Western Michigan

[corcoran1]

I'm just saying, doesn't that worry any of you? Most Big Ten signees should at least have offers from other BCS schools. But not Kill's bunch...

Actually, I love the fact these guys recognize athletes and offer them before other BCS schools do. Absolutely the best strategy they could employ. In case anyone has forgotten, they had better athletes last year on the field at TCF than we did, and they got them to NIU.

If you are holding out for four star recruits, I don't think these are your guys, but if you want to see a staff that will take athletes and build them into football players, this is a good staff.

 

[corcoran1]

Agreed 100%


Guys like McDonald who's being wooed from big time BCS schools and sees the only guys Kill has gotten to commit are ones he yanked from mediocre at best MAC level talent. Yes he can turn guys like that into very good MAC football players, but he's not in the MAC anymore, he's in the BIGTEN. He needs to start pulling in guys who are of BIGTEN level talent. I have no doubt in his coaching up abilities.... but coaching up non BCS and DIAA type guys to play in our league is going to be harder than he thinks. Therefore, be more patient with a guy like McDonald, don't just pull his offer like some of the rubes on here want to do because he may have doubts and wants to look around. HE'S 17!!!! Of course he would want to look around, and so would all of you. He didn't de-commit (last time I checked) he was a soft verbal, because he sees the 'talent' that Kill is surrounding him with...

BS, how do you think Alvarez and and Ferentz turned those programs around? They did it with kids with the athletic potential to develop into good BigTen players. They specifically recruited kids with the potential to develop into multiple positions,and then coach the hell out of them. (Mason did this on offense, Spaeth was recruited as a DE, but was much better at TE.)
Wisconsin's gotten away from having to do this as much as they used to, and to some extent so has Iowa, but they did not turn these programs around by out-recruiting helmet schools for name players, or even players with multiple BCS offers. Both programs were built on sound offensive and defensive lines, built with few four star recruits. There are no systems that get around doing that, nor does brilliant recruiting fix the problem. There are good recruiting staffs fired every year, who don't develop them well once they get them. If we can fix the defensive line positions, we can win and the strategy these guys use is as friendly to taking athletes and building linemen as it could be.

 

[Ole]

Actually, I love the fact these guys recognize athletes and offer them before other BCS schools do. Absolutely the best strategy they could employ. In case anyone has forgotten, they had better athletes last year on the field at TCF than we did, and they got them to NIU.

If you are holding out for four star recruits, I don't think these are your guys, but if you want to see a staff that will take athletes and build them into football players, this is a good staff.

Exactly.
At this point Kill gets a pass, if he proves he can take lesser recruited kids and make good players out of them in the Big Ten, he'll prove himself. If not, we'll need to be concerned down the road.

The Moss pickup is an important one to me. Head to head with Nebraska for an under the radar kid tells me at least the staff can develop relationships and recruit outstate.
Retention and developing players will be key.

 

[corcoran1]

i think that most minnesota fans are under a skewed impression of exactly where the football program is right now.

Minnesota is about even with indiana as the worst program in the big ten.

being in the big ten is going to attract a certain level of player to commit to the program, but being on the bottom is not going to make minnesota competitive with other BCS schools.

players without connections to minnesota are not going to see the gleaming gem, sleeping giant that most of us see when we wonder why more three and four star players are not committing to the gophers. players with a connection to minnesota are more likely to want to play for the gophers because of that connection, but are just as likely to get stars in their eyes when an actual contender comes calling. not until the gophers start winning games will we be winning any recruiting wars with other BCS teams.

i think minnesota can be turned into a winner. after all, if boise state, tcu, etc. can do it, then all the more can a team with rich history, great facilities, world class city, being in the big ten and no instate competition do it. but it is going to be a process. it is not going to be a one year turnaround kind of thing. the coach that does facilitate the turnaround is going to have to be a alvarez/ferentz kind of coach. they are going to have to recruit mid-level palyers who fit their system, plug them into the system where they fit and then build year after year.

only after getting the gophers back to respectability will the gophers start to be able to lock down the borders. and only after getting back to respectability and locking down the borders will the fans start to get fanatical about the program and fill the stadium every saturday. the gophers will start to make mid-level bowl games and start to win them. when that happens, the gophers will be able to start winning some out of state recruiting battles for players with multiple BCS offers and no connections to the state. and after four or five years of building the gophers will go on a run and surprise some people.

when all that happens, then we as fans can start getting uppity about the kind of recruits that are committing.

Be careful using reason to discuss recruiting with these guys, you will be deeply disappointed when it becomes clear that they would much rather make irrational statements that allow them to feel both wronged and morally virtuous, despite having done nothing to help the program.

 

[btowngopher]

Not sure how one could come to that conclusion about Max Shortell. He completed 53% of his passes as a senior and he was named honorable mention all conference, meaning the high school coaches in his league felt there were two QB's in his own conference better than him. This is not the resume of one of the "top HS passers in the country last year." Plus, if he was truly as you have stated, why would Kill feel the need to bring in another HS QB this fall?

He probably brought in another qb cause he was like, "oh crap why did I ever offer this crappy red headed dude." Most people are guessing he wanted another qb with some good mobility on the team to run some wildcat type sets maybe as early as this fall. Rivals thought pretty highly of Shortell, ranking him as the 22nd best pro style qb in the nation and the number 5 player in Kansas. Why aren't the 2 all conference guys who are suppose to be better then Shortell not on a D1 roster right now?

 

[Weisbrod]

Barely being ranked as a top 5 player in Kansas (not Florida, California or Texas) and the no. 22 "pro style" QB in the nation isn't exactly high praise. Let's be realistic here. Not saying he won't be good but let's wait and see.

 

[sonnygarcia]

Being rated the 22nd best pro-style QB in the country isn't high praise? Also, if he was a top 5 player in FL, CA or TX he would be going to a top 5 football program. I know you're just a hack sportswriter, but it is your occupation, so at least try to be somewhat good at it, no?

 

[Gopher07]

Just for comparison, the most successful pro-style QBs ranked 22+ in the past several years:

Matt Ryan (#25, 2003)
Joe Flacco (#39, 2003)
Max Hall (#26, 2004)
Andy Dalton (#23, 2006)
Colin Kapernick (#34, 2006)
Kellen Moore (#31, 2007)
Jordan Wynn (#22, 2008)

And meanwhile, the #1 ranked pro-style QBs:

2002: Ben Olson
2003: Kyle Wright
2004: Rhett Bomar
2005: Mark Sanchez
2006: Matt Stafford
2007: Jimmy Clausen
2008: Blaine Gabbert

So just because he's ranked 22nd doesn't mean he'll be bad, or that it's not praise-worthy. But just because he's ranked 22nd doesn't mean he'll be good. It means he's ranked 22nd and we'll have to wait to judge his performance until a few years have passed, just like you'd have to do with the #1 rated guys.

 

[GophersInIowa]

Barely being ranked as a top 5 player in Kansas (not Florida, California or Texas) and the no. 22 "pro style" QB in the nation isn't exactly high praise. Let's be realistic here. Not saying he won't be good but let's wait and see.

I think we could all say the same thing in response to your original post about the 2012 recruits not having a lot of offers.

 

[Killjoy]

You Are Right

Barely being ranked as a top 5 player in Kansas (not Florida, California or Texas) and the no. 22 "pro style" QB in the nation isn't exactly high praise. Let's be realistic here. Not saying he won't be good but let's wait and see.

Yea - That is why Michigan went after him. They cooled on him when he said no. I believe they said "Let's be realistic he is only the no. 22 'pro style' QB in the nation which isn't exactly high praise."

 

[Gopher028]

Funny that the two brainless monkies from the other thread are in agreement in this thread! Absolutely shocking.

I see that the obnoxious pricks have to follow people around and internet bully them from mom's basement... absolutely shocking.

 

[gophergrad]

Summertime on a college football message board. "Hold onto yet butts!"

 

[sonnygarcia]

Funny that the two brainless monkies from the other thread are in agreement in this thread! Absolutely shocking.

I see that the obnoxious pricks have to follow people around and internet bully them from mom's basement... absolutely shocking.

You should learn to use the "quote" button, but I guess I should expect that from you.....

 

[Gopher028]

You should learn to use the "quote" button, but I guess I should expect that from you.....

Yes I did use the "quote button" smart guy. I don't run this board so I don't control whether it works or not. Good one though.....

 

[Weisbrod]

Nm

 

[Weisbrod]

Being rated the 22nd best pro-style QB in the country isn't high praise? Also, if he was a top 5 player in FL, CA or TX he would be going to a top 5 football program. I know you're just a hack sportswriter, but it is your occupation, so at least try to be somewhat good at it, no?

I'm flattered but I've never written sports in my life. Looks like you're 0 for 2 buddy.