Minnesota Football Recruiting: Official visits for 1/27, 1/28, and 1/29

In a little over 4 days, recruits across the country who have grown up with a computer in their pocket will use the completely outdated fax machine to affirm their commitment to the University of Minnesota. Before we get there though, Coach Fleck and the rest of the Minnesota staff are hosting 9 (but possibly more) recruits on their final official visit before National Signing Day.

This Weekend’s Confirmed Visitors

Current ELITE players committed to Minnesota

Unlike last weekend, only 1 currently committed recruit is coming to campus.

• WR - Chris Bell - C28 Profile

Visiting but not committed to Minnesota...yet

Here are the guys Fleck & Co. are focused in on as the 2017 recruiting class comes to a close.

• DL - Boye Mafe - Scout Profile - Local 3-star defensive lineman from Hopkins. Coach Kill has been recruiting Mafe hard on behalf of Rutgers, but as of Friday at 3pm the 247 Crystal Ball prediction has Minnesota’s chances of landing him at 100%.
• DL - Malcolm Robinson - Scout Profile - 3 star defensive lineman who was committed to Purdue until he received a Minnesota offer. He would be a nice late addition to Fleck’s transition class. As of right now 247’s Crystal Ball has Minnesota’s chances of landing him at 100%.
• DL - Royal Silver - Scout Profile - The 3 star JUCO from Iowa Western CC got a late offer from Minnesota this past week. The Gophers are the only schools showing late interest, as he received Syracuse and Memphis offers just before Minnesota. The 247 Crystal Ball is at 100% (though with only 1 prediction) but the Gophers do have a good track record at Iowa Western and our DL depth issues mean Royal would be given a shot to make an immediate impact.
• DL - Ray Horton - Scout Profile - Horton is another defensive lineman to receive late interest from Minnesota (you may sense a theme here). The 2-star recruit set up his official visit this week, but does not yet have an offer from the Gophers.
• DL - Austin Schirck - Scout Profile - New Minnesota defensive line coach Bryce Paup recruited Schirck to Northern Iowa (where he is still currently committed). It’s possible that the Iowa prospect will follow Paup to Minnesota.
• CB - Ihmir Marsette - Scout Profile - The other key area of need Minnesota is looking to fill is cornerback. Marsette is a 3-star out of New Jersey who is also getting lots of attention from Iowa and Rutgers. As of now, the 247 Crystal Ball sees Iowa as the big front runner with Rutgers in second and Minnesota as an afterthought. That said, Marsette has chosen to make the Gophers his final stop before NSD so who knows. He’s a physical and fast corner who would be a great get for the Minnesota.
• CB - Justus Harris - Scout Profile - Harris is another option for the Gophers at a position of significant need. He’s a 3-star composite CB from Roswell, GA who does not have an official offer from the Gophers yet. Given that fact and his willingness to take his last official here, you have to think he signs with Minnesota if they offer.
• CB - Jeffrey Lubin - Scout Profile - Lubin is a 2-star who was offered an official visit for this weekend but does not yet have a scholarship offer from the Gophers. We’ll have to see how things play out for him over the weekend.

TL;DR

BIG WEEKEND for the defensive side of the ball, with Minnesota looking to close out its needs for defensive line and cornerback by Wednesday. Most of the visitors aren’t committed, so there could definitely be a flurry of news coming out over the weekend.

As always, STAY TUNED. But in the meantime, what are you hoping to see from this final weekend of visits?