"There is some depth but there isn't a lot of flash to this group. [St. Louis, Mo., athlete] Marquise Hill, Wisconsin QB Tom Parish and Indiana S James Manuel are SuperPrep All-Regional players. Juco safety Herschel Thornton was also named by SuperPrep as the nation's No. 96 JUCO prospect. ... This is a class filled with two and three-star guys who don't stand out for their rankings, which is consistent with how Minnesota has recruited. ... This year, for purposes of Scout.com, right now Minnesota is [ranked near the bottom] in the Big Ten. ... Right now this is a class that ranks in the 50s or 60s [nationally]."

Allen Wallace, national recruiting editor for Scout.com and SuperPrep Magazine.

"It's pretty solid. It's right in the middle of the Big Ten -- they're sixth overall. The one thing I like about this class, it wasn't a deep year for high school talent in the state once you get past Seantrel Henderson. But they got the next two really good ones [lineman Jimmy Gjere and running back Lamonte Edwards], so they did a good job there. And they branched out a lot. Their 24 commitments come from 12 states. That's pretty exceptional. There are players here they can win with."

Greg Ladky, Midwest recruiting analyst for Rivals.com

"When you look at Minnesota's recruiting class this year, you can tell right away that it is deep and it addresses their needs. Offensively Minnesota struggled to run the ball last year and in turn they are bringing in three well-accomplished running backs and five offensive linemen that have Big Ten credentials. The Gophers also address immediate needs on defense. They graduated both cornerbacks and found two junior college prospects to compete with Michael Carter and Ryan Collado for the jobs. While there might not be a lot of star power when you compare this class to Minnesota's 2008 class, this year's class might be better due to the depth."

Zach Johnson, recruiting editor for GopherIllustrated.com

more to come...