What grade would you give the Gophers 2013 recruiting class?

[GophersInIowa]

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.

What's wrong with K-State and Missouri? They're not on the level of Alabama or anything, but one was in a BCS bowl just last year, and the other was ranked as high as 6th just a few years ago. They're two programs that are better than Minnesota's right now, so getting recruits who had offers from them is a pretty big deal.

 

[EG#9]

I find it interesting that "F" is not an option for a recruiting class that was ranked at the bottom of the Big Ten by every service, yet the choice of "A" is available. I'd personally go with a "D+", but could understand any grade from "C" to "F".

 

[GophersInIowa]

I find it interesting that "F" is not an option for a recruiting class that was ranked at the bottom of the Big Ten by every service, yet the choice of "A" is available. I'd personally go with a "D+", but could understand any grade from "C" to "F".

Depends how you look at it. If you compare this class with the top ones, then yeah the grade shouldn't be very good. If you consider where we are as a program, then I think it's average. But then I give it a bump above average because we addressed some big needs, especially LB, WR and K.

 

[skiumah2]

Depends how you look at it. If you compare this class with the top ones, then yeah the grade shouldn't be very good. If you consider where we are as a program, then I think it's average. But then I give it a bump above average because we addressed some big needs, especially LB, WR and K.

How are we supposed to look at it? Recruiting is all about landing the best players possible. If we're ranked 12th out of 12 teams how is that average? How did we address big needs with players that aren't rated very high? Where we are as a program is where we've been for the past 50 years, which is below average to poor.

I want to be as positive as the next guy but 15 years as a season ticket holder has seen the same below average product on the field after a below average showing on Wednesday in early February. There isn't anything in this class that we should be optimistic about. The only way these players will rise to glory is significant improvement we can't possibly predict. For every low rated Tyrone Carter, Ben Hamilton or Eric Decker that turned into superstars, there's been hundreds that never amounted to anything higher than their rank. 2 and 3 star players that don't outperform their rank will not lead to victories on the field. When you have a whole class full of 2 and 3 star recruits, it is unrealistic to believe that any more than 1 of these will become 4 or 5 star players.

It's simple math really. There's a reason why Ohio St, Michigan, etc. lead the league every year. On Wednesday in early February, they have the most 4 and 5 star players. They don't have to count on low rated players that outperform their rank. They only have to worry about high rated players not living up to their potential. Unfortunately for us, that happens about as much as our players shining brighter than their 2 or 3 stars.

Look, I'm not trying to be Johnny Raincloud here but the facts are getting in the way of any realistic optimism we should be having. We landed exactly one Minnesota kid. Of the 3 Minnesota players with any reasonable high ranking, we landed none of them. While it doesn't matter where they come from, it goes to show how we're thought of by our own when we only get one Minnesota kid to come here. We finished 12th out of 12 teams in recruiting rankings and 60 something in the country. I didn't vote in the poll because my grade was not one of the choices. These facts only result in one conclusion, the Gophers recruiting class ranks an F. While I hate saying that, it's still the truth. I'm really confused how most of you graded this class a B.

 

[Gopher07]

These facts only result in one conclusion, the Gophers recruiting class ranks an F.

Our class would need to only marginally over-perform versus their average rating (and have others perform to their average rating) to be about the 8th-most-talented class in the conference come 2017.

Really, there are probably 3 tiers of classes this year in the B1G when you look at average stars:

Tier 1 (>3.5):
Ohio State 3.83
Michigan 3.63
---------
Tier 2 (3-3.5):
Nebraska 3.16
Michigan State 3.11
Penn State 3
Wisconsin 3
------
Tier 3 (<3):
Indiana 2.95
Maryland 2.95
Northwestern 2.89
Rutgers 2.82
Iowa 2.81
Minnesota 2.74
Purdue 2.74
Illinois 2.72

So our class isn't a rousing success, but all-in-all it's not THAT much different from what the bottom half of the conference is pulling in, talent-wise. From there it comes down to coaching, player improvement, upperclassman leadership, schedule, etc.

 

[mplsbadger]

B-

Met most immediate goal (LB), had to settle at DB.
Missed on a few in state guys.
Otherwise a solid class.

My criteria:
A = hit a couple home runs, get everyone you want in state, meet all of your goals/needs
A- = same as above without the home runs
B+ = same as above but getting most of the guys you want in state
B = same as above but getting less than half of what you want in state
B- = same as above but meeting only most of your goals/needs
C+ = same quality as above but not meeting most goals/needs
C = same as above but mediocre quality
D = failed to find enough quality to offer all available scholarships
F = clearly failed to recruit at a level that can sustain the program in its current state

 

[GophersInIowa]

How are we supposed to look at it?

If everyone every year was on the same level as far as recruiting goes, then this would be a bad class. But that's not the case. We're a below average program so we can't expect to have classes like Ohio St. or Alabama. We're a bottom tier program right now and that's where our class ended up ranked. That's all I meant.

If we're ranked 12th out of 12 teams how is that average?

It's been said dozens of times over the past few days that those rankings are influenced by number of recruits. If the Gophers had just signed three more bottom end 3-star recruits (5.5 grade), they would have been ranked 8th in the conference according to Rivals. Look at the Illinois class. Their top 2 ranked players are rated higher than any of the Gopher recruits, but the Gophers have nine players rated as a 5.6 or higher while Illinois has only eight. Illinois has nine players rated as two stars, while the Gophers just five. I know I'm splitting hairs here and that's the point. The difference is so small.

How did we address big needs with players that aren't rated very high?

One of those is a kicker. They are never rated high. As for some of the others, do you think a guy who has offers from Kansas St., Texas, and Tennessee isn't a very good recruit? There's some guys with some good offers. Just a little bump in their rating and they're four star recruits. All of a sudden everyone is excited because Rivals bumped them from a 5.7 to a 5.8.

Where we are as a program is where we've been for the past 50 years, which is below average to poor.

But you expect the Gophers to recruit at a high level?

There isn't anything in this class that we should be optimistic about.

Disagree

We landed exactly one Minnesota kid. Of the 3 Minnesota players with any reasonable high ranking, we landed none of them. While it doesn't matter where they come from, it goes to show how we're thought of by our own when we only get one Minnesota kid to come here.

You conveniently left out the fact that in 2012, the Gophers signed 10 from Minnesota. You also have to figure in all the MN kids who have accepted PWOs even though they had scholarship offers to other schools. I think that's a pretty dang good indication that there's a lot of pride and optimism by "our own". Oh, and the top player in the state next year (4-star) already committed to the U.

Nobody is saying this is an awesome, top end recruiting class. But we addressed our needs and Kill really seems to know what kind of recruits he wants. The former coach signed anyone he could get and we saw that didn't work very well. Let's try something different. We win a few more games and we'll have a better chance of landing more higher rated players.

 

[B1GSportsGuy]

Every B1G fanbase thinks they have a solid recruiting class every year.

Recruiting rankings are like a$$holes. Everyone has them and they all stink.

 

[GopherGod]

Every B1G fanbase thinks they have a solid recruiting class every year.

Recruiting rankings are like a$$holes. Everyone has them and they all stink.

Wrong, you must not frequent very many fanbase message boards.

 

[littlebigboy]

Impossible to do, will be able to judge in 3 or4 yrs. Now it's just a guess no matter what any genius says.

 

[Bayfieldgopher]

Coach Kill is hard at work trying to turn a piece of coal into a diamond.

We, as well as the majority of the BIG, are not in the same league as OSU and Michigan when it comes to recruiting.

I agree with skimah2 for the most part except the F rating. An F compared to what? Maybe OSU's class but not compared to the bottom 1/2 of the BIG.

I give the class an incomplete just as I would every class. Time will tell how well these youngsters perform.

However, I still believe that Coach Kill has the nads to piecemeal a competitive BIG squad without the level of OSU type talent. Wisconsin and NU, to a lesser extent, have done decent without the top HS recruits.

Coach Kill needs more time and his contract allows for that.