Skyline-4 end of season awards that I missed

I'm not sure how I missed this but I wanted to put it out there just to get the juices flowing about how excited we really should be about our in coming recruiting class. This is the final time to enjoy their epic high school season before we leave it in the past as they learn to dominate the Big Ten as they dominated the Dallas area.

LB/S - Spencer Reeves - Dallas / Ft Worth Defensive Player of the Year

Maybe all of Gopher Nation knew this already, but last fall the Dallas Morning News named Spencer Reeves the Dallas/Fort Worth area Defensive Player of the Year last fall. That is a pretty cool honor especially when you consider how much talent and division I football players there are in the Dallas area.

Reeves was credited with 160 tackles, but that's only one way he contributed. His personality became the fiery heart of Skyline's defense.

Reeves also received defensive MVP of District 11-5A.


LB/S - Keanon Cooper

Dallas Morning News 1st Team All-Defensive team

Key stats: 165 tackles, four interceptions, three blocked punts.

About Cooper: His quickness at outside linebacker made him one of the top playmakers on Skyline's formidable defense.

Did you know? "I'm very goofy on the field," said Cooper, who jokes with his teammates to keep them loose during games.

Also District 1st team Defense


ATH - Troy Stoudermire

District 11-5A Offensive Player of the Year

There are no notes on Stoudermire's season but he was all over the field for Skyline playing QB, RB and WR at different times. He did have an outstanding season.


WR - Dajon McKnight

Not wanting to miss out on the party, McKnight also drew 1st team All District 11 as a WR.


Dallas-Skyline had an historic season as they won a playoff game for the first time since 1995 ending an 0-11 streak, advanced to the 5A Quarterfinals and finished with a 12-2 record. The heart of the team was a rock solid defense that held teams to just over 200 yds per game (this group may have fared better than the Gophers last year).

Impressive season but the fun part is just the beginning for Gopher fans. In their freshman seasons I would expect Cooper and Reeves to contribute from the beginning. Both will have the opportunity to earn starting jobs but at the very least they will contribute. If Stoudermire or McKnight earn playing time that is great but I would expect they will redhirt and be regular contributors down the road as they'll both likely be learning to play DB at the Div1 level.

High school is over for these guys but hopefully the fun is just beginning for them as well. While I'm sure advancing a few rounds into the Texas State Playoffs is a lot of fun, but taking the Gophers to the Rose Bowl would be an unbelievable achievement.

Skyline 3 4

Tomorrow is of course National Signing Day for college football. If you are reading this, you probably already knew that. I'll give a little coverage tomorrow, but it looks like the Gophers have stolen a previously committed 4-star recruit.

A many of you know we have signed a trio of players from Dallas-Skyline.

• 3-star - LB - Spencer Reeves
• 3-star - Ath - Troy Stoudermire (T-Stud)
• 2-star - DB - DaJon McKnight

The one player missing was 4-star, S, Keanon Cooper. Well, Cooper is no longer the missing piece and the Skyline Trio is now the Skyline Quartet!

Cooper makes for the 7th Four-Star recruit to sign with Tim Brewster after his stellar 1-11 season.

The star rankings are far from an exact science but it is the best indicator we have at this point. Tim Brewster's class (more to come later) is clearly the best in decades and ranks as high as 18th nationally.

4-Star Recruits by year...

2008 - 7
2007 - 1
2006 - 0
2005 - 1
2004 - 0
2003 - 2

This should be a fun class to build on and more will follow tomorrow on the class in it's entirety.

Welcome to Gopher Nation kid

Well there have been a few common themes for the 2007 gopher football team.

1. The defense is terrible each and every game. Holding a team to under 500 yards was something we got excited about and looked at as an improvement.
2. We lost. A LOT. We lost games and we lost by a lot of points usually.
   
3. Following a home loss, we would usually land a significant recruit or two.

Last week was no differentPublish Post. The gophers lost to Wisconsin. It was a close game and we held them to under 450 yards (WoooHOOO!). And then we followed up the loss with a string of recruits committing to the program.

Please take the time to welcome the following kids to Gopher Nation

Hey-Hey, We've got Big Play Traye!

CB - Tray Simmons (pictured right)is our fourth, 4-star recruit. BPT is expected to come in and be an immediate starter. I couldn't be happier that we are landing highly ranked kids at key positions. This was one of they key guys that gopher fans (who are paying attention) wanted Brewster to land. He is a more experienced than a high school kid and should be ready to contribute immediately. I'm afraid that I'm heaping too many expectations on him but he should be an upgrade over the current group of corners. This a big signing!

ATH - DaJon McKnight - The potential Skyline-4 is up to the Skyline 3 (just waiting on Keanon Cooper)! McKnight is clearly the lowest rated of the 4, but he is big (6'3") and fast so I'm sure he'll be able to help us out. I don't know yet where he'll play, my guess is WR, but there is speculation he'll play defense.

McKnight's Skyline Raiders have won their first game of the Texas big division playoffs (5A) and are in the final 16 remaining teams. They won @ Tyler Lee 28-10 with Troy Stoudermire having another great game rushing for 171 yards and 2 TDs. Next up the Raiders will play against Rowlett (6-5) @ Texas Stadium. Rowlett upset previously undefeated Allen (#3 in Texas) 37-32.

RB - Maurice Greer (pictured right)- another Denver Mullen kid. Greer is a JUCO transfer who was a highly rated RB out of high school. In fact he was the #1 rated player in Colorado as a senior and committed to the University of Colorado. Fans in Gopher Nation are pretty excited about this one. Personally I am a big fan of Duane Bennett but if Greer comes in and brings more to the field than Bennett who am I to complain.

WR - Xavier Brandon - a 2-star recruit out of the Atlanta area, and is actually a classmate of basketball recruit Ralph Sampson. Brandon is 6'2" and runs a 4.48 40. Brandon makes 3 WRs in this recruiting class with the potential for a few of the "athletes" to eventually be a WR. A position that once was very thin on depth (and talent) now looks to be a position that will be a strength over the next several years.

Newcomers I anticipate will be immediate starters...

• LB - Sam Maresh
• LB - Spencer Reeves
• S - Simoni Lawrence
• CB - Traye Simmons
• CB - Troy Stoudermire (also PR and maybe WR)
  
• WR - Brandon Green
• DE - Anthony Jacobs (currently redshirting)

My Top 5 remaining Uncommiteds...

1. DL - Willie Mobley - immediate starter
   
2. DT - Jewhan Edwards - immediate starter
   
3. QB - MarQueis Gray
   
4. S - Keanon Cooper - could start
   
5. CB - Prentiss Wagner - could start
   

Welcome to Gopher Nation kid

Wednesday, November 14th is the start date of the early signing period for basketball and hockey. While Tubby is in Georgia to witness the signing of Ralph Sampson, the football team continues to rack up significant verbal commitments (although they can't sign on the dotted line until February).

We have 4 recent verbal commitments, the first 2 Skyline player have a very good chance at starting.

Troy Stoudermire - We got our first Dallas Skyline player! This is exciting. If you have been paying attention to this blog you know that I've been paying attention to Skyline's season. The Raiders have had 2 major story lines all season. The first being their dominant defense which has pitched 4 shutouts and has had 7 (out of 10) games allowing fewer than 10 points. The other storyline has been Stoudermire on offense.

• 665 yds rushing and 6 TDs
• 260 yds receiving and 3 TDs
• 275 yds passing and 2 TDs
• 2 punt return TDs
• 11 total TDs scored and 2 passing TDs

Although "only" a 2-star athlete according to Rival, I expect Troy to be the real sleeper in this recruiting class. A potential starter at CB next season and down the road I would not be shocked to see him as a WR and play both sides of the ball at times. Stoudermire is a playmaker and you get the ball in his hands as often as you can.

Spencer Reeves - I haven't seen a hard confirmation that Reeves is also set to join Gopher Nation, but Stoudermire has indicated that he and Reeves will be coming together. This 3-star linebacker has a very good shot at starting immediately at LB. Reeves has been leading the Skyline defense that has been absolutely dominant. Skyline is 2nd in the state of Texas (behind #1 ranked Katy) for points allowed at 6.8 per game.

So we have 1/2 of the Skyline 4, but to be honest these were the 2 that I most wanted us to land. Getting Cooper and McKnight would just be gravy at this point. LB and CB are areas of greater need than S (with Lawrence, Theret, Thomas and maybe Brewster) or WR, in my opinion. Reeves and Maresh as 2 of our 3 starting LBs is an upgrade. Then Stoudermire starting opposite Steib will also be an upgrade in the pass defense.

Terrell Combs - 2-star, Athlete. Combs is another low rated kid who could be a real sleeper. He received scholarship offers from schools like W.Vir, Aub, FlorSt, L'ville, Mich, etc. So don't get hung up on the 2-star ranking too much. Combs is listed as an ATH and has played QB, RB, S, DE, WR and LB for his high school team. He racked up over 1,000 yds and 13 TDs as a receiver this season. Indications are that this big and fast kid will line up at LB for the gophers but time will tell.

D.L. Wilhite - 2-star, Athlete and high school teammate of Combs. Another big kid with speed who has been primarily a RB or LB and is expected to compete at LB. Like Combs, Wilhite is only a 2-star kid who was getting attention and offers from major college teams like West Virginia, Kentucky, Auburn, Michigan and Louisville.

People can continue to knock Brewster but he has landed the best gopher recruiting class in my lifetime while leading a team that is 1-10 (soon to be 1-11). That is flat out amazing, imagine the kids he'll land when(if) we are actually winning. I anticipate that no fewer than 5 true freshmen will start next year for the Gophers.

• MLB - Sam Maresh
• S - Simoni Lawrence
• OLB - Spencer Reeves
• WR - Brandon Green
• CB - Troy Stoudermire

DB-Jonathan Dandridge, WR-Vincent Hill and TE-Eric Lair also stand a chance to play right away. And this is before the recruiting class is done.

Here are the remaining players that we have a good chance at landing who would make an already great class into a top 20 class...

• S - Nolan Brewster - committed to Texas but there is still time
• DE - Willie Mobley - #1 target, would start from day 1
  
• CB - Traye Simmons - Big Play Traye, is a fast, 4-star JUCO
  
• CB - Prentiss Wagner - 6'2", fast and puts up big numbers
• DT - Jewhan Edwards (pictured right) - BIG and would also start immediately (imo)
• QB - MarQueis Gray - 4-star kid with speed would look great in the spread coast
• RB - LaMichael James
  

There are many others who would be great to have on board, but landing any of the kids listed above would be a coup and be a great base for future gopher football squads.

Dallas Skyline update Part-2 (full Texas version) ...

Well your favorite school with potentially 4 gopher recruits is rolling into the Texas high school playoffs.

HERE (this is worth watching!) is a nice video from a couple weeks ago prior to their game with district rival Carter. I didn't know at the time but Carter was riding something like a 33 game district win streak (wow) and this was a statement game that Skyline won going away.

Skyline finished the season 9-1 and #23 in state, lost only to a ranked Arlington Bowie team that they held to only 17 points (Bowie's lowest output all season). Their most recent game actually ended with the Raiders ending their 21 quarter streak of no touchdowns allowed. But they still won 52-6.

The big offensive playmaker Troy Stoudermire (pictured right) will try to lead The Raiders past Tyler Lee (5-5) in the 1st round and if they should be so lucky as to earn this road victory they will face what looks to be the #1 seed Allen (10-0 and #4 in all of Texas) in round 2.

In other Texas recruits news...

Houston Lamar #24 in state- home of TE commit Eric Lair is also in the 5A playoffs. Lamar (9-1) will take on Aldine (4-6) in their first round matchup.

Texarkana Liberty-Eylau - home of RB LaMichael James whom the gophers are pursuing. Liberty-Eylau is the defending 3A state champs and will enter the playoffs trying to defend their title.

Your Dallas Skyline update...

As most of you know the Gophers are heavily recruiting 4 high school seniors from Dallas Skyline High School.

Keanon Cooper - 3-star - S
Spencer Reeves (pictured right) - 3-star - OLB
Troy Stoudermire - 2-star - ATH
DaJone McKnight - 2-star - S

Gopher Nation is very excited about the prospect of these prospects coming to Minnesota next year. Cooper and Reeves would likely play immediately and McKnight/Stoudermire would add depth and athleticism to the team as well.

I have been paying close attention to the Skyline Raiders this season and here are the results of Friday's game...

Dallas Skyline - 49
W.T. White - 0

• Allowed 69 total yards (8 rushing, 61 passing)
• Troy Stoudermire (pictured Right) had a monster game. He now has 9 TDs on the season and nearly 500 yards rushing. He is looking more and more like an impact player.
  
• 110 yds rushing
• 29 yds receiving
• 24 yds passing
• 3 touchdowns

The Skyline defense has been dominant as of late...

• Has not allowed a TD in 14 quarters
• Averaged 105 yards allowed in last 5 games
• Averaged 3.4 turnovers forced in last 5 games

The Raiders are 7-1 with 2 games remaining.

• Carter at 4-4
• Bryan Adams at 1-7

Assuming they win these games Skyline should make the Texas 5A playoffs. I appreciated that Brewster and staff are working hard to not only bring in talented players but players from winning programs. Good luck to the Skyline 4 and we look forward to seeing you in Maroon and Gold next year!

Recruits, Recruits, Recruits

Since the actual gopher football team is not much fun to write about right now (although it is Jug Week), and since the high school season is at or near playoffs I thought it would be fun to see what our recruits (both incoming and yet to commit) are doing at their respective high schools...

COMMITTED

WR - Brandon Green (Chicago-Robeson) - Green's high school team finished the regular season at 8-1. They are the #1 seed in the upper bracket (consists of 16 of the 32 teams) in class 5A (there are 8 classes in Illinois). Although they are the #1 seed, it appears that the team to beat in class 5A is #2 seed Lombard-Montini. Green's team, Chicago-Robeson is a public league team which traditionally struggles in the playoffs (much like Mpls and StP city schools in Minnesota).

Statistically Green has been dominating his senior season. After scoring 21 TDs as a junior, Brandon has already surpassed that a senior.

• 47 receptions for 1,100 yards
• 17 receiving TDs
• 3 rushing TDs
• 3 punt return TDs
• 3 passing TDs
• 3 INTs and 4 fumble recoveries

WR - Vincent Hill - attending Milford Academy Prep School, Hill (#3 on the right) has had a good (though not dominant) season. Through 7 games Hill has 22 receptions, 354 yards and 2 TD. Milford Academy is undefeated and has 4 games remaining. Interesting note about Milford? Mike Tice from Edina, MN is a LB for the Falcons.

Ath - Johnny Johnson - Green's teammate at Robeson is also racking up impressive stats. The 2-star recruit is the Raider's starting QB, CB and KR. 30 passing TDs and 1,700 yards to just 3 interceptions thrown. Also rushed for 5 TDs and defensively has 24 tackles and 3 INTs.

DB - Jonathan Dandridge - The Highland Park Polar Bear's season appears to be over, finishing with a 5-4 record. Dandridge had a solid season leading the team in receiving and finding the endzone 5 times. He is a defensive recruit for the gophers and finished the season with 38 tackles and 1 interception.

DB - Simoni Lawrence - attends Valley Forge Military Academy, which has produced NFL players such as Larry Fitzgerald, Chris Doleman and Julian Peterson. Lawrence's team is currently 6-2 and has won their last 2 games by a combined 124-0. I am unable to find stats for Simoni this season. As a high school senior he started at RB and SS and had over 2,100 yards rushing and 26 TDs. Last season at the JUCO level he had 600 yards rushing, 8 TDs, 107 tackles and 10 interceptions.

LB - Sam Maresh - Champlin Park won their 1st round playoff game last night 41-0. As the #4 seed, they not face #1 seed Osseo. Through the first 8 games, Maresh has been a beast on the field leading the team with 81 tackles (next highest is 47), 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery and 1 interception.

TE - Eric Lair - Houston Lamar, team is currently 6-1. Best stats I could find show 5 receptions, 92 yards and 4 TDs.


UNCOMMITTED

Dallas - Skyline 4 - the team is 6-1 losing only to Arlington Bowie (7-17) who is currently ranked #8 in Texas 5A (highest class). The Raiders will likely win out and finish 9-1 heading into the playoffs. The overall defense has been VERY good.

• Held 5-2 Molina to just 5 first downs and 97 total yards on their way to a 48-0 shutout.
  
• Has not allowed double digit points in their last 4 games.
• Has allowed 1 touchdown in their last 13 quarters.
• Leads the Dallas area allowing just 174.6 yards per game.
• Most recent game held team to 50 yards of total offense en route to a 62-0 win.
• Only 3 teams in Texas class 5A have allowed fewer points than Skyline.
  

Ath - Troy Stoudermire (RB/WR/DB) - this 2-star athlete has...

• 375 rushing yards
• 3 rushing TDs
• 2 punt return TDs
• 1 receiving TD
• 1 INT

Ath - DaJon KcKnight - 7 receptions, 101 yards and 2 TDs

LB - Spencer Reeves - defensive stats are hard to come by, but 1 INT returned for a touchdown is certain.

S - Keanon Cooper -unable to find any stats.

DT - Jewhan Edwards (#68 pictured right)- Philadelphia Roman Catholic is sitting at 7-1. Edwards visited Minnesota in late September but has strong interest in big time schools out east. Unable to find any significant stats on Edwards.

QB - MarQueis Gray - this Indianapolis native (Ben Davis High School) has had a disappointing season. Not statistically, but because he broke his hand early is just now getting back onto the field. You can find his cumulative stats HERE. The team is currently 7-3, which includes winning their first playoff game. This week they play the #1 team in state, Pike so it should be a very good game for Gray and his teammates. Gray has played in only 4 games this season but here are his numbers through 4...

• 240 yds rushing and 4 TDs
• 294 yds passing, 2 TDs, 0 INTs
• 5 receptions, 86 yards and 1 TD

Gray has been down to Minnesota and Oregon, but the Pioneer Press is reporting that we may be close to landing Gray since Oregon recently signed another QB from the state of Texas. Personally, I'm a little skeptical of Gray. As I read HERE, Gray has the tools and ability to be a dominant QB at the D1 level (in the Vince Young mold), but people also question how badly he wants to be good. "Those high school coaches who have seen him play know that he has all the tools to be a great one. But, not sure he wants it bad enough." So I am skeptical but I also appreciate that we are recruiting a very talented, 4-star QB from a program that traditionally wins (17 sectional championships). The gophers need talent and they need winners. We'll find out where Gray falls on that spectrum.

CB - Traye Simmons - College of the Sequoias is sitting at 3-4 with 3 games remaining. We like to call him Big Play Traye, but will BPT be a golden gopher? That remains to be seen. Stats were a little sketchy for Coll of Sequoias. BPT had 7 tackles in 2 games, but I was unable to garner any further stats.


That is the best I can do for now (and I apologize for the messy layout of this post). I hope these are valuable updates on incoming or potential future gophers. I am encouraged that we are targeting kids from winning program. Dallas Skyline, Indianapolis Ben Davis, Chicago Robeson and Philadelphia Roman Catholic are all having great seasons. The gophers need to add winners to change the culture of mediocrity.

Football Recruiting

While on the field the gophers have been less than entertaining, off the field it has been a lot of fun to follow the recruiting process. In the past there has been very little recruiting news to follow, especially during the season. The last 2 home games have brought a plethora of talented kids on to campus for official visits and has actually resulted in a few commitments.


Skyline 4 - the gophers are heavily pursuing a group of kids who play for Dallas Skyline High School. All 4 would project to play on the defensive side of the ball and at least 2 of them would likely contribute immediately to this beleaguered defense.

The Raiders are currently 3-1 having lost only to Arlington Bowie who is 4-0 and #9 in Texas 5A statewide rankings. Their week 6 matchup should be their toughest remaining game as they will face Molina who is currently 4-0. There seems to be a good chance that Skyline will be 9-1 (maybe 8-2) heading into the playoffs.

• Spencer Reeves - 3* LB - Reeves would be the cream of this crop and would likely start at OLB next year. "As we were getting ready to leave yesterday I was very close to commiting. Minnesota just has everything that I am looking for and it just seemed like the right thing to do. The only thing that was holding me back was the fact that it was my first visit and I hadn't seen anyone else." Also has offers from the likes of Alabama, Arkansas, KState, Tex Tech and Wisconsin.
  
• Keanon Cooper - 3* S - Cooper also would likely see significant playing time next year possibly as a starter. Also has offers from Michigan, Oklahoma, TexTech, Wisconsin and others. Cooper
  
• Troy Stoudermire - 2* D-Back - FAST kid who projects to play DB. "I want to take at least one more visit so that I have something to compare to Minnesota, but it will be tough for anyone to live up to what Minnesota has." Troy seems most likely to commit.
  
• DaJon McKnight - 2* WR/DB - Minnesota is the only school to offer a scholarship to McKnight. That is kind of concerning but if he helps to land the other 3 then it is absolutely the right move.

Recent Verbal

The recent visits have resulted in another verbal commitment from a 3-Star defensive player. Your newest golden gopher is...

Jonathan Dandridge - 3-Star Corner who is ranked the 48th best CB in the class according to Rivals (29th by Scout.com). Dandridge had offers from Purdue, Mich State, Colorado and other mid-major schools. We need help defending the pass so bring on the corners!


Other Big Name Visitors

DT - Jewhan Edwards - 3-Star - This big kid would be a great signing for the gophers. A big presence in the middle of that DL is always great for stopping the run. Edwards is a needed recruit but we are battling with the local Penn State, West Virginia and Syracuse.

QB - MarQueis Gray - 4-Star - Gray is considered by many to be one of the top 2 or 3 recruits that the gophers need to land. He is a gifted and athletic QB who would possibly play right away. Personally I think it will be hard for any incoming QB who isn't Joe Montana to beat out Weber. If we are going to land a big time QB recruit I'd rather it be next year. But he got up early Sat morning with his mom and drove to MN from Indiana for the Ohio State game. Gray has narrowed his choices to MN or Oregon. I'd be crazy to say we shouldn't land a big, fast, 4-star QB with a strong arm but I won't be crying if Gray goes to the Pac 10.

CB - Traye Simmons - 4-Star - JUCO kid who I'm certain would start immediately for the 2008 gophers. 5'11" with 4.4 speed. This is the biggest area of need for the gophers and landing a 4-star caliber kid who will be more experienced than a true freshman out of high school will help a LOT. Also has offers from Cal, Florida, Purdue and others. Where kids are getting offers from often says more than their star ranking. Simmons postponed his Florida visit to come to Minnesota this past weekend. "I was hoping that they were going to let me put on the all gold and suit up." We all wish they would have.


Playing Time Promises

If you've paid close attention you notice that the current coaching staff is telling every recruit (especially defensive recruits) about their opportunity to earn playing time right away. Chip Scoggins at the Star Tribune noted that Brewster has M&Ms in his office (maroon and gold of course) with the words "Play Right Away" on the back. Nobody is denying that we have a talent deficit on that side of the ball and that assuming we land some talented recruits next year's defense will be loaded with some true freshmen. BUT, there are only 11 starting spots on the defense. By my count there are 4 potential incoming freshmen + 2 current freshmen who think they will be playing a lot at Corner next year.

• Ryan Collado - current freshman starting CB
• Justin Chatman - current freshman getting playing time
• Jonathan Dandridge - incoming freshman, expecting to play
• Troy Stoudermire - 4* recruit says he'll have opportunity to play
• Mike Harris - 2* thinks he'll play right away
• Traye Simmons - 4* JUCO recruit who thinks he'll play right away

That is 6 players who are all under the impression they'll play next year. Currently there are only 3 who will be on next year's roster but what if both 4* recruits sign on with the U. You have to assume they'll be the favorites to contend with Collado for the most PT.

I should assume that the coaching staff is telling these kids that they'll be given the "opportunity" to play right away but that they'll have to earn it. But from these kids' quotes they feel that they'll be playing right away.

Safety is a similar situation, potentially 5 players for 2 spots...

• Kyle Theret - current freshman playing a lot
• Curtis Thomas - current freshman starting
• Simoni Lawrence - incoming freshman (could move to OLB)
• Keanon Cooper - a good 3* recruit who would expect to play
• Nolan Brewster - current Texas recruit but still could change his mind and would expect to play

Those are just my thoughts. In no way am I saying that this team is in any position to start picking and choosing talent. They have to bring in as many talented kids as possible. But I just find it curious how every kid talks about his opportunity to play right away. That will be true for many but it will be disappointing for others.