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After starting his Commitment to Eight streak by flipping 6 Western Michigan recruits on Friday night, Coach Fleck continued his hot streak on Sunday with 3 more flips and a fresh commitment from a talented running back. Included in the three flips was Western Michigan’s best recruit, defensive lineman Tyrone Chambers.
The day started with two quick flips from DE Nate Umlor (who might project as a tight end at Minnesota) and OT Kyle Sassack:
.@Coach_Fleck picks up his seventh commitment from former Western Michigan commit Nate Umlor https://t.co/USDAwyfwv3 @AllenTrieu https://t.co/lloWLXSfic
— Ryan Burns (@RyanBurnsMN) January 8, 2017
#Gophers HC @Coach_Fleck gets his second commitment of the day from top 65 OT Kyle Sassack https://t.co/nYNK4vKHjy @AllenTrieu https://t.co/qc4u2u78LG
— Ryan Burns (@RyanBurnsMN) January 8, 2017
Both are 3 star talents who were happy to follow Coach Fleck to Minnesota.
The night continued with Coach Fleck’s first uncommitted recruit pledging to be a Gopher. Maryland running back Mohamed Ibrahim is a powerful and talented runner who will fit right in at Minnesota:
#Gophers pick up a commitment from 2017 Maryland RB Mohamed Ibrahim https://t.co/mfvUWuq4E4 @BrianDohnScout https://t.co/ytg5yAip0q
— Ryan Burns (@RyanBurnsMN) January 9, 2017
New #Gophers RB commit Mohamed Ibrahim (@_MoIbrahim) has one strong boat. Wouldn't want to get in his way. #RTB pic.twitter.com/dtZs3P7UOY
— Matt Jessen-Howard (@mjessenhoward) January 9, 2017
The night finished with an expected (but very welcome) flip of WMU commit Tyrone Chambers to Minnesota. Chambers was generally regarded as Western’s best recruit, as the defensive lineman had recently received an offer from Ole Miss.
#Gophers FOURTH commitment of the day. This time from Ohio DT Tyrone Chambers. Just picked up an Ole Miss offer recently as well. pic.twitter.com/hLInxG9syv
— Ryan Burns (@RyanBurnsMN) January 9, 2017
Quick thoughts
That’ll do Fleck, that’ll do. All in all, this was an excellent first weekend for Minnesota recruiting under Coach Fleck. He quickly identified who he wanted to pick up from his current recruiting class and those guys followed him to Minnesota without having even set foot on campus. He also identified several other committed recruits from schools like Mizzou and went after them with offers. And to close it out, he garnered his first pledge from a currently uncommitted recruit (something we’ll probably see a little more of before signing day).
Continuing to climb the rankings. As of this morning Minnesota has the 52nd ranked class in the 247 composite team rankings. That’s a jump of 4 spots from Saturday morning and a total improvement of 15 spots in 48 hours from where the Gophers were sitting when Fleck was hired. The Gophers remain the 12th ranked class in the Big Ten but are closing in on the 11th ranked Iowa Hawkeyes.