Seantrel Henderson is trimming his list. Ferentz has chosen not to make an in home visit to the Henderson house because Iowa is no longer being considered as Seantrel's final destination.
Very few are surprised that Iowa is the first to go. I have felt all along that Iowa was never really in the running. Iowa didn't really offer anything that Seantrel wouldn't have received to a greater degree elsewhere. Iowa is a good program with a good coaching staff and it is relatively close to home. I envy the Hawkeye program in a number of ways. But if he wants to win USC, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Florida give him a better shot at doing just that. Iowa has produced some very good offensive linemen in recent years but to assume that any of the other schools wouldn't be able to prepare him for the NFL is just inaccurate. And if staying close to home near family and friends is the priority then Minnesota is the only logical choice. Iowa is close-ER than the other programs but it is still traveling every week.
The point of all this is because of posts like this that can be seen on the Iowa interwebs. The gist is that Iowa doesn't really need Henderson and it was their choice to no longer pursue one of the nation's top recruits. And I point this out only because this is going to be very similar to the reaction we'll see when Henderson finally ends this madness and chooses a school other than Minnesota.
"I can think of one good reason why the Hawkeyes may have decided they don’t need Henderson: the extra luggage that would be his father. Sometimes, it’s OK to let the kids make their own decisions."
and
"One Hawkeye Nation commenter suggested that Iowa didn’t want the attention of having the nation’s No. 1 recruit."
Sean Henderson has been the one "handling" Seantrel's recruitment, at least publicly. It seems pretty obvious that he has an agenda here and it may not necessarily be what is best for his son. And there will be a lot of hoopla and expectations surrounding Henderson. Hoopla that schools like Minnesota and Iowa are not accustomed to, but to suggest that you would pass on someone with this talent because he'll garner more headlines than your typical incoming freshman is crazy.
Again, I have no doubt that Minnesota fans will have a very similar reaction when/if Henderson chooses to take his baggage and circus somewhere else.
- Are the Gophers going to be relegated to the NIT this year? What a disappointment that would be this season. Down With Goldy thinks NIT too.
- Kent Youngblood has a list of potential OC candidates.
- How about a look back a successful Gopher team. Here's a bleacher report looking back at the 1982 Big Ten champs.
- This is kind of cool, looking back at current head coaches in their playing days. Sweet pic of Tubby.
- Back to some expansion talk. The Cleveland Plain Dealer strongly suggests UConn should be (and really is) be strongly considered. And if they go to the 14 team expansion they should raid the Big 12. Beyond the Arc points out how much $$ Missouri would stand to gain by switching conferences.