J.D. Pride calls Minnesota's bluff, commits over the weekend

by JG2112 on Oct 12, 2009 8:13 AM CDT Comment 9 comments

News has come out that J.D. Pride has accepted a scholarship offer to play football at Minnesota. This is I guess somewhat significant, since he is a very close friend of Seantrel Henderson. Pride's father and uncles (the Barber kids) also went to Minnesota.

However, we know why he got this scholarship offer: Minnesota is doing whatever it can to get Henderson. Pride went to seven camps this summer, some with Henderson, some without, including North and South Carolina, Michigan, Iowa, and Ohio State. However, even with the somewhat now-standard "come and get me" plea on a recruiting website, only one school had offered the two-star QB - the Gophers.

If it works and Minnesota lands Henderson, great. If it doesn't, well, at least he's a Minnesota kid, but if we're really elevating the talent level, this kid will never see the field for Minnesota at QB.

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Seed Scholarship = Desperation

Seantrel wants to beat PSU and Michigan, not Purdon’t and Syracuse! lol

by PantherHawk on Oct 12, 2009 8:34 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Pride

Stoudermire was a 2* QB in HS and made the transition pretty nicely to another position. The best athletes play QB and RB in most High Schools, I think you can consider Pride an athlete and could play safety with that size, myabe LB if he gets bigger. As a QB he should have a real good understanding of the game in whichever position they put him in.

Pantherhawk- There is no way in hell Henderson is going to Iowa so put your crackpipe away. He will either go to OSU or USC if he doesn’t stay home. My money is on USC.

by Narby on Oct 12, 2009 8:47 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

C'mon

we’re not really going to go down the “Player X was a 2 star and switched positions and was successful and so could Pride” meme are we?

The bottom line is that more 5 stars succeed than 4 stars than 3 stars than 2 stars. There are plenty of uncommitted 3 and 4 star athletes we could go after instead of taking this commitment right now.

Pride was recruited as a QB, that’s what he’s going to try and do.

by JG2112 on Oct 12, 2009 9:02 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

he is a 2-star

and I’m not going to compare him to Stoudermire. But he will not be a QB at this level.

what you say here can, and will, be used against you

by GopherNation on Oct 16, 2009 2:19 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

3 reasons this commitment could, just possibly, turn out to be a good one:

1. There is a family history of athletic achievement. His father played for the Gophers and his uncle (Marion Barber) and cousins (Marion Barber III and Dom Barber) played or are playing in the NFL. With Marion and Dom, there is a family history of physical development that happened after high school. If he’s a “late bloomer” like his relatives, he could have a better future than his 2 stars would predict.

2. Quarterbacks tend to understand the game of football better than other positions. They have to. Most teams also put one of their best athletes at quarterback. If he has the size and speed, he may do well as a defensive back who understands what is happening on the offensive side of the ball.

3. Of course, his connection to Seantrel Henderson is a positive.

I’m a believer that players who have parents that had great athletic talent are sometimes worth a gamble. A 2 star recruit from a family of gifted athletes is probably a better candidate to develop late than most 2 star athletes. The Barber brothers, Clay Matthews, the Barry brothers (NBA), and Nick Swisher (MLB) come to mind as players that had good bloodlines and matured later on.

Buck Bravo

by Buck Bravo on Oct 12, 2009 10:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Totally agree

on all three points. My argument is that he’s a good fall back in January if they can’t find a better athlete to give the scholarship to. There was no need to accept his commitment now – he has no other options. Minnesota should be going after the top uncommitted or soft verbal kids right now, not projects.

by JG2112 on Oct 13, 2009 8:06 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

It did seem like jumping the gun

Maybe in hopes of staying past Seantrels next cut?

by TheEvilProfessor on Oct 13, 2009 9:41 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree that he may be a project,

but he seems to me to be about as good of a gamble as a two star recruit could be. It will be difficult to land Seantrel Henderson as a commit, but knowing that his friends will be here will definitely help. He’d get more TV and press exposure at USC or the like, but if he stays home he’d have the following benefits:

1. Play in front of friends and family.
2. Experience college with friends. He’s going to have every con-man in the world trying to get a piece of his future, and it could be nice to have friends and family nearby.
3. Remember the dedications to great Gophers of the past at the new stadium opener? He’d be a household name around here 50 years from now, and probably one of the greatest Gophers ever. At USC he’d be a big deal, but he’d be around a whole bunch of other big deals. For one, he’d be in the shadow of Matt Barkley. 50 years from now USC fans would not remember him the way Minnesota would.

Buck Bravo

by Buck Bravo on Oct 13, 2009 9:49 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

And to add to your list:

4. So what if the Gophers suck at every other position. OT is one of the only positions that don’t necessarily rely on other positions to look good. Its such a one-on-one senario, he can still dominate and get drafted high. Look at that OT from Baylor that the Rams drafted last year. Sucky team, #2 overall draft pick.

5. There is an off chance his presence could turn things around here. Doubt it. But if he did how cool would that be? There is no pressure to do such, but at USC a 2 loss season and the worlds coming to an end.

by Jayrome007 on Oct 29, 2009 10:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs