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A busy week for Gophers recruiting continued Friday when 2024 Eden Prairie defensive lineman Mo Saine committed to staying home at Minnesota. As the No. 5 ranked recruit in Minnesota according to 247sports, he held other top offers from Arizona State, Iowa State and Kansas State. Listed at 6-foot-5, 270 pounds he adds to an impressive group of linemen committed to the 2024 class.
100% COMMITTED🔥‼️ pic.twitter.com/Kric7Az9Gf
— Mo Saine (@mo_saine99) April 14, 2023
Who is Mo Saine?:
Mo Saine is currently a junior student-athlete at one of the biggest high schools in Minnesota, Eden Prairie. He is one of the best prep athletes in the state and it consistently shows up on the gridiron. After an impressive junior campaign, he broke onto the recruiting scene picking up offers from Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Arizona State, Army and the Gophers on April 6. He committed to his hometown school only eight days later on April 14.
- Scouting Report:
Starring along the interior last season for the Eagles, Saine has terrific size for a defensive line prospect his age. At 6-foot-5, 270 pounds he has the frame to be a game-wrecker in the Big Ten. He weaponized his strength as a junior and showed impressive get-off from the line of scrimmage. Like most players his age he has room to grow when it comes to pure pass-rush moves, but he will provide new DL coach Winston DeLattiboudere with a fun prospect to mold.
**High School Football Hudl Highlights:
Instant Reaction:
Saine is the fourth home-state commitment for the Gophers this cycle and now gives them four of the top nine players in the state remaining home. Flashback to last season, Coach Fleck and the Gophers had six of the top eight Minnesota recruits staying home. This hot in-state streak proves that Fleck has built a program that is appealing to young kinds in the state, as they make their college decisions. Keeping the top of the top players home is another ball game, but that would never happen overnight. Keeping the middle chunk of players is what makes a statement to the whole region and adding Saine to the fold does that for the Gophers.
What is next?:
Now with 10 total commitments, the Gophers’ 2024 class ranked 16th-best according to 247sports. The class rankings at this point of the process are virtually meaningless as the schools with the most commitments find themselves atop the list. As it comes to in-state recruiting the Gophers’ focus should shift towards Rogers HS defensive lineman Wyatt Gilmore, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the state, but Fleck will have to out-recruit the likes of Miami (FL), Oregon, Oklahoma and Iowa. He is the type of recruit that could but a nice bow on this class, but adding Saine is another piece to an impressive puzzle building in Dinkytown.
Full 2024 class:
- LB Mason Carrier
- LB Brady Pretzlaff
- RB Jaydon Wright
- ATH Simon Seidl
- WR Corey Smith
- WR Dallas Sims
- DL Jide Abasiri
- OL/DL Riley Sunram
- S Zahir Rainer
- DL Mo Saine