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

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The part in bold really sums up the message Fleck tries to get across all the time. He has made it clear from day 1 that he is not for everyone. But in recruiting, he doesn't need everyone, he just needs to find 25 solid football players who will buy in 100% to his vision for the program. When you have that kind of investment and buy in you can do amazing things.

Well said. Every coach wants recruits that have totally bought into the system/culture/insert applicable noun. Fleck certainly has a different flavor to what he's selling, but I think the supposedly "scary" higher standards are going to attract recruits who really embrace the challenges those standards imply.
 

Well said. Every coach wants recruits that have totally bought into the system/culture/insert applicable noun. Fleck certainly has a different flavor to what he's selling, but I think the supposedly "scary" higher standards are going to attract recruits who really embrace the challenges those standards imply.
Spot On! Coach Fleck knows the young men that will make a Championship Team!
 

Fleck's approach might be "scaring a lot of kids away" but it looks like it is working bigtime in his favor. The kids that don't think they can live up to higher expectations may very well be precisely the kids who will be the most trouble, too.
The flip side of some great recruiting classes at schools is often high attrition among top candidates within a year or two (e.g., recent Nebraska transfers), some no doubt because they weren’t committed to the “student” part or to the rigors of intellectual preparation for games. Others perhaps weren’t ready for the behavioral norms at college. I believe Fleck’s approach, though very demanding right up front, helps reduce attrition among top athletes later. He lets recruits know of his high personal, academic and spiritual expectations right up front—and that he means it. Those who come to the U understand, and they AND THEIR FAMILIES buy in. This creates greater bonding at multiple levels, and, hopefully, less attrition among highly-rated recruits. Fleck’s approach is good for the U from a social and reputational perspective, but it is also a program-sustaining approach in the long run. It preserves much of the perceived benefit of good recruiting classes. We certainly will lose out on some great athletes because of Fleck’s demanding approach, but the ones we get come here with unquestioned commitment and strengthen the fiber of the whole team. I’m good with that.
 
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The thing that is amazing, and many other people have said also, is the fact that Minnesota is hands down the best offer on his list. That wasn't true in years past. He saw an opportunity to be part of something special, and jumped. Awesome to see.
 

The thing that is amazing, and many other people have said also, is the fact that Minnesota is hands down the best offer on his list. That wasn't true in years past. He saw an opportunity to be part of something special, and jumped. Awesome to see.
It's great, all these guys have multiple P5 offers and it's only May. Massive improvement over beating out only MAC schools for guys closer to signing day.
 





I know rankings and stars can be meaningless, but I can't help but get disappointed lately when we fill a scholarship slot with a guy who's not ranked top 500-600. Good frustration to have I suppose! PJ has definitely elevated the recruiting expectations in short order.
 

Green will get ranked. 247 already has given him a 87, which is high 3 star.
 

I know rankings and stars can be meaningless, but I can't help but get disappointed lately when we fill a scholarship slot with a guy who's not ranked top 500-600. Good frustration to have I suppose! PJ has definitely elevated the recruiting expectations in short order.
He's a top 50 safety, nothing to be disappointed about.
 



I know rankings and stars can be meaningless, but I can't help but get disappointed lately when we fill a scholarship slot with a guy who's not ranked top 500-600. Good frustration to have I suppose! PJ has definitely elevated the recruiting expectations in short order.

He hasn't been rated by the other services
 

Megan chimes in:

Georgia safety Darius Green committed to the Gophers on Wednesday.

He announced his decision on Twitter, becoming the 10th player to choose the Gophers during the coronavirus pandemic, when recruiting travel is prohibited.

Green is a 6-foot, 190-pound Covington, Ga., native out of Newton High School. He is a three-star recruit, per 247Sports.com, and held offers from programs such as Indiana, Maryland and Georgia Tech.
This puts the Gophers 2021 class at 15 members. 247Sports.com ranks it as the ninth-best class in the nation and third in the Big Ten.


Go Gophers!!
 

I know rankings and stars can be meaningless, but I can't help but get disappointed lately when we fill a scholarship slot with a guy who's not ranked top 500-600. Good frustration to have I suppose! PJ has definitely elevated the recruiting expectations in short order.

While I kind of get where you are coming from and it is amazing how far we have come in recruiting in such a short time, I think you have to make sure you get all the info about a prospect before making any sort of judgement.

As has been pointed out with Green, he doesn't have a composite ranking yet but he is a 247 - 87 which is a high 3 star and would be one of the higher rated 3 stars in our current class.

This is very different then some low ranked 2* or 0* guy with no power 5 offers who you hope can be a diamond in the rough that everyone else just missed on. Our days of going after a decent number of those guys seem to be in the rear view mirror at this point.
 

I know rankings and stars can be meaningless, but I can't help but get disappointed lately when we fill a scholarship slot with a guy who's not ranked top 500-600. Good frustration to have I suppose! PJ has definitely elevated the recruiting expectations in short order.
I'm delighted! I've been mentioning him for several weeks. He is the 48th ranked player in Georgia, which should make him comparable to Perry. Steven Ortiz has been recruiting him, which I regard as a plus. I much prefer adding an experienced safety instead of an "athlete" who may, or may not, belong at safety.
 

Jaydon Hood got a crystal ball to Michigan yesterday. Only 1 crystal ball so far, but not the news we were hoping for.
 


Jaydon Hood got a crystal ball to Michigan yesterday. Only 1 crystal ball so far, but not the news we were hoping for.
Yeah was really hoping he’d come here. Guessing he and Buddin are are favored to go elsewhere at this point. But just as I mentioned with Perry at safety, we do already have decent depth at LB.
 

Yeah was really hoping he’d come here. Guessing he and Buddin are are favored to go elsewhere at this point. But just as I mentioned with Perry at safety, we do already have decent depth at LB.

If Hood ends up at Michigan though, does that potentially mean Buddin would be less likely to go there?
 

If Hood ends up at Michigan though, does that potentially mean Buddin would be less likely to go there?
Not sure, looks like they have CB commit who is Hoods teammate. They also have this inside linebacker, who seems oddly unheralded for a Michigan recruit, https://247sports.com/player/casey-phinney-46076596/ number 9 kid from Massachusetts, didn't even have a BC offer. Interesting note, Michigan has 3 commits from Massachusetts.
 

Jaydon Hood got a crystal ball to Michigan yesterday. Only 1 crystal ball so far, but not the news we were hoping for.
The crystal ball is from a michigan writer so I don't think it means much until someone like Allen Trieu or Steve Wiltfong puts in a prediction.
 

Number of recruits in each class who's overall ranking is 1,000 or more.

2015 Class - 18
2016 Class - 11
2017 Class - 19
2018 Class - 9
2019 Class - 8
2020 Class - 10
2021 Class - 1
 

Some of my judgement may be clouded by how high I am on Benjamin Perry but I’m a little surprised Green was a take after watching his junior year hudl clips. There’s obviously a lot that goes into evaluating a prospect and he will pass the Height-Weight-Speed test but I wasn’t overly impressed by what I saw. He clearly has the straight line speed as he showed off on kickoff coverage but seems a little stiff when asked to cover receivers and change direction on a dime...luckily he has the closing speed to get back in the play but could see him struggle to stay with Big Ten RBs and some of the more athletic TEs he’ll be asked to cover. If he can clean up his tackling technique he should be solid against the run as he closes on the ball carrier well but there’s a lot of arm tackles in there. Not the most physical box safety either...seems to lack awareness at times and gets caught on blockers.



This is a staff of developers so they’ll take kids with great athletic traits and try to mold them but Green looks a real project to me which is reflected in the lack of quality P5 interest. We’ve seen the staff reach on some kids to then process them later in the cycle for better prospects that came available, not saying that will happen here but it’s a possibility...it’ll be interesting to see what he looks like as a senior.
 
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Recruiting is a turkey shoot for the most part. That is where good talent evaluation comes into play which make it more difficult under the CoVID19 environment. There are of obvious can't miss talent.

Look at this year's draft. There are a few players who are low three stars that were drafted in the 1st and second rounds. It happens every year. Some just plain developed late. Others felt spurned and wanted to prove everyone wrong, etc...
 

Some of my judgement may be clouded by how high I am on Benjamin Perry but I’m a little surprised Green was a take after watching his junior year hudl clips. There’s obviously a lot that goes into evaluating a prospect and he will pass the Height-Weight-Speed test but I wasn’t overly impressed by what I saw. He clearly has the straight line speed as he showed off on kickoff coverage but seems a little stiff when asked to cover receivers and change direction on a dime...luckily he has the closing speed to get back in the play but could see him struggle to stay with Big Ten RBs and some of the more athletic TEs he’ll be asked to cover. If he can clean up his tackling technique he should be solid against the run as he closes on the ball carrier well but there’s a lot of arm tackles in there. Not the most physical box safety either...seems to lack awareness at times and gets caught on blockers.



This is a staff of developers so they’ll take kids with great athletic traits and try to mold them but Green looks a real project to me which is reflected in the lack of quality P5 interest. We’ve seen the staff reach on some kids to then process them later in the cycle for better prospects that came available, not saying that will happen here but it’s a possibility...it’ll be interesting to see what he looks like as a senior.

With Howden likely cemented as a starter for the next two years and Nubin for three with Sapp and Dubar providing depth for multiple years as well this kid will have time to develop.
 

This is a staff of developers so they’ll take kids with great athletic traits and try to mold them but Green looks a real project to me which is reflected in the lack of quality P5 interest. We’ve seen the staff reach on some kids to then process them later in the cycle for better prospects that came available, not saying that will happen here but it’s a possibility...it’ll be interesting to see what he looks like as a senior.

He may not have much helmet school interest but he has offers from 5+ power 5 programs and 247 rates him as a high 3 star guy so I don't know that he qualifies as a massive reach or project.

When it is all said and done this kid will probably have a composite ranking that will put him in the top 1/3rd of this class and would have made him one of the highest rated prospects a lot of years prior to Fleck's arrival. I know our bar has shifted some in recruiting but I really don't feel like the staff is going out on a limb with this kid. If anything it may be more a case of getting in early before he blow up. There was a Georgia receiver that we did that with a couple years ago but his name escapes me now....if memory serves though he has been a pretty good player for us. :)
 

Some of my judgement may be clouded by how high I am on Benjamin Perry but I’m a little surprised Green was a take after watching his junior year hudl clips. There’s obviously a lot that goes into evaluating a prospect and he will pass the Height-Weight-Speed test but I wasn’t overly impressed by what I saw. He clearly has the straight line speed as he showed off on kickoff coverage but seems a little stiff when asked to cover receivers and change direction on a dime...luckily he has the closing speed to get back in the play but could see him struggle to stay with Big Ten RBs and some of the more athletic TEs he’ll be asked to cover. If he can clean up his tackling technique he should be solid against the run as he closes on the ball carrier well but there’s a lot of arm tackles in there. Not the most physical box safety either...seems to lack awareness at times and gets caught on blockers.



This is a staff of developers so they’ll take kids with great athletic traits and try to mold them but Green looks a real project to me which is reflected in the lack of quality P5 interest. We’ve seen the staff reach on some kids to then process them later in the cycle for better prospects that came available, not saying that will happen here but it’s a possibility...it’ll be interesting to see what he looks like as a senior.
The kid at speed. That is the one thing you really can't teach.
 

We’re going to have the speed in the secondary to compete with anyone for the next several years.

Smith 10.32
Green 10.61
Fleming 10.82
Dickerson 10.97

If Dickerson is the slowest of that group, I think we’ll be OK.
 

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