Updated Player Ratings.

In a logical universe, we should be able to out-recruit Purdue and, yes, Iowa. We should aspire to start out-recruiting Wisconsin, although that will be tough as they can still pull nationally in a way we can't. Nebraska is full of delusional NIL money and support so I'm not even going to touch that
In what world “should” the gophers by out recruiting Iowa? What reasons are there for that to happen?
 

In what world “should” the gophers by out recruiting Iowa? What reasons are there for that to happen?
Yep....Gophers should be recruiting on par with Iowa and Wisconsin....and I would argue that we are doing that. The results on the field would seem to back that up as well as there is very clearly not a large talent gap between us and our primary rivals.
 

In what world “should” the gophers by out recruiting Iowa? What reasons are there for that to happen?
I think we should be outrecruiting Iowa.

There is more talent in MN than Iowa and we are the only P5 program in the state.
 

I think we should be outrecruiting Iowa.

There is more talent in MN than Iowa and we are the only P5 program in the state.
According to this, it looks like Iowa, MN, and WIS are pretty similar in terms of number of people from the state that have made it to the NFL and the number that are currently active.


On a side note, the state of Pennsylvania has produced a crazy number of HOF players.
 

as far as the "should be" out-recruiting other teams.

there are multiple components to recruiting:
- coach's ability to sell his program
- player's interest in that school and program
- recent success (or lack thereof) by the school
- location of the school/conference affiliation
- school's NIL offerings and/or player's NIL requests/demands
- (in some cases) school's academic offerings

and each recruit is an individual story. the sales pitch that works on recruit A may fall flat for recruit B.
 


I think we should be outrecruiting Iowa.

There is more talent in MN than Iowa and we are the only P5 program in the state.
Over the last 3 years MN has produced 7 four stars. Iowa has produced 11 four stars and 2 five stars. Who was the last five star from MN, Seantrel Henderson? Being a little closer to talent rich Illinois and Missouri doesn’t hurt Iowa either.
 


In what world “should” the gophers by out recruiting Iowa? What reasons are there for that to happen?
I'm not sure we should, but we certainly can. We are basically equal to them for the 2024 class. As I posted in comment #23:

3) Our average player rating of 87.52 puts us 10th out of 18 teams in the B1G, but basically tied with Iowa (they are 9th). Again, this is pretty good for us historically speaking.
* As per 247, class 2024 rankings.

We can certainly recruit on par with Wisconsin too and have recently. They are out recruiting us now because Luke Fickell is still the exiting, shiny, new toy in the Big Ten, but that can fade quickly if he doesn't win. His record of success in the G5 was much the same as PJ's, but just more recent. PJ's career record is now weighed down from competing longer in the big leagues!
 

100%. We do a good job in the trenches of getting guys. Hopefully the defense can show some improvement with another year of experience for a number of guys.
I'm definitely curious to see if the new defensive coordinator dials up the heat with some blitz packages and gets a little more aggressive as these current players age. I feel like Rossi wasn't able to do that as much as he'd like because of the injuries at LB that often times left huge chunks of the field wide open in the middle 1/3rd. Also, if Smith can emerge at the edge which i think he will, he is a specimen, that could work wonders for the back half of the defense. Pretty excited to see if this staff can meet the challenge.
 



I'm not sure we should, but we certainly can. We are basically equal to them for the 2024 class. As I posted in comment #23:

3) Our average player rating of 87.52 puts us 10th out of 18 teams in the B1G, but basically tied with Iowa (they are 9th). Again, this is pretty good for us historically speaking.
* As per 247, class 2024 rankings.

We can certainly recruit on par with Wisconsin too and have recently. They are out recruiting us now because Luke Fickell is still the exiting, shiny, new toy in the Big Ten, but that can fade quickly if he doesn't win. His record of success in the G5 was much the same as PJ's, but just more recent. PJ's career record is now weighed down from competing longer in the big leagues!
We absolutely can be better in recruiting, or at least on par (if not there already). However, it's crazy to me why anyone would just think we should be.

Iowa is perennially better, year in and year out. Not only do they spend more time being ranked, but they do it over and over again, playing in much better bowl games as well. They don't have a quirky coach that may rub some recruits the wrong way. They produce NFL talent in a regular basis. Iowa City is a smaller community, but Iowa football has a large footprint and a rabid fanbase. Their home atmosphere is just better in my opinion, even if their offense can't score any points for the duration of an entire season.

I dont buy in, and not sure why so many people do, that the Twin Cities is better for recruiting with their Fortune 500 companies and/or just being a larger city. Not all recruits want that. In fact I'd think some recruits would rather focus on their results on the football field and the fans in/out of the stands. Walk around Iowa City or Cedar Rapids on game day, its "Go Hawks! everywhere you go. In the stands, it's "Go Hawks" instead of excuse me if someone is getting up.

I travel a lot, and I ALWAYS see Hawkeye gear (and Packers) on people. It's rare I see Gopher stuff, their fan base is just more passionate. Their football team has had better results, and its been more constant. Now factor in NIL, might just make it even more appealing, but also gives a school like Minnesota an opportunity - it gives any school an opportunity if they have the money.

So why 'should' we simply recruit better?
 

Over the last 3 years MN has produced 7 four stars. Iowa has produced 11 four stars and 2 five stars. Who was the last five star from MN, Seantrel Henderson? Being a little closer to talent rich Illinois and Missouri doesn’t hurt Iowa either.
Well, I guess I don't know what I'm talking about then. :).
 

I'm not sure we should, but we certainly can. We are basically equal to them for the 2024 class. As I posted in comment #23:

3) Our average player rating of 87.52 puts us 10th out of 18 teams in the B1G, but basically tied with Iowa (they are 9th). Again, this is pretty good for us historically speaking.
* As per 247, class 2024 rankings.

We can certainly recruit on par with Wisconsin too and have recently. They are out recruiting us now because Luke Fickell is still the exiting, shiny, new toy in the Big Ten, but that can fade quickly if he doesn't win. His record of success in the G5 was much the same as PJ's, but just more recent. PJ's career record is now weighed down from competing longer in the big leagues!
Can is a lot different than should. As per your points what’s the average ranking of classes between the gophers, badgers, and Iowa over the past 5-10 years? I’m betting it’s not that close
 

Team recruiting rankings are garbage. Really not worth giving them more than a passing glace if that.
Is there no correlation between recruiting rankings and on-field results?
 



Is there no correlation between recruiting rankings and on-field results?
Not in the way some fans would like to think there is.

It has been hashed and rehashed over and over on this board in terms of the silliness of putting a ton of stock in recruiting rankings. There is a difference in the talent level the helmet schools are able to bring in but once you get beyond those top 15-20 schools it all becomes really subjective and the difference among teams is minimal.

To me it is pretty simple......to believe the rankings are correct involves believing that these recruiting sites can accurately evaluate thousands of players from all over the country who will never be on the same field at the same time and who play at all different levels. There is no possible way they can do that. They can identify the best of the best and from there it is just a guess as to how they think a player might turn out. They will be right on some players and they will miss badly on lots of others (both positive and negative).

Recruiting rankings are for entertainment purposes only. Putting more stock in them than that is a waste of time. And as I said in another post, a lot of the guys in these classes will never even take an in game snap for the team that recruited them in this current college football landscape where the roster churn is off the charts.
 

We absolutely can be better in recruiting, or at least on par (if not there already). However, it's crazy to me why anyone would just think we should be.

Iowa is perennially better, year in and year out. Not only do they spend more time being ranked, but they do it over and over again, playing in much better bowl games as well. They don't have a quirky coach that may rub some recruits the wrong way. They produce NFL talent in a regular basis. Iowa City is a smaller community, but Iowa football has a large footprint and a rabid fanbase. Their home atmosphere is just better in my opinion, even if their offense can't score any points for the duration of an entire season.

I dont buy in, and not sure why so many people do, that the Twin Cities is better for recruiting with their Fortune 500 companies and/or just being a larger city. Not all recruits want that. In fact I'd think some recruits would rather focus on their results on the football field and the fans in/out of the stands. Walk around Iowa City or Cedar Rapids on game day, its "Go Hawks! everywhere you go. In the stands, it's "Go Hawks" instead of excuse me if someone is getting up.

I travel a lot, and I ALWAYS see Hawkeye gear (and Packers) on people. It's rare I see Gopher stuff, their fan base is just more passionate. Their football team has had better results, and its been more constant. Now factor in NIL, might just make it even more appealing, but also gives a school like Minnesota an opportunity - it gives any school an opportunity if they have the money.

So why 'should' we simply recruit better?
Iowa City is definitely a fun town lots of great bars and very pedestrian friendly.
 

Koi Perich is now the second highest rated composite recruit for Minnesota with a .9619 rating and 73rd overall recruit in this class. ESPN is the only service that ranks him below the top 100.

 




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