Minnesota Football Recruiting: Dredrick Snelson Commits

Yes, this will do.

I Want To Thank God For Everything, I'M OFFICIALLY COMMITTING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA!!!〽️#Gophers #SkiUMah pic.twitter.com/0XDV9GjjHC

— Dredrick Snelson Jr. (@D_Snelson2) August 1, 2015

Need to heat up the wax stamp!!!! Huge Golden Ticket to put in mail. #BrickByBrick #Gophers

— William Glasscock (@BillyGlasscock4) August 1, 2015

Minnesota received an unexpected but welcome commitment from dynamic wide receiver Dredrick Snelson this afternoon after the Fort Lauderdale, FL product announced his pledge on Twitter. Selected to play in the 2016 Under Armour All-American Game, Snelson is rated a high 3 star prospect according the the 247 Industry Composite; Dredrick is ranked #83 in the ESPNU 300, and #123 in the Rivals250 at the time of his Gopher commitment. Snelson is a former Miami Hurricane commitment, and lists over a dozen offers including Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, and more. The 14th commitment for Minnesota's 2016 class, Dredrick is friends and 7-on-7 teammates with the Daniels' twins, who committed to Jerry Kill over the summer.

Quotables

Why Snelson decided to commit now, from GopherDigest's Ryan Burns ($):

"I just didn't want to wait," Snelson said to GopherDigest. "I've been in the recruiting process a long time and after talking with Elisha and Elijah Daniels about Minnesota when they got back, it seemed like a perfect fit for me. I feel great about breing a Gopher."

ESPNU evaluation($):

STRENGTHS: Snelson is an athletic receiver who has great hands and the explosive speed to bring it to the house. Can settle in the soft spots vs. zone or has the speed to beat defenders in man-to-man. Does a very good job of catching the ball with his hands. Understands how to block and move defenders into certain areas for the ball carrier to make moves. ... AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: Needs to become a more experienced route runner as he runs a lot of the same routes. Will be able to add more strength to his frame as he matures.

Should also be noted that ESPN is the official broadcast partner for the Under Armour All-American Game, and Rivals has a business relationship with Under Armour as well.

(Likely Fraudulent) Measurables**

** The section title is a bit. It's an intentionally facetious comment on how recruiting sites (and even some college coaches) notoriously exaggerate traditional combine measures -- especially the 40. No offense is meant.

Height: 6'0"
Weight: 190-198 lbs.
Fake 40 Time: 4.75s

Big 4 Ratings:

Highlights

Junior year via HUDL:

Thoughts

Scheme Fit

Snelson is a compactly built, strong receiver who can fight for extra yardage and is difficult to bring down after the catch. He looks more like a running back than receiver, and shows the ability at the high school level to find holes in zone coverage. While his high school film shows a number of clips where he outruns the defender on a simple fly route, he doesn't possess an extra gear to get over the top like a Phillip Howard. He'll need to refine his technique off the line and polish up his routes, since he'll be called upon to run short to intermediate routes; Minnesota has a number of vertical threats on the roster, and more dynamic players like the aforementioned Howard and Jeff Jones to play in the slot. Snelson may be more of a possession receiver for Minnesota rather than a big play threat.

On the other hand, his strength and physical stature could be an immediate asset as a blocker, which is roughly 65% of the Gopher offense.

Impact on Other Prospects?

Remember what I said about the Daniels twins after they committed without visiting campus first? The same applies to Dredrick:

Now, the confirmation from all the official accounts is there so the pledges are real, but out-of-state prospects committing on the spot (basically) is highly unusual, and especially so for the Gophers.

This is a situation to watch moving forward. Don't expect the staff to quit recruiting defense backs, even if they're technically "full;" I'd suspect Minnesota will take 4-5 DBs this cycle.

Having the Daniels brothers onboard and firmly committed helps a bit, but considering Snelson has already de-committed from one school, I'd consider this a tenuous pledge at best. Now, he is scheduled to visit on Halloween weekend and doesn't have other official visits scheduled as of yet, but it's something to keep in mind. On the other hand...

When recruiting network won't drop a kid's rating because he's playing in its all-star game while everyone else has him 300+ spots lower ...

— SB Nation Recruiting (@SBNRecruiting) August 1, 2015

I don't expect Minnesota to stop recruiting receivers. In fact, they were likely going to take another WR anyway, and have a number of targets who could make up their mind by early fall in J.D. Spielman, Bailey Edwards or Drew Hmielewski (if Minnesota offers).