Recruiting UPDATE

Here is a quick update on probably the biggest recruits for basketball and football respectivley....

Mike Floyd - HERE is a very informative article on a Notre Dame site (BlueandGold.com). Inside it tells us that Minnesota is solidly in his top 3 but probably behind Ohio State and Notre Dame. Michigan and Florida seem to be a distant 4th/5th. As discussed several times, Floyd is the biggest recruiting target that Brewster has. Landing Floyd would be bigger than huge. For 1, the gophers lose the best players from Cretin-Derham Hall every year and landing a player of this magnitude may help to plug this leak.

Interesting how fans at Notre Dame immediately wondered how Matt Carufel leaving the Irish would affect Floyd's recruitment. Carufel is a former teammate of Floyd's and current CDH assistant Andy Bischoff says that it won't be an issue for him. I can't help but think that it will have to have some affect. The CDH coaches can tell him to treat his recruitment like it is separate from Carufel's, but he'll be playing for the same coaches and attending the same Notre Dame practices. I assume they will talk and that Floyd will at least hear Matt's concerns.

In summation, I guess it is encouraging to know that we are top 3 and still in the running. If Notre Dame stays at the top till the end I would put money Floyd playing on NBC next fall. Any player from CDH in recent memory who has been pursued by Notre Dame has gone to Notre Dame.

UPDATE: Floyd played tonight scoring 3 TDs. 65 yd reception, punt return and one rushing. His game was against Adam Weber's old high school so let hope they had a fun little conversation about playing together next season. OH, and I guess he sprained his ankle and was on crutches.

Ralph Sampson - is the presumptive #1 recruit for Tubby. A month ago it appeared that the golden gophers would finish 2nd to Georgia Tech. Then it became rumored that the Yellow Jackets were holding Sampson off while they waited on another big man's decision. Ralph didn't like being a second choice and his recruitment opened up a little bit. Kentucky, Maryland and Clemson became bigger players here and we all wondered if Minnesota was falling back a little.

Apparently Sampson has narrowed his list down to an official 4. Georgia Tech and Minnesota are clearly top 2 with Maryland and Clemson still in the running. The encouraging news is that Kentucky is now out and a decision could come by the end of the month.

At this point my money is still on Sampson playing at Williams Arena next year. I think playing time and being viewed as the school's #1 guy are important to Ralph. He has that here. He'll be the starting center next season and that will be the deciding factor.

Get to Know your Gopher Recruit - Michael Floyd

This is the first installment of Get to Know your Gopher Recruit! This is a chance for Gopher Nation to learn a little bit about the guys Tim Brewster and staff are recruiting (either committed or uncommitted). I'll start with an easy one but he is the biggest target for coach Brewster.

Michael Floyd
Pos - WR
Rivals Ranks - 4-Star, 56th overall, 8th among WRs
Home - St. Paul, MN (Cretin-Derham Hall)
Size - 6'3", 210
40 time - 4.55

Status - uncommitted
Top schools - rumored to be Notre Dame, Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan and others

What you need to know....

Floyd is a BIG TIME recruit. Coach Brewster has stated over and over how important it is to keep the best of Minnesota in Minnesota. Well Floyd is the best in town. He is taking a wait and see approach to coach Brewster and the new Gopher program. Floyd's high school team is 4-0 and he scored 2 TDs last Friday night as the Raiders beat Stillwater 42-14. Floyd also returned punts/kicks and played a few snaps at CB. Floyd is a great athlete and a game changer it would be a great GET for coach Brewster and staff.

"Sometimes you have to remind yourself not to try to be too smart," Raiders coach Mike Scanlan said. "You have to remember we have one of the best players in the country to get the ball to."

Why should he consider...

Minnesota

• He'd be a hero! Floyd could set a precedent for future high school studs in this state and most importantly he could be a catalyst that would help return the Golden Gophers to competitiveness. If Floyd goes to OSU, ND or Mich he is one of a handful of great players. If he has a dominating career he'll still be one in a long line of great WRs. At Minnesota he will have every opportunity to be one of Gopher all time greats.
  
• Spread Coast Offense - Obviously the Gophers are sitting at 1-2 currently and the defense is struggling mightily. But hopefully Floyd can see the fun this offense is having and the opportunity for a talented WR to put up big numbers and contribute right away.
• Adam Weber - Weber appears to be a very good young QB. He will be a reliable arm who will be able to get the ball to Floyd. I hope he sees the promise as Weber will be Floyd's QB for 3 years and together they will lead a high powered offense.

Other Schools

• Win Championships - Ohio State will be in the race for the Big Ten every year and likely will be in the BCS race at least 2 of Floyd's years in Columbus. Notre Dame and Michigan could also be in the BCS picture at any point in the near future.
  
• National Exposure - multiple games on national TV, big time bowl games and a history of putting multiple players into the NFL. This obviously applies to any of the other schools.
• Charlie Weis - considered an offensive guru and should be able to put Floyd in position to succeed each and every week.
• Better Defenses - Floyd has expressed that being able to go up against quality defensive backs every day in practice is important to him. He wants to be pushed every day and go up against the best to that he'll continue to get better and better.

Verdict?

Floyd has to be Brewster's top priority. Not only because Floyd is very talented but because it would set a precedent for future prospects from this state. It would give Brewster a notch in his belt and someone who can help him keep the best home (Lauranaitis, John Carlson, Lyndon Murtha, Matt Carufel, etc). Brewster is setting out to prove he can recruit, close the MN boarders and then win ball games.

Ultimately I am going to be surprised if Floyd comes to Minnesota. Indications are that Ohio State is his leader. Notre Dame seemed to right up there, but hopefully their recent struggles put them on par with Minnesota. I think we are in his top 3 but Brewster has his work cut out for him. I'm just not convinced we'll get a hometown discount here.

Football Recruiting, Gopher Nation Top 15 (16)

Rivals (great site and I strongly encourage a subscription) has a list of some of the top uncommitted players in the Midwest. It would behoove Coach Brewster and staff to land any of these guys that they can get to listen to them. There are several who have MN on their radar, here is a recap of the article...

• Mike Floyd - team to beat is Notre Dame with OSU as a darkhorse. No new information here.
• Cordale Scott - team to beat is Ohio State with Wisconsin as darkhorse.
• Brandon Green - Minnesota is the team to beat with Illinois as a darkhorse. 4-star and #243 overall according to Rivals new top 250.
• Willie Mobley - team to beat is Iowa (?) and UCLA is the darkhorse. I still believe that MN is in good shape to land Mobley, but a couple Big Ten wins are crucial. Mobley is a big fish that Brewster needs to land.
• MarQueis Gray - team to beat is Minnesota with Oregon as the darkhorse. I'm liking Gray more and more, I hope to see him at TCF in a couple years.
• Corey Johnson - team to beat is Mich State with Minnesota as a darkhorse. New name on my radar, but Johnson has an impressive list of offers (Flor, Neb, Mich St, Wis, Minn, K St and Vir). We all know that we need WRs.
• Dawawn Whitner - team to beat is Illinois and Minnesota is darkhorse. Another new name to me. W Vir, L'ville, M'lnd, Pur, Mich St, Minn, Ill are the schools offering Whitner. 6'3", 285, #37 overall DT and 24th in the state of Ohio.

Official Gopher Nation Top 15 (16)

1. Mike Floyd - WR
2. Willie Mobley - LB
3. Brandon Green - WR
4. Ryan Bass - RB
5. Deion Walker - WR
6. Marqueis Gray - QB
7. Nolan Brewster - S
8. Keanon Cooper - S
9. Spencer Reeves - LB
10. Kapron Lewis-Moore - DE
11. DJ Marshall - DT
12. Darron Thomas - QB
13. Dewawn Whitner - DT
14. Cordale Scott - WR
15. Harry Adams - WR
16. Prentiss Wagner - CB

Football Recruiting

It has been just over a month since my last recruiting update. That update was negative news concerning 2 recruits who appeared to be on their way to Gopher Nation. The 3-star OL from Cretin left us for Wisconsin and a certain California, 3-star QB picked Arizona over coach Brewster. Both were disappointing losses, but it's not as though Maturi should be calling Mason to bring him back (we all know he'll answer the phone). Since then 3 kids have said YES to Brewster and the commit list has grown to 10 guys.

New Commits...

• K/P - Bradley Nortman - Looks like the Badgers are letting guys slip through their borders! Nortman is listed as the #13 overall kicker according to Rivals but will likely be a punter and may be the one of the top couple punters in the country. Although he is from Milwaukee he has always wanted to attend MN. In fact when called and offered a scholarship at 11:00 pm, he returned the call at 11:10 to accept. Current kickers Kucek (P) and Giannini (K) will be seniors for Nortman's freshman season and I would assume he'll then be the guy for 3 solid seasons.
  
• TE - Eric Lair - This Houston TE is ranked by Rivals as the #3 TE in the state of Texas (80th overall in TX, would be #5 in MN). Lair is big (6'3", 210) fast (4.56 40) and should be a perfect fit for the spread offense. Some schools were recruiting Lair to play the big possession WR at the college level but his combo of size and speed should make for great mismatches from the TE position as a Gopher. Lair also had offers from Nebraska, OK State and other Big 12 programs.
  
• DT - Padric Scott - Scott was not a highly recruited DT and chose MN over smaller D1 schools like South Florida. But I wouldn't dismiss this kid as a non-factor just yet. Scott is a very intelligent kid and has the kind of work ethic that will eventually earn him some playing time. And perhaps his biggest contribution will be his recruiting efforts on his high school teammates. Scott is trying to convince teammates TJ Bryant (5-star DB), Steven Robinson (3-star OL) and BJ Daniels (3-star QB) to join him in Minnesota. Go get 'em Padric.
  

Outside of those commitments the recruiting front there has seen very little happy news for Gopher Nation. There are persistent rumors that Cretin WR, Mike Floyd is leaning towards Notre Dame or Ohio State while taking a "wait and see" approach to the U. Eden Prairie LB, Will Mobley was considered more likely to attend the U than Floyd recent developments seem have him warming up to Ohio State. Both are important recruits for Brewster as stated here many times. Losing one would be bad, losing both will be worse than really bad (really, really bad maybe?).

ESPN's Recruiting Insider (which is not as accurate or comprehensive as Rivals) is updated and they have their official top 150 list published (subscription necessary). Mike Floyd is the the only MN kid on the list at #41. Here are some of the recruits interested in MN and where they stand overall...

• #41 - WR - Mike Floyd - much as been discussed on Floyd and not much has changed recently. I get the feeling that he knows how to play the recruiting game and many of his comments being made in July are about as reliable as a GM's in the days leading up the draft. I really wouldn't blame him for attending Notre Dame or Ohio State next fall, especially if the Gophers put up a disappointing effort this fall. My gut tells me that if we have a better than expected season (4-4 in Big 10, 8-4 overall) then maybe Floyd thinks that things are looking up and he wants to be a part of the Gopher party in Pasadena. a 2-6 conference record might convince him that nothing is changing and he wants to play for a national championship elsewhere.
  
• #18 - WR - Deion Walker - ESPN says that Walker "is a tall, lanky wide receiver with long arms and very smooth into and out of his cuts." And, "Overall, Walker is a playmaker, plain and simple. He has the measurables, the movement skills and a nice feel for the game. Outstanding prospect." Walker is on my top 15 list, but this guy is hot (45+ official offers) and I'd be shocked to see him in maroon and gold next season.
  
• #24 - WR/RB/Ret - Joe Adams - ESPN lists MN as #3 on Adams' list while Rivals does not show MN as one of the 9 schools on his list. So that is interesting info, but I don't care who says we are in the running as long as we are truly in the running. Adams is a "a wonderful overall athlete" who "shows a little bit of a second gear when he hits daylight." In Dunbar's new offense Adams might be a perfect piece for the puzzle.
• #28 - DT - Marcus Forston - ESPN's #2 DT who explosive and "is regularly one of the first people moving on the snap of the ball." We need to be stronger up the middle and Forston would greatly help our defense immediately. ESPN does not have MN in his top 5, but he is listed as a school he is considering. Rivals has MN as one of 10 schools who have offered. USC, ND and LSU are big name schools on the list but my guess is that this Florida kid will end up at Florida, Florida State or Miami as all have offered.
• #64 - S -Keanon Cooper - Cooper has been on the MN radar for a while and I think this is our best shot at an ESPN top 100 kid. ESPN picks Cooper to be one of the sleepers on their top 150. In high school he has exceled at multiple positions but will likely play S or LB (provided he adds some pounds) at the college level. In a recent Rivals article when asked to name his top 5 Minnesota was the first school to come out of his mouth along with Michigan, Wisconsin, Alabama and Georgia Tech. Alabama seems to be moving up his list, but time will tell.
• #74 RB - Jonas Gray - this Michigan back has always said MN is on his short list. But since offers have rolled in from Mich State and the Wolverines, my money is that we'll see Gray on Saturdays in East Lansing. Gray seems to really enjoy being the center of attention, I don't see him choosing to be a small fish in the Wolverine pond. He wanted badly to get an offer from them but he'll revel in "shocking the world" with his decision (which will likely result in a collective yawn from the rest of the country).
• #109 - S/OLB - Nolan Brewster - Nolan has committed to Texas as we all know, but he hasn't signed that little piece of paper and until he does he'll remain on Gopher Nation's radar. I expect a successful season for Coach (dad) Brewster and Nolan will get caught up in the excitement. We'll see. Texas already has several recruits that will force Nolan to fight for his playing time, not nearly as likely in Minnesota.
  
• #116 - QB - MarQueis Gray - 6'4" pocket passer who just happens to be very athletic and is often listed as a dual threat type of recruit. Gray would be a GREAT fit for Dunbar's spread offense. ESPN does not have MN is Gray's top 5, Rivals has MN as one of 9 schools to have offered Gray. I would be really happy to see Gray leading the offense when TCF Stadium opens up in 2009.
  

I don't think we'll be landing the majority of the kids listed above but if we can get 1 or 2 of the above names, then get 1 or 2 of the next tier guys (Mobley, Jewhan Edwards, Brandon Green, Harry Adams or Ryan Bass) then this moves from a good recruit class to a very good class and one to get excited about.

Official Gopher Nation Top 15 (16) wish list...

1. Mike Floyd - WR
2. Willie Mobley - LB
3. Deion Walker - WR
4. Brandon Green - WR
5. Ryan Bass - RB
6. Nolan Brewster - S
7. MarQueis Gray - QB
8. Keanon Cooper - S
9. Spencer Reeves - LB
10. Jonas Gray - RB
11. Kapron Lewis-Moore - DE
    
12. DJ Marshall - DT
13. Prentiss Wagner - CB
14. Darron Thomas - QB
15. Harry Adams - WR
    
16. Cordale Scott - WR

And that's all I've got to say about that.

Football Recruiting

Keeping track of football recruiting this spring has been exciting and exhausting. Coach Brewster and his staff have been working their tails off to get Minnesota in front of many of the top recruits in the country. With the list of scholarship offers upwards of 100 it is difficult to track.

Based on reading various sites here is a list of 14 talented kids who will 1-drastically improve the talent level on the team and 2-are seriously considering Minnesota. If we have a scholarship in front of a top 10 player but we don't have a realistic shot at signing him I didn't put him on this list.

• QB
• Matt Scott (Cali) - 3-star, dual threat QB who attended last weekends camp on campus. Scott appears to be nearing a decision and it appears that MN has a VERY good shot at landing him. Tough to say where he would fit in with the current group of QBs (Mortenson, Weber (rsFr) and Brewster (Fr)), but landing the 8th overall dual threat QB (according to Rivals) would be an upgrade in overall talent.
• Darron Thomas (TX) - 3-star QB who also attended camp last week. Thomas is not a likely sign as he is favoring LSU.
• RB
• Ryan Bass (Cali) - 4-star and Rivals top 250 RB who is teammates with QB Matt Scott. Bass mentions MN along with Ole Miss, San Diego State and Arizona. Of this list Bass would be in my top 5 I want to land.
• WR
• Deion Walker (Virg) - 5-star and #20 overall according to Rivals. Also, not a likely future gopher. We are on his list, have offered a scholarship but his list is extensive. We may be helped out by the fact that he could have an immediate impact in an offense that will feature the WR position. I'm not holding my breath though.
• Mike Floyd (MN) - 4-star, #52 overall and 8th best WR. Floyd attends Cretin and is being heavily recruited by Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan (among others). I've said this before but Floyd is a MUST HAVE for Brewster. We need WRs and we need to establish that we can keep our best here at the U. He is currently on a trip to take unofficial visits to Wis, Mich, Ohio St and Notre Dame this weekend. Pray for rain!
• Brandon Green (Chicago) - 4-star and Rivals top 250. Green has offers from most other Big Ten schools but my gut tells me he will end up wearing maroon and gold on Saturdays in 2008.
• OT
• Joe Schafer (St. Paul) - 3-star OT with offers from Wis, NW, Stan, Mizz and Ill. Schafer is another hometown kid that we should land. He won't be challenging for the Outland Trophy or anything but the 6'5", 262 lb kid would be a welcome addition to the OL that will be graduating soon.
• DE
• Willie Mobley (Eden Prairie) - 4-star and Rivals top 250. Mobley is #2 on the list of MN kids we have to get. I would bet he'll be a Gopher but he is also entertaining offers from Ohio State, Iowa, Colorado, Arizona, UCLA, Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
• Kapron Lewis-Moore (TX) - 4-star DE who would provide more talent to the side of the ball that needs it most. Kapron has offers from Neb, OK, ND, OK St, Tex A&M, TTech, Vir and Wis.
  
• DJ Marshall (TX) - 3-star recruit, not ranked as highly as commit Brandon Kelly but again this side of the ball needs all the talent it can acquire. Only has offers from Iowa State and Minnesota but is gaining interest from other D1 schools.
• LB
• Leonard Hubbard (Illinois) - 3-star who has narrowed list to Iowa, Minn and Wis. It would be nice to start winning some of these little recruiting battles with the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes. Hubbard would be a solid addition to the LB core. I think that Sam Maresh (already committed and #15 LB) is going to be more of a stud but Hubbard would surely contribute.
• Spencer Reeves (Dallas) - 3-star OLB says that Kansas State and Minnesota are at the top of his list but that can always change when higher profile schools come calling. I don't know much about Reeves, but he is one of a handful of kids we are recruiting from Dallas Skyline High School. Landing 1 could lead to landing a 2nd and then a 3rd, etc.
• CB
• Prentiss Waggner (Clinton, LA) - 4-star corner who has offers from the likes of Aub, Minn, S Miss and LaTech. 70 tackles and 16 INTs as a Jr. As previously stated (10 times) we need more talent on defense. I know little about Waggner but a 4-star recruit indicates he has some talent and if we can wrestle him from Auburn we could have ourselves some help on defense.
• S
• Keanon Cooper (Dallas) - 3-star safety with some speed. Cooper is another Skyline kid who would help our pass defense. Cooper has offers from KanSt, LSU, Mich, OK, Pur and Wis so he has a number of big time schools on his recruiting trail.
  

So who are my top 5 you ask?

1. Mike Floyd (RB) - highly talented and the best in the state. I've said it 20 times on this blog, he is a MUST HAVE for Brewster
2. Willlie Mobley (DE) - another in state stud. Mobley would greatly help our beleaguered defense and would be another in state kid that Brewster kept home.
3. Brandon Green (WR) - we need good WRs to run this new offense. Green is the 36th best WR according to Rivals and would certainly help us.
4. Matt Scott (QB) - I don't know much about this QB but the coaching staff seems to love him and maybe he's the guy Coach Dunbar could develop as the next Brett Basanez.
   
5. Ryan Bass (RB) - We'll need someone to carry the ball next year with Pinnix graduating. I know this is an offense happy list but we've already received LB and DE commitments.

The 14 kids listed above are not the only kids being recruited. This is just MY list of guys who are very good and we have a realistic shot at landing. Now we wait and see what happens!

Big Day for Gopher Football recruiting...

Today was a one-day camp hosted by the U that was primarily meant for some of our top prospects to come to campus to work with the coaches, compete and see the campus. There were many big names from the recruit list and it seems they all had great things to say about Coach Brewster, his staff and Minnesota. All of my info comes from GopherIllustrated.com. This requires a membership so I don't want to be the one who is giving all of their info away for free but here are a few highlights.

Some of the players attending...

WRs Mike Floyd(Cretin DH) and Brandon Green(Chicago, IL) - both are highly sought after by this coaching staff and both seemed to have positive experiences as well as dominating performances.

QBs Matt Scott(Corona, CA) and Darron Thomas(Aldine, TX) are both very talented. Scott's father had a LOT of very good things to say about Coach Brewster.

add CB Craig Loston(Aldine, TX) to your watch list as he had a good camp day and the coaching staff is hoping he'll rethink his soft verbal to Tex A&M. In fact here is his top 5...Tex A&M, Florida, Miami and Oklahoma - the fact that Coach Brewster and staff are getting Minnesota listed with those schools (and Loston isn't the only one) is amazing.

LB Sam Maresh(Champlin Park) is already committed for 2008 but was at the camp to get better.

There is a lot of very good info on Gopher Illustrated and quotes from players, coaches and parents. I encourage you to subscribe, but I don't feel right re-posting after someone else did all the work.

Ultimately this was a big day for the football program and we can all HOPE that a couple of these kids will give a verbal commitment before they get on a plane back home. Before Brewster and crew can realistically think about a Rose Bowl they have to upgrade the talent and hopefully this will be a small step in the right direction.

Recruiting News

Football - ESPN Recruiting Insider does not have their official top 150 list up yet, BUT they have at least identified the players who are in the running for the top 150. Minnesota is currently listed as in the running for 13 of these players. 2006-07 we landed 1 top 150 player and that was of course Clint Brewster. Maybe I'm still stuck in the quagmire of low standards but imagine landing even just 3 or 4 of these kids? Here are the 13 that we are zeroing in on (in order of Minnesota's consideration priority)...

• Mike Floyd, WR - 1. Minnesota 2. NotreDame 3. Ohio State - have to get Floyd

• Willie Mobley, DE - 1. Minnesota 2. Ohio State 3. Iowa
• Jewhan Edwards, DT - 1. Syracuse 2. Minnesota 3. PennSt
• Joe Adams, Ath - 1. TexTech 2. OK 3. Minnesota
• Brandon Green, WR - 1. Ill 2. Wis 3. Minnesota
• Quinten Williams, TE - 1. WVirginia 2. Wis 3. Minnesota
• Ryan Bass, RB - 1. AZ 2. Miss 3. Lou'ville 4. Minnesota
• Kapron Lewis-Moore, DE - 1. Tex A&M 2. OK 3. NotreDame 4. Minnesota
• Cordale Scott, WR - 1. Ohio State 2. Wis 3. Ill 4. Minnesota
• Keanon Cooper, OLB - 1. TexTech 2. Miss 3. Wis 4. Purd 5. Minnesota
• Jonas Gray, RB - 1. Flor 2. MichSt 3. Col 4. Mich 5. Minnesota
• Dion Jordan, TE - 1. AZ 2. AZ St 3. UCLA 4. Oregon 5. Minnesota
• Scott Vallone, DE - 1. Rutgers 2. Maryland 3. Syracuse 4. BC 5. Minnesota

Mobley and Floyd are the only 2 prospects from the state of Minnesota that are on the ESPN 150 Watch List.

Basketball - There really isn't any new news on the basketball recruiting front. Tubby was unable to lure a last min recruit to the U for this fall, but he is already working on future classes. Here is a solid article in the Star Trib about 2 of Minnesota's outstanding high school sophomores (soon to be juniors) Royce White of DeLeSalle and Rodney Williams of Robbinsdale Cooper. Both are playing very well for their Howard Pulley 17 under AAU team and 2 local kids that Tubby has to prove he can keep in state.

Here is what I can gather on the 2007-08 recruiting class...

• Tyler Zeller, PF (6'10", 185) Washington, IN - Scout.com has Tyler as #25 overall in the 2008 class. Like I said above for football it is nice to have Minnesota even on the list at this point but that will be meaningless if he eventually signs elsewhere. Current list includes AZ, AZ St, GTech, Ill, Indiana, Kentucky, Notre Dame, NCarolina, Tennessee and Kansas just to name a few. This is an uphill battle but one worth keeping an eye on.
• Draymond Green, PF (6'6", 220) Saginaw, MI - #59 on Scout.com's list. I have read other places that we are a serious contender for Green. There was even rumors that Tubby was planning to hire Green's high school basketball coach which clearly would have helped a ton in recruiting him. The list of contending schools for Green includes Kentucky, Mich State, Clemson, BC, Indiana, Mich, Tennessee and Wake Forest.
• Devoe Joseph, SG (6'3", 170) Ajax, Ontario - #82 for Scout.com overall and 19th best SG. I know very little about Joseph other than he is from Canada (eh). His list is smaller but still full of good schools GTech, Kentucky, Pitt and Wash State.
• Lewis Jackson, PG (5'8" 165) Decatur, GA - smallish PG that ESPN has ranked as the 18th best at his position. Minnesota is listed as #3 on his list behind Purdue and Indiana. Seems like he'd be a solid recruit and with this talent level (especially after this class graduates) we need anybody we can get our hands on.
• Carrington Tankson, SF (6'5") Osseo, MN - local kid with a sweet name. This is the first I've heard his name but MN ranks 4th on his list behind Iowa State, Wisconsin and Marquette.

Ohio State basketball - Thad Motta is WAY ahead of the rest of the Big Ten. His 07 class is set and one of the best, I'm sure his '08 class is great too and '09 too for that matter. They must be because he has started signing high school freshmen (read freshMAN). Thad has signed Jared Sullinger a PF from Columbus. This really wasn't even fair cause Jared is from Columbus and his brother played at OSU, but it never hurts to land one of the best in his class and now you have the next 4 years to recruit other kids and not worry about 1 scholarship.

Football Tid Bits

After 3 months on the job, gophersports.com sat down to interview Coach Brewster. HERE is part 1 of the interview with part 2 coming in Wednesday. This deals with him settling in here, reaching out to the rich history of gopher football and more detail on his assistants. All in all it is a pretty good interview.

Recruiting Update...

• Minnesota kids are staying home so far. Every MN kid that has received an offer from the gophers and made a decision is coming to the U. There are 2 outstanding offers to MN kids who have yet to make a decision, and they are probably the top 2 kids in the state.
• Willie Mobley - 79, DE - Eden Prairie - 1. Minnesota 2. Ohio State 3. Iowa
• Mike Floyd - 88, WR - Cretin Derham Hall - 1. Minnesota 2. Notre Dame 3. Ohio State. Floyd is THE GUY Brewster has to land. One of the best WRs in the country, we run a pass happy offense and a statement recruit that we are keeping our best!
  

Notice that we are in the recruiting mix with Ohio State and Notre Dame, they are of course from here so we SHOULD be in the conversation but in past years we would just say "well who could blame them for going to (insert big time program here)." Hopefully that attitude is in the past and we can keep our best and steal some guys from other states.

• Based on ESPN's recruiting Insider here is a breakdown of previous Minnesota recruting classes...
  
• 2006 - 16 High School Srs. signed and 2 JUCOs - highest rated player was 75
• 2007 - 18 High School Srs. signed and 5 JUCOs - highest rated player was 82 (Clint Brewster), nobody over 80 from Coach Mason.
  
• 2008? As of April 24th we have signed 7 kids (yet to be rated by ESPN) and have interest from 36 more! From those rated here is the list of interested kids rated 79 or higher...
• Keanan Cooper - 82, OLB - 1. Texas Tech 2. Mississippi 3. Wisconsin 5. Minnesota
• Jonas Grey - 82, RB - 1. Florida 2. Michgan State 3. Colorado 5. Minnesota
• Joe Adams - 81, ATH - 1. Texas Tech 2. Okalahoma 3. Minnesota
• Quiten Williams - 81, TE - 1. West Virginia 2. Wisconsin 3. Minnesota
• Jewhan Edwards - 80, DT - 1. Syracuse 2. Minnesota 3. Penn State
• Kapron Lewis-Moore - 79, DE - 1. Texas A&M 2. Oklahoma 3. Notre Dame 4. Minnesota
• Brandon Green - 79, WR - 1. Illinois 2. Wisconsin 3. Minnesota
• Again notice the schools we are in the top 5 with. Notre Dame, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Florida, Oklahoma, Penn State. We haven't actually signed any of these kids yet but I look forward to tracking these guys and seeing what kind of magic Brewster can work here.

Gopher Nation wants to inspire you and help facilitate a new era of passionate Golden Gopher fans, but THIS IS FREAKING INSANE! I understand being passionate about your team and I know that MANY other NCAA football teams have a fanbase unlike anything Gopher Nation has yet to experience, but this is just plain nuts. 2% of the entire state was at this football game and people were turned away! Was this the Auburn game? Was it homecoming? NO!!! It was their spring scrimmage!

Recruiting News

Basketball Recruiting - There isn't much out there for Tubby to make an impact for 2007-08. We really should be looking at 08-09 as the recruiting class with Tubby's mark. With that said here are a few bits of news regarding scholarships and recruiting for this coming season. Remember that April 11th is the spring signing date so Tubby has just under 2 weeks to find someone worthy of a scholarship.

• Jai Lucas - "It's cold there (in Minnesota) but might be something I think about," Lucas told the Courier-Journal on Sunday. "I like coach Smith a lot." Getting MN on his list is the first step, how great would it be to land a McDonald's All-American just weeks after landing Tubby? My hopes aren't too high, but at least we are in the conversation.
  
• Limar Wilson - Star Tribune says that he wants to come back. Tubby is considering it, but I would assume that if he can give that scholarship to a good recruit then Limar won't be wearing maroon and gold next year. If you can't give it to someone else, Limar is a Sr. so it wouldn't hurt anything to give him the scholarship next year. Ultimately I'd rather see his minutes go to incoming freshman Al Nolen, or the soon to be sophs Payton or Westbrook at PG. Or if McKenzie can learn to be a PG let him get those minutes and start Hoffarber at SG. I would be shocked to see Limar back here next year, too many scenarios that benefit the team more without him on the roster.
• Royce White - DeLaSalle - Class of 09. This is a bit early but Rivals.com lists him as a big time recruit and probably a kid Tubby should start targeting NOW. 21.8 ppg as a soph for the 6'7" forward. Remember that name and lets start the recruiting watch for White.

Football Recruiting - This is heating up and it is fun to see Minnesota on the lists for some talented kids. Here is what I have been able to find...

• Tim Brewster - to start with I want to give credit to Coach Brewster for getting out there into the homes of talented kids all over the place. We are in the mix and cross your fingers, we'll land some of them. ESPN Recruiting Insider has this to say about Brewster,
  

"He has already caught my attention as I notice Minnesota's name popping up all over the place. They are in on and battling for kids nationwide from Florida to Philadelphia to California. I don't think they will leave many stones unturned. All in all though, I think you will see the Gophers improve in recruiting. Do I think he can turn them into a top-ten class this year? No, but I do think he will get the 2008 class to a point where it is in serious consideration for the top 25 recruiting classes."

• Nolan Brewster - a top notch safety and son of coach Tim, verbally committed to Texas. That is a big loss, but I also think that there is ample time for Nolan to change his mind. Wait until he comes up for a handful of Gopher games, talks with incoming Gopher recruits, hangs out with his brother and eventually he'll want to be a part of what's going on here.
  
• Brendan Kelly - DE, Holy Angels - I don't know how highly rated Kelly will be but it sounds like he was one of the top MN prospects and Brewster kept him home.
  
• Leonard Hubbard - ILB, Illinois - visiting this weekend and Rivals.com thinks he could committ before he leaves. Also, not yet rated but appears he would be a solid addition to the defense.
• Keanon Cooper - OLB, Texas - Rivals.com says MN is top of his list, ESPN shows MN lower, but both say he is a tremendous athlete and would be an instant upgrade on the D.
• Mike Floyd - WR, Cretin Derham Hall - #1 priority for Brewster, keep the best athlete in MN instate! We are battling with Ohio State and the best CDH theif Notre Dame. This would send a message if Brewster can keep Floyd from juggernauts like that. MN is currently at the top of Floyd's list but it is a long time before Signing Day in Feb.

That's all I can gather for now. Jai Lucas is the most pressing news to keep an eye on at this point. The Football team is bringing in kids left and right to be around for Spring Practice but as mentioned Signing Day is a LONG way off. Brewster seems to be backing up his reputation as a relentless recruiter but the proof will be in the signings!