BleedGopher
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per Matt:
When ink met paper, Minnesota’s 2016 recruiting class ranked No. 8 in the Big Ten. When the final returns came in four years later, that same class ranked seventh … nationally.
The Athletic’s Max Olson came to that conclusion in his re-ranking of the 2016 class this week, placing the Golden Gophers squarely between No. 6 Michigan and No. 8 Ohio State.
Imagine that.
Of all the surprises that National Signing Day brings each year, few could match the sheer absurdity of the 2016 Gophers’ class so drastically outplaying its initial ranking, which was No. 46 nationally in the 247Sports Composite at the time. Add the fact that this class was recruited by an entirely different coaching staff — and that it ended up being the first and last class recruited by the Tracy Claeys regime — and the progress made by this group of long shots is even more astounding.
The preceding campaign, meanwhile, was marked by off-the-field turmoil. First, athletic director Norwood Teague resigned in August 2015 amid sexual harassment allegations from multiple university employees. Then, head coach Jerry Kill resigned in late October due to health concerns. The Gophers were 4-3 at the time that Claeys took over as interim head coach. After competitive losses to Michigan and Ohio State to open his tenure, Claeys was promoted to full-time head coach and given a three-year contract, a move that was overseen by AD Beth Goetz, who was also in an interim position after taking over for Teague ahead of the football season.
Minnesota had a 5-7 record but made the Quick Lane Bowl anyway, beating Central Michigan for Claeys to finish 2-4.
Got all that?
OK, good. Because it was all a precursor to Feb. 4, 2016, the landing of the class that changed Gophers football.
theathletic.com
Go Gophers!!
When ink met paper, Minnesota’s 2016 recruiting class ranked No. 8 in the Big Ten. When the final returns came in four years later, that same class ranked seventh … nationally.
The Athletic’s Max Olson came to that conclusion in his re-ranking of the 2016 class this week, placing the Golden Gophers squarely between No. 6 Michigan and No. 8 Ohio State.
Imagine that.
Of all the surprises that National Signing Day brings each year, few could match the sheer absurdity of the 2016 Gophers’ class so drastically outplaying its initial ranking, which was No. 46 nationally in the 247Sports Composite at the time. Add the fact that this class was recruited by an entirely different coaching staff — and that it ended up being the first and last class recruited by the Tracy Claeys regime — and the progress made by this group of long shots is even more astounding.
The preceding campaign, meanwhile, was marked by off-the-field turmoil. First, athletic director Norwood Teague resigned in August 2015 amid sexual harassment allegations from multiple university employees. Then, head coach Jerry Kill resigned in late October due to health concerns. The Gophers were 4-3 at the time that Claeys took over as interim head coach. After competitive losses to Michigan and Ohio State to open his tenure, Claeys was promoted to full-time head coach and given a three-year contract, a move that was overseen by AD Beth Goetz, who was also in an interim position after taking over for Teague ahead of the football season.
Minnesota had a 5-7 record but made the Quick Lane Bowl anyway, beating Central Michigan for Claeys to finish 2-4.
Got all that?
OK, good. Because it was all a precursor to Feb. 4, 2016, the landing of the class that changed Gophers football.
Recruiting revisited: How Minnesota’s 2016 class helped turn the program around
Ranked merely 46th nationally at the time, the Golden Gophers’ 2016 class skyrocketed into the top 10 in our re-rank four years later.
Go Gophers!!
