The Athletic: Grading the Big Ten’s transfer portal classes (Minnesota: B-)

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boozer said:
people are really overstating how bad the perich season was. he took a step back from his freshman season and made a few mistakes, but "can't get any worse" is crazy. the dude had a game winning pick 6 lol.
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Koi was a playmaker but did he really make our defense better on a down-by-down basis? Was his risk-taking really beneficial in the aggregate? Saying he had a game-winner pick-6 doesn't negate the rest of the downs he played. Saying "he made a few mistakes" is really glossing over the entire season that we all watched
 


GophEnEspaña said:
This grade goes to an A if our WR corps balls-out and helps Drake take the next step this year. Having a big body like Thompson on the outside could be a real game-changer for us.
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Well yeah, if the DE has 12 sacks or one of the DB's has 6 picks or the OL is a all B10 player and we run for 2500 yards it would be an A.

I hope they are good, but there is no evidence to suggest any of the WR's we got in the portal are going to be difference makers. Maybe they can be 35 catch 450 yard guys on the high end though.

I think their best hope for a WR breakout is Jalen Smith. He seems to have some of "it"
 

gopherbadgerman said:
Well yeah, if the DE has 12 sacks or one of the DB's has 6 picks or the OL is a all B10 player and we run for 2500 yards it would be an A.

I hope they are good, but there is no evidence to suggest any of the WR's we got in the portal are going to be difference makers. Maybe they can be 35 catch 450 yard guys on the high end though.

I think their best hope for a WR breakout is Jalen Smith. He seems to have some of "it"
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Jalen Smith is very solid and I hope he takes a big step next year. On paper we have a better WR room than last year and I hope everyone stays healthy. Of course, if we can't run the ball again it doesn't matter how good our WR corps is.
 

GophEnEspaña said:
Jalen Smith is very solid and I hope he takes a big step next year. On paper we have a better WR room than last year and I hope everyone stays healthy. Of course, if we can't run the ball again it doesn't matter how good our WR corps is.
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On what paper? Who came that is better than who we lost?

I will agree that Jalen Smith is most likely our best bet for any type of improvement.
 


A university of Minnesota alumni athlete with world.championships and flair woud super-charge recruiting.

This is the era of.coach persona that sells talent, sells tickets, WINS!

PJ is a conservative run and kick the field goal guy.

There is a flamboyant U of M alumni athlete with more flair.

oardefault.jpg
Ric Flair, U.of M Alumni


Just a joke.

Actually, a great recruiting class for PJ.

And YES PJ has flair, just more buttoned down confident swag flair.
 


* PRESS RELEASE *
Celebration Event
Historically Strong
Recruiting By The
**** PJ Flair ****

1771628561178.png


(Just giving a sincere compliment for the GREAT RECRUTING -- with creative humor and, ahem, flair.)

GO GOPHERS!
 

LET’S NOT TALK ABOUT IT

We won’t talk about shopping to a certain limit in the transfer portal.

That is where the grade gets dinged.

Some departures are out of their pay range. It’s a non-controllable issue.

Next topic…

Gophers are shopping at the prices of Jeep and Cub – not Park Avenue and Lamborghini. Get good jeeps, maybe even max pimped out loaded, and load them up at Cub. But they are not luxury Ferrari.

Except Darius Taylor, their legit NFL star. KEEPING HIM GETS A GRADE BUMP! UP!
  • Key Wins:
    • Defensive Interior: Minnesota aggressively addressed its biggest weakness by signing three defensive tackles, including highly sought-after Xion Chapman (FIU).
    • Skill Talent: Secured 4-star receiver Perry Thompson (Auburn) and edge rusher TJ Bush Jr. (Cal), who recorded 5.5 sacks last season.
Alternatives & Supplements

To bridge the gap without the $20M budgets of the elite, programs like Minnesota require:
  1. Elite Evaluation: Finding "G5 gems" like the Marshall duo (Naquan Crowder and Sid Kaba) before they become national names.
  2. Multi-Front Flexibility: Adapting schemes to fit available talent, such as moving toward a multi-front defense to maximize "space-eating" tackles.
  3. Retention Focus: Using NIL primarily to keep core "NFL-caliber" talent—like keeping star RB Darius Taylor and DL Anthony Smith, rather than just buying new NFL stars.
The Gophers have improved their NIL position, bolstered by a new program sponsored by Cub Foods. Their 2026 portal class should be ranked 6-8 in the Big Ten.

*****NEED***** TO RECRUIT PREP TALENT
PJ Fleck has done well there. That’s a big win. a strong score, HIGHEST GRADE in a long time.

We come full circle back to:

PJ FLAIR

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