The Gophers had a 3-star, JUCO Safety currently committed to an SEC school visiting this past weekend. And before heading home he decided to flip his commitment and be a Golden Gopher. Or did they?
Jacquarius Landrews is currently playing at Copiah-Lincoln in Mississippi, finishing up his second year down there. He is a 3-star safety recruit who has been committed to Mississippi State since the end of July and he also has an Auburn offer to go along with a few smaller schools as well. At the end of July Landrews committed to the Dogs after having an impressive day at one of their summer camps. The Gophers remained in contact with him, got him up to the Twin Cities this past weekend for an official and yesterday he informed the staff that he was going to commit to the Gopher.
The question is...is he really committed? Conflicting reports as to what Landrews truly intends to do in December on the early signing day, but currently he is being listed as a Gopher commitment. So we will go with it.
What do we know about him?
He comes to the Gophers as a 6'0", 200 lb safety who will have every opportunity to start next year as Damerius Travis and two other seniors graduate from the back end of the secondary.
For those of you who watched the Netflix series "Last Chance U," you may recognize Landrews as the safety who intercepted the final pass from Wyatt Roberts as Co-Lin upset East Mississippi, ending that program's 25-game win streak.
Quotables
Ryan Burns of GopherIllustrated ($cout) pulled this quote from Landrews about why he wants to come to Minnesota and what he plans to do.
"I've lived in Mississippi my whole life, and I'm just ready to see what life is like in Minnesota. I loved their environment, the people, the business school and the city when I was up there, and I'm ready for something new. I committed to coach Claeys on Sunday morning, and I'm still committed right now. Claeys told me he'll be coming down in November to meet with me and my family again. I told Mississippi State on Sunday morning, and they know now, and they're still going to be recruiting me hard. As of right now, I have no other visits set and I'm 100% committed to Minnesota and plan on signing with the Gophers in December. I want Minnesota fans to know that I'm coming up to the Twin Cities to take care of business on and off the field."
Comparisons and Scheme Fit
Maybe not so absurd of a comparison but Landrews reminds me of Kunle Ayinde, only with better instincts in the passing game. He fills well on the rush but has a better feel in pass defense.
With good size and good speed, I think that Landrews stands a very good chance at starting next year, filling in for Travis.
Impact on Other Prospects?
They are likely not going to take any other JUCO safeties and with Claudin Cherelus signed on as a high school safety, it is possible that the staff could be done at the safety position for the 2017 class. There is always room if someone comes along that they feel is a "must" take. Remember as well that Cherelus may end up being an OLB when he arrives on campus, so perhaps safety won't be completely closed off.
Gopher Recruiting Dashboard
