Official 2021 Gophers Football Recruiting Updates Thread: Links, Tweets, Videos etc

[MNVCGUY]

I called this out a few months back as well. Really the difference between rank 15-50 in the recruiting rankings is like 1 or 2 highly rated guys or having more commits. It's crazy when I read in the media how the gophers recruiting class is "only at 35" or whatever it is in that year. Literally if they sign 1 more low 3* guy they might jump 3-5 spots.

And for those same people that get hung up on the ranking, that requires believing that the recruiting sites are 100% correct in their evaluations of all the players. It would be foolish to suggest that our class is anywhere close to the caliber of the one Ohio State is bringing in, but as you said, once you get past the best of the best, there is very little separation between a huge chunk of the remaining teams.

Recruiting rankings have value, and given the monumental task of ranking thousands of athletes across the country, based on limited data in many cases, the sites do a very good job. But people need to stop viewing them as 100% accurate or putting a massive amount of stock in how the recruiting rankings shake out.

No Gopher fan should be disappointed in this 2021 class. Yes we all hope things continue to trend up and the talent we are bringing in on paper gets even better. But this is a class full of guys with legit interest from other Big Ten and power 5 programs. That alone is a great sign that we are bringing in a class of guys that will be able to help us compete in the Big Ten.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Well, the gophers had the #24 class with Avante and #35 without Avante.

So the difference between the two classes is a little more than an Avante caliber player. And Avante was a composite top #125 guy which would be one of our top 3 or 4 all time highest guys.

I would say thats a pretty big difference.

Does your opinion of the quality of our class change drastically with Dickerson dropping off?

I'm not trying to say it doesn't make a difference or that it doesn't suck to lose out on him, but this was a very solid class with him and it is still a very solid class without him. And even without him our class still stacks up very favorably when compared to the classes being brought in by the majority of the conference and the teams we are directly competing against in the West.

 

[hungan1]

I am not too concern about rankings if PJ continues to recruit at higher levels each succeeding class.

His team with 5 4-Stars beat an Auburn team with 3 5-Stars and 43 4-Stars.

There is magic in the boathouse.

 

[die hard gopher]

Does your opinion of the quality of our class change drastically with Dickerson dropping off?

I'm not trying to say it doesn't make a difference or that it doesn't suck to lose out on him, but this was a very solid class with him and it is still a very solid class without him. And even without him our class still stacks up very favorably when compared to the classes being brought in by the majority of the conference and the teams we are directly competing against in the West.

Well, Avante is a top #125 composite player which is basically like a projected 4th round pick and All Big Ten player. Thats basically what Damien Wilson or Eric Murray were, All Big Ten players and 4th round picks.

I would say thats certainly not nothing. And in the real game, the difference between the 24th best team in the country and the 35th best country probably would be one team having a Damien or Murray on your team and the other team not. So it's definitely not nothing.

 

[FredCoxRocks]

Sounds like Oregon. Wish him well

Probably the Nike influence. What kid wouldn't be lured by shoes and cool apparel? Maybe some Minnesota based companies like 3M and General Mills should start dangling Post-It Notes, tape, cereal, and snack bars in front of these kids. That'd do it.

 

[hungan1]

Does your opinion of the quality of our class change drastically with Dickerson dropping off?

I'm not trying to say it doesn't make a difference or that it doesn't suck to lose out on him, but this was a very solid class with him and it is still a very solid class without him. And even without him our class still stacks up very favorably when compared to the classes being brought in by the majority of the conference and the teams we are directly competing against in the West.

One player can make an impact. An already great recruiting class will make an even greater impact. The Gophers acquired 5 mature players through the Transfer Portal that will make an immediate impact. Hopefully, he lands an under the radar DB at the last minute or find someone in the Transfer Portal.

We have greater program stabilization since post Kill/Claeys. I am excited that we are developing pretty decent depth at key positions.

 

[MNVCGUY]

Well, Avante is a top #125 composite player which is basically like a projected 4th round pick and All Big Ten player. Thats basically what Damien Wilson or Eric Murray were, All Big Ten players and 4th round picks.

I would say thats certainly not nothing. And in the real game, the difference between the 24th best team in the country and the 35th best country probably would be one team having a Damien or Murray on your team and the other team not. So it's definitely not nothing.

There is a correlation between recruiting rankings and on the field rankings but it is not absolute. Losing Dickerson might have dropped our 2021 recruiting class from #24 to #35 but that doesn't mean our actual on the field prospects take the same hit.

There is no guarantee that a highly rated recruit is going to pan out or provide the exact value to the team that his ranking says he will. All you have to do is look at the list of our top 10 all time recruits that comes up at the bottom of the class page on 247 to see that the sites don't get it right all the time.

Avante might have been a great player for us, and it sucks that he changed his mind about his commitment. But in the grand scheme of things, his departure shouldn't drastically change anyones view of the class just because it knocked us down a few spots in what are very flawed and highly subjective team rankings.

 

[forever a gopher]

Probably the Nike influence. What kid wouldn't be lured by shoes and cool apparel? Maybe some Minnesota based companies like 3M and General Mills should start dangling Post-It Notes, tape, cereal, and snack bars in front of these kids. That'd do it.

Why else do you think I keep my job? I can go to the supply closet any time I want, and boom! all the post-it notes you want. Life is good.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

Probably the Nike influence. What kid wouldn't be lured by shoes and cool apparel? Maybe some Minnesota based companies like 3M and General Mills should start dangling Post-It Notes, tape, cereal, and snack bars in front of these kids. That'd do it.

I say we have a pipe installed into each athlete's dorm room that you just open the valve and out flows and unlimited amount of Kix!

 

[MGGopher]

I say we have a pipe installed into each athlete's dorm room that you just open the valve and out flows and unlimited amount of Kix!

OMG, Kix! That's a stroll down memory lane. I don't eat cereal these days, but I can't imagine they still make that, right?

Anyway, huge bummer to lose Dickerson. You can spin it any way you want, but the team would've been better had he signed. That said, you can't really blame the staff -- and in fact, people should probably praise their recruiting ability for getting such a highly-rated guy to commit in the first place. Speaks to their ability to connect and sell the program's vision -- even during a pandemic. In the end, the Gophers will be fine, and has been pointed out above, the '21 recruiting class still seems extremely strong with every player having a P5 offer. Add in the transfers, and there's a lot of talent coming very soon.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

OMG, Kix! That's a stroll down memory lane. I don't eat cereal these days, but I can't imagine they still make that, right?

Anyway, huge bummer to lose Dickerson. You can spin it any way you want, but the team would've been better had he signed. That said, you can't really blame the staff -- and in fact, people should probably praise their recruiting ability for getting such a highly-rated guy to commit in the first place. Speaks to their ability to connect and sell the program's vision -- even during a pandemic. In the end, the Gophers will be fine, and has been pointed out above, the '21 recruiting class still seems extremely strong with every player having a P5 offer. Add in the transfers, and there's a lot of talent coming very soon.

I tend to eat cereal dry without milk .... just as snacks.

Kix works well for that.

 

[tikited]

I tend to eat cereal dry without milk .... just as snacks.

Kix works well for that.

Berry Berry Kix is where it's at.

 

[btowngopher]

Well, Avante is a top #125 composite player which is basically like a projected 4th round pick and All Big Ten player. Thats basically what Damien Wilson or Eric Murray were, All Big Ten players and 4th round picks.

I would say thats certainly not nothing. And in the real game, the difference between the 24th best team in the country and the 35th best country probably would be one team having a Damien or Murray on your team and the other team not. So it's definitely not nothing.

Except it is just a projection. Odds are he won’t be as good as Damien Wilson or Eric Murray.

 

[btowngopher]

OMG, Kix! That's a stroll down memory lane. I don't eat cereal these days, but I can't imagine they still make that, right?

Anyway, huge bummer to lose Dickerson. You can spin it any way you want, but the team would've been better had he signed. That said, you can't really blame the staff -- and in fact, people should probably praise their recruiting ability for getting such a highly-rated guy to commit in the first place. Speaks to their ability to connect and sell the program's vision -- even during a pandemic. In the end, the Gophers will be fine, and has been pointed out above, the '21 recruiting class still seems extremely strong with every player having a P5 offer. Add in the transfers, and there's a lot of talent coming very soon.

There’s no way of knowing at this time if the team would be better if he signed. Yes odds are good that they would be. But I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Justin Walley turns out to be the better player. There are no absolute sure things as others have said.

 

[MplsGopher]

Probably the Nike influence. What kid wouldn't be lured by shoes and cool apparel? Maybe some Minnesota based companies like 3M and General Mills should start dangling Post-It Notes, tape, cereal, and snack bars in front of these kids. That'd do it.

Also keep in mind: he has grown up in cold, flat, windy, boring Omaha, Nebraska.

Oregon has mountains and an average high of 47 in Jan. No idea what the women situation is out there. I could see a lot of hipster and hiking/nature/camping types. But I think being "poly" is a big thing out there, so who knows.

 

[GopherGuy8]

2020 Class VS 2021 Class
(Based on 247Sports Composite Ratings)

Number of recruits
2020: 24
2021: 18
Top 400 recruits
2020: 2 of 24
2021: 4 of 18
Top 700 recruits
2020: 6 of 24
2021: 12 of 18
Top 1000 recruits
2020: 14 of 24
2021: 16 of 18

Class National Ranking
2020: 38
2021: 35

As you can see, the class national ranking doesn't show the whole picture. Anyone who uses the national ranking as a way to say that the 2020 class and the 2021 class have similar talent levels should take a long look at the chart above.

 

[EG#9]

2020 Class VS 2021 Class
(Based on 247Sports Composite Ratings)

Number of recruits
2020: 24
2021: 18
Top 400 recruits
2020: 2 of 24
2021: 4 of 18
Top 700 recruits
2020: 6 of 24
2021: 11 of 18
Top 1000 recruits
2020: 14 of 24
2021: 16 of 18

Class National Ranking
2020: 38
2021: 35

As you can see, the class national ranking doesn't show the whole picture. Anyone who uses the national ranking as a way to say that the 2020 class and the 2021 class have similar talent levels should take a long look at the chart above.

This is good info. The '21 class is still better than the '20 class. That said, the Dickerson loss hurts and I am still disappointed with the '21 results. The Gophers were in the BCS conversation, ended the season in the top 10, and couldn't really make any inroads in state or dramatically improve their recruiting nationally or regionally. If you look at the Minnesota/Wisconsin/Iowa/Nebraska group, we lost 3 instate kids total to Wisconsin/Iowa, Iowa lost one each to Wisconsin/Nebraska. We ended up being the only school in the group to not poach one from the other 3 and we also lost the most.

Definitely not saying the class is bad, just that I am a bit disappointed that we didn't do a little better. If Dickerson ends up at Oregon, that will be 3 kids they've flipped from us. Hopefully we're in the position to return the favor someday.

 

[Word]

This is good info. The '21 class is still better than the '20 class. That said, the Dickerson loss hurts and I am still disappointed with the '21 results. The Gophers were in the BCS conversation, ended the season in the top 10, and couldn't really make any inroads in state or dramatically improve their recruiting nationally or regionally. If you look at the Minnesota/Wisconsin/Iowa/Nebraska group, we lost 3 instate kids total to Wisconsin/Iowa, Iowa lost one each to Wisconsin/Nebraska. We ended up being the only school in the group to not poach one from the other 3 and we also lost the most.

Definitely not saying the class is bad, just that I am a bit disappointed that we didn't do a little better. If Dickerson ends up at Oregon, that will be 3 kids they've flipped from us. Hopefully we're in the position to return the favor someday.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[hungan1]

Davon Townley to announce decision on Wednesday, February 3rd on CBS Sports HQ's National Signing Day Show. I don't have any vibes on this since he is pretty mum. Some Nebraska fans think they have a shot.

Four-star DE Davon Townley has decision date, announcement details

Decision date and announcement details are in for one of the Midwest's top uncommitted recruits, DE Davon Townley.

247sports.com

 

[stocker08]

 

[GVLCGopherFan]

2020 Class VS 2021 Class
(Based on 247Sports Composite Ratings)

Number of recruits
2020: 24
2021: 18
Top 400 recruits
2020: 2 of 24
2021: 4 of 18
Top 700 recruits
2020: 6 of 24
2021: 11 of 18
Top 1000 recruits
2020: 14 of 24
2021: 16 of 18

Class National Ranking
2020: 38
2021: 35

As you can see, the class national ranking doesn't show the whole picture. Anyone who uses the national ranking as a way to say that the 2020 class and the 2021 class have similar talent levels should take a long look at the chart above.

The rankings don't take into account the number of perceived high value transfers either.

 

[MNVCGUY]

This is good info. The '21 class is still better than the '20 class. That said, the Dickerson loss hurts and I am still disappointed with the '21 results. The Gophers were in the BCS conversation, ended the season in the top 10, and couldn't really make any inroads in state or dramatically improve their recruiting nationally or regionally. If you look at the Minnesota/Wisconsin/Iowa/Nebraska group, we lost 3 instate kids total to Wisconsin/Iowa, Iowa lost one each to Wisconsin/Nebraska. We ended up being the only school in the group to not poach one from the other 3 and we also lost the most.

Definitely not saying the class is bad, just that I am a bit disappointed that we didn't do a little better. If Dickerson ends up at Oregon, that will be 3 kids they've flipped from us. Hopefully we're in the position to return the favor someday.

Certainly fair and understandable to want more, especially in regards to local guys, but this 2021 class is a pretty big step in the right direction and is significantly better than any class we have had around here in a long time with the exception maybe of 2018. 2021 is still better then 2018 but not by a super wide margin.

The other exciting thing to see is the number of highly rated prospects that are considering us. The next step is to land more of them but we are getting a serious look from a caliber of player that we have never really been able to recruit around here.

 

[btowngopher]

This is good info. The '21 class is still better than the '20 class. That said, the Dickerson loss hurts and I am still disappointed with the '21 results. The Gophers were in the BCS conversation, ended the season in the top 10, and couldn't really make any inroads in state or dramatically improve their recruiting nationally or regionally. If you look at the Minnesota/Wisconsin/Iowa/Nebraska group, we lost 3 instate kids total to Wisconsin/Iowa, Iowa lost one each to Wisconsin/Nebraska. We ended up being the only school in the group to not poach one from the other 3 and we also lost the most.

Definitely not saying the class is bad, just that I am a bit disappointed that we didn't do a little better. If Dickerson ends up at Oregon, that will be 3 kids they've flipped from us. Hopefully we're in the position to return the favor someday.

I don’t understand the disappointment and expectations to be landing top 25 classes. One good season isn’t going to change things that dramatically. Our best class ever was rated 26 and it was built on hype with one of the most highly regarded recruiters in the country in Brewster, and included several jucos and Marquise Gray who if I remember had some academic hurdles to clear. This is the highest rated class since that one, and would easily be rated higher if it was a full class. It really shouldn’t affect anything whether we get kids from instate or rival states or they get them from here. I don’t get the super high recruiting expectations when it hasn’t even been done once ever.

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

NSFW AUDIO:

 

[Taji34]

I saw a few of these on my twitter feed:

 

[A_Slab_of_Bacon]

I saw a few of these on my twitter feed:

 

[tmvander]

This class, along with the transfers, is going to be good enough. The Dickerson business is over. Time to hype up the guys who will be playing here.

 

[WriterGoph]

This class, along with the transfers, is going to be good enough. The Dickerson business is over. Time to hype up the guys who will be playing here.

Agreed. I think people are stuck on Dickerson's recruiting rankings, but are forgetting we have two other corners who look like studs in this class (Ortiz, a 4-star and Walley, who had multiple SEC offers). Most years, we'd be doing backflips to have a SINGLE CB recruit like either one of these. This year, we got excited about the possibility of Dickerson, but now some people are "disappointed" in the class? GTFO. One player - especially when we have multiple other quality recruits at the same position - does not make or break a class. Some people need to get a grip.

 

[MGGopher]

Agreed. I think people are stuck on Dickerson's recruiting rankings, but are forgetting we have two other corners who look like studs in this class (Ortiz, a 4-star and Walley, who had multiple SEC offers). Most years, we'd be doing backflips to have a SINGLE CB recruit like either one of these. This year, we got excited about the possibility of Dickerson, but now some people are "disappointed" in the class? GTFO. One player - especially when we have multiple other quality recruits at the same position - does not make or break a class. Some people need to get a grip.

THis is a nice way to put things in perspective. Dickerson would've been real nice, but you're right that in most years Ortiz (with offers from like half the Pac-12, including Oregon) and Walley (I think at least 3 SEC offers) would've been reason enough for excitement. Thanks.

 

[WriterGoph]

THis is a nice way to put things in perspective. Dickerson would've been real nice, but you're right that in most years Ortiz (with offers from like half the Pac-12, including Oregon) and Walley (I think at least 3 SEC offers) would've been reason enough for excitement. Thanks.

For sure. Also, the nice thing is Walley is already on campus and working out, so he'll have a better chance of being ready to contribute than a standard summer arrival.