I was perusing Rivals Gopher recruiting classes and decided to run some numbers to see how much production we are getting from each recruiting class currently.  Rather than use the number of players, I decided to give points out for each players contribution to make it more of a weighted average so to speak.  I think you will find this interesting and a good topic of debate.

Scoring System =

5 pts for a superstar college Player/NFL talent

4 pts for a good to very good college player

3 pts for a solid college player

2 pts for a below average college player or OK back-up

1 pt for a role player or special teams player

Obviously there will be disagreement on some of the players as to their contribution, but the overall numbers will probably average out if you re-rate them with your score.  I left out walk-on as this is a measurement of the overall success of a recruiting class.  I also left in JUCO's for the year they were recruited.  In a perfect world, you would like to have most of your production coming from upperclassmen.

                                                                                                                                                                               Total Points

2005) Triplett 4, Thomas 1, Stommes 3, Decker 5                                                                                             13

2006) Alford 2, Brown 4, Campbell 4, Ellestad 3, Weber 4                                                                                17

2007) Bennett 2, Bunders 2, Collado 2, Davis 2, Jacobs 2, Small 4, Theret 3                                               17

2008) Cooper 3, Dandridge 1, Edwards 3, Eskridge 2, Gray 3, Green 3, Kirksey 4, Lawrence 5

            McKinley 2, Simmons 5, Stoudermire 3                                                                                                      34

2009) Carpenter 1, Oreske 3, Wills 2                                                                                                                       06

In summation, we are relying heavily on the 2008 recruiting  class already.  They are producing much more than I expected from them to at this point.  While you can name several very good players and the star of the team who were recruited by Mason, this team is already relying quite heavily on Brewster's first real recruiting class and this is only their 2nd season of playing and in some cases their first.  We hear the local media talk about how this is a veteran team and while some players may be, the depth of the team is still very young.  I like the direction we are heading, nearly all of the 2009 class is red-shirting and this should bode well for the future.  It's a great time to be a Gopher fan, ALL ABOARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PS- Is that Roses I smell in a couple of years?????