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.
