cncmin
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There seems to be some lamenting on this board that most of our latest commitments are 3* athletes (according to the Rivals list). Granted, these aren't the 4* athletes that Ohio State, Penn State, and even DickRod have been getting. But let's compare what has been happening under Brewster to that of Mason:
2002 - Only 3 total 3* signings, only 1 of whom was significant (Setterstrom). Notable 2*s, however, included Trumaine Banks, Cupito, Eslinger, Hosack, Reese, and Spaeth.
2003 - Mason's best class included two 4*s (Maroney and Paris Hamilton), 14 3*s, and 11 2*s. Of the 16 3-4*s, some notable names included Maroney, Brinkhaus, Owens, Pinnix, Shevlin, Shidell, Valentine, and Wheelwright. Notable 2*s included Jamal Harris, Rhys Lloyd, and Logan Payne. It needs to be noted again that this was Mason's best class.
2004 - The 04 season marked a return to old ways: 6 3*s, only two of whom were very significant (Dom Barber and Jack Simmons). Also note that Rivals started the point scale ratings that year, and only Leland Jones was rated a 5.6 or higher. The rest were 2*s, including notables Giannini, Hightower, Kucek, Mortensen, Gary Russell, and Willy VanDeSteeg.
2005 - Alex Daniels was the one 4*. There were 10 3*s, marking a decent recruiting year for Mason; the 3*s included some pretty good players: Steve Davis, Dom Jones, Ruckdashel, Tavale, Jay Thomas, and Nate Triplett. It should be noted, however, that no one was rated above a 5.5 except for that Daniels guy. Notable 2*s? Eric Decker (5.3) and Matt Stommes. As it turns out, this class should have been a bit better than it was, ending largely disappointing.
2006 - Mason didn't improve his recruiting any in 2006...only 9 3*s, of whom few have played signficant roles (thus far): Adam Weber (5.5), Burris (5.5), Brown (5.5). There were four 5.6s, none of whom seemed to pan out. No one was rated above that. Notable 2*s include Dom Alford, Brinkhaus, Lee Campbell, and Ellestad.
2007 - This was mainly a Mason class, with some of Brewster's new recruits piled on at the end. It included one 4* (Anthony Jacobs), and 9 3*s, including Bunders (5.5), Collado (5.5), Trey Davis (5.6), Curtis Thomas (5.7), Uu (5.5), and Ryan Orton (5.6), Andre Tate (5.7) and Clint Brewster (5.7). Of these, there were 6 guys rated 5.6 or higher, a significant step forward from Mason years; however as we can see, these guys have not yet made a big dent on the team (some never will). 2* notables so far include Duane Bennett (5.4), Eric Small (5.4), and Kyle Theret (5.1), and the infamous Ralph Spry (5.1). This began the Brewster era. The Rivals rankings were obviously a bit higher here than under Mason, but the big changes didn't occur until...
2008 - The Brewster era really started: 7 4*s (Gray, Cooper, Green, Maresh, BPT, Pittman, but also Vince Hill); and 17 more 3*s, including Brock (5.6), Dandridge (5.5), Edwards (5.7), Eskridge (5.5), Kirksey (5.5), Lair (5.6), Lawrence (5.6), McKinley (5.5), Reeves (5.7), Salamon (5.5), Sharpe (5.6), B. Smith (5.7), Stoudermire (5.5), Tinsley (5.5), Whaley (5.7), and Wilhite (5.5). The number of 5.6-or higher recruits jumped from 6 under Mason from all of 2004 to 2006 up to 15!
2009 - Brewster had an arguably better class in 2009, even though the team ranking was lower. Why? Well the number of high-end recruits again increased. 2009 included three 4*s (Michael Carter, Hayo Carpenter, and the yet-to-join-Lipscomb). It also included 15 more 3*s out of 20 total recruits: Alipate (5.7), Allen (5.7), Campion (5.7), Garin (5.7), Gregory-McGhee (5.7), Hageman (5.7), Jacques (5.5), Keise (5.6), K. Lewis (5.7), Michel (5.5), Olson (5.6), Searcy (5.7), Singleton (5.6), Watkins (5.6), and Wills (5.5); and also a 2* that already has started (Orseske). In total, this class had 15 5.6 or higher recruits, 11 of whom were 5.7 or better. For only 20 total recruits, one could argue that this class had an equal or higher percentage of potential playmakers than even the 2008 class.
This all leads to what some are calling a "disappointing" 2010 class. Hmmm. So far, 17 verbals. Two 4*s (Gjere, L. Edwards), 10 3*s among them (assuming Ragoo is 3*). Of these 17 verbals, at least six are rated 5.6 or higher.
It's understandable to say that this class, so far, is not as high-end as the last two because of the lower percentage of 5.6+ recruits. But let's put this all into perspective. Again, there were only SIX 5.6+ recruits and only 26 total 3-4*s under Mason from 2004-2006. That's it. So 2010, with 11 scholarships left to go, already has 12 3-4*s, which is already almost as many as Mason's best class (16) in 2004.
The rousing success of Brewster in 2008 and 2009 has yet to be shown on the field, as most of these recruits are still RS freshmen, freshmen, and sophomores, with some upper class JC transfers sprinkled in. The team has much more talent than 2-3 years ago, much more depth, and is arguably winning as many or more games with most of its incoming talent still on the bench or still in non-starting roles. And the 2010 class is almost already stronger than Mason's best class; suggesting that, even if it doesn't end up as solid as the last two classes, it should still be plenty good to infuse plenty more talent into the Minnesota football program. Things are looking up!
2002 - Only 3 total 3* signings, only 1 of whom was significant (Setterstrom). Notable 2*s, however, included Trumaine Banks, Cupito, Eslinger, Hosack, Reese, and Spaeth.
2003 - Mason's best class included two 4*s (Maroney and Paris Hamilton), 14 3*s, and 11 2*s. Of the 16 3-4*s, some notable names included Maroney, Brinkhaus, Owens, Pinnix, Shevlin, Shidell, Valentine, and Wheelwright. Notable 2*s included Jamal Harris, Rhys Lloyd, and Logan Payne. It needs to be noted again that this was Mason's best class.
2004 - The 04 season marked a return to old ways: 6 3*s, only two of whom were very significant (Dom Barber and Jack Simmons). Also note that Rivals started the point scale ratings that year, and only Leland Jones was rated a 5.6 or higher. The rest were 2*s, including notables Giannini, Hightower, Kucek, Mortensen, Gary Russell, and Willy VanDeSteeg.
2005 - Alex Daniels was the one 4*. There were 10 3*s, marking a decent recruiting year for Mason; the 3*s included some pretty good players: Steve Davis, Dom Jones, Ruckdashel, Tavale, Jay Thomas, and Nate Triplett. It should be noted, however, that no one was rated above a 5.5 except for that Daniels guy. Notable 2*s? Eric Decker (5.3) and Matt Stommes. As it turns out, this class should have been a bit better than it was, ending largely disappointing.
2006 - Mason didn't improve his recruiting any in 2006...only 9 3*s, of whom few have played signficant roles (thus far): Adam Weber (5.5), Burris (5.5), Brown (5.5). There were four 5.6s, none of whom seemed to pan out. No one was rated above that. Notable 2*s include Dom Alford, Brinkhaus, Lee Campbell, and Ellestad.
2007 - This was mainly a Mason class, with some of Brewster's new recruits piled on at the end. It included one 4* (Anthony Jacobs), and 9 3*s, including Bunders (5.5), Collado (5.5), Trey Davis (5.6), Curtis Thomas (5.7), Uu (5.5), and Ryan Orton (5.6), Andre Tate (5.7) and Clint Brewster (5.7). Of these, there were 6 guys rated 5.6 or higher, a significant step forward from Mason years; however as we can see, these guys have not yet made a big dent on the team (some never will). 2* notables so far include Duane Bennett (5.4), Eric Small (5.4), and Kyle Theret (5.1), and the infamous Ralph Spry (5.1). This began the Brewster era. The Rivals rankings were obviously a bit higher here than under Mason, but the big changes didn't occur until...
2008 - The Brewster era really started: 7 4*s (Gray, Cooper, Green, Maresh, BPT, Pittman, but also Vince Hill); and 17 more 3*s, including Brock (5.6), Dandridge (5.5), Edwards (5.7), Eskridge (5.5), Kirksey (5.5), Lair (5.6), Lawrence (5.6), McKinley (5.5), Reeves (5.7), Salamon (5.5), Sharpe (5.6), B. Smith (5.7), Stoudermire (5.5), Tinsley (5.5), Whaley (5.7), and Wilhite (5.5). The number of 5.6-or higher recruits jumped from 6 under Mason from all of 2004 to 2006 up to 15!
2009 - Brewster had an arguably better class in 2009, even though the team ranking was lower. Why? Well the number of high-end recruits again increased. 2009 included three 4*s (Michael Carter, Hayo Carpenter, and the yet-to-join-Lipscomb). It also included 15 more 3*s out of 20 total recruits: Alipate (5.7), Allen (5.7), Campion (5.7), Garin (5.7), Gregory-McGhee (5.7), Hageman (5.7), Jacques (5.5), Keise (5.6), K. Lewis (5.7), Michel (5.5), Olson (5.6), Searcy (5.7), Singleton (5.6), Watkins (5.6), and Wills (5.5); and also a 2* that already has started (Orseske). In total, this class had 15 5.6 or higher recruits, 11 of whom were 5.7 or better. For only 20 total recruits, one could argue that this class had an equal or higher percentage of potential playmakers than even the 2008 class.
This all leads to what some are calling a "disappointing" 2010 class. Hmmm. So far, 17 verbals. Two 4*s (Gjere, L. Edwards), 10 3*s among them (assuming Ragoo is 3*). Of these 17 verbals, at least six are rated 5.6 or higher.
It's understandable to say that this class, so far, is not as high-end as the last two because of the lower percentage of 5.6+ recruits. But let's put this all into perspective. Again, there were only SIX 5.6+ recruits and only 26 total 3-4*s under Mason from 2004-2006. That's it. So 2010, with 11 scholarships left to go, already has 12 3-4*s, which is already almost as many as Mason's best class (16) in 2004.
The rousing success of Brewster in 2008 and 2009 has yet to be shown on the field, as most of these recruits are still RS freshmen, freshmen, and sophomores, with some upper class JC transfers sprinkled in. The team has much more talent than 2-3 years ago, much more depth, and is arguably winning as many or more games with most of its incoming talent still on the bench or still in non-starting roles. And the 2010 class is almost already stronger than Mason's best class; suggesting that, even if it doesn't end up as solid as the last two classes, it should still be plenty good to infuse plenty more talent into the Minnesota football program. Things are looking up!
