What grade would you give the Gophers 2013 recruiting class?

[GopherHole Staff]

What grade would you give the Gophers 2013 recruiting class?

 

[MadtownGopher]

Seems like about as good of a class as you could hope for without any 4*'s. So I went with B-/C+.

 

[Gopher07]

Seems like about as good of a class as you could hope for without any 4*'s. So I went with B-/C+.

Exactly my thoughts as well. This is a class that isn't big on star power, but appears solid top to bottom, which will pay dividends in the way of having quality depth on the roster down the road. I'm happy today.

 

[Stanger86]

It depends on ow you look at it. Are we comparing it to the rest of the country? Or are we grading based on the current status of the program?

 

[Heber]

It is pretty clear that Coach Kill's recruiting isn't going to lead to landing the big recruits (4 or 5 star recruits). We have to trust that he is able to identify kids that he can coach up.

On paper, Kill's recruiting classes look terrible. In Big 10 play Coach Kill's performance has been pretty terrible. Until we start seeing this lead to the program being competitive in the Big 10, and if his classes are predominantly 2 and 3 star recruits, I won't rank his classes any greater than a C-.

 

[Dr.Don]

It is pretty clear that Coach Kill's recruiting isn't going to lead to landing the big recruits (4 or 5 star recruits). We have to trust that he is able to identify kids that he can coach up.

On paper, Kill's recruiting classes look terrible. In Big 10 play Coach Kill's performance has been pretty terrible. Until we start seeing this lead to the program being competitive in the Big 10, and if his classes are predominantly 2 and 3 star recruits, I won't rank his classes any greater than a C-.

And you are the glass of cheer on a fun day.

 

[gophers141]

Time will tell. Yes Kill's recruits played in the Orange Bowl recently but clearly couldn't compete size and speed wise with FSU. They were successful in the MAC against MAC type talent. I just hope Kill hasn't used the same recruiting approach (talent wise) as he did at NIU and expect those kids to compete with Big Ten powers Michigan, Ohio State etc who bring in the same "star power" recruits as FSU does.

As I said, time will tell. Gotta give Kill a chance to prove or disprove his methods. Looking forward to seeing all of these guys in uniform next year!

 

[Wouldn't You like to Know]

B+

Stealing Kids away from programs like Missouri (SEC) and K-State (Big 12) is a big deal for me. Would like to see more kids from the area, including; MN, SD (if there is a kid worthy), NE, IA, IL, & IN. But all in all a real nice job with the limited number of scholly's available.

 

[Gopher07]

if his classes are predominantly 2 and 3 star recruits, I won't rank his classes any greater than a C-.

By this measure, six out of 12 B1G classes shouldn't be ranked greater than a C- this year. Wisconsin, Northwestern, Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue and Illinois all have an average star rating (on Rivals) of < 3. Penn State and Indiana are at a 3 average, exactly. That's fair if that's your measure for grading, but considering our main competition our class isn't some crazy outlier.

 

[Unregistered User]

By this measure, six out of 12 B1G classes shouldn't be ranked greater than a C- this year. Wisconsin, Northwestern, Iowa, Minnesota, Purdue and Illinois all have an average star rating (on Rivals) of < 3. Penn State and Indiana are at a 3 average, exactly. That's fair if that's your measure for grading, but considering our main competition our class isn't some crazy outlier.

I imagine he just wants us to get back to Glen Mason levels. You know, the same level of recruiting that brought us a grand total of 3 **** players (according to the Rivals DB) from the years 2002 - 2006.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

I didn't vote in the poll, because there wasn't a category for "I Don't Know."

Not trying to be a smart-a** - I honestly don't know. No offense, but people on the internet read a few articles, watch some edited highlight tapes, and form an opinion about 17 and 18-yr old athletes. There are so many variables and intangibles that go into becoming a successful athlete. The measurables are great, but I want to know what makes a player tick.....is he a good student.....is he coachable......does he hang out with questionable friends.....? Hopefully, the coaches doing the recruiting have done their due diligence, and can evaluate the recruits to a much greater degree than even the most knowledgeable fan.

My bottom line: we won't know about this year's recruiting class for at least 2 or 3 years. For a few recruits, we may be able to make a quicker evaluation - if a kid is really good, he'll stand out early. And if a kid is really Not good, he'll also stand out. We live in an age of instant information, and we want to make instant judgements about everything, but sometimes, that's just not possible.

 

[nsmike]

I gave it a B based on the dearth of instate talent, winning some head to head recruiting battles with big time programs, and our 2011 season. There will be a lot more instate talent next year, and a better record in 2012, so recruiting needs to step up.

 

[scools12]

When ESPN, Rivals, Scout and 247Sports consider the class to be the lowest or one of the lowest ranked classes in the conference don't see how a grade higher than a C could be given.

 

[WolfontheProwl]

I give this class a C. Its a decent class that will hopefully play better than it is rated but like all rankings maybe it wont. It was nice to see the coaches go after some LBers that they need in a bad way but I am not blown away by the overall quality of the talent. Hopefully it is developed and grows over the next few years but as far as a recruiting class its nothing special which all rankings will show. In the end the team will win or lose not just by this class but how this class will fit with the ones before it and after it. If we are looking at a similar recruiting class next year I would question Kills ability to bring in the talent this University will need to compete in the Big Ten but with that said its a process and winning should allow the recruiting to improve. 6 wins this past season maybe 7 or 8 wins next year should help improve the quality of the athlete coming in.

 

[Unregistered User]

I gave it an "A" simply because each of these guys decided today to wear Maroon and Gold, and that's all that matters to me.

 

[Monty519]

When ESPN, Rivals, Scout and 247Sports consider the class to be the lowest or one of the lowest ranked classes in the conference don't see how a grade higher than a C could be given.

Partly cause of the quantity, only 19 commits weighs it down just a little bit. It probably wouldn't be the lowest in the conference with a few more kids in it. Also, 24/7 still has Campbell as a K-State commit. I don't know how much weight his switch would give us, but it's gotta be at least a decent boost.

 

[MNVCGUY]

I didn't vote in the poll, because there wasn't a category for "I Don't Know."

Not trying to be a smart-a** - I honestly don't know. No offense, but people on the internet read a few articles, watch some edited highlight tapes, and form an opinion about 17 and 18-yr old athletes. There are so many variables and intangibles that go into becoming a successful athlete. The measurables are great, but I want to know what makes a player tick.....is he a good student.....is he coachable......does he hang out with questionable friends.....? Hopefully, the coaches doing the recruiting have done their due diligence, and can evaluate the recruits to a much greater degree than even the most knowledgeable fan.

My bottom line: we won't know about this year's recruiting class for at least 2 or 3 years. For a few recruits, we may be able to make a quicker evaluation - if a kid is really good, he'll stand out early. And if a kid is really Not good, he'll also stand out. We live in an age of instant information, and we want to make instant judgements about everything, but sometimes, that's just not possible.

Very fair points. I get a kick out of fans speculating on which guys are going to play immediatly and be the next superstars before they even get to campus and hit the field for the first time. The coaches are making educated guesses on recruits based on analyzing film and watching them in person. Fans with a few exceptions are watching highlight videos and reading press clippings in order to form their opinions about who will or will not be great. Especially in a class like this one where almost everyone is from out of state I have to think 99% of us have never seen any of these out of state kids play live.

Another poster was pumped about the class becasue we took a recruit from Missouri and another from K-State. Both good gets but to me that gets offset some by losing an instate kid to Wisconsin and another to Iowa. With so little in state talent year to year you absolutely have to lock up the vast majority of it and the staff did not do a good job of that this year.

 

[t-docious]

B. step in the right direction

 

[Cayman]

And you are the glass of cheer on a fun day.

He's not the only one. Other fans have given this latest class their ringing endorsement on the Minnesota Gophers Facebook page.

I don't believe they have landed a single 4 star recruit or higher. Just a bunch of the usual 2 and 3's...

As usual, recruiting class ranked dead last in Big Ten

ESPN is ranking Minnesota 12th in the Big Ten

Lets just face it, the gophers will never be good at football. Might have a couple good years here and there but we will never be the Ohio state, Michigan or Wisconsin like people want or think

Lol at lumping Wisconsin in with Ohio State and Michigan

Nobody wants to play here considering the history. If I were a prospect I'd want to go to winning, estabolished programs.

It would of been nice to get that 4 star DB dorm Tartan instead of letting him slip off to Sconi

According to espn, this dude [Berkley Edwards] runs a 4.6 40. In what division is that speedy? Have we finally tapped out and gone to the FCS?

Another Facebook poster summed it up best

All the negativity in this town sucks. (Minnesota Gophers likes this)

 

[btowngopher]

Only 6 players in this class lacked an offer from another BCS conf team. Last years class had 16 players that lacked offers from bcs teams. Year before that had 11.

 

[John Galt]

I have no idea how to rate it. Everyone gave the 2008 class an "A" and how did that turn out? I'll judge the results on the field.

 

[wait!what?]

2 stars

 

[MNVCGUY]

I have no idea how to rate it. Everyone gave the 2008 class an "A" and how did that turn out? I'll judge the results on the field.

All you can do right now is rate it on potential talent and how it stacks up on paper against the rest of the conference. Would be time consuming but would be interesting to grab each big ten class from 3-4 years ago and re-rank them based on how many guys have become starters and how many are still on the roster. Right now all anyone can do is guess as to how good players are going to be.

 

[Sportsfan24]

I would give the class the same grade that I would give any class.....an incomplete.

Only the coaches can give the class a grade at this point; because only they know if they got the guys they really wanted versus options 2,3 or 4. The rest of us will have to wait 2-5 years and see how they actually play on the field.

Personally I love the fact that coach Kill is more intent on getting the type of guys he wants to coach versus stars. Now with that being said, hopefully that isn't spin.

 

[Hates Monikers]

Come on, guys. Of course we won't know if this is a good class for two or three years. We all know that. So what? This will not be an issue in your next election for Gopherhole Board of Trustees. We have seven months to kill until the season starts and we just got 18 new guys. We don't have to limit discussion to next season's UNLV game, do we? Or last season's?

The question at hand is what do you think today, based on what (little) we know? We all promise nobody will hold you to it three years from now.

Well ... most of us promise.

 

[Gopherprof]

Stealing Kids away from programs like Missouri (SEC) and K-State (Big 12) is a big deal for me.

Why? I'm glad we got those players; I always look at a kids' offer sheet more than his * rating, but we are talking about Missouri and K-State here. Now, Campbell reportedly had some much bigger offers (Texas) that I'm more impressed by.

 

[50PoundHead]

I didn't vote in the poll, because there wasn't a category for "I Don't Know."

Not trying to be a smart-a** - I honestly don't know. No offense, but people on the internet read a few articles, watch some edited highlight tapes, and form an opinion about 17 and 18-yr old athletes. There are so many variables and intangibles that go into becoming a successful athlete. The measurables are great, but I want to know what makes a player tick.....is he a good student.....is he coachable......does he hang out with questionable friends.....? Hopefully, the coaches doing the recruiting have done their due diligence, and can evaluate the recruits to a much greater degree than even the most knowledgeable fan.

My bottom line: we won't know about this year's recruiting class for at least 2 or 3 years. For a few recruits, we may be able to make a quicker evaluation - if a kid is really good, he'll stand out early. And if a kid is really Not good, he'll also stand out. We live in an age of instant information, and we want to make instant judgements about everything, but sometimes, that's just not possible.

This.

Only things I would add is that it would have been nice to land Tedric Thompson, but I think we've got a couple of scholarships left for late-qualifiers. The additions of Jones and Campbell really helped.

 

[Gopherprof]

Only 6 players in this class lacked an offer from another BCS conf team. Last years class had 16 players that lacked offers from bcs teams. Year before that had 11.

That's progress, but last years' class was really reaching for guys near the end.

But, yes, progress is being made. I'm more impressed by this class than last year, because of the really bad in-state class they had to work with. It's hard to recruit 95% of your class from out of state.

 

[Parski1]

How can you give a grade - Comparing this class to what? Michigan's class or Indiana's?

 

[Sportsfan24]

Why? I'm glad we got those players; I always look at a kids' offer sheet more than his * rating, but we are talking about Missouri and K-State here. Now, Campbell reportedly had some much bigger offers (Texas) that I'm more impressed by.

Offer sheets are like 40 yard times......folks lie and nobody fact checks.