Minnesota Football Recruiting: Andrew Stelter Commits

Minnesota recruitniks have penciled in this recruit as a member of Kill's 2014 class for a long while.

At the Gopher Recruiting Barbeque this Saturday, it became official:

Just committed to the University of Minnesota! So thankful! #gogophers

— Andrew Stelter (@Steltz_78) July 20, 2013

Hooray for inevitability!

Owatonna (MN) defensive line prospect Andrew Stelter made his Gopher pledge today, joining fellow in-state/local recruits Jeff Jones and Gaelin Elmore as future Maroon and Gold clad warriors. A First Team All-State selection a year ago, Stelter is listed as the #36 strong-side defensive end prospect in the nation and a 3 star rating according to the 247 Industry Composite. Stelter chose the Gophers over listed offers from Iowa State, Duke, Northern Illinois and Army.

Andrew is the 6th overall prospect to join the Gophers' class of 2014 and 2nd defensive linemen, alongside Steve Richardson. Stelter is expected to play defensive tackle at the U, though he is officially listed as a strong-side end.

Quotables

From a recent GopherHole article:

"Minnesota, to be honest, seems like they have always been your favorite school. Is that fair to say?

Andrew Stelter: Yes."

From a Gophers247 update about 2 months ago:

"Stelter says the Minnesota staff is good about communicating their interest level, however want him to take his time on his decision. "Minnesota staff tells me regularly how important I am to their class, but they want me to make my decision when I’m 100% ready."

(Likely Fraudulent) Measurables*

Height: 6'4"
Weight: 247 lbs.
40 time: 5.1s
Shuttle: 4.62s
Vertical: 31.5"

* The heading of this section is intended to be facetious. Recruiting sites are notorious for publishing inaccurate player data.

Highlights

Junior year via Hudl.

Sophomore year via Hudl.

Thoughts

Stelter is a solid pick up for Coach Kill and Minnesota since it accomplishes two things: 1) keeps the top in-state defensive prospect from leaving and 2) gives Coach Phelps and Claeys a tough nosed defensive linemen to help anchor the middle.

The Owatonna native doesn't have a lot of flash to his game and even from his highlight reel, you don't see much -if any- showboating. What he does bring is a good first step and short area quickness, a big frame, toughness and good use of his hands. Along with current pledge Steve Richardson, Stelter will add to the depth at defensive tackle and compliment each other's skills; Richardson is more of a leverage player, while Stelter is a strength and point-of-attack defender.

There is the question of where along the line Stelter will play at the next level, which may have contributed to his relatively light national recruitment. He fits better in Claeys "Wide 9" alignment as a defensive tackle rather than a defensive end, considering he doesn't quite have the same speed of a Thieren Cockran or Alex Keith. Already 247 lbs., he should have little trouble reaching the 280-285 mark Claeys and Kill prefer for their attacking DTs.

Still, this staff has shown they will go after bigger framed strong-side DE prospects to help compliment the pass rush specialists in rotation. Namely, guys like Owen Salzwedel represent Kill's adaptive recruiting philosophy along the defensive line, where prospects capable of squeezing the edge yet long enough to make noise in pass defense have a role to play.

As a prospect, Stelter plays with good pad level and has good initial quickness to cut across a linemen's face and break through the gaps. When attempting to speed or bull rush, he flashes solid ability to use his hands and disengage from blocks. He's strong enough to hold the point of attack without giving up much ground, though he is generally going against smaller players.