Tobi Okuyemi and Beau Allen

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Gopher4life15

Gopher4life15

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If we can land these two guys to go along with the other two Minnesota commitments, even if we do not land Henderson I would consider it a success for in-state recruiting. I would be very pleased to get 4 very solid looking prospects from Mn in this class.

Now what are our chances of landing these two?

Let's go boys stay at home . . .WE WANT YOU TO WEAR MAROON AND GOLD!
 

Now, the question you have to ask yourself is would you rather have these two, or Henderson. I think the answer is fairly easy at this point but if we fail to land Henderson we better land these two, especially considering they are on the D-Line and would hopefully want to bring the pain especially hard on a Wisky QB.

As far as the odds of us landing either--- At this point it is up in the air, but unfortunately Allen is reminding me a lot of the EP D-tackle we missed out on the year or two before. It just feels like he thinks he is bigger and better than the program IMO...... He is rumored to be a Notre Dame lean from other recruiting sites on Rivals besides GI.

Don't know much about Okuyemi, but he lived in Kansas until he was 13 years old and he is a huge Jayhawks fan and they are starting to get involved in his recruitment.
 

Although there's no question that getting either Henderson or the combo of Allen/Okuyemi would make this in-state class an unqualified success (I'd love to get ALL of them), I think we need to take a step back and really think about what's implied by saying that we HAVE to get one or the other in order or it's a failure.

Let's Compare the last four classes of MN commits to the current group we're going after:

2009
Alipate - 3-star (5.7)
Campion - 3-star (5.7)
Garin - 3-star (5.7)
Hageman - 3-star (5.7)
Olson - 3-star (5.6)
Rengel - 2-star (5.4)

2008
Maresh - 4-star (5.8)
Salamon - 3-star (5.5)
Grant - 2-star (5.4)
Nance - 2-star (5.4)

2007
Jacobs - 4-star (5.8)
Tate - 3-star (5.7)
Davis - 3-star (5.6)
Orton - 3-star (5.6)
Bunders - 3-star (5.5)
McGarry - 2-star (5.4)
Wynn - 2-star (5.3)

2006
McWhirter - 3-star (5.6)
Becker - 3-star (5.5)
Weber - 3-star (5.5)
Brinkhaus - 2-star (5.3)
Ellestad - 2-star (4.9)

For reference, Allen is a 3-star (5.6) and Okuyemi is a 3-star (5.5).

We already have two of the top three 2010 MN recruits committed, and both are Rivals 4-star (5.8) guys. To me, that's a successful in-state class already -- this year's MN class seems a bit thin once you get past Allen/Okuyemi the rest of the top 10 are 2-star guys (not that I think they're bad players, just not highly touted). Getting any of the three remaining top 5 guys would make a good in-state class even better. Getting Henderson would automatically make this the best in-state class we've had in my lifetime.

But, let's try to keep some perspective, here. Brew & Co are working hard to get talent in here, no matter where they're from. He's pushing hard to get the top in-state talent locked up, and he's had success for 2010 by getting two 4-star MN guys to commit already. If the other three decide to go elsewhere, it's doesn't mean that they think they're too big for the program or that Brew isn't locking up the borders. Henderson, like Floyd, is one of the top recruits in the country, period. The fact that MN is still in the picture speaks volumes for Brew's ability to recruit. Allen and Okuyemi would both be solid gets, but if they decide to go elsewhere I won't hold that against Brew and call this in-state class a failure.
 

I respectfully disagree. If we get only two of the top five in-state guys this year, I would not consider that "locking down the borders." Especially looking at the the top players in the last two years that have gone elsewhere. I like Brew as much as anybody, but nabbing just two out of the 5 premiere Minnesota guys is not good enough.
 

Gopher4life15 said:
I respectfully disagree. If we get only two of the top five in-state guys this year, I would not consider that "locking down the boarders." Especially looking at the the top players in the last two years that have gone elsewhere. I like Brew as much as anybody, but nabbing just two out of the 5 premiere Minnesota guys is not good enough.
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It's always important when setting expectations to have them based on objective criteria. It might do you good to take a look at other B10 programs and see how they do with their borders. You might come away a bit more impressed with Brew.
 


Schnoodler said:
It's always important when setting expectations to have them based on objective criteria. It might do you good to take a look at other B10 programs and see how they do with their borders. You might come away a bit more impressed with Brew.
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Exactly, some of you need to put things in perspective. There are just some things that head coaches cannot control, such as:

Seantrel: You are the best player in the country, my name is Pete Carroll, I've sent hundreds of guys to the show. By the way, I coach the most hyped team in the country, I need you here.

Tobi: Didn't grow up in this state, doesn't really have ties here, can you blame him if staying in this state isn't #1 on his list?

Beau: You get the feeling he really likes being wanted and wants something "bigger". Some kids are like that, if they don't want to stay here and be a part of putting this thing back together o well.


None of those 3 are easy gets, before we jump on Brew, lets realize there probably wasn't a chance in hell to begin with. Any shot we have is probably because of Brew.
 

I am very impressed with what Brew is doing in terms of recruiting. I just think that it is important to help keep critics quiet that he needs to land 4 out of the five big time Minnesota guys. If he were to somehow land all five then that would be amazing, and no one could doubt his ability to "lock down the borders." If he gets these guys, there will start to be a very nice little group of Minnesota players on this team that in a few years will all have huge rolls on this team. This would also help in the future recruitment of Minnesota players, they would see that playing here at home is the place to be.

2 out of 5 not good.
3 out of 5 ok.
4 out of 5 great!
5 out of 5 PERFECTION!
 

If we don't get Okuyemi but we end up landing Onyeali out of Colorado the Gophers will be better off. Locking down the borders is a good goal but if we can get better players from other states we will be a better team.
 

For some data

Last Year per ESPN:

-Pitt and Penn st. combined to only three of the top ten prospects from Pennsylvania
-Mizzou: Two out of the top ten from Missouri
-Tennessee: One out of top six in Tennessee
-LSU: four out of the top ten in Louisiana

3/10, 2/10, 1/6, 4/10

To me this debate is rediculous, you can get a lot of kids to stay but no matter how hard you work some are going to leave. Thats just how it is.

Brewster has done a good job so far keeping a lot of the instate talent home. The instate classes alone in Minnesota arent deep enough to sustain a high profile program anyways.
 



Ok I will give . . I guess it is not important to keep your best homegrown talent at home, and since that is the case let's have Brew stop talking about "locking the borders down" then.
 

grunkiejr said:
If we don't get Okuyemi but we end up landing Onyeali out of Colorado the Gophers will be better off. Locking down the borders is a good goal but if we can get better players from other states we will be a better team.
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Agreed
 

Gopher4life15 said:
Ok I will give . . I guess it is not important to keep your best homegrown talent at home, and since that is the case let's have Brew stop talking about "locking the boarders down" then.
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I think you're overreacting. I didn't see anybody say it isn't important to keep your best homegrown talent at home? Of course we want to the best Minnesota players to stay but it also should be taken in to the context of who is filling the class if that talent leaves.

Last year we signed Victor Keise instead of Fritz Rock. I for one think that was a good trade for the Gophers.

This year the most interesting situation to me is Okuyemi. Everyone from coaches (as evidenced by offer lists) to recruiting services agree that Tobi Okuyemi is a talented yet undersized DE capable of playing at a BCS level. The Gophers have offered him a scholarship and are actively recruiting him while also recruiting other DE's. As nice as it is to keep Minnesota athletes in state I would be fine with Okuyemi leaving if we fill the class with a comparable or more highly sought after DE (like Onyeali).

Let it all play out and then grade the staff. There are some situations where Minnesota players leaving doesn't hurt the program.

And by the way, it is border not boarder.
 

It is important G4L15, it's just that we also need to know what a realistic outcome is when judging the programs ability to close those borders. We want every kid that's capable. But when it comes to judging Brewster let's compare the programs and see how he is doing. We do want all of them, it just doesn't mean we're poor at instate recruiting if it doesn't happen.
 



Cmich Gopher said:
Last Year per ESPN:

-Pitt and Penn st. combined to only three of the top ten prospects from Pennsylvania
-Mizzou: Two out of the top ten from Missouri
-Tennessee: One out of top six in Tennessee
-LSU: four out of the top ten in Louisiana

3/10, 2/10, 1/6, 4/10

To me this debate is rediculous, you can get a lot of kids to stay but no matter how hard you work some are going to leave. Thats just how it is.

Brewster has done a good job so far keeping a lot of the instate talent home. The instate classes alone in Minnesota arent deep enough to sustain a high profile program anyways.
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You do have to remember though as MN we have ALOT less in state talent as these states you've mentioned. They have more to pick from...We don't have that luxury and lets face it we always have a better shot at getting in state guys than some random talent from Texas or Florida...who has played in warm weather and around ACC/SEC/Big 12 teams his whole life and intends to keep it that way. all I'm getting at is at some point in the future maybe not this class or next class the bar needs to be raised a little bit. Which I completely understand it has already...but what it comes down to is if you settle for OK or mid-level recruits your going to get OK or mid-level results.
 

It's BORDER not BOARDER

Gopher4life15 said:
Ok I will give . . I guess it is not important to keep your best homegrown talent at home, and since that is the case let's have Brew stop talking about "locking the boarders down" then.
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For god's sake BORDER not BOARDER!!
 

The schools mentioned above not getting the top guys is not such a big deal for them because the depth of talent in those states. We do not have that luxury, it is very important we do all we can to keep our D-1 talent right here, and I believe Brew is doing everything he can. I just hope for his sake these kids see how much we want them, and how huge it would be for other Minnesota High School football players to see these local guys playing big rolls in the Big Ten in there own back yards.

KEEP IT LOCAL MINNESOTA!

Boarders . . . ;)
 

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