Official 2022 Gophers Football Recruiting Thread: Links, Tweets, Videos, Rumors

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MplsGopher said:
I mean, that is true out in the Dakota sticks.

Sioux Falls (and Fargo) are nothing more than overgrown Maple Grove/Plymouth 's.
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They wish they were Maple Grove/Plymouth. I think they are more like a big Otsego.
 

GopherWeatherGuy said:
Because of where they're from, I think Knuth and Hoskins are very underrated in this class.
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No one knows with certainty if Knuth can make the leap and be a success, but he is right out of “central casting” for a QB. 6’4”, long legs, and can heave it. I’m no QB wonk/savant, and it looks like he’ll need to get the ball out a little quicker, to me. I have dreams of him (or any future QB), pull it in/tuck it - and sprint for 15-20+ yards when the D crashes down or bites.

Harrisburg is undefeated, beaten all 4 Sioux Falls teams, and 2 Rapid City teams. They scored 62 last week, and averaging over 44 pts/game.

Again, I hope.
 

spermophilus said:
No one knows with certainty if Knuth can make the leap and be a success, but he is right out of “central casting” for a QB. 6’4”, long legs, and can heave it. I’m no QB wonk/savant, and it looks like he’ll need to get the ball out a little quicker, to me. I have dreams of him (or any future QB), pull it in/tuck it - and sprint for 15-20+ yards when the D crashes down or bites.

Harrisburg is undefeated, beaten all 4 Sioux Falls teams, and 2 Rapid City teams. They scored 62 last week, and averaging over 44 pts/game.

Again, I hope.
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I have the same dream except and in my dream, our HC tries to convert that player into a WR then he transfers because he is buried in the depth chart behind Mitch Leidner.

I'm a Gopher fan, even my dreams disappoint.
 

spermophilus said:
No one knows with certainty if Knuth can make the leap and be a success, but he is right out of “central casting” for a QB. 6’4”, long legs, and can heave it. I’m no QB wonk/savant, and it looks like he’ll need to get the ball out a little quicker, to me. I have dreams of him (or any future QB), pull it in/tuck it - and sprint for 15-20+ yards when the D crashes down or bites.

Harrisburg is undefeated, beaten all 4 Sioux Falls teams, and 2 Rapid City teams. They scored 62 last week, and averaging over 44 pts/game.

Again, I hope.
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You didn't wake up in a cold sweat when Mike Sanford flashed in your dream, did you?
 



Word said:
They wish they were Maple Grove/Plymouth. I think they are more like a big Otsego.
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dOkiixy.gif
 

I don't even know what Otsego thinks it's supposed to be.

No high school named after it. It has those two giant, stupid water towers right by I-94, I guess to remind people that there's a bunch of farmland called "Otsego".
 

It's an odd class and brings in the discussion of rankings versus offers (and we do know offers can at times be a little misleading) but for viewing purposes. All per 247 and P5 offers

Bixby: #318 overall, #44 DL; offers from Ark, Cinci, Mich St, PSU
Smith: #426 overall, #64 DL; offers from IA St, Mich, Mich St, NC St, Neb, Ole Miss, PSU, Pitt, Syracuse, VT, WVU
Evans: #603 overall, #49 RB; offers from ASU, Iowa, Kansas, ND, Texas, Utah
White: #721 overall, #105 WR; offers from BC, Cinci, MD, Pitt, Syracuse, Tenn, VT
Knuth: #814 overall, #55 QB; offers from Iowa and K State
Gousby: #849 overall, #69 athlete; offers from Ill, BC, Ga Tech, IA St, Kentucky, Louisville, MD, Miami, Nebraska, PSU, Purdue, WI
Hoskins: #942 overall, #131 WR; offer from IA St
Kelly: #975 overall, #91 CB; offers from K State and Purdue
Watson: #1010 overall, #96 CB; offers from VA, Purdue, and Wash St
Bryson: #1090 overall, #77 S; offers from BC, Duke, Ind, K State, Louisville, NW, VA, V Tech, Wake, Wash St
Pyburn: #1200 overall, #52 edge; offers from WVU, GA Tech, Wake
Nelson: #1247 overall, #127 OT; No P5 offers
Alvarex: #1747 overall, #100 TE; No P5 offers

So some guys with pretty big discrepancy. we'll see how it pans out from rankings vs offers for them
 

EG#9 said:
It's actually the opposite our average individual player score is really weak only above Illinois and tied with Purdue for 12th/13th. Your comment about Antoine Winfield, Mo Ibrahim, Boye Mafe reminds me of years ago when posters would bring up "but Greg Eslinger" when people (including myself) would point out concerns with our recruiting under Mason. There will always be hits and misses, but every other school is going to have their "Antoine Winfield's" too...The Vikings Justin Jefferson was one of the lower rated kids taken by LSU as an example. It's also great that we have/had an Ibrahim or an Eslinger but the end result over a large sample size has been one really good year in 2019 and a whole lot of average at best to terrible at worst since the proliferation of recruiting rankings with sites like Rivals around 2000 or so. I'd like to be in a position to not try to be the outlier school that does much better on the field than our recruiting rankings because that's really tough to do.
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I guess you missed this part "
Still though, the rankings do give a general sense of how the overall class is doing in comparison to the other schools.

This does look to be a weak recruiting year."
 





What was that against Bemidji? :sneaky:

Kidding, but it would be nice on paper if he were playing against better comp. Looks like the South Dakota kid playing those teams out there.
 




MplsGopher said:
What was that against Bemidji? :sneaky:

Kidding, but it would be nice on paper if he were playing against better comp. Looks like the South Dakota kid playing those teams out there.
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I know some guys on the Alexandria coaching staff and they've said he's one of the most explosive, talented players they've ever seen on any team in that part of the state. Opposing defenses have two or three guys completely focused on him the whole game and he still is putting up some numbers.

He's clearly better than the opposition but I think he will be a sneaky good pick up for us.
 

I think some of the local kids who get early offers from the Gophers, accept immediately and "shut down" their recruiting, might stagnate a bit on 247 ratings because they probably get few or no offers going forward (because their commitment to the Gophers looks unshakeable). Might keep them a bit lower in rankings than if they had kept their recruiting open ...
 

Recruiting in this class looks pretty weak, but nothing that a strong finish might not help.

And since the transfer portal has changed things, it might not matter that this year's class is so weak,.
 

Gophergrandpa said:
I think some of the local kids who get early offers from the Gophers, accept immediately and "shut down" their recruiting, might stagnate a bit on 247 ratings because they probably get few or no offers going forward (because their commitment to the Gophers looks unshakeable). Might keep them a bit lower in rankings than if they had kept their recruiting open ...
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Makes perfect sense, when you consider that 247 makes money by selling recruiting news to users.

Sure, they do spend their own money to do their own evaluations, but again I think that's mainly for the fans. I doubt that coaching staffs rely on them.

If a particular athlete is no long a source of recruiting news, they have zero incentive to spend another second of time/money on the kid, including updating ratings or evaluations.
 

upnorthkid said:
It's an odd class and brings in the discussion of rankings versus offers (and we do know offers can at times be a little misleading) but for viewing purposes. All per 247 and P5 offers

Bixby: #318 overall, #44 DL; offers from Ark, Cinci, Mich St, PSU
Smith: #426 overall, #64 DL; offers from IA St, Mich, Mich St, NC St, Neb, Ole Miss, PSU, Pitt, Syracuse, VT, WVU
Evans: #603 overall, #49 RB; offers from ASU, Iowa, Kansas, ND, Texas, Utah
White: #721 overall, #105 WR; offers from BC, Cinci, MD, Pitt, Syracuse, Tenn, VT
Knuth: #814 overall, #55 QB; offers from Iowa and K State
Gousby: #849 overall, #69 athlete; offers from Ill, BC, Ga Tech, IA St, Kentucky, Louisville, MD, Miami, Nebraska, PSU, Purdue, WI
Hoskins: #942 overall, #131 WR; offer from IA St
Kelly: #975 overall, #91 CB; offers from K State and Purdue
Watson: #1010 overall, #96 CB; offers from VA, Purdue, and Wash St
Bryson: #1090 overall, #77 S; offers from BC, Duke, Ind, K State, Louisville, NW, VA, V Tech, Wake, Wash St
Pyburn: #1200 overall, #52 edge; offers from WVU, GA Tech, Wake
Nelson: #1247 overall, #127 OT; No P5 offers
Alvarex: #1747 overall, #100 TE; No P5 offers

So some guys with pretty big discrepancy. we'll see how it pans out from rankings vs offers for them
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I wonder if some of the early Gopher early commits get a rating deflation?
 

hungan1 said:
I wonder if some of the early Gopher early commits get a rating deflation?
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Highly doubt it. Being recruited by us might not be the automatic bump it is for recruits when certain schools are after them but I also don't think it would hurt anyones stock to commit to us.
 

tmvander said:
I know some guys on the Alexandria coaching staff and they've said he's one of the most explosive, talented players they've ever seen on any team in that part of the state. Opposing defenses have two or three guys completely focused on him the whole game and he still is putting up some numbers.

He's clearly better than the opposition but I think he will be a sneaky good pick up for us.
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I spoke to some guys from Alexandria this summer at my son's basketball tournament. They raved about him and said seeing his athleticism, quickness, explosiveness in person is incredible. I agree that he will be a really good player.
 

balds said:
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Getting more athleticism is good, no matter the size. Nice thing about getting guys like this is that even if they're not "ready" right away to play, they can still make an impact on special teams. He could become a weapon on PR/KR right away.
 

One thing that doesn’t show up in this class is how good Knuth is. He’s one of the best in the Midwest, Iowa wanted him. This is a very good get at one of the most important positions. Also there are two highly rated d linemen in this class, a very hard position to recruit, and dline is also a crucial position to be competitive in the B1G. Most of the lower ranked guys are WRs, which the staff has a great track record with, and OL, TE, and DBs, these are positions that can pretty regularly out perform there ranking.
 

btowngopher said:
One thing that doesn’t show up in this class is how good Knuth is. He’s one of the best in the Midwest, Iowa wanted him. This is a very good get at one of the most important positions. Also there are two highly rated d linemen in this class, a very hard position to recruit, and dline is also a crucial position to be competitive in the B1G. Most of the lower ranked guys are WRs, which the staff has a great track record with, and OL, TE, and DBs, these are positions that can pretty regularly out perform there ranking.
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I'll believe it when Tommyboy confirms it.
 

spermophilus said:
No one knows with certainty if Knuth can make the leap and be a success, but he is right out of “central casting” for a QB. 6’4”, long legs, and can heave it. I’m no QB wonk/savant, and it looks like he’ll need to get the ball out a little quicker, to me. I have dreams of him (or any future QB), pull it in/tuck it - and sprint for 15-20+ yards when the D crashes down or bites.





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Harrisburg is undefeated, beaten all 4 Sioux Falls teams, and 2 Rapid City teams. They scored 62 last week, and averaging over 44 pts/game.

Again, I hope.
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Knuth leads his team to 8-0 last night. 42-24 over Jefferson. Throws for 258, 4 TDS, one rushing. Per Argus Leader recap. Photo of Knuth from same article attached.

4659A627-981D-480C-8F4D-76D2BC3DECBB.jpeg
 
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So this guy just decommited from Nebraska...


247sports.com

Hayden Schwartz, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Defensive Line

2020: Jacksonville.com All-First Coast third-team pick. Best defensive lineman for Bolles program that went 10-3 and made 4A state final. Totaled 14 tackles for...
247sports.com 247sports.com

His classmate was supposedly visiting this past weekend....

 

upnorthkid said:
It's an odd class and brings in the discussion of rankings versus offers (and we do know offers can at times be a little misleading) but for viewing purposes. All per 247 and P5 offers

Bixby: #318 overall, #44 DL; offers from Ark, Cinci, Mich St, PSU
Smith: #426 overall, #64 DL; offers from IA St, Mich, Mich St, NC St, Neb, Ole Miss, PSU, Pitt, Syracuse, VT, WVU
Evans: #603 overall, #49 RB; offers from ASU, Iowa, Kansas, ND, Texas, Utah
White: #721 overall, #105 WR; offers from BC, Cinci, MD, Pitt, Syracuse, Tenn, VT
Knuth: #814 overall, #55 QB; offers from Iowa and K State
Gousby: #849 overall, #69 athlete; offers from Ill, BC, Ga Tech, IA St, Kentucky, Louisville, MD, Miami, Nebraska, PSU, Purdue, WI
Hoskins: #942 overall, #131 WR; offer from IA St
Kelly: #975 overall, #91 CB; offers from K State and Purdue
Watson: #1010 overall, #96 CB; offers from VA, Purdue, and Wash St
Bryson: #1090 overall, #77 S; offers from BC, Duke, Ind, K State, Louisville, NW, VA, V Tech, Wake, Wash St
Pyburn: #1200 overall, #52 edge; offers from WVU, GA Tech, Wake
Nelson: #1247 overall, #127 OT; No P5 offers
Alvarex: #1747 overall, #100 TE; No P5 offers

So some guys with pretty big discrepancy. we'll see how it pans out from rankings vs offers for them
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This is what's interesting to me. I am critical of the class from a rankings standpoint, but when you look at the indivdual guys and what you/I/others know about them not many stand out as marginal offers or gets. Just to go through a few of the lower rated guys:

Hoskins: Supposedly the fastest guy the staff got a 40 time on.
Pyburn: He's smaller than we want from a length perspective at the "R" position, but he's been really productive for a good high school and seems to be gaining more recruiting attention.
Bryson: Great size for the position and supposedly a great athlete, some "scouts" ( on social media, so don't know their credentials) are really high on him.
Watson: Big time verified speed. Like Hoskins, I would guess his size is his biggest draw back.
Nelson: Camp offer from the staff. Ryan Burns raves about this guy.
Alvarez: Coming off a knee injury. Big frame who also played/plays basketball. Could become a tackle. We need blocking TE's in this offense and you are not going to get really highly rated kids at TE to sign up for that role.

I'd like to have a couple of OL in the class of the pedigree of Bixby and Smith on the DL. I'd like to have a WR in the class with the combination of size and speed to play on the outside and be the type of matchup problem Bateman was and Wright shows brief flashes of being. I'd like 1-2 LB's hopefully including a bigger backer who projects to play inside for us. We probably need another RB now too.
 



Word said:
They wish they were Maple Grove/Plymouth. I think they are more like a big Otsego.
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Nobody wishes they were maple grove.

the land of the bros


Maple grove wishes they were edina or excelsior/Minnetonka
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
So this guy just decommited from Nebraska...


247sports.com

Hayden Schwartz, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Defensive Line

2020: Jacksonville.com All-First Coast third-team pick. Best defensive lineman for Bolles program that went 10-3 and made 4A state final. Totaled 14 tackles for...
247sports.com 247sports.com

His classmate was supposedly visiting this past weekend....

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Off topic, but the Game day experience was putting the GOPHER up when Nebraska was kicking FG's. I thought they couldn't do that anymore.
 

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