Minnesota Football Recruiting Overview of the Offense

Gopher football has been off to a torrid pace when it comes to recruiting the class of 2018. Here is a brief overview of who has committed (as of 6/16), who is being hotly pursued and where we stand with recruits on the offensive side of the ball.

QUARTERBACK

Committed: Brennan Armstrong (C2Eight)

Targets: none

Comments: There seems to be no question that Armstrong is going to be the one and only quarterback in this class. Things could get dicey should he choose to decommit, but at this point there doesn’t seem to be much concern. Armstrong is a great fit for Fleck’s offense. He’s smart, tough, a leader and an accurate passer. He was targeted early, he committed in February and he will be your Gopher quarterback of the future.

RUNNING BACK

Committed: Nolan Edmonds (C2Eight)

Targets: Bryce Williams

Comments: We love Georgia running backs up here and Edmonds is the next Georgia back in line. He has good size and good speed, I expect he’ll be a similar back to David Cobb with good vision who is fast but lacks break away speed. He has family in the area and like the clinical psychology program at the U, I’m not terribly worried about losing Edmonds who is going to be capable of playing all three downs at Minnesota.

Bryce Williams is a primary target at running back and will be visiting around the 23rd/24th.

WIDE RECEIVER

Committed: Erik Gibson (C2Eight), Jornell Manns (C2Eight), Rashad Bateman (C2Eight)

Targets: Bryson Jackson, Meechie Harris, Brandon Gray

Comments: There will be probably two more WRs in this class. Gibson and Manns appear to be pretty well committed but the new staff is making WR a priority in this class. Byrson Jackson is a huge target that the staff is making a top priority, getting that 4-star receiver would be a huge boost to this class, but he won’t be easy to land.

Bryson Jackson is a 4-star out of Texas who the Gophers have been all over, landing him will be tough. Beyond Jackson, the staff has been handing out offers quite a bit recently and I would bet you that at least one more receiver will be taken.

TIGHT END

Committed: Brevyn Spann-Ford (C2Eight)

Targets: Ben Van Sumeren

Comments: There were 3 tight ends taken in the previous class, though one has been moved to DE. So speculation is that the Gophers will take another in this class. Spann-Ford is local and is not really really a flight risk, he looks to be a weapon in the passing game down the road.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Committed: Austin Beier (C2Eight)

Targets: Oyenmwen “Junior” Uzebu (C2Eight), Cody Ince, Joshua Ezeudu, Ronnie Audette, Jacob Asaia

Comments: This is the one position group where we need to land 3 or 4 solid bodies and they seem to be having trouble keeping their verbals. Junior Uzebu committed verbally but has since backed out due to his mother not being 100% onboard. He is still in the mix but with each passing week it is seemingly less likely that he’ll come back to the fold.

Cody Ince is a Wisconsin kid who recently visited both Minnesota and Iowa, his decision between the two is expected soon. He’s a 3-star tackle who would be a nice addition to the class.

Audette is an Elk River kid and does not yet have an offer, but it may come after camps or his senior season.

Offensive line is a bit tougher to gauge at this point and I’ll be you that one or two of the eventual commits are not

RECRUITING WORKBOOK

As usual, I’ll end with the recruiting workbook for you to enjoy. When I get time I’ll refine the “offers” list and would like to make some additional enhancements, but for now this is what you get.