Golden Nugz - 07.26.10

by GopherNation on Jul 26, 2010 11:20 AM CDT in Golden Nuggets

Just a few quick Nugz this warm Monday morning...

Peter Westerhaus has committed to the Gophers. The local TE/OLB from Chanhassen officially had an offer from Iowa State to along with interest from Wisconsin, Iowa and a couple other Big Ten schools. He is likely going to be a TE for the Golden Gophers. He has a Rivals 3-star rating and 3-stars from ESPN as well.

Really being a Gopher has been what I have always wanted since I was six years old and lifting sandbags in my basement. I needed to make sure that everything was the best fit for my future and I explored all of my options, but in the end Minnesota is where I am meant to be."

This is a nice pick-up as Brewster is doing a better job of keeping the Minnesota kids at home. So far we have commitments from three Minnesota kids. Tommy Olson is the #1 ranked kid in the state and he chose the Gophers long ago. Westerhaus is ranked by Rivals as the #3 prospect in the state and currently Devin Crawford-Tufts is not ranked in the top 5. James Farrow is the #2 prospect but he no longer holds a Gopher offer, Anthony Hayes has accepted a Stanford scholarship and WR-Austin Harrington currently only holds offers from Ball State and South Dakota. The idea from day 1 of the Brewster regime has been to keep the local kids home and then get as much talent from around the country as possible. Each year he has done better keeping the Minnesota kids here and the Westerhaus commitment is a good one to get.

The Purdue blog, Hammer and Rails has their Gopher preview up. Despite the Gophers two game win streak over the Boilermakers Travis predicts that Purdue will "roll in this one" as he predicts a 31-17 win for his team.
Great news for Gopher baseball fans. Scott Matyas is one of the best closers, not only in the Big Ten but in NCAA baseball. He was drafted by Milwaukee but is planning, according to Sid, to come back for another season.
Here is an Omaha World-Herald article on incoming Gopher freshman, Eliot Eliason.
Finally, this past Saturday was the Flugtag event at Harriet Island Park. The U of Minn entered a "flying" contraption that was piloted by Goldy. Video below...

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I change my prediction

After today’s Q&A I still pick Purdue, but only by a touchdown.

A futile crusade to prevent mass ignorance

HammerAndRails, SBNation's Boilermaker Blog

by BoilerTMill on Jul 26, 2010 11:42 AM CDT reply actions

am I that convincing?

I’ve convinced myself but that is EASY. A Purdue win is the smart money. They are trending up and we are trending down.

What changed your mind?

what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher

by GopherNation on Jul 26, 2010 11:51 AM CDT up reply actions

Here's something I've been wondering...

How is it that we’re trending down and they’re trending up?

I guess if you just factor in the Ohio State win, yes, they are trending up as we didn’t get a signature win. When I look at both MN and Purdue though, I see very similar teams. This match-up seems to be a toss-up, wouldn’t you agree?

I wouldn’t put a lot of money on this game, but of course that’s just me.

"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 Jul 26, 2010 12:42 PM CDT up reply actions

You want to know why?

Ralph Bolden, of course.

It’ll be 3 wins in a row against Purdue on 10/17.

Everyone fails. The successful learn from their failures. I just wish we'd quit giving ourselves so many learning opportunities.

by WhiteSpeedReceiver on Jul 26, 2010 1:11 PM CDT up reply actions

My thoughts

is that people are pumping up Purdue based on the early close losses and the good victories over Ohio State and Michigan.

And, the fact that Robert Marve is eligible and Kerrigan is still on the D-line.

And that Burse is available at the RB spot.

Crumbs. I think the game is a toss-up.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see Purdue beat Notre Dame in the opener, nor would I be surprised to see them lose by 30. They’ll be an interesting club this year.

And, as always, THIS TRAIN CANNOT BE STOPPED.

by JG2112 on Jul 26, 2010 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions

Talent on defense

you mentioned that the talent may be better overall with what is coming back. Purdue has gigantic questions in our secondary, but if we can ever stop someone from running the ball our defense will get light years better. yes, all four starts int he secondary graduated, but it not like they were all draft picks with tons of interceptions. Our pass defense was good mostly because our run defense was terrible and teams didn’t need to pass against us.

A futile crusade to prevent mass ignorance

HammerAndRails, SBNation's Boilermaker Blog

by BoilerTMill on Jul 26, 2010 1:33 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm not sold on Purdue

I think their hype is living off the Ohio State win. Other than that they are replacing a QB, had a terrible run defense (2 years in a row) and are replacing their entire secondary? I’m feeling better about this game already.

This matchup is all in the eye of the beholder. Purdue fans think their rush defense will be better and they possibly have an all-big ten performer in Bolden. Gopher fans think their defense will be better than most pundits think and our offense will improve despite not having any big stars. Nationally, Purdue has more love in their favor but that won’t mean much this fall.

what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher

by GopherNation on Jul 26, 2010 2:49 PM CDT up reply actions

Westerhaus

Hate to say this about a young man who just committed to the Gophers but I do not foresee him as a future starter in any position. He does not have the height or the frame to be a major college tight end. I also wonder about his speed. He is no Mike Rallis. I hope he proves me wrong and make me eat a heaping pile of crow but I just don’t see it happening.

by Garrick on Jul 26, 2010 1:02 PM CDT reply actions

you might be right

but I think we have to sign every three-star or better prospect out of this state. Most of the local kids are not going to be all-B10 performers but we need them for depth. And most importantly it is bad to see them go elsewhere and become starters. The more we keep now the easier it will be to keep them in the future.

what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher

by GopherNation on Jul 26, 2010 2:52 PM CDT up reply actions

To be honest

we NEED an Ohio State type win. Purdue was not as good as MN last year and they aren’t exactly bringing everything back. But that win alone gives the perception that they are ready to take the next step. They could just as easily finish out of the bowl picture as they could finish 5th in the Big Ten.

Everyone remembers that they beat Ohio State and finished with 4 conference wins. Nobody remembers the Northern Illinois loss or the fact that they were fortunate to have a very weak conference schedule (didn’t play Iowa or Penn State).

what you say here can, and will, be used against you The Daily Gopher

by GopherNation on Jul 26, 2010 3:02 PM CDT reply actions

That is what will help us this year.

Marve is probably an upgrade over Elliott at QB. The non-conference schedule killed us last year, going 1-3. That will not happen this year with Western Illinois and Ball State replacing Oregon and Toledo. In reality, a handful of plays here and there was the difference between 5-7 and 9-3:

We gave Oregon 17 points off of turnovers in a two point loss
We had 6 turnovers in a 6 point loss to Northwestern
Turnovers and the blocked FG were a huge swing in the Minnesota game
Against Northern Illinois absolutely horrible Special Teams allowed the Huskies to dominate possession.
We gave Michigan State seven points on a fumble return on the game’s first play. That was a 3 point loss.

We have no Iowa or Penn State this year, either. When you combine that with the easier non-conference that is why we are thinking 8 wins or so. The only real question marks are the secondary and if McBurse can fill in for Bolden if Bolden is not healthy.

A futile crusade to prevent mass ignorance

HammerAndRails, SBNation's Boilermaker Blog

by BoilerTMill on Jul 27, 2010 10:18 AM CDT up reply actions