Official 2020 Gophers Football Recruiting Thread: Links, Tweets, Videos, Rumors

Big Ten football recruiting rankings: Where does Rutgers fall after landing 4 commitments this month?

5. Minnesota

The skinny: Coach P.J. Fleck is still bouncing off the walls with energy for the Gophers, which have 21 players committed for 2020, more than any team in the conference. The class, completely composed of three-stars with upside, is ranked 25th nationally.

https://www.nj.com/rutgers/2019/06/...fter-landing-four-commitments-this-month.html

Go Gophers!!

Yeah, but our three stars are gonna be upgraded to 4 stars unlike everyone else[emoji57].


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Correct.

I meant to imply the Ohio Pennsylvania hotbed by my “great lakes” comment (also think a fair amount of talent in IL, IN, and Mich).

Pelini was consistently 9-10 wins. How do you take a full step up from that without winning the Big Ten championship with 11 or 12 wins, which then puts you in the CFP (that’s top 4 in my book)??

Nebraska will target the 500 mile radius for their linemen and will hit Florida, California, and especially Arizona of late for their skill position players. Their staff has a lot of ties in Florida, and in California and Arizona. Frost was one of the key recruiters for Oregon when he was there so has tons of west coast ties. Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities in the country and the staff there is recruiting that area especially well. Pelini’s issues weren’t so much his final win total but the fact that his teams got blown out repeatedly by any of the good teams on the schedule and that he hated the fans, media, AD, etc.. Nebraska fans do not expect the CFP by and large.



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Nebraska will target the 500 mile radius for their linemen and will hit Florida, California, and especially Arizona of late for their skill position players. Their staff has a lot of ties in Florida, and in California and Arizona. Frost was one of the key recruiters for Oregon when he was there so has tons of west coast ties. Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities in the country and the staff there is recruiting that area especially well. Pelini’s issues weren’t so much his final win total but the fact that his teams got blown out repeatedly by any of the good teams on the schedule and that he hated the fans, media, AD, etc.. Nebraska fans do not expect the CFP by and large.

We’ll see, but I largely don’t believe you. I believe Neb fans won’t accept 9 wins and not making the Big Ten CCG every year.
 

Nebraska will target the 500 mile radius for their linemen and will hit Florida, California, and especially Arizona of late for their skill position players. Their staff has a lot of ties in Florida, and in California and Arizona. Frost was one of the key recruiters for Oregon when he was there so has tons of west coast ties. Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities in the country and the staff there is recruiting that area especially well. Pelini’s issues weren’t so much his final win total but the fact that his teams got blown out repeatedly by any of the good teams on the schedule and that he hated the fans, media, AD, etc.. Nebraska fans do not expect the CFP by and large.



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IMO Bo P lost his job for the following games:
2012 @ Ohio state 63 points given up
2012 Big Ten Championship vs Wisconsin 70 points given up
2012/13 Citrus Bowl vs Georgia 45 points given up
2013 UCLA 41 points given up
2013 @ Minnesota 34 points given up
2013 Michigan State 41 points given up
2013 Iowa 38 points given up
2015 @ Wisconsin 59 points given up followed by a loss vs Minnesota the next week



I think Nebraska could’ve kept him with the records he had if he wasn’t a defensive coach who had a defense getting torched in almost every loss
 

per Megan:

Victor Pless had never been to Minnesota. All he knew of the state was that it was cold, and that even in mid-June, the temperature would probably only peak in the 50s.

Imagine his surprise, then, when he stepped off his plane from Georgia to find 80-degree sunshine.

That was just the first eye-opener in his whirlwind weekend in the Twin Cities during his official football visit for the Gophers. He and other recruits experienced plenty of highlights: Mall of America, U.S. Bank Stadium, Target Field, Target Center, fine restaurants such as Manny’s Steakhouse, even boating and water scootering at coach P.J. Fleck’s lake house.

“It actually shocked me, the way that it was,” Pless said. “I didn’t really know how big of a city it was or how diverse it was.”

As soon as the visit ended, Pless gave his verbal commitment to the program. And the cornerback wasn’t the only player who left impressed: A total of 12 athletes signed on for the Gophers’ 2020 class as a direct result of those visits, which the program hyped as its “Summer Splash.” The Gophers now have 21 of about 25 slots filled and rank in many recruiting analysts’ national top 25, thanks to their boosted numbers.

As recently as three years ago, none of this would have been possible. The NCAA adopted new recruiting rules in 2017 that added an early December signing period and a spring official visit period. And for schools such as Minnesota, showing off their campus in the summer has been a game-changer.

“The days of June being full of golf charity camps for coaches, just camps alone and really a lot of in-office work, that’s changed a lot in my opinion,” Fleck said. “… There’s so much more focus on those official visits. I mean, look where we are at right now. We’re almost full in the month of June for the whole class because of how important those official visits were.”

Of those 21 commits, nine are from the Sun Belt region, mainly states such as Georgia, Texas and Florida. Much of that is thanks to Fleck’s coaching staff’s connections in those areas. But being able to bring southern players up north without the risk of snow and subzero windchills probably doesn’t hurt.

This was the first year Fleck took full advantage of the new rules, and he’s still one of the few doing so. Josh Helmholdt, Midwest recruiting analyst for Rivals.com, said schools such as Iowa and Kansas are also going on “commitment binges.”

http://www.startribune.com/recruits-warm-up-to-gophers-as-program-adapts-to-new-rules/512006682/

Go Gophers!!
 


Take this for what it is worth, but a lot of the crystal ball experts who predict where these recruits will go have now officially been saying over the past couple of days:

Jackson and Johnson to the good guys!
 

Take this for what it is worth, but a lot of the crystal ball experts who predict where these recruits will go have now officially been saying over the past couple of days:

Jackson and Johnson to the good guys!

I see that a Badger insider crystal balled Jackson to Minnesota just this morning!




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Take this for what it is worth, but a lot of the crystal ball experts who predict where these recruits will go have now officially been saying over the past couple of days:

Jackson and Johnson to the good guys!
Been thinking about this, probably too much but it seems like the longer these two decisions drag out, they play to our favor.
Good luck to both young men!
 




Been thinking about this, probably too much but it seems like the longer these two decisions drag out, they play to our favor.
Good luck to both young men!

Absolutely.

Would like to get Kaden Johnson. He visited us June 2nd, and just took his official last weekend June 22nd to Madison. To me, it's a good sign that he didn't commit on the spot there. They 100% gave him their best pitch and put the pressure on to commit on that visit, is my guess. He stood strong. Has a tough decision to make.

Wisconsin is a great school, and obviously has a lot of winning tradition in the last 10-15 years. No one can deny that, as much as we hate it.

But Minnesota is also a great school, and we're on the up. Better training facilities, hands down. Our game day atmosphere is sadly no where near as good, but with wins it will improve. He could be part of that foundation.
 

Take this for what it is worth, but a lot of the crystal ball experts who predict where these recruits will go have now officially been saying over the past couple of days:

Jackson and Johnson to the good guys!

Jackson is predicted to end up here. Johnson is still 50/50 between Minnesota and Wisconsin with only 2 predictions.
 

Interesting that Jackson's schools still show Minn, Wisc, and Iowa State as all "warm".

Iowa St would be the program that would more-so give me worry, since he is from the KC area and that program is closer and would have him coming home much more often to play K-State and Kansas.
 

Fleck should have an advantage for any WR choosing between us and Wisconsin. His success with Corey Davis and his experience playing as a wr and being a wr coach go a long ways. This is good new as I'm guessing Cameron Martinez is a heavy OSU lean at this point, I was hoping we could get one of these guys, I think both are difference makers on offense. Any news on Joe Moore, Lockett, or Rankins? Is Lockett a high end fallback option at this point?
 



Fleck should have an advantage for any WR choosing between us and Wisconsin. His success with Corey Davis and his experience playing as a wr and being a wr coach go a long ways. This is good new as I'm guessing Cameron Martinez is a heavy OSU lean at this point, I was hoping we could get one of these guys, I think both are difference makers on offense. Any news on Joe Moore, Lockett, or Rankins? Is Lockett a high end fallback option at this point?

Totally agree. In this article, Mohamed Sanu gives Fleck credit for making him the receiver he is today. PJ probably carries a laminated copy of this article with him everywhere he goes.

https://www.espn.com/blog/nflnation...s-make-mohamed-sanu-quite-a-catch-for-falcons


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Fleck should have an advantage for any WR choosing between us and Wisconsin. His success with Corey Davis and his experience playing as a wr and being a wr coach go a long ways. This is good new as I'm guessing Cameron Martinez is a heavy OSU lean at this point, I was hoping we could get one of these guys, I think both are difference makers on offense. Any news on Joe Moore, Lockett, or Rankins? Is Lockett a high end fallback option at this point?

People also forget about Daniel Braverman. In 2015, Fleck's third year at WMU, Braverman was the only player in all of FBS to have at least 1,300 yards, 13 TD's and over 100 catches. He was a 7th round pick after leaving his junior year and some publications had him as an All American. He was just as good as Corey Davis that year but no one ever seems to bring him up when mentioning Fleck's ability to develop WR's for whatever reason.
 

People also forget about Daniel Braverman. In 2015, Fleck's third year at WMU, Braverman was the only player in all of FBS to have at least 1,300 yards, 13 TD's and over 100 catches. He was a 7th round pick after leaving his junior year and some publications had him as an All American. He was just as good as Corey Davis that year but <b>no one ever seems to bring him up when mentioning Fleck's ability to develop WR's for whatever reason.</b>

PJ gets plenty of credit for his ability to develop WRs. This seems like an odd ax to grind.


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Sanu was a 3-star recruit, who had a couple decent offers, but was lightly recruited.

Braverman was barely a 3-star, and Duke was his only P5 offer.

Davis was a 2-star. Western Michigan was his only offer.

Obviously, Tyler Johnson is in the mix, since he will likely get drafted. He was a 3-star.

These 4-stars should thrive under Fleck, as long as they have the right attitude. Bateman is well on his way.


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Sanu was a 3-star recruit, who had a couple decent offers, but was lightly recruited.

Braverman was barely a 3-star, and Duke was his only P5 offer.

Davis was a 2-star. Western Michigan was his only offer.

Obviously, Tyler Johnson is in the mix, since he will likely get drafted. He was a 3-star.

These 4-stars should thrive under Fleck, as long as they have the right attitude. Bateman is well on his way.


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Davis was also the 5th overall pick.
Braverman may have been drafted, but he was the 230th pick and never had a catch in the NFL (was active for 3 games in 2016).

This discussion is bizarre.


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PJ gets plenty of credit for his ability to develop WRs. This seems like an odd ax to grind.


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Yes, I never said he didn't and I'm not grinding an axe. He deservedly gets plenty of credit. I'm just pointing out that there is yet another stud who most people don't know about in addition to Davis, Johnson and Bateman that PJ can point to which only strengthens his case to WR recruits.
 

Davis was also the 5th overall pick.
Braverman may have been drafted, but he was the 230th pick and never had a catch in the NFL (was active for 3 games in 2016).

This discussion is bizarre.


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Whats your point?

Pitinofan is saying if Fleck can do all this with lightly recruited 3 and 2 stars then imagine what he can do with 4 stars.
 

Whats your point?

Pitinofan is saying if Fleck can do all this with lightly recruited 3 and 2 stars then imagine what he can do with 4 stars.

Yeah, I was being too positive for Gopherhole. I can do negative too, but I’m not seeing many things worth bitching about right now.

Anyway....you’re right. That was my point. Bateman and Jackson have some skills some of the others mentioned probably didn’t have coming out of high school.


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Yeah, I was being too positive for Gopherhole. I can do negative too, but I’m not seeing many things worth bitching about right now.

Anyway....you’re right. That was my point. Bateman and Jackson have some skills some of the others mentioned probably didn’t have coming out of high school.


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Jackson? You mean Johnson?

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Per Daniel Jackson's twitter there is a big announcement at 8. Feels like he might be committed here. Went from 42% to 71% CB on 247 in an hour.
 


Whats your point?

Pitinofan is saying if Fleck can do all this with lightly recruited 3 and 2 stars then imagine what he can do with 4 stars.

My point was clearly stated - that this discussion is bizarre. By “this discussion” I mean your post longing for Braverman to get his props. Bizarre.


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Will be stunned if it's not Minnesota!

There is plenty of reasons to pick MN - A retooled O-Line with competent QBs and a lot of offensive weapons not to mention WR is PJ Fleck's/Simon's forte at developing.

There will be WRs being drafted under PJ Fleck's tenure here.
 

Per Daniel Jackson's twitter there is a big announcement at 8. Feels like he might be committed here. Went from 42% to 71% CB on 247 in an hour.

Fleck “liked” that tweet.


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