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

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Word said:
Fair post. Recruiting has definitely improved. It just hasn't improved as much as I expected based off everything Coyle and others said about how great of a recruiter PJ is.
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Every AD is going to try to sell people on their coaching hire. I don’t remember people in the industry hyping Fleck’s recruiting prowess as much as they hyped Brewster.
 

btowngopher said:
Every AD is going to try to sell people on their coaching hire. I don’t remember people in the industry hyping Fleck’s recruiting prowess as much as they hyped Brewster.
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And on top of that, Fleck has in fact lived up to the hype in recruiting. There are those that are getting hung up on the #37 class rank or the #8 in the Big Ten and ignoring the fact that this is perhaps the BEST class ever to sign at the U of M in the recruiting rankings era.

You don't just walk in the door and change recruiting overnight. It takes time, and Fleck is getting us in the conversation with recruits that wouldn't have even bothered to give us a second glance in the past. There is absolutely room for improvement on the recruiting front but good god, people need to look at this class and compare it to anything we signed before Fleck got here. The difference in the caliber of recruit is jaw dropping.

2021 is Fleck's 5th class (if you count 2017) - 4 (4*) recruits and an average of .8718
2015 is Kill's 5th class (if you count 2011) - 0 (4*) recruits and an average of .8314
2010 is Brewster's 4th and final class - 1 (4*) recruits and an average of .8371

In 2015 our #1 recruit was Dior Johnson with a rank of .8573. That same rank in 2021 would put him 15th in a class of 18 players.

I really don't know what some fans expect in regards to recruiting. But anyone that can't see the improvement and upward trajectory is just blind at this point.
 

People also need to look at the Big Ten since Fleck took over. I looked that the ratings of top 8 classes in the conference since 2017. Here is the average of the 8 top teams.

2017- 22.38
2018- 23.62
2019- 21.75
2020- 18.89
2021- 17.50

Fleck is recruiting better but so is the top half of the conference.
 

Just saw on gophersports that the transfer from Clemson is massive /s
 

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MNVCGUY said:
And on top of that, Fleck has in fact lived up to the hype in recruiting. There are those that are getting hung up on the #37 class rank or the #8 in the Big Ten and ignoring the fact that this is perhaps the BEST class ever to sign at the U of M in the recruiting rankings era.

You don't just walk in the door and change recruiting overnight. It takes time, and Fleck is getting us in the conversation with recruits that wouldn't have even bothered to give us a second glance in the past. There is absolutely room for improvement on the recruiting front but good god, people need to look at this class and compare it to anything we signed before Fleck got here. The difference in the caliber of recruit is jaw dropping.

2021 is Fleck's 5th class (if you count 2017) - 4 (4*) recruits and an average of .8718
2015 is Kill's 5th class (if you count 2011) - 0 (4*) recruits and an average of .8314
2010 is Brewster's 4th and final class - 1 (4*) recruits and an average of .8371

In 2015 our #1 recruit was Dior Johnson with a rank of .8573. That same rank in 2021 would put him 15th in a class of 18 players.

I really don't know what some fans expect in regards to recruiting. But anyone that can't see the improvement and upward trajectory is just blind at this point.
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I expected elite recruiting. It's better than before but not elite. I had high expectations for PJ.
 

It will be elite when we have had multiple top-25 finishes in the past decade. There's no amount of recruiting prowess that can overcome five decades of mediocrity in five years. But we're well on our way.
 


Word said:
I expected elite recruiting. It's better than before but not elite. I had high expectations for PJ.
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How do you define elite --- for example is Nebraska's recruiting elite because they are consistently top 25 --- is Wisconsin elite?
 



noamfromm said:
How do you define elite --- for example is Nebraska's recruiting elite because they are consistently top 25 --- is Wisconsin elite?
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For me it would be top 5. All that really matters is we win. But we were told by Coyle a main reason PJ was hired was for recruiting. And that recruiting rankings matter.
 

noamfromm said:
How do you define elite --- for example is Nebraska's recruiting elite because they are consistently top 25 --- is Wisconsin elite?
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I would love to know this as well. For those not ok with the level we are recruiting at right now, where do we need to get in order for you to see recruiting as a success. Best ever at the school and on an upward trajectory isn't good enough, so where is the line?
 

Word said:
For me it would be top 5. All that really matters is we win. But we were told by Coyle a main reason PJ was hired was for recruiting. And that recruiting rankings matter.
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Wow --- I hope that we can be national championship caliber in recruiting --- but its mind blowing to think that you any more than hoped that PJ would be in the highest echelon
 

Word said:
For me it would be top 5. All that really matters is we win. But we were told by Coyle a main reason PJ was hired was for recruiting. And that recruiting rankings matter.
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The only difference between our class and Nebraska's #5 class in the conference is 2 additional 3* recruits. They brought in 20 this cycle, we brought in 18. Stop getting hung up on the #8, our class stacks up very well with the vast majority of the conference.

Did Coyle flat out say recruiting rankings matter? Because he brought in Fleck to improve recruiting and he absolutely has done just that.
 



noamfromm said:
Wow --- I hope that we can be national championship caliber in recruiting --- but its mind blowing to think that you any more than hoped that PJ would be in the highest echelon
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I am pretty sure he meant top 5 in the Big Ten. If he meant top 5 overall that would be insane.
 



MNVCGUY said:
The only difference between our class and Nebraska's #5 class in the conference is 2 additional 3* recruits. They brought in 20 this cycle, we brought in 18. Stop getting hung up on the #8, our class stacks up very well with the vast majority of the conference.

Did Coyle flat out say recruiting rankings matter? Because he brought in Fleck to improve recruiting and he absolutely has done just that.
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Couldn't agree more.
 

Some guy said:
Nebraska shouldn’t own iowa
Minnesota shouldn’t own Illinois
Clemson shouldn’t own Tennessee
North Carolina shouldn’t own South Carolina
Alabama shouldn’t own Texas

But yeah I agree
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Nebraska...the land of corn....owns Hawaii.
 

MNVCGUY said:
The only difference between our class and Nebraska's #5 class in the conference is 2 additional 3* recruits. They brought in 20 this cycle, we brought in 18. Stop getting hung up on the #8, our class stacks up very well with the vast majority of the conference.

Did Coyle flat out say recruiting rankings matter? Because he brought in Fleck to improve recruiting and he absolutely has done just that.
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I'd like to believe that the difference between high 3-Stars and some 4-Stars are not as significant as one would think. THat is, if you are a team like the Gophers that recruit for fit. It is not a jumbled collection of 4-Stars that may not gel together. I could be wrong.
 

MNVCGUY said:
The only difference between our class and Nebraska's #5 class in the conference is 2 additional 3* recruits. They brought in 20 this cycle, we brought in 18. Stop getting hung up on the #8, our class stacks up very well with the vast majority of the conference.

Did Coyle flat out say recruiting rankings matter? Because he brought in Fleck to improve recruiting and he absolutely has done just that.
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I agree. Maryland was #4 in the B1G at an average rating of 87.37—with 23 commits. Gophers averaged 87.18, a negligible difference—but came in 8th because we had only 18 commits who counted in the ranking. This was because PJ and his coaches, after watching our run defense last year, deviated from the normal script and plugged in some highly experienced transfers to help us transition to all the young defensive talent we have on board. And they picked up a high 4* transfer WR along the way, too. None of these transfers count in our class ranking. Maryland “ranked” No. 4 in the B1G, but I think our class, in totality, is every bit as good as Maryland’s—and perhaps better, in terms of addressing immediate team needs.
 

hungan1 said:
I'd like to believe that the difference between high 3-Stars and some 4-Stars are not as significant as one would think. THat is, if you are a team like the Gophers that recruit for fit. It is not a jumbled collection of 4-Stars that may not gel together. I could be wrong.
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Jumbled collection of 4*s is what Nebraska has assembled lately. And half the 4* transfer out or check out within 18 months. PJ assembles his collection more thoughtfully, and for the most part holds onto them.
 


I said last year's class was the best I'd ever seen at Minnesota and now I can say that this year's class, on paper, looks better. Rome wasn't built in a day but it lasted 700 years. I'd take that now for Gopher football.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
I agree. Maryland was #4 in the B1G at an average rating of 87.37—with 23 commits. Gophers averaged 87.18, a negligible difference—but came in 8th because we had only 18 commits who counted in the ranking. This was because PJ and his coaches, after watching our run defense last year, deviated from the normal script and plugged in some highly experienced transfers to help us transition to all the young defensive talent we have on board. And they picked up a high 4* transfer WR along the way, too. None of these transfers count in our class ranking. Maryland “ranked” No. 4 in the B1G, but I think our class, in totality, is every bit as good as Maryland’s—and perhaps better, in terms of addressing immediate team needs.
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For the most part I think the majority of fans are very happy with this class and are not getting caught up in obsessing about the numbers. There really just seem to be a handful that can't get past that #8 team ranking and feel like this class is below average because of it.

The average recruit ranking is a far better metric for how to grade the classes. Although that is super subjective as well since the different sites can have very different opinions on players. By that metric:

Ohio State is at the top by a pretty wide margin
Michigan, Wisconsin and Penn State would make up the next tier
Minnesota, Iowa, Maryland, and Nebraska would be the next tier, just slightly behind the 2nd group.
Rutgers, Northwestern, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan State and Illinois would be the final tier. Not all that far behind the third group.

Hopefully over these next few years we find a way to bump up into that next tier of recruiting. But we 100% can compete in the West with classes like this one.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
I agree. Maryland was #4 in the B1G at an average rating of 87.37—with 23 commits. Gophers averaged 87.18, a negligible difference—but came in 8th because we had only 18 commits who counted in the ranking. This was because PJ and his coaches, after watching our run defense last year, deviated from the normal script and plugged in some highly experienced transfers to help us transition to all the young defensive talent we have on board. And they picked up a high 4* transfer WR along the way, too. None of these transfers count in our class ranking. Maryland “ranked” No. 4 in the B1G, but I think our class, in totality, is every bit as good as Maryland’s—and perhaps better, in terms of addressing immediate team needs.
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What matters is what is put out on the playing field for the Gophers next season. Rent-a-Shrek transfer will Pinckney pickle any opponent's OL. The few seasoned experienced spare tire transfers will intermixed with guys who have been in development at least the last couple of years.

Developmental players will play backup for experience while the new crop of recruits can redshirt. Some of the new recruit(s) may even challenge for a starting position if they are really good.

PJ Fleck will put the best product out while preserving as many red shirts as possible. The Transfer Portal is a godsend. At least in this Pandemic year.

We can look into next season with a renewed sense of hope and optimism. This with a little more comfort.
 
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MNVCGUY said:
The only difference between our class and Nebraska's #5 class in the conference is 2 additional 3* recruits. They brought in 20 this cycle, we brought in 18. Stop getting hung up on the #8, our class stacks up very well with the vast majority of the conference.

Did Coyle flat out say recruiting rankings matter? Because he brought in Fleck to improve recruiting and he absolutely has done just that.
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Yeah. I’d say recruiting ranking doesn’t really matter at all.
Like the difference between 40 and 20 is a bigger class by 3 kids.

What does matter is recruiting neighborhood.
And it is clear to me Minnesota is now recruiting in the same neighborhood as the second tier big ten schools.

If you’re in the same neighborhood that fit and development is going to determine who wins the neighborhood.
If you aren’t in the same neighborhood it is hard to overcome and win consistently with just fit and development
 


Some guy said:
Yeah. I’d say recruiting ranking doesn’t really matter at all.
Like the difference between 40 and 20 is a bigger class by 3 kids.

What does matter is recruiting neighborhood.
And it is clear to me Minnesota is now recruiting in the same neighborhood as the second tier big ten schools.

If you’re in the same neighborhood that fit and development is going to determine who wins the neighborhood.
If you aren’t in the same neighborhood it is hard to overcome and win consistently with just fit and development
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Yep and recruiting in that 2nd tier Big Ten level is right where we need to be. Going to be really tough for us to get to that top tier with the likes of Ohio State, however it shockingly doesn't feel as impossible as it used to.

Going to take time and would require a really nice run of success, but Fleck is proving you can get elite athletes to consider us in a way that has not been common around here under other coaches.
 

PJ Excited about Minnesota's "outstanding incoming recruiting class. In case this hasn't been posted:

bigten.org

Big Ten Conference

The official athletics website for Big Ten Conference
bigten.org bigten.org
 


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