name to a Minnesota Letter of Intent would be...Mayes, Maloney, Baker, Thompson and Blackwood along with all three of the Minnesota kids listed who have actual offers. Priority #1 is keep Jeff Jones in the fold. #2, keep your identified local kids home. #3 get a few high impact recruits in this small class. Easy right?

This recruiting update is more focuses on getting some names out in front of you with a tiny bit of information. At some point I or Matt will come back with something a bit meatier, but the process is early and right now there is a very wide net being cast. The names will come into focus over the next couple months and then we can all make signs for our favorite recruits as they come to town on official visits.
 

BleedGopher said:
STrib: Dual-threat Bloomington Kennedy QB Travon Hearns getting D-1 looks

Q: What schools have shown the most interest in you?

A: I’ve heard from Iowa State, Wyoming, North Dakota, North Dakota State, Northern Illinois, South Dakota, a few others.

Q: Do you have a dream school?

A: Ohio State, by far. I grew up watching them, my favorite player played for them. I would love to play there.

Q: What if Michigan came calling? Would you play there?

A: [Laughs] I’m not really a Michigan fan, but of course I would play there.

Q: Have you heard from Minnesota?

A: I haven’t. It kind of bothers me because I thought I might get some interest from the hometown school, but I guess they’re not interested.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/210155551.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

Go Gophers!!
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Hopefully Travon will attend a Gopher Camp to demonstrate his potential. At 6'4 225, he definitely has size and would think options to play other positions.
 

The instate recruits need to learn to trust themselves and the Gopher Staff. The staff will give a hard look at any kid that attends, work hard and the staff will grade you honestly, scholarships can be earned. If they doubt it, look at Eric Murry, he earned a scholarship at camp.
 

It's a Pig Man! said:
Looks like Carter is trying to work on his former teammate Kendall Gant. Also kinda says to me that Gant isn't really considering us right now.
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It would be huge if we can even get this guy in for a visit. Only a 3-star, but his offer list is currently:

Alabama
Florida
FSU
Georgia
Ohio St.
USC

among others.

But Rivals only looks at offer lists when rating recruits, right?
 

I'm willing to bet you dpodoll a 1 month ban

from posting on this site that his current ranking of 3* 5.7 (41) from Rivals will be lower than his ranking from Rivals on national signing day, will you accept?

f
dpodoll68 said:
It would be huge if we can even get this guy in for a visit. Only a 3-star, but his offer list is currently:

Alabama
Florida
FSU
Georgia
Ohio St.
USC

among others.

But Rivals only looks at offer lists when rating recruits, right?
Click to expand...
 

Gopherprof said:
He's the quarterback of a winless team, barely completed more than 50% of his passes, and has no FCS offers, let alone FBS offers. Sometimes (all the time) recruiting is ridiculous.
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Word is he just got an offer from Montana. He has little to work with, and plays in an incredibly tough conference; both are factors why this is their last year in the South Suburban.
 

OddStack said:
Word is he just got an offer from Montana. He has little to work with, and plays in an incredibly tough conference; both are factors why this is their last year in the South Suburban.
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There are no incredibly tough conferences in Minnesota high school football outside of the Lake Conference. A school like Lakeville North, Apple Valley, etc, would get slaughtered in Texas, Florida, or Ohio football.

If you can't dominate in Minnesota high school football (or at least play well), no matter your supporting cast, I wouldn't expect a Big Ten program to pay much attention to you either.
 

Gopherprof said:
There are no incredibly tough conferences in Minnesota high school football outside of the Lake Conference. A school like Lakeville North, Apple Valley, etc, would get slaughtered in Texas, Florida, or Ohio football.

If you can't dominate in Minnesota high school football (or at least play well), no matter your supporting cast, I wouldn't expect a Big Ten program to pay much attention to you either.
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That's because of the quantity of good players, it has very little to do with whether or not this particular kid can play. If he was playing for a bad team in those great conferences in Texas/Florida/California, he would also have a ton more talent around him than he has now and he'd be playing against way better talent.

I've never seen the kid play and I have no idea if he is worth a look or not. However, I know that program is in absolute shambles. When I played at Cretin we were still in the Saint Paul City conference and we played some teams full of people who were SO bad that if they had a QB with talent, he would have done nothing too.
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
That's because of the quantity of good players, it has very little to do with whether or not this particular kid can play. If he was playing for a bad team in those great conferences in Texas/Florida/California, he would also have a ton more talent around him than he has now and he'd be playing against way better talent.

I've never seen the kid play and I have no idea if he is worth a look or not. However, I know that program is in absolute shambles. When I played at Cretin we were still in the Saint Paul City conference and we played some teams full of people who were SO bad that if they had a QB with talent, he would have done nothing too.
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I respect your opinion, but agree to disagree. I realize this isn't basketball, but the talent gap between the Big Ten and the average Minnesota high school football team is so large that if you took just one quality Big Ten quarterback recruit and put him on Bloomington Jefferson he would at the very least win a few games and put up decent stats out of sheer talent alone. I know because I played on a crappy high school football team in Ohio that made it deep into state almost entirely on the back of a player who was eventually drafted to play QB in the NFL.
 

Ryan Burns, from GI, hinted at having some Jeff Jones news in regards to Minnesota that was positive. Anyone have an idea what that might be?
 

Gopherprof said:
I respect your opinion, but agree to disagree. I realize this isn't basketball, but the talent gap between the Big Ten and the average Minnesota high school football team is so large that if you took just one quality Big Ten quarterback recruit and put him on Bloomington Jefferson he would at the very least win a few games and put up decent stats out of sheer talent alone. I know because I played on a crappy high school football team in Ohio that made it deep into state almost entirely on the back of a player who was eventually drafted to play QB in the NFL.
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Congrats to your run; if your team had the quality of Kennedy's, then I question the coaching competence of your opponents.
I tend to disagree! When you have 35 kids on the Varsity (like Kennedy), and don't have a running game,or mediocre receivers, teams can scheme the QB. The QB doesn't handle the blitz or catch balls that are on the money. This "winless" QB was a starter as a soph. when all they had was a RB (St. Cloud St.) and won 3 games with some support. You can't say this kid has zero chance. I don't think he's B1G, but he'll get some school paid for.

FYI...Jefferson had a highly touted QB that didn't have a ton of hs success (51.2% comp) and a #11 national QB ranking on ESPN...his ranking and scholy was based on size, arm strength, and 7on7 tournaments. Once the bullets fly...a different kid.


SORRY FOR HI-JACKING THE THREAD.....BACK TO RECRUITS!
 

OddStack said:
You can't say this kid has zero chance. I don't think he's B1G, but he'll get some school paid for.
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I didn't say he had zero chance, I said a Big Ten recruit should be able to dominate in high school, especially in a state like Minnesota. I think going to Montana or a Dakota school is an entirely appropriate route, but if I'm Minnesota and I have 15 scholarships to give out, I'm not giving one of them to a kid that can't perform against mediocre (at best) competition, regardless of supporting staff.

Also, I'm not sure Moses Alipate is really the best example one could give, considering what a massive bust he's been.
 

Sheldon Cooper said:
Ryan Burns, from GI, hinted at having some Jeff Jones news in regards to Minnesota that was positive. Anyone have an idea what that might be?
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I really wouldn't be too once rend about Jones. Tim Gordon, Ricardo Johnson III, and some of Jeff's other friends have told me that he is still committed. A couple have said that he just wants to enjoy the recruiting process and pay the coaches respect by visiting their schools. Makes sense.
 

respect? that's interesting

isn't it funny what people consider respect now days, "wants to pay the coaches respect by visiting their schools" what a load of BS, can you imagine telling your fiance or wife that you wanted to pay respect to these other women by just making out with them a little, no disrespect to you of coarse. I wonder if people even know what respect is anymore?

The Gopher Report said:
A couple have said that he just wants to enjoy the recruiting process and pay the coaches respect by visiting their schools. Makes sense.
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Sheldon Cooper said:
Ryan Burns, from GI, hinted at having some Jeff Jones news in regards to Minnesota that was positive. Anyone have an idea what that might be?
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Jones and his dad will be visiting campus and meeting with coaches this Sunday. This is good news because if you'll recall his dad just got out of prison and will be a part of his recruitment.
 

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