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What Minnesota fans should know about 2021 National Signing Day
Gopher Illustrated, Ryan Burns, Feb. 3rd, 2021
Get ready, MINNESOTA GOPHER FOOTBALL RECRUITING FOLLOWERS: The Early Signing Period will change the process as we know it. Beginning Dec. 16, through Dec. 18, high school and junior college prospects can put pen to paper and sign their National Letter of Intent — a rite of passage usually reserved for the first Wednesday of every February.
There’ll still be a traditional National Signing Day on Feb. 3 in 2021, but we expect that after the pre-Christmas, three-day marathon, most programs will have the vast majority of their classes locked in. With so many prospects choosing to enroll early now to get a jump on the competition, we’re already starting to see many uncommitted blue-chippers announce decision dates in that Dec. 16-18 span.
Here’s what Gopher Football fans should know about the Minnesota 2021 recruiting class with the February National Signing Day here.
HOW MANY COMMITS DOES MINNESOTA HAVE AND HOW MANY ARE DESIGNATED AS EARLY-SIGNEES?
(Photo: Jeremy Enlow - JeremyEnlow.com)
Minnesota currently has 18 commitments with National Signing Day tomorrow, and 17 of them have already signed. Plus you've got to add in that Minnesota's got five scholarship transfers signees as well. When you look at early enrollees specifically, the Gophers have 12 enrollees that have been taking classes since January that'll be participating in spring ball.
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- Wide Receiver Lemeke Brockington
Here's 247Sports analyst
Allen Trieu had to say about Brockington's film.
"Brockington does a lot of good things on tape. He shows good strength both after the catch in fending off tacklers and in going up to challenge for the ball. He catches the ball well away from his body and coming out of his breaks. His change of direction is good and he shows elusiveness after the catch. He plays faster than his track times might suggest. He is a guy we would have loved to have gotten a time on at an Opening Regional. As it stands though, he is a guy who shows he can run a go route and take the top off a defense but can also catch a short pass and get YAC.Minnesota continues to do a really good job of identifying receivers with athletic traits. Brockington is a playmaker who has played outside and in the slot in high school and I think can similarly do either in college.
Brockington ended his senior season with 23 catches for 527 yards (22.9 yards per reception) and six touchdowns. Brockington was also named the athlete of the year for Georgia's Region 1-7A.
- Wide Receiver Brady Boyd
Here's what 247Sports analyst
Steve Wiltfong had to say about Boyd's tape.
"Boyd certainly carved up defenses as a junior, using his verified 4.44 speed in the 40-yard dash (from The Opening camp circuit prior to his junior year) to blow by or break away from defenders to the tune of 66 receptions for 969 yards and eight touchdowns in helping lead his team to a 13-1 record and a deep run in the Lone Star State playoffs. He did his best work on the biggest stages, catching nine balls for 169 yards and a touchdown against Midland Lee and then 11 receptions for 123 yards and a score against a loaded Duncanville squad in the final two times he suited up on the campaign.
For Boyd it starts with his foundation which is really good. He’s a smooth route runner that can setup defensive backs and separate. I like his body control and his hands are reliable too. Obviously he has the speed to take the top off and once he gets stronger he’ll have the whole bag to his game as far as taking on press corners on the perimeter.
Boyd chose the Gophers over an offer list that included Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Utah. I believe we’ll ultimately see him atop the Big Ten standings for receptions and yards in a season. Minnesota’s talented receiver room is going to turn over pretty quick and Boyd should already be pegged as one of the next men up."
In his 26 career games at Southlake Carroll High School, Boyd has 111 catches for nearly 2,000 yards and is averaging 17.4 yards per reception with 21 touchdowns.
- Wide receiver Dylan McGill
Another wide receiver that will be enrolling early is Texas athlete Dylan McGill. The Mesquite native is actually a "maroon" shirt from the 2020 class, but he'll finally be signing and enrolling here in January. Minnesota saw McGill at a satellite camp back in the summer of 2019 and offered him shortly after, which resulted in a quick commitment. McGill didn't sign with the Gophers last February as there were some academic issues that had to be resolved. They've since been addressee and McGill will finally put the pen to the paper on Wednesday and arrive on campus in a few weeks.
McGill also camped with Minnesota in the summer of 2019 and
here's what I said back after seeing him live.
"McGill is a high school quarterback for his team down in Texas, but you really wouldn't know it with the way he was running routes today. Sure, he's a little raw in spots, but the athletic ability and ball skills that McGill showed today were impressive. His ball tracking was very good, hauling in a couple of long balls over the shoulder, plus he's got strong hands to grip the ball through contact. The more time that McGill spends with Matt Simon, the quicker the transition will go, but the athletic ability is there at six-foot-two."
- Texas A&M WR transfer Dylan Wright
When Wright arrived at Texas A&M, he was behind a crowded depth chart filled with upperclassmen. Because of that, he only saw action in four games in 2019 and did not have a reception. Heading into his redshirt freshman season this past year, fans had high hopes for Wright, especially with the fact that the team did not return any experience at the receiver spot. However, he still was not able to see the field much. Wright played in four contests this year, all on special teams. He put his name into the NCAA transfer portal a couple of weeks ago, and Minnesota went to work then.
Wright will arrive at Minnesota in January, and if/when the NCAA passes their one-time transfer waiver in a few weeks, he'll be immediately eligible. Wright will have four years to play four because of no one losing a year of eligibility in 2020. The former West Mesquite standout's composite rank of .9678 coming out of high school would rank him as the second highest rated recruit to EVER sign with the Gophers, behind only Jeff Jones.
Here's the scouting report from former 247Sports' Director of Recruiting in Barton Simmons' on Wright coming out of high school.
"A grown man physically with long arms, powerful legs and an imposing high cut body. Springy athlete with great bounce, quick-jump ability and a graceful stride. Hands catcher that plucks the football away from his body. Can make contested catches with defenders draped on him. Excels in jump ball and 50-50 situations. Willing and effective blocker on the perimeter. Long strider that isn’t a short-area athlete. Can run into problems against press coverage. Productivity in Texas doesn’t match some of his peers. Impact Power Five starter in the right offense that has first round NFL Draft upside with development but projects more likely as a third-round type of talent."
- Utah State OL transfer Karter Shaw
After redshirting in 2018, Shaw started the past two seasons and has three years of eligibility remaining. The Minnesota connection here is from the Gophers offensive coordinator in Mike Sanford. Sanford was the offensive coordinator for Utah State in 2019 where Shaw started for him at right guard, so the Gophers are very familiar with what he can do.
The 6-foot-4, 305-pound Shaw has played in 23 games in his collegiate career, including starting the last 19 games for Utah State as an underclassmen at guard. Minnesota taking a transfer offensive lineman with three years of eligibility makes a lot of sense if you look at the 2022 season. They'll lose starting offensive linemen Sam Schlueter and Conner Olson to graduation, plus I don't think it's a guarantee that starters Blaise Andries, John Michael Schmitz and Axel Ruschmeyer come back for their sixth year in 2022. There's a real possibility that Minnesota loses all of their starting interior offensive lineman in 2022, and that's where this Shaw addition makes a ton of sense.
Here's what Shaw said about why he chose Minnesota.
"In the end I just felt like Minnesota was a better fit for me, and my future," Shaw explained to GopherIllustrated. "Offensive coordinator Mike Sanford and offensive line coach Brian Callahan have told me that I'll be working to compete for a spot this year, but there are a lot of returners this year. But if I'm one of the best five guys I will play and that's always the mentality I'm going to go into it with. But if I don't start this year, I will be able to rotate in, continue getting better and stronger so I will be able to start the following two years.
Both coaches also told me that long term, they see me more at center, but with the ability to play guard if that's where I'm needed. Callahan and Sanford said I have a lot of experience, so I can come in and help right away. My best attribute is my mind for the game, and especially having worked with coach Sanford previously he knows who I am as a player, and I fit his scheme very well. My family is really excited for the opportunity, especially being able to go to such a great place like Minnesota. They are already looking for flights to some of the games next year. My current plan is to get my major in communications, and minor in business management while at Minnesota. I'd say my biggest strengths as an offensive lineman are definitely my knowledge for the game, I am a smart player, But technique wise I have really good feet. I'll be moving into Minnesota tomorrow and starting classes on Tuesday, so I'm excited to be a Gopher!"
- Clemson DT transfer Nyles Pinckney
Pinckney, who redshirted the 2016 season before playing the 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 seasons, graduated in May. He'll have one year to play one season for Minnesota in 2021 and will be eligible immediately as a graduate transfer. This news of Pinckney's departure from Clemson wasn't surprising after he elected to be honored as a senior this year on Senior Day.
The former four-star recruit hails from Beaufort, S.C. and was a member of Clemson's 2016 signing class. Prior to the Ohio State game in the Sugar Bowl, Pinckney played 231 snaps in 11 games this year. He registered 22 tackles. Pinckney entered 2020 having recorded 71 tackles (10.5 for loss), 2.0 sacks, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries in 857 snaps over 43 career games (13 starts).
The 6-1 and 300 lb defensive tackle played in 55 games and registered over 1,100 snaps for the Clemson Tigers over the last four years. He ends his time with Clemson with 81 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Pinckney was named third-team All-ACC in 2019 and invited the the East-West Shrine Bowl following his 2020 campaign, but wants one more years to boost his stock before heading off to the NFL and he'll be doing that at Minnesota. Pinckney was also a captain for Clemson in their most recent game against Ohio State.
Minnesota defensive tackle rotation for 2021 is going to loaded with experience and upperclassmen.
- Nyles Pinckney (55 career games and 1,166 total snaps)
- Val Martin (fifth-year senior with 500+ total snaps)
- Micah Dew-Treadway (seventh (!!) year senior with 900+ total snaps)
- Keonte Schad (fifth-year senior with 300+ total snaps)
Plus, Rashad Cheney and De'Angelo Carter will still only be redshirt freshmen for 2021 . All four players mentioned above will be gone for 2022, so while I expect all six guys to rotate in some capacity, it allows Cheney and Carter one more off-season before becoming the full-time guys in 2022. Minnesota also had upperclassmean Noah Hickcox transfer out, and with Jamaal Teague also opting out for 2019, there's no word if he'll return as well, so taking Pinckney makes a lot of sense.
This also allows freshmen defensive linemen MJ Anderson, Logan Richter, Deven Eastern, Gage Keys, Jacob Schuster and Luther McCoy to mature in the weight room before being asked to really contribute in 2022.
- NC State DT transfer Val Martin
NC State senior defensive tackle
Val Martin entered the NCAA Transfer Portal two weeks ago with a year of eligibility left to play at his new school, and he's decided on a new destination in the Big Ten with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Martin will be on scholarship at Minnesota in 2021 and will enroll with the Gophers in January.
In three seasons with the Wolfpack, Martin recorded 29 total tackles, seven of which were solo and one forced fumble. This season, Martin had 12 total tackles, three of which were solo. Martin was a three-star prospect coming out of Iowa Western Community College in the 2018 recruiting class. In addition to NC State, his one season in junior college earned Martin scholarship offers from Power Five schools in Washington State and West Virginia.
- Defensive lineman Deven Eastern
One of Minnesota's earliest commitments came from Shakopee defensive lineman Deven Eastern who committed to the Gophers shortly after National Signing Day last year. Eastern is without question one of the highest ceiling players in the Gophers 2021 class as he's already 6-6 and 280 lbs.
Midwest 247Sports analyst
Allen Trieu had this to say about Eastern's abilities and why 247 recently bumped him into the top247 rankings.
"Eastern has great size at 6-foot-6, 280 pounds and the film from this season shows that he can still move at that size, 15 pounds heavier than on his junior tape. Eastern gets off the football well for a player of that size and shows he can pursue and run down plays that go away from him. With big guys, flexibility and bend is important and can get pad level at his height.
His schedule allows us to see him against some good teams and teams with big offensive lines. Watching him against some of the better teams on that schedule gave us further confidence in that move. We have him as a strongside defensive end, but he can also play the three-tech. It will be interesting to see the different places he lines up because he looks big and versatile enough to move around."
- Graduate transfer linebacker Jack Gibbens
It's been a whirlwind recruiting ride between Minnesota and Abilene Christian linebacker Jack Gibbens. The former FCS linebacker put his name into the NCAA transfer portal in late November after ending his four year career with 258 career tackles, including 22 for loss. The Gophers moved quickly after discovering Gibbens and that resulted in a scholarship commitment for 2021 within 48 hours of their first conversation.
This is what Gibbens told me about how that recruitment went with Minnesota.
"It definitely moved fast and was pretty crazy, but that's kind of the nature of the situation I was in having to make a decision quickly. I first talked to defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, but it was head coach PJ Fleck who offered me. It was just a great fit for them and me, as far as what they do defensively and the culture they have there. I played in a similar scheme at Abilene Christian and think I fit what they are all about from a culture perspective. Minnesota was the right opportunity and fit that I was looking for when I entered the portal. There was really no reason to wait because this is what I was looking for."
- Linebacker Devon Williams
This is what
PJ Fleck had to say about Williams on December's National Signing Day.
"Devon Williams from Dublin Coffman High School in Ohio where his Mom and Dad are Jessica and G. He's a mid-year linebacker, which was going to be a focus for us. We needed to be able to get more depth at linebacker, and not only get more depth, we had to be able to be able to continue to create that competition as we continue to bring more players in. He flipped from an SEC school and he's never visited. I give all these kids a lot of credit and all these young people a lot of credit for never visiting and still committed to a place that you haven't seen.
Think about how hard that is, and then we still signed the historic class we did with a lower number than most years. That tells you how wonderful the class this is again, but Devon is the sixth highest ranked linebacker to ever sign here."
Midwest 247Sports analyst
Allen Trieu had this to say about Williams.
"Average height and weight for the position. Not a guy who wows with the eye-test, but does stand out on tape. Makes plays in every phase of the game. Can rush off the edge with his quickness. Is not the biggest guy, but plays physically. Will take on blocks and runs through contact as a tackler. Very comfortable in coverage and has good hands and ball skills. Also does very well on special teams. Fluid athlete with a head for the game. Size wise and style wise he likely projects as a college WILL. Ability to be an every down game has him comfortably projected as a difference maker at the Power 5 level."
- Cornerback Justin Walley
The last early enrollee is also one of the most talented in Mississippi corner Justin Walley. Both Ole Miss and Mississippi State (where his brother goes) have been trying to secure his commitment since the spring, but Walley committed to the Golden Gophers over the summer and he's on track to stick with that commitment and make it official Wednesday.
Here's what 247Sports analyst
Allen Trieu wrote after watching his film.
"The analytics on Walley are good. He is a track guy whose times as a 10th grader (11.55 100-meter) were not blazing but not bad. It is unfortunate we did not get to see what he would have run this spring. I see him listed at 4.54 in the forty in places, but that is not a verified time. He has been a productive player on both defense and special teams, where he has a penchant for blocking kicks. He blocked a field goal and two punts as a junior, and had seven offensive touchdowns and averaged over 13 yards a carry, and did well as a return man in addition to what he did defensively, which was good enough to earn him District Defensive Player of the Year honors.
In short, he makes a lot of plays. He shows twitch and ball skills and the clips of him doing 1-1s above show his abilities in man to man a little more and how he can match-up on bigger receivers. He is physical both as a runner and in coverage. To add to it, he is a 3.2 student and comes from an athletic family with older brother Jaden at Mississippi State. He is a player who has done well in every phase of the game and there is a lot to like about this pick-up for the Gophers, and that is without considering they went into Mississippi and got a kid it sounds like both in-state schools wanted."
Walley was named Mr. Football in Mississippi for 6A (highest class) football as a senior as he did it all for his high school. On offense, he totaled 1,005 rushing yards with 19 rushing scores on nearly 9.5 yards per carry. On defense, he totaled 55 tackles with five passes defended and two interceptions.
- PWO punter transfer from Louisiana-Monroe in Daniel Sparks
After the Gophers finished dead-last in the Big Ten in yards per punt for the second straight season, it's easy to see why head coach PJ Fleck would want to add in more competition to the specialist room. And Minnesota earned a preferred walk-on commitment Louisiana-Monroe transfer punter Daniel Sparks, who just announced for Minnesota. The true freshman punter in 2020 finished second in the Sun Belt in yards per punt at 44.6 yards, including six punts of 50+ yards. Reminder that Minnesota last season averaged 36.2 yards per punt and had zero punts over 50 yards.
Here's what Sparks had to say about why Minnesota is the place he wants to continue his career as a student-athlete.
"Special Teams coordinator Rob Wenger first texted me on December 30th and he told me he wanted to bring in a guy to compete and get better everyday," Sparks said to 247Sports. "Coach Wenger just told me that he believes I have a lot of potential and that he knows I had a few ups and downs of my freshman season and he loves how I dug in and bounced back. So that's when they offered me a preferred walk-on opportunity there, and I took it."
WHO CAN PROVIDE THE BIGGEST INSTANT IMPACT FOR MINNESOTA IN 2020?
The three positions that stand out to me for 2021 considering the majority of the team is expected to return as 2020 didn't count against a year of eligibility are wide receiver, linebacker and cornerback where someone from this class could come in and help immediately. But off the bat, we have to start with the transfers.
Dylan Wright's arrival puts him as the tallest and longest wide receiver in that room, but can Simon refine his game enough to where he's helping this team immediately in 2021? Karter Shaw's arrival, plus getting Faalele and Dunlap back has Minnesota's offensive line as talented and as deep as I've seen in my decade covering this team. Pinckney and Martin will provide immediate depth and potential starting ability. They'll make sure that Minnesota's DT room will have competition every day and folks shouldn't get tired. Gibbens will be able to challenge for time immediately at linebacker where Sori-Marin and other linebackers need to be challenged every day, and Sparks should help make sure that the punting game isn't mediocre for a third straight season.
From the high school side of things, Minnesota has four wide receiver commits in Georgia's Lemeke Brockington (his highlights are above), Texas' Brady Boyd and Dylan McGill plus Illinois' Dino Kaliakmanis. With no Rashod Bateman for 2021 and seemingly only Chris Autman-Bell as the lone receiver you can write in with pen for Minnesota's 2021 wide receiver rotation, there's going to be plenty of opportunity there. Also remember that Brockington, Boyd and McGill will be early enrollee's so they'll be here in January for winter workouts and then spring ball.
I'm the most bullish on Lemeke Brockington and Brady Boyd from the four to make an immediate impact. Both have the speed to take the top of the defense early in their career and considering Bateman was really good at that, I wouldn't be surprised to see either make waves sooner than later.
If you're reading this, you likely know that Minnesota has struggled at linebacker this fall without Kamal Martin and Thomas Barber. The football staff is also well-aware of that fact and Joe Rossi is addressing it here in the short-term by taking a transfer linebacker with a lot of experience in Abilene Christian's Jack Gibbens. Because I've received this question plenty from the fine folks on GopherIllustrated, Abilene Christian is NOT a Junior College. It's an FCS level University down in Texas. FCS Football or D1-AA, aka what North Dakota State wins every year.
Gibbens will be here in January and he's expected to provide much needed competition for linebacker Mariano Sori-Marin at the Mike linebacker spot. He's got over 200 collegiate tackles and he's played a lot of football, but he's a physical linebacker in the box that has shown that he can shed blocks. That's what Minnesota needs. Plus, the Gophers will get back linebacker Braelen Oliver for spring ball and after playing in 2019 and missing this 2020 season with an ACL tear. Expectations are high for Oliver in 2021 at the Will linebacker spot.
I would also say cornerback because we'll see how many of Minnesota's elder corners come back for another year as Coney Durr, Phillip Howard and Justus Harris are all seniors and Benjamin St-Juste is also getting up there in years of experience and has a degree already. Either in 2021 or 2022, Minnesota's corner room is going to experience a significant amount of change, but luckily for the Gophers, they've addressed it in this class.
You have four-star corner Steven Ortiz who turned down the entire PAC-12 and some Big Ten and ACC schools. He's expected to compete early on at the nickel corner spot. Plus you have Mississippi's Justin Walley who is likely going to be the most "raw" technique wise of the three, but he's got a high ceiling if things develop.
Both guys are going to need to be ready to play as early as 10 months from now.
TRENDING MINNESOTA'S ROSTER CONSTRUCTION
In this section, our GopherIllustrated team is taking a look at a number of metrics and key indicators that highlight the best back-to-back-to-back recruiting efforts in the internet recruiting era (2000 on).
Top 35 Class
Coach Fleck and the Gophers currently head into the second National Signing Day (NSD) with the No. 35 ranked class in the country according to 247Sports Composite --and No. 29 via 247Sports own rating metric.
The first four full classes to-date under Coach Fleck and his staff are now statistically back-to-back-to-back-to-back the strongest for the University of Minnesota in the internet recruiting era, and depending which metric, position grouping or overall team score you utilize, it’s either No. 1, No. 2 or No. 3 position class at Minnesota in the last decade.
The below boxplot is a comparison for more detail and visualization by class over the last ten years, shortly after 247Sports entered the recruiting world.
The center box represents the mid-50th %ile of the Gophers class, while the top line of the box is your top 75th %ile and the bottom line of the box is the 25th %ile. The lines extending above and below are to call out the class outliers for each class cycle. Lastly, the red lines represent the class score from 247Sports Class Calculator tool.
Of course we all see the higher rankings and the overall higher Composite score; but an analysis of this nature helps visualize and highlight keys where the roster is improving through recruiting.
An area of focus for example is improving the immediate depth. I’d highlight that the bottom 25th %ile, or the floor of each class, which has risen significantly in the last three cycles.
This bottom 25th %ile for the last three classes is generally the ceiling, or the 75%ile, in every previous class since 2010.
The 2021 classes base is the ceiling in most previous classes at Minnesota. The 25th %ile in 2021 is above the 75th %ile in every class previous to 2018 respectively.
(Photo: 247Sports)
OFFENSIVE POSITIONAL BREAKDOWN
Extending the analysis to the positional level, let’s break down where the staff is finding the most success this cycle starting on the offensive side of the ball using our favorite heat grid tool (red highs, blue lows). Again, we’re using 2010 as the starting point, which is when 247Sports entered the recruiting industry.
Coach Fleck and the Minnesota staff hit new highs with this class offensively, hitting player/positional highs over the last decade at QB, TE and OL, as well as the overall Offense avg high. The 2018, 2019 and 2020 classes overall are close second, third and fourth to the 2021 offensive class.
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Below are a couple additional call-outs regarding this 2021 offensive class.
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Athan Kaliakmanis ranks as the top-quarterback that Minnesota has signed in the 247Sports era. He ranks fourth all-time in the Internet era behind guys like
MarQueis Gray and
Moses Alipate in the 247Composite for quarterbacks.
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Bucky Irving ranks as the second-highest running back commit for Minnesota in the Internet era. 2020 running back signee
Ky Thomas ranks third all-time and only Washburn legend
Jeff Jones ranks above them.
- Minnesota's wide receiver class of
Lemeke Brockington,
Brady Boyd, Dylan McGill and
Dino Kaliakmanis ranks third in the 247Sports era for the highest average at .8606.
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Jameson Geers ranks as Minnesota's top-rated tight end in the last decade and he ranks second all-time in the Internet Era behind
Ra'Shede Hageman who was ranked as a tight end, but later changed to defensive tackle before becoming a second-round draft pick of the Atlanta Falcons.
- Minnesota's offensive line class of
Cameron James,
Logan Purcell and
Saia Mapakaitolo ranks first in per recruit average in the 247Sports era just ahead of the 2019 class.
- Overall, this recruiting class on offense ranks as the top-rated offensive class per recruit for Minnesota in the 247Sports era.
(Photo: 247Sports)
DEFENSIVE POSITIONAL BREAKDOWN
On defense, Coach Fleck and the staff changed their best as they followed up last cycle’s second-highest defensive high by beating out the 2019 recruiting class with Minnesota's best defensive class in the 247Sports era.
Defensive line was an area the staff hit big home runs in, landing the deepest class (strongest overall via median) over the last decade.
- Shakopee's
Deven Eastern ranks as second-highest defensive line commit for Minnesota all-time (behind only 2022 DL commit
Trey Bixby).
Jacob Schuster and
Austin Booker rank 10th and 11th respectively and then
Luther McCoy comes in at #24 all-time for defensive line recruits. Four in the top-25 is a great step forward in the trenches.
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Devon Williams ranks sixth all-time for Minnesota linebacker recruits with a .8709 composite rating.
The defensive backs are ranked as the best class that a Gopher Football team will have signed with an average rating of .8713.
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Steven Ortiz ranks as the fifth-highest rated defensive back in his own right to sign with the Gophers, with
Justin Walley coming in at 11th and
Darius Green in 17th. Four defensive backs who all rank in the top-20.
- Whether you look at median or average, this is the top-rated defensive class for Minnesota.
(Photo: 247Sports)
Overall, the No. 35 Composite ranking would be a new high in the last decade. The current rating of No. 29 via 247Sports own rating however ranks higher than that Composite mark, though we should note is technically the strongest class under the site’s own evaluation which didn’t exist pre-2010 (Composite has been set to look back via industry ratings).
The 87.83 average rating on 247Sports is the highest for a Minnesota class in the 247Sports era.
ADDITIONAL CLASS OF 2021 NOTE
- 88.9% of the current 18 2021 commits rate at or above the Gophers’ own 247Sports Composite five-year run rate. The 2018 class holds the current high of 92.0% of the class rating at or above the U’s own five-year run rate and 2019 hit a rate of 90.5%.
When Coach Fleck was hired in Jan. 2017, the rate of the class he took over was just 40% at the time. It’s important to note that as the roster continues to improve, the five-year run rate will increase (similar in nature to 247Sports Team Talent score) and this rate will be more and more of a challenge to hit, but it highlights the strong recruiting rate early for Coach Fleck and his staff.
It's also worth noting that the previous high (pre-Fleck) that Minnesota had hit for amount of class over the five-year run rate was 76.2%. Fleck and Co. have exceeded that mark with each of their first four full recruiting cycles.
This trending is shown in more detail in the below graph.
(Photo: 247Sports)
WHICH MINNESOTA COMMIT IS GOING TO BE THE HARDEST TO HOLD ON TO?
The one that was the toughest was their top-rated player in Omaha's Avante Dickerson, who the 247Crystal Ball has trending to Oregon after he visited there in January. I don't anticipate him signing with Minnesota.
This list would be longer, but most of the Gopher commits completely shut down their recruitment when they gave their verbal commitment, so here's little rundown of who the Gophers realistically beat out at the time when these recruits committed.
- Four-star quarterback
Athan Kaliakmanis - Iowa, Tennessee and Purdue
- Four-star corner
Steven Ortiz - Washington, Oregon and Penn State
- Four-star running back
Bucky Irving - Michigan, TCU, Nebraska and Purdue
- Four-star defensive lineman
Deven Eastern - Nebraska and Missouri
- Four-star defensive tackle
Jacob Schuster - BYU, Stanford, Washington and Cal
- Four-star offensive tackle
Cameron James - Indiana, Purdue, Kentucky and Michigan State
- Wide receiver
Lemeke Brockington - Miami (Fla.), Tennessee and South Carolina
- Offensive lineman
Saia Mapakaitolo - USC, UCLA and BYU
- Linebacker
Devon Williams - Kentucky and West Virginia
- Defensive end
Austin Booker - Iowa, Indiana, Notre Dame and Penn State
- Tight end
Jameson Geers - Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois
- Corner
Justin Walley - Ole Miss and Mississippi State
- Wide receiver
Brady Boyd - Oklahoma State and Texas Tech
- Safety
Darius Green - Indiana, Georgia Tech and Maryland
- Defensive tackle
Luther McCoy - Baylor, Tennessee and Georgia Tech
The fights that the Minnesota coaching staff would have to take; they've already won.
WHERE DOES MINNESOTA CURRENTLY SIT IN THE 247SPORTS TEAM RECRUITING RANKINGS?
Minnesota currently has the
#29 rated class overall, and a top-30 class would be the first for Minnesota in the 247Sports/247SportsComposite era. A step in the right direction. We also should look at where the Gophers rank in the Big Ten West recruiting ranks, which we at 247Sports currently have them third, but here's a deeper look.
- Wisconsin
Class score: 243.47
Average ranking per recruit: 89.24
- Iowa
Class score: 230.53
Average ranking per recruit: 88.89
- Minnesota
Class score: 210.64
Average ranking per recruit: 87.83
Iowa and Wisconsin are traditionally the two teams as the top of the division and it's been that way for largely a decade. They're both now reaping the benefits of consistent winning as the two schools are on track to set their best recruiting classes of the internet era, just as Minnesota is.
- Minnesota's on track to have their best star ranking per recruit average with "87.83" of the 247Sports era.
81COMMENTS
- Minnesota also signed six 247 four-stars, which is the most of the Internet era for a Gopher Football team.
I saw this list from ESPN's Bill Connelly, and I believe it's spot on as far as what the three most-important areas in college football are:
1) Talent Acquisition - Recruiting
2) Talent Development - Develop the talent
3) Talent Deployment - Put them in a position to be successful
For Minnesota specifically here. PJ Fleck and his staff have elevated their recruiting from a tier (or two) below the Wisconsin's and the Iowa's, to now they're knocking on that door. All three schools are going to likely sign their best recruiting classes in the 247Sports era. But for Minnesota in this 2021 class, that's a check mark in the most important box of just getting the talent signed and on campus. Now for Fleck and staff, the challenge is going to be continuing to "change their best". If you want to win the Big Ten West, you have to continue to out-recruit the class you just signed. And for this 2021 recruiting classes' purpose they did, but now they got to do it again in 2022, especially with Iowa and Wisconsin recruiting better than they ever have.
So for PJ Fleck and staff, it's time to prove again that once the talent is here, you can turn that into all-Big Ten players and NFL draft picks, which coincidentally coincides with wins on the field. That's how you get to 10 wins for the first time in 114 years like they did in 2019, and those 11 wins last year helped immensely produce this 2021 class.
I'm sure you're tired of scrolling, so here's where I'll end it. The Gopher Football 2021 recruiting class was damn good.
Athan Kaliakmanis, Steven Ortiz and Mar'Keise Irving all rank in the t
op-25 commits/signees for Minnesota all-time in the Internet era (via the 247Composite). If you add in Deven Eastern and Cameron James, that's five 2021 recruits in the top-5o Internet era for Minnesota.
If you add in Austin Booker, Jameson Geers, Lemeke Brockington, Jacob Schuster and Devon Williams, that's 10 2021 commits that rank in the top-75 for Minnesota signees in the Internet Era.
That's a step in the right direction for the Gopher Football staff.
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