Official 2023 Gophers Football Recruiting Thread: Links, Tweets, Videos, Rumors

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Feels like a lot of instate offers. I think in the current transfer environment teams should have an increased focus on local recruits, I don’t have evidence, but my speculation is that they would be less apt to transfer early.
 

FredCoxRocks said:
TK was my hero when I was a young lad. I cried (and was subsequently teased by my older brother) while he laid there twitching like a freshly stuck crappie on the filleting table after Jim Youngblood slammed him to the Met Stadium dirt.
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Yeah he was a chiller at the helm, and I loved the short passing game to Teddy “Get the lead out” Brown and Ricky Young.
 

MNVCGUY said:
May have already been discussed, but see that Rodney Gallagher is now showing as warm for us on 247.

247sports.com

Rodney Gallagher, West Virginia Mountaineers, Wide Receiver

Two-sport standout who plays basketball as well. Averaged 18.6 points per game during junior basketball season. Helped Laurel Highlands to a 27-1 record and a...
247sports.com 247sports.com

According to 247 he will be here on June 10th and at OK State on the 15th. As of now we are the only two schools showing as warm for him.
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Looks like we are no longer a favorite according to 247.
 



I think something working in our favor with getting so many in-state recruits is it may sway the last holdouts to commit to us and be part of a special MN class. Idk, maybe I'm reading into it too much.
 



Gophergrandpa said:
Might be the next "Empire Class."
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This is actually shaping up a little different than the famed empire class. That class was crazy deep in terms of quality in-state players but we missed out on 3 of the top 4 in-state kids that year. Thomas Barber was the #12 rated Minnesota guy according to 247.

Right now we are seeing the very real possibility of sweeping the top 6 in-state guys which is not something we have been anywhere close to doing for quite some time.
 



How much impact does NIL have on Gopher recruiting?

It is good to see that the Gophers have a chance to sweep the top six in-state players if Jaxon Howard and Elinneus Davis commit.
 

hungan1 said:
How much impact does NIL have on Gopher recruiting?

It is good to see that the Gophers have a chance to sweep the top six in-state players if Jaxon Howard and Elinneus Davis commit.
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Probably no real way to gauge how much of an impact NIL is having on our recruiting overall. That said, Fleck seems like the type that wouldn't target a "me first" kind of player who was just looking for handouts. Mot of the guys getting the stupid money deals are guys that we wouldn't have been in the mix for anyway.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Probably no real way to gauge how much of an impact NIL is having on our recruiting overall. That said, Fleck seems like the type that wouldn't target a "me first" kind of player who was just looking for handouts. Mot of the guys getting the stupid money deals are guys that we wouldn't have been in the mix for anyway.
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In a way, most NIL chasers are probably “I” folks that PJ Fleck would not want in the Gophers’ system.
 

hungan1 said:
In a way, most NIL chasers are probably “I” folks that PJ Fleck would not want in the Gophers’ system.
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I suspect PJ is sympathetic to some extent. Guys want to get paid, I get it. I assume PJ does too. He seems to care about the players as far as I can tell.

But some players are making their own bed to some extent too.

I've worked with some folks whose attitude is that their employer "doesn't care about them" is a sort of opponent who is trying to extract max value from them whatever the cost. These ideas come from very real experences, and IMO sometimes misunderstandings / failure to speak up for themselves.

I agree with this concept very generally when it comes to some workplaces. However, their response is to make their goal try to extract max value from their employer. So they pick employers that provide what they think is the most value based on this idea, without much thought about anything else (doing the work they want, working with people they like...).

So what happens is they end up at these places that treat them exactly as they think "everyone" treats them, and with the associated attitude. It becomes a self perpetuating myth that I think is "truthy" in some cases but they're also actively making happen.

I wonder about the NIL deals. I wonder how quickly some sugar daddy's will cut guys off they don't like.... and "recruit" / buy other players (even without the coach's input) the moment they take some losses...?

There's no structure here like the pros to really prevent NIL deals from vanishing for "no reason" even if there really is a reason. I worry that this being how they get "paid" is particularly nasty / random, and just by trying to get paid you subject yourself to more capriciousness.
 
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low to mid 3* recruits from MN
MNVCGUY said:
Probably no real way to gauge how much of an impact NIL is having on our recruiting overall. That said, Fleck seems like the type that wouldn't target a "me first" kind of player who was just looking for handouts. Mot of the guys getting the stupid money deals are guys that we wouldn't have been in the mix for anyway.
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Exactly...most of the major NIL money in college football is going to be going to super highly rated guys. The low 3* to low 4* guys that we typically target and are in realistic shape to get probably aren't going to be generating a whole lot of NIL interest after their Junior years of high school.

I'd honestly be really interested to even see what a guy like Jaxon Howard is offered in terms of NIL both locally and nationally.
 

MNVCGUY said:
This is actually shaping up a little different than the famed empire class. That class was crazy deep in terms of quality in-state players but we missed out on 3 of the top 4 in-state kids that year. Thomas Barber was the #12 rated Minnesota guy according to 247.

Right now we are seeing the very real possibility of sweeping the top 6 in-state guys which is not something we have been anywhere close to doing for quite some time.
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Has it ever happened?
 



Gopher_In_NYC said:
Has it ever happened?
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Using 247 I went back and looked at in-state classes from 2000 till now. The tool is a little clunky but the closest I could find to what might happen this year was 2009 when we landed 5 of the top 6 just missing out on the #1 guy Bryce McNeal to Clemson.

During the Mason years I looked at we rarely got any of the top 3 guys in-state to stay home. It got a little better during many of the Kill/Brewster/Fleck years but I don't think we even had the top 3 in-state recruits in any of those years (could have missed one though). Obvious caveat being that these are the top recruits according to the services, might not have actually ended up being the top in-state guys once they got to college.

So if Fleck is able to land the top 6 in-state guys in this class it would be pretty unprecedented.
 

MNVCGUY said:
Using 247 I went back and looked at in-state classes from 2000 till now. The tool is a little clunky but the closest I could find to what might happen this year was 2009 when we landed 5 of the top 6 just missing out on the #1 guy Bryce McNeal to Clemson.

During the Mason years I looked at we rarely got any of the top 3 guys in-state to stay home. It got a little better during many of the Kill/Brewster/Fleck years but I don't think we even had the top 3 in-state recruits in any of those years (could have missed one though). Obvious caveat being that these are the top recruits according to the services, might not have actually ended up being the top in-state guys once they got to college.

So if Fleck is able to land the top 6 in-state guys in this class it would be pretty unprecedented.
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I'd give Fleck credit for it for sure. But at the same time year to year ... 6 of 6 could be great, so could 3 of 6 ... depending on the really wild talent variation for MN.

Spotty recruiting grounds are like that IMO.

In theory Saban could be here and choose to go 0 for 10 in local recruits some years and win a lot ;)
 

tmvander said:
low to mid 3* recruits from MN

Exactly...most of the major NIL money in college football is going to be going to super highly rated guys. The low 3* to low 4* guys that we typically target and are in realistic shape to get probably aren't going to be generating a whole lot of NIL interest after their Junior years of high school.

I'd honestly be really interested to even see what a guy like Jaxon Howard is offered in terms of NIL both locally and nationally.
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The miami bagmen have DEEEEEEEEEEEEP pockets
 

MNVCGUY said:
Using 247 I went back and looked at in-state classes from 2000 till now. The tool is a little clunky but the closest I could find to what might happen this year was 2009 when we landed 5 of the top 6 just missing out on the #1 guy Bryce McNeal to Clemson.

During the Mason years I looked at we rarely got any of the top 3 guys in-state to stay home. It got a little better during many of the Kill/Brewster/Fleck years but I don't think we even had the top 3 in-state recruits in any of those years (could have missed one though). Obvious caveat being that these are the top recruits according to the services, might not have actually ended up being the top in-state guys once they got to college.

So if Fleck is able to land the top 6 in-state guys in this class it would be pretty unprecedented.
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Wow - Txs for the effort I appreciate it!
I think that would be amazing
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I'd give Fleck credit for it for sure. But at the same time year to year ... 6 of 6 could be great, so could 3 of 6 ... depending on the really wild talent variation for MN.

Spotty recruiting grounds are like that IMO.

In theory Saban could be here and choose to go 0 for 10 in local recruits some years and win a lot ;)
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Yeah, I don't get overly hung up on where recruits come from but it has been refreshing to see some local guys committing almost immediately after getting their offers. That is something we have all wanted to see happen, local players with a real desire to stay home and play for the Gophers.
 



Off-GridTNgopher said:
Umm.... Look at their basketball team and the nil... 400k here... $600k there... Sorry but those boosters will do whatever it takes to win again
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I didn't say they didn't have deep pockets, I said you wouldn't know it (because they don't win in football anywhere near like they used to back in the good ol days ;) )
 

Off-GridTNgopher said:
Umm.... Look at their basketball team and the nil... 400k here... $600k there... Sorry but those boosters will do whatever it takes to win again
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Just because you spend the money, doesn't mean you will get results. Ask Kentucky most years...
 

Dave H said:
Just because you spend the money, doesn't mean you will get results. Ask Kentucky most years...
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I'm not responding to getting results on the field. I'm responding to wether Miami will pay for recruits... And so far that's a RESOUNDING yes
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I suspect PJ is sympathetic to some extent. Guys want to get paid, I get it. I assume PJ does too. He seems to care about the players as far as I can tell.

But some players are making their own bed to some extent too.

I've worked with some folks whose attitude is that their employer "doesn't care about them" is a sort of opponent who is trying to extract max value from them whatever the cost. These ideas come from very real experences, and IMO sometimes misunderstandings / failure to speak up for themselves.

I agree with this concept very generally when it comes to some workplaces. However, their response is to make their goal try to extract max value from their employer. So they pick employers that provide what they think is the most value based on this idea, without much thought about anything else (doing the work they want, working with people they like...).

So what happens is they end up at these places that treat them exactly as they think "everyone" treats them, and with the associated attitude. It becomes a self perpetuating myth that I think is "truthy" in some cases but they're also actively making happen.

I wonder about the NIL deals. I wonder how quickly some sugar daddy's will cut guys off they don't like.... and "recruit" / buy other players (even without the coach's input) the moment they take some losses...?

There's no structure here like the pros to really prevent NIL deals from vanishing for "no reason" even if there really is a reason. I worry that this being how they get "paid" is particularly nasty / random, and just by trying to get paid you subject yourself to more capriciousness.
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PJ Fleck has a good dose of goodness and an excellent life coaching program that the in-state players know well. The three-star players know they are getting a "twofer." They will be playing for a good coach who will take care of them and play in front of friends and family in a program that does send multiple players into the Pros.

Jaxon Howard has more options open to go to a Top Five program or for a nice NIL payday.
 
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the in-state recruits are a double-edged sword.

If MN lands the top in-state recruits, some people will question how good they are compared to recruits from outside MN.

But if MN doesn't land the top in-state recruits, then they get criticized for "not closing the borders."

hey, the guys from MN are probably not going to have the most stars in any recruiting class, but you need solid players to fill out the roster.

And, a guy from MN who has a local support system is probably less likely to jump into the portal the first time something doesn't go their way.

so, if you can get 'em, take 'em.
 

A_Slab_of_Bacon said:
I suspect PJ is sympathetic to some extent. Guys want to get paid, I get it. I assume PJ does too. He seems to care about the players as far as I can tell.

But some players are making their own bed to some extent too.

I've worked with some folks whose attitude is that their employer "doesn't care about them" is a sort of opponent who is trying to extract max value from them whatever the cost. These ideas come from very real experences, and IMO sometimes misunderstandings / failure to speak up for themselves.

I agree with this concept very generally when it comes to some workplaces. However, their response is to make their goal try to extract max value from their employer. So they pick employers that provide what they think is the most value based on this idea, without much thought about anything else (doing the work they want, working with people they like...).

So what happens is they end up at these places that treat them exactly as they think "everyone" treats them, and with the associated attitude. It becomes a self perpetuating myth that I think is "truthy" in some cases but they're also actively making happen.

I wonder about the NIL deals. I wonder how quickly some sugar daddy's will cut guys off they don't like.... and "recruit" / buy other players (even without the coach's input) the moment they take some losses...?

There's no structure here like the pros to really prevent NIL deals from vanishing for "no reason" even if there really is a reason. I worry that this being how they get "paid" is particularly nasty / random, and just by trying to get paid you subject yourself to more capriciousness.
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There is no chance a booster is going to foist any player on PJ Fleck. Just not going to happen.
 

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