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

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You are only as strong as your weakest link, perhaps. I went to Eden Valley and we had Matt Stommes, who ripped jerseys from running backs sometimes. He was a freak! (I mean that as a compliment)

We lost to a below average conference team once because the opposing team, Pierz, could pass the ball on us easily. Pierz had two D-3 players and we had 5, not including Matt. But we didn't have any on the secondary, so that's how stuff like that happens.
 

GopherSteak said:
You are only as strong as your weakest link, perhaps. I went to Eden Valley and we had Matt Stommes, who ripped jerseys from running backs sometimes. He was a freak! (I mean that as a compliment)

We lost to a below average conference team once because the opposing team, Pierz, could pass the ball on us easily. Pierz had two D-3 players and we had 5, not including Matt. But we didn't have any on the secondary, so that's how stuff like that happens.
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No, I mean I get all that. My HS team had a future NFL QB and we still failed to make much waves in the state (Ohio) playoffs.

But still, if you're East Ridge you have a QB with a Minnesota offer, an offensive lineman going to Alabama, and a TE going to Rutgers. How do you only score 3 points against Eastview?
 

Gopherprof said:
No, I mean I get all that. My HS team had a future NFL QB and we still failed to make much waves in the state (Ohio) playoffs.

But still, if you're East Ridge you have a QB with a Minnesota offer, an offensive lineman going to Alabama, and a TE going to Rutgers. How do you only score 3 points against Eastview?
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Hard for me to understand as well.
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>The gophers looked really good today <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23wow&src=hash">#wow</a></p>— Frank Ragnow (@KNARFWONGAR) <a href="https://twitter.com/KNARFWONGAR/statuses/399310810796683264">November 9, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Go Gophers!!
 

Honestly I don't really understand why Frank wouldn't come here.

I'm not saying that as a Gopher homer. But any Minnesota runningback or offensive lineman should want to be a part of this offense.
 


Gopherprof said:
Honestly I don't really understand why Frank wouldn't come here.

I'm not saying that as a Gopher homer. But any Minnesota runningback or offensive lineman should want to be a part of this offense.
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+1
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>The Gophers are 8-2 and I'm going to Fogo de Chao for dinner with recruits - it's a great day!!</p>— Jay Sawvel (@JaySawvel) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaySawvel/statuses/399314997752250368">November 9, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Go Gophers!!
 

BleedGopher said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>The Gophers are 8-2 and I'm going to Fogo de Chao for dinner with recruits - it's a great day!!</p>— Jay Sawvel (@JaySawvel) <a href="https://twitter.com/JaySawvel/statuses/399314997752250368">November 9, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Go Gophers!!
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I wonder if he'd take a mid-30s fan with him to Fogo? That place is awesome!
 

Ragnow is FSU bound. Brewster set him up with a bevy of FSU beauties and has got Frank thinking with the wrong head.
 



I can't blame any kid for wanting to go away for school, it's part of college football. I mean, FSU's QB was snatched from Alabama's backyard. So if Ragnow goes there, I can't rip a kid for that. However, it feels good to not be desperate for a certain player. I feel good about the future of our OL whether Ragnow comes here or not. Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely high on him as a prospect and I think he'd do fantastic here, but if he chooses another path. . . we'll be good.
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota.... getting use to the cold is something I might just have to do</p>— OchO $avii (@GregoryCG8) <a href="https://twitter.com/GregoryCG8/statuses/399573639189630977">November 10, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Go Gophers!!
 

The Goofy Gopher said:
Brought this up in the recruiting Q&A with Roseville QB Jacques Parra, but Roseville's Jr WR Jesper Horstad would be an interesting target as well, although supposedly he wants to play baseball in college. 6'4", fast and can jump, and had 19 catches for 293 yards and 2 TDs as Roseville beat previously undefeated Maple Grove in the first round of state last night...
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Football and baseball are actually doable. Eric Decker did it and also the stud QB for FSU among many others
 

Bob_Loblaw said:
I can't blame any kid for wanting to go away for school, it's part of college football. I mean, FSU's QB was snatched from Alabama's backyard. So if Ragnow goes there, I can't rip a kid for that. However, it feels good to not be desperate for a certain player. I feel good about the future of our OL whether Ragnow comes here or not. Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely high on him as a prospect and I think he'd do fantastic here, but if he chooses another path. . . we'll be good.
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I agree. I'd love for Ragnow to be a Gopher but I believe this staff can evaluate talent and develop players. It does make for greater peace and less worry about the whims of each high school kid trusting in our coaching staff. Always nice to get the instate stars but the odds are that is just not always possible.
 



BleedGopher said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota.... getting use to the cold is something I might just have to do</p>— OchO $avii (@GregoryCG8) <a href="https://twitter.com/GregoryCG8/statuses/399573639189630977">November 10, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Go Gophers!!
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Who is this?
 


As a big proponent of us getting as many good "in-state" players as we can, I hate bringing this up, but - is it just me or do a disproportionate amount of highly rated MN football players end up doing absolutely nothing in college?

I'm just thinking of recruits off the top of my head, but remembering Andre McDonald, Lamonte Edwards, Jimmy Gjere, Willie Mobley, Seantrel Henderson, Moses Alipate, Matt Garin, Sam Maresh, and even Walker Lee Ashley the past several years makes me wonder how obsessive we should be over the top players?

I'm wondering if Jason Whitlock's Brady-Hoke/Michigan argument, RE: highly touted players are softer, egotistical, and prima donnas - has anything to do with this? Someone like that wouldn't be as good at taking criticism, would be easily frustrated if they were benched or passed on the depth chart, and might not buy into the team-first philosophy. Now I'm not saying we shouldn't go after highly touted players, and certainly there are a few of those players I mentioned who probably had a good attitude and just got injured (Gjere, Garin for instance), but my point is that for all the hoopla some of these guys put on with their recruiting process, maybe we're better off not wasting a roster spot with them?

I only bring this up because I feel this team is doing particularly well with lesser-touted players - Cockran, Wells, Travis, Murray, Cedric Thompson, Alex Keith, Isaac Fruechte, Derek Engel, Mitch Leidner, and even Jalen Myrick. Or perhaps the reason Kill's teams overachieves vs. his recruiting rankings is because he gets high character guys who buy-in and work hard. Anyways, I hope we get Ragnow and Jones as much as everyone else, but just because they're a high-rated player doesn't mean they will automatically be successful.
 


The Goofy Gopher said:
As a big proponent of us getting as many good "in-state" players as we can, I hate bringing this up, but - is it just me or do a disproportionate amount of highly rated MN football players end up doing absolutely nothing in college?

I'm just thinking of recruits off the top of my head, but remembering Andre McDonald, Lamonte Edwards, Jimmy Gjere, Willie Mobley, Seantrel Henderson, Moses Alipate, Matt Garin, Sam Maresh, and even Walker Lee Ashley the past several years makes me wonder how obsessive we should be over the top players?

I'm wondering if Jason Whitlock's Brady-Hoke/Michigan argument, RE: highly touted players are softer, egotistical, and prima donnas - has anything to do with this? Someone like that wouldn't be as good at taking criticism, would be easily frustrated if they were benched or passed on the depth chart, and might not buy into the team-first philosophy. Now I'm not saying we shouldn't go after highly touted players, and certainly there are a few of those players I mentioned who probably had a good attitude and just got injured (Gjere, Garin for instance), but my point is that for all the hoopla some of these guys put on with their recruiting process, maybe we're better off not wasting a roster spot with them?

I only bring this up because I feel this team is doing particularly well with lesser-touted players - Cockran, Wells, Travis, Murray, Cedric Thompson, Alex Keith, Isaac Fruechte, Derek Engel, Mitch Leidner, and even Jalen Myrick. Or perhaps the reason Kill's teams overachieves vs. his recruiting rankings is because he gets high character guys who buy-in and work hard. Anyways, I hope we get Ragnow and Jones as much as everyone else, but just because they're a high-rated player doesn't mean they will automatically be successful.
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This has been brought up before and shot right down. The only reason it seems like this is because the pool of hyped Minnesota players is so small. Every group of players is going to boom or bust, but there is a direct correlation between recruiting rankings and program success, it's just that it's over a huge pool of guys before you can really see the big picture. To shun players with better offers because of some built-in bias about "primadonnas" is absurd.

Now, if a player actually IS a primmadonna, that's another issue. But out of the list of players you have up there, really only Andre could have been accused as such in HS, and even guys like Lamonte Edwards didn't have a work ethic problem, they just did something really stupid.

Also, Ra'Shede Hageman, Michael Floyd, James Laurinaitus, Marion Barber, Beau Allen, Joe Mauer.
 

Gopherprof said:
This has been brought up before and shot right down. The only reason it seems like this is because the pool of hyped Minnesota players is so small. Every group of players is going to boom or bust, but there is a direct correlation between recruiting rankings and program success, it's just that it's over a huge pool of guys before you can really see the big picture. To shun players with better offers because of some built-in bias about "primadonnas" is absurd.

Now, if a player actually IS a primmadonna, that's another issue. But out of the list of players you have up there, really only Andre could have been accused as such in HS, and even guys like Lamonte Edwards didn't have a work ethic problem, they just did something really stupid.

Also, Ra'Shede Hageman, Michael Floyd, James Laurinaitus, Marion Barber, Beau Allen, Joe Mauer.
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This.


There is always a fairly high bust rate amongst all college football recruits. It's just that there are so few of them in MN That it seems like MN blue-chippers don't turn out.
 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>The <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23Gophers&src=hash">#Gophers</a> coaching staff will be checking out Rodney Smith (<a href="https://twitter.com/_Numero_Uno_1">@_Numero_Uno_1</a>) from Mundys Mill High School this wk <a href="http://t.co/WW9pKOSb2L">http://t.co/WW9pKOSb2L</a></p>— Nadine Babu (@NadineBabu) <a href="https://twitter.com/NadineBabu/statuses/399603397138972673">November 10, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Go Gophers!!
 

Gopherprof said:
Speaking of Minnesota HS football, how is it that Eden Prairie is so dominant this year and yet they only have two guys with FBS offers (Olson and Hovey) and both of those guys don't seem to be considered by BCS programs at all.

I realize that MN football is what it is, but you'd think a team as dominant as EP would have more college football talent on the roster. Is it just a matter of more depth than everyone else?
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My sense of Eden Prairie is that they are the ultimate "system" team. Other teams may have more "star" power, but EP has a system that works, and they run it until it becomes part of the players DNA. What is that system - find the strongest kids you can, and beat the bleep out of the other team. It's not flashy, but it's effective. Other teams may have better skill players, but EP wins by sheer physical dominance. Bottom line - Mike Grant is trying to win MN HS championships - not develop players for college.
 

Likewise with Rosemount...They have had impressive teams over the years but I can't think of many FBS guys that have come out of there.
 

It is a pure #'s game. EP have so much competition to just play on their team and guys don't have to play both ways.
 

BieberHole69 said:
Likewise with Rosemount...They have had impressive teams over the years but I can't think of many FBS guys that have come out of there.
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It has more to do with the State of MN football. There are what, 15,000 football players in MN and 350 teams? Rivals lists 5-15 each year as FBS type players. Hard to have more than 0 on any team.
 


Ragnow looked like he was having a ton of fun at the Gopher game:

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He told Scout that he is impressed by the Gophers this season. 247 moved him from "Warm" to "Warmer" for the Gophers alongside Arkansas and FSU. We've got momentum, now let's see if we can turn that into a commitment. The good thing is we can keep having him for more unofficials and he could also use his official here if he chooses.
 




dpodoll68 said:
Ragnow looked like he was having a ton of fun at the Gopher game:

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He told Scout that he is impressed by the Gophers this season. 247 moved him from "Warm" to "Warmer" for the Gophers alongside Arkansas and FSU. We've got momentum, now let's see if we can turn that into a commitment. The good thing is we can keep having him for more unofficials and he could also use his official here if he chooses.
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That hat plus a name like Ragnow (too close to Ragnar), he belongs in the frozen tundra. Looks like Keaneau Reeves on growth hormones?
 

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