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

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MN Daily: Talented 2021 recruiting class has Gophers optimistic about football program's future

Gophers football reached a level of success in 2019 that the program had not experienced in generations. Minnesota had the best season since 1904, ended the season ranked in the AP Top 10 for the first time since 1962 and capped the year with its first New Year's Day Bowl victory in 59 years.

Throughout the offseason, head coach P.J. Fleck and his staff have worked hard to make sure the Gophers will not have to wait decades before they reach those heights again. Over the past few weeks, they have taken an important step towards bolstering Minnesota's future, signing multiple highly regarded recruits.

"It's hard to win 10-plus games, and it's not going to happen every year," Fleck said. "But when you can show the evidence that it is going to happen at some point while you are in school, you are going to have a year like that, I think [recruits] really get excited about that."

According to 247Sports' rankings, the Gophers' 2021 class is among college football's best, currently sitting at No. 7 in the nation, third in the Big Ten behind Ohio State and Iowa. As of this time, Minnesota is ranked ahead of multiple traditional powerhouse programs, including Notre Dame, Michigan and defending National Champions, LSU.

Since late March, the team has added four to its 2021 class. Each of those four players rank among the program's top-25 highest rated recruits since 247Sports established its rankings.

"For us, it has been a very successful April," Fleck said. "It is remarkable what our staff is accomplishing."


Go Gophers!!
 



BleedGopher said:

Go Gophers!!
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Anyone have any insight on this one? Seems a little odd to come in this late on such a highly rated kid with a really impressive offer list. Have to think the staff believes we have a shot at him or they wouldn't have offered.
 




Well, considering the two most recent new names posted on this thread and the Davon Townley offer last week, it's clear we are making a strong push for DEs now.

Guessing with everyone else we have committed now, the rest of the focus will be on DEs and OL. (Obviously we have a number of pending LBs we have been targeting for a bit as well)
 

tyecko said:
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.
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I agree, it's amazing to see. On an individual level, ratings don't mean much. However...
  • In the 2015 class, Green's composite rating would have been tied for #1 out of 24 (exact same as Dior Johnson).
  • In the big Empire Class of 2016, it would have been 5th out of 21 (just above Kamal Martin).
  • In last year's class, it would have been 14th out of 24.
  • This year thus far, it's 14th out of 15.
 



WriterGoph said:
Well, considering the two most recent new names posted on this thread and the Davon Townley offer last week, it's clear we are making a strong push for DEs now.

Guessing with everyone else we have committed now, the rest of the focus will be on DEs and OL. (Obviously we have a number of pending LBs we have been targeting for a bit as well)
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I agree, but don't forget about RB....Irving is the only one we are warm on. We have strong RB talent on the roster currently, but can see us having one in this class.
 


Cedar Rapids Gopher said:
The kid at speed. That is the one thing you really can't teach.
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Not to prolong my critiques because it’s exciting whenever we get a commit but you don’t see strong safeties with his kind of speed for a reason. Agility is far more important than straight line speed in this sport.
 






GopherNuts said:
Not to prolong my critiques because it’s exciting whenever we get a commit but you don’t see strong safeties with his kind of speed for a reason. Agility is far more important than straight line speed in this sport.
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Players come in all shapes and sizes...I trust that the coaches have a plan to get the most of this young man.
 

Green basically played OLB in the game I watched. Could be similar to Jacob Huff once he packs on 20 pounds.
 
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GopherinPhilly said:
Players come in all shapes and sizes...I trust that the coaches have a plan to get the most of this young man.
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Thankfully our recruits' attributes are not fixed entities when they come out of high school. Players can get bigger, stronger, faster, smarter, more agile, etc.
 


GopherGuy8 said:
How many more prospects at each position does everone see us getting?
My prediction:
1-2 more on the DL
1-2 more at Linebacker
1 at RB
2-3 more at OL
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Really good diverse class if you ask me. Hopefully next year we can focus on special teams more
 

GopherGuy8 said:
How many more prospects at each position does everone see us getting?
My prediction:
1-2 more on the DL
1-2 more at Linebacker
1 at RB
2-3 more at OL
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The 2 linebackers that seem to be the top targets kind of seem like 50/50 shots at landing them. Hood and Buddins. Not sure what other guys they are looking at right now.
 

btowngopher said:
Probably means Perry to Louisville is happening. Green doesn't have the height of Perry, but certainly looks like he has some good cover skills and is a willing tackler.
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This post isn’t picking on you at all, just a question of curiosity. Where does the phrase “willing tackler” come from. I hear it a lot. Is there such a thing as an “unwilling tackler?”
 


Jeshurun said:
This post isn’t picking on you at all, just a question of curiosity. Where does the phrase “willing tackler” come from. I hear it a lot. Is there such a thing as an “unwilling tackler?”
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You see this especially with Defensive Backs. There are cover guys who seem reluctant to play physical and go make a tackle and then you see others that are clearly ok with contact and want to go make the play. Calling a DB a willing tackler to me means that they are someone who won't shy away from contact and who will go make the play.
 

MNVCGUY said:
You see this especially with Defensive Backs. There are cover guys who seem reluctant to play physical and go make a tackle and then you see others that are clearly ok with contact and want to go make the play. Calling a DB a willing tackler to me means that they are someone who won't shy away from contact and who will go make the play.
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I get the concept. I’ve just never personally been watching or playing football and identified someone as an unwilling tackler. But my football savvy is pretty limited so it must be something subtle I’m not picking up on. I’ve definitely notice the opposite where some guys seem to love hitting hard. Duke McGhee comes to mind.
 

Jeshurun said:
I get the concept. I’ve just never personally been watching or playing football and identified someone as an unwilling tackler. But my football savvy is pretty limited so it must be something subtle I’m not picking up on. I’ve definitely notice the opposite where some guys seem to love hitting hard. Duke McGhee comes to mind.
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Deion Sanders is kind of the classic example. Maybe unwilling is a bad word, how about unenthusiastic?
 





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