Perhaps I'm too excited about this, but...

[Sumtimegophs]

Maybe I listen to too much football analysis, but in the hierarchy of annoying football cliches, "coaching em' up" pales in comparison to being a "physical football team".Show me a not-so-physical football team, and I'll show you Manchester United!

Go Gophers!

Really? Obviously you didn't watch the national championship game. There was no comparison in the physical style of play between Auburn and Oregon, none whatsoever. Auburn hit harder and were way more physical at the point of attack. I know, I was there.

 

[imthewalrus]

You won't be able to judge and rate and rank the 2011 recruiting class...

until the 2014 and 2015 seasons to see if they could play, stay healthy, stay academically elegible and all that jazz... ; 0 ) If they transfer out by 2014, they won't have counted for anything and will need to be subtracted from that 2011 fantasy recruiting ranking rating. What a bummer THAT would be...right????? ; 0 )

What good is some over-hyped guesstimate of where they (and the entire recruiting class) ranks while they are still in high school????? They have got to walk the walk and show what their worth to the program and the team really IS. "Talking all that jazzy talk proves NOTHING..."

There are a LOT of reasons why they might never make it to their junior and senior seasons...when they can really be a factor in winning Big Ten football games in large quantities. They have got to show what they can do by actually doing it. Talk is cheap. Fantasy recruiting football rankings of high school players is cheap talk as well. (At any rate, I hope you don't pay too much to the lemmings and the other fantasy high school football recruiter rankers for their wares and little publications and all that silly fantasy jazz... ; 0 ) And, in the end, their time at the U of M will be judged and ranked and rated by the total number of Big Ten wins minus the total number of Big Ten losses they and their teammates and coaches compiled...season by season. We are NEVER going to know how they ranked until we have seen them complete their careers at the U of M. They have to SHOW UP and they have to FINISH their careers at Minnesota to be "real."

 

[KU4LIFE]

I think the point is that even at this juncture, I think many wouldn't believe that Minnesota would be ranked #38 in the recruiting rankings for the 2011 class.

First off many thought this class would fall apart. Secondly there were many skeptics that Kill would be able to recruit BIG 10 level recruits. Sure none of these kids are world beaters, but they are kids that people are pleasantly surprised about.

There are a lot of programs at the level of the pecking order that Minnesota currently stands that want these kids, but aren't landing them like Kill and staff are. Luckily many of these prospects had prior recruiting connections to the staff. Just because Kill wasn't able to recruit them to Northern Illinois, but a BIG 10 offer changes these kids perception quickly. I know some put their nose down to MAC level recruits, but people still act amazed at the talent level those schools seem to churn out yearly. This late in the game, it is better to beat out Toledo, N. Iowa, N. Illinois, Bowling Green, Indiana, Northwestern, etc. than fighting it out with the likes UMD, UND, etc that some feared would be the only type Minny would land once Kill came on board.

 

[FreakyDeke]

But you will get better results with good coaching and poor recruits than with poor coaching and good recruits.

If there were a game between Alabama and the U (with Tim Brewster) this year, where they switched coaching staffs, would you honestly take the Gophers with Saban?

 

[Killjoy]

and make signs saying: "...we're number 38...we're number 38..." in the woozy, crazy world of college football fantasy recruiting. Knock yourselves out!

I much prefer to wait to see what the Big Ten standings will tell us about our recruits in terms of Big Ten wins minus Big Ten losses in 2011.

I think the number 38 rating could most certainly be debated, but, how could you possibly debate something as subjective as a number 38 rating on January 13, 2011? Who among you is to say that the Gophers aren't number 33...or 48...or 72?

Quite frankly, I'd advise any one and every one to keep it kind of quiet IF you think the ranking number really is only #38. I think that number 38 is not so much to write home about. You probably shouldn't try to get in a rivals face by taunting him/her and boasting about a "number 38" fantasy recruiting ranking.

Great new coach and staff. Same old worn-out rhetoric from wren. I prefer the new.