Signing Day Open Thread
I'll post as many links as I can but here is a good start...
- Lamonte Edwards profile story in the Star Tribune today.
- Rivals has their list of the current (likely) class.
- Gopher Official Site is your Signing Day HQ.
- OT Matt James has signed with Notre Dame, one could make the assumption that this means they are out of the Henderson Sweepstakes.
- Super Bowl players talk about their NSD experience.
Players who have officially signed their Letter of Intent.
| Name | Pos. |
| Tyrone Bouie | DB |
| Matt Eggen | OL |
| Lamonte Edwards | RB |
| Zac Epping | OL |
| Tiree Eure | TE |
| Jimmy Gjere | OL |
| Marquise Hill | ATH |
| Donnell Kirkwood | RB |
| Harold Legania | DT |
| Marek Lenkiewicz | OL |
| Christyn Lewis | DB |
| James Manuel | DB |
| Dwayne Mitchell | LB |
| Tom Parish | QB |
| Ben Perry | DE |
| J.D. Pride | QB |
| Johnathan Ragoo | OL |
| Willie Tatum | LB |
| Josh Tauaefa | DT |
| Herschel Thornton | DB |
| Dwight Tillman | DB |
| Devon Wright | RB |
- From the Star Tribune...what others are saying about the current Gopher recruiting class.
"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...
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looks like everything is going according to plan so far
Preston Brown and someone named Seantrel Henderson are about the only two potential surprises that are on the radar. Maybe Brewster has more up his sleeve but it would be a total surprise.
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Preston Brown???
can you help me out a little with this guy??
LB
committed to Cincy but after Kelly left he decommitted.
He is down to us or Louisville and is announcing this afternoon at his high school. 1:00 I think.
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3-star OLB
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by GopherNation on Feb 3, 2010 10:54 AM CST up reply actions
Preston Brown
Looks like he’d be a great pick-up. Surprising that he’d give up on the school in his backyard due to a coaching change, but I guess it goes to show that stability in coaching makes a difference.
stability and relationships
these players really develop a relationship with the coaches recruiting them. It is a trust thing and it would be hard to put your college career into the hands of someone you’ve never met or spent very little time with.
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by GopherNation on Feb 3, 2010 11:08 AM CST up reply actions
which makes me think
That the best long term program building hire is finding a solid x’s and o’s coach who is fairly personable and just give them a loooooong time to build. That way they build up their credibility and their coaching abilities reputation to actually have a solid recruiting base. Everyone tries to make the splash instead of going the Paterno route and just giving it time.
by TheEvilProfessor on Feb 3, 2010 11:15 AM CST up reply actions
GN
Any way you can list the potential suprises and the ones who already signed their LOI’s so we can put them to rest?
"If we got to we're going to crawl in this locker room. And on our back is going to be an axe..."
by buddylee853 on Feb 3, 2010 11:20 AM CST via mobile reply actions
great class
coming in for the gophers this upcoming seasn, i think we could being better then last year if these freshman contribute early
by Skins4ever on Feb 3, 2010 11:53 AM CST reply actions
Skins4ever
Hardly any of these guys can, should, or will contribute in 2010. Only the JUCOs should realistically contribute because you only have two years with them. If you see a bunch of true freshmen on the field you should be very concerned for the season.
Agree, except
for the RB position (and on the slightest of chances we still get SH)… I think based on last year’s showing (and Whaley being gone) that starting position is far from being determined yet.
i understand
but wouldnt you like to see SOME contributaion from this class, if i were brewster i would redshirt at least 1 of these quarterbacks
by Skins4ever on Feb 3, 2010 12:56 PM CST up reply actions
Looks like Brown went to Louisville
that’s a bummer, but chalk another one up to Charlie Strong.
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For those of you that follow this much closer than I do ....
Is this the type of class we expected from Brewster considering he’s labeled as a top-notch recruiter? How does this compare to Mason’s various classes? Obviously if Brewster lands SH that changes things, but everyone seems pessimistic about that happening.
Maroon and Gold Headquarters: The Daily Gopher
easily this is Brewster's weakest class
about on par with Mason’s best.
The lack of winning is catching up to him. He flat out needs to win this upcoming season in a way that nobody is expecting he will. IF he wins this fall he’ll keep his job and the belief is that he’ll get recruiting back on track.
This class is considered OK. A LOT of offensive linemen and DBs. A few key JUCOs who will have to contribute right away. And a lot of guys not offered by other BCS programs.
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by GopherNation on Feb 3, 2010 12:53 PM CST up reply actions
Some to like, some eh
I like the needs that could be filled by the depth of this class… OL, RB, DB (Juco players) are areas we are certainly lacking in – quality (OL/RB) and quantity (DB). But I agree this class is underwhelming – there are a lot of high risks being taken (players with no/few other BCS offers). Sure, it isn’t an exact science and some of these players could fill needs. But more concerning than who we signed is who had verbally committed and switched (I believe 11 decommitments at last count)… Is that a trend solely based on job security questions, or are more players seeing a lot of hype and not much substance, based on team performance? We need to see a lot of production out of Brewster’s players, starting this season… Last year’s defensive stars were mainly Mason guys or JUCOs.
Josh Huff is still out there
I REALLY hope we don’t get this kid.
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preferred walk-ons
Caleb Bak – Concordia Academy
Logan Lafferty – Rochester Centry
Cameron Botticelli – Milwaukee
Dave Ramlet – Appleton, Wis.
Marcus Krien – Burlington, Wis.
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reminder
Seantrel will be announcing on the CBS college sports channel(274 comcast) at 4:30.
while you are waiting vote on the Seantrel Poll at http://www.cbscollegesports.com/
"they're calling insane hogs???"
One of my favorite tidbits about this year's class is...
…that Wisconsin’s class is ranked 86th. Ouch.
Even with our ineptitude and their constant winning, they still can’t do better than that? Guess it could be worse, guys.
depends on where you look
Rivals has us much higher than the Badgers.
Scout has it the other way around
what you say here can, and will, be used against you
by GopherNation on Feb 3, 2010 10:27 PM CST up reply actions
Is there really that much variance between sites?
I only stick to Rivals (tried others, don’t like em).
But what reason would one site have for such drastic discrepancies? Do they drop and add stars to prospects that the other sites do not?
Then again, this isn’t anything like the NFL draft. There you have only 300 some players to rank and study. Here you have way more than 1000. I suppose it’s just impossible to study them all with any accuracy, especially farther down the chain.

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