Minnesota Football Recruiting: DE Nate Umlor commits to Gophers

(*Editor's note...What the heck does "Commitment to Eight" mean? It is our new recurring title for recruit commitments referencing a commitment to work towards the Gopher's Eighth National Championship.)

Nate Umlor is a Michigan native who lives fairly close to Kalamazoo and he had been committed to Western Michigan since last Spring. But the opportunity to play in the Big Ten and follow Coach Fleck was too strong of a pull and he made the jump to be part of the Gopher’s recruiting class.

Quotables

GopherIllustrated ($cout) analysis of Umlor.

"It was very hard for me to be far from home, but I committed to Coach Fleck and I always knew that he was going to be my head coach. I love Coach Fleck and we will do big things. We all know how he is at this point and he fits the type of person that I want to be. He can help me fulfill my dreams."

Measurables

Height: 6' 5"
Weight: 245 lbs.

Big 4 Ratings:

Other P5 Offers - Illinois

Highlights

Senior year highlights:

TDG Analysis

In Two Words - if you have to remember just two things about this player...

• Strength
• Awareness

Absurd Comparisons

I’ll use current Gopher TE, Brandon Lingen as my best comparison. Similar size, athletic enough but not exactly explosive. Umlor has the strength and technique to be a very good blocker at the next level with enough athleticism to be available in the passing game.

Scheme Fit

Likely seems to be a TE prospect but Umlor did have 8.5 sacks as a defensive end to go along with this 6 offensive touchdowns.

Impact on Other Prospects?

Keep an eye on in-state TE, Noah Gindorff. He was closely looked at by the previous staff and ultimately did not receive a scholarship offer. He is currently committed to NDSU but would be a nice athlete to have in the fold if there are scholarships available.