In the movie Hoosiers, there is a scene where Coach Norman Dale addresses a pep rally crowd that is unhappy that the local wunderkind Jimmy is not yet a member of the team. Coach Dale said "I was hoping that you would support who we are, not who we are not. These six individuals have made a choice to work, the choice to sacrifice, to put themselves on the line 23 nights in the next four months to represent you, this high school. That kind of commitment and effort deserves and demands your respect. This is your team."
These are the 24 individuals who have agreed to wear the maroon and gold and represent our state. They will be the ones I support for the next 4-5 years. I wish nothing but success for these young men. A future that has them hoisting Paul Bunyan's Axe, Floyd of Rosedale and the Little Brown Jug above their heads, travelling to warm destinations on cold January days and walking across the stage with a degree in hand.
This is your team.
Ranked first to worst in terms of how successful they will play on the field not necessarily how they are rated by scouting services:
1. Tommy Olson (OG/OC) - It all starts with this young man. He committed to the Gophers two years before he had a chance to sign his LOI. He’s the one recruit that everyone loves because he’s a local, he’s a legacy and his junior film showed a lot of pancakes. ESPN ranks Olson as the 14th best OG prospect in the country. Olson probably could have been rated higher on Rivals and Scout had he decided to compete at a national event like FBU Top Gun, Nike combine, etc. and prove himself against elite competition. Hopefully Olson will be able to redshirt but it is possible that Olson could start at Guard or Center in 2011.
2. Steve Montgomery (CB/S) – Montgomery gathered 15 offers during the recruiting process from schools like North Carolina, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Illinois and Kansas. He has great size for a CB and a little small for a safety at 5-10 185 pounds so let’s hope he has the quicks to cover receivers. He was rated the #49 safety by Rivals.
3. Josh Campion (OG/OC) – Campion had a long road to get to Dinkytown. He graduated HS in 2009 and, similarly to TO, he was committed well over a year before signing his LOI but didn’t qualify academically and ended up at Fork Union Military Academy. I was really high on Campion coming out of HS but the fact that he only had offers from Temple and Old Dominion coming out of a highly regarded prep school like FUMA is concerning.
4. Quentin Gardener (WR) – With offers from Iowa, Iowa St, Kansas State among others you’d expect him to be rated higher than the #110 and #123 WR (ESPN and Scout respectively) but that is where he ended up. Injuries may have had something to do with it, but his solid 6-0 190 pound frame and 4.44 40 yard dash quicks might allow him to stroke the post a time or two.
5. Kyle McAvoy (OG/OT) – Half of the Wonder Twin powers from Illinois signed in this class. Kyle is ranked as high as the #28 OT and chose the Gophers over 10 other offers from Michigan State, Louisville, Arizona, Kansas, Northwestern and others.
6. Devin Crawford-Tufts (WR) – The Edina, MN product chose the Gophers over an offer from Wisconsin and runs a 4.4 40 and a 10.7 100 yard dash. Kill has stated that he’s “faster than my car” and hopefully he can maintain that speed while putting some weight onto his 6-2 180 pound frame.
7. Theiren Cockran (DE) – This one might surprise people who follow recruiting closely. Cockran doesn’t have the offer sheet (Purdue, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan) that other recruits have and he isn’t rated by the Big 3 of Rivals, Scout and ESPN. What he does have is a 6-6 210 pound frame that runs a 4.55 40. Kill is looking for speed and length in his recruits and Cockran has both of those qualities in spades. He may have been overlooked some in HS as he had two very talented teammates on the D line. I think he’s a 3 year starter for the Gophers.
8. Chris Hawthorne (K) – Hawthorne is transferring from North Carolina State but is eligible right away due to the fact that he was a walk-on and never received any scholarship money. He kicked a handful of extra points and a field goal for NCST and should be the immediate starter.
9. Luke McAvoy (OT) – The other half of the Wonder Twins. Luck doesn’t have the offer list of his brother (6 offers featuring Arizona and Kansas) and isn’t as thick but is said to have better feet and is listed above his brother on the Rivals state of Illinois list at #27 (Kyle is #28 in IL)
10. Ge’Shun Harris (WR) – This Junior College prospect is arriving at the right time as we desperately need bodies at the WR position. He has a big frame (6-3 215) and 12 offers, although Minnesota was the only one from a BCS conference.
11. Max Shortell (QB) – Shortell picked the Gophers early in the recruiting season and the Gophers are his only offer. He is rated the #22 Pro-Style QB by Rivals and the #5 prospect in Kansas. He may have been overshadowed by another KS QB named Bubba Starling who commanded a lot of recruiting attention.
12. Quinn Bauducco (MLB) – This Californian is much like Shortell in that he picked the Gophers early on and the Gophers are his only offer. Rivals rates Bauducco as the #37 MLB and the #96 player in the state of California. He received heavy interest from Northwestern once Brewster was fired but Bauducco remained firm in his commitment to Minnesota.
13. Marcus Jones (CB) – This diminutive (listed at 5-8) CB only has two offers, but both are from Jerry Kill. Jones committed to Kill at Norhtern Illinois and later to Minnesota once Kill got the job in Minneapolis. He is very fast but the fact that he didn’t earn an offer from Memphis (yes the same Sun Belt team that has finished 1-11 and 2-10 the last two seasons) when he attended their summer camp. I’m hoping it is his size that kept other teams from pulling the trigger. Jones is rated the #73 CB by ESPN.
14. Michael Amaefula (DE) – Amaefula sported offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Houston and others but saw his options dry up and was looking at signing with Stephen F Austin before Kill offered a scholarship. He is rated the #107 DE by Scout. He has the luxury of being one of the first DE’s signed by Kill so he’ll have a leg up on PT as he should fit Kill’s schemes.
15. Joe Bjorklund (OG/OT) – Bjorklund was verbally committed to Toledo before Kill offered the Rosemount, MN prospect. He really seemed to come on his senior year and garnered serious interest from Michigan State as well as an offer from Indiana. He’s the #60 OG per ESPN. The fact that Brewster didn’t offer is of some concern however.
16. Drew Goodger (TE) – He’s the #58 Strongside DE per Rivals as well as the #10 player in KS. Kill was recruiting him heavily at NIU and once he could offer a BCS scholarship, Goodger committed right away.
17. Foster Bush (OL/TE) – While Bush didn’t receive much recruiting love (offers from Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and Illinois State) he is the #9 player in the state of Wisconsin per Rivals. He won’t turn 18 until after he graduates HS so there’s a good chance he’s not a physically mature as other HS seniors. Then again, I thought the same thing with Xzavian Brandon.
18. Grayson Levine (S) – Levine had 5 non-BCS offers before Kill issued one. He had some nice write-ups regarding his performance at a combine in Michigan but no offers came from it. Again, the fact that Brewster didn’t offer is of some concern.
19. Jephete Matilus (OLB) – Matilus come from Delray Beach, FL (Atlantic HS) which has supplied plenty of past and present Gophers. He has a thick frame and offers from Illinois and Kentucky and is rated the #75 OLB per ESPN. He is rated this low due to the talent in front of him.
20. Derrick Wells (CB/S) – Wells appeared destined to Ball State, but Kill swept him up late in the process. Has a nose for the ball and is great at converting fake punts into 1st downs.
21. David Cobb (RB) – Cobb was supposedly set for Stanford but was left at the altar. Kill saw that national signing day had come and gone and Cobb was still available. He had other offers from North Texas, Memphis and Texas State and is rated the #60 RB by ESPN. Rated this low due to the logjam of talent that are the RS freshmen trio at RB.
22. Cedric Thompson (CB/S) – Another post-NSD signee for Kill. Thompson had visited Portland State and was hardly recruited at all. This one is a head scratcher, but an early wait and see prospect for Kill.
23. Peter Westerhaus (OLB) – Westerhaus is the #3 player in Minnesota per Rivals as well as the #72 OLB. He chose the Gophers over an offer from Iowa State. Much like Matilus, the low ranking is due to older players ahead of him on the depth chart.
24. John Rabe (TE) – It will be interesting to see how Rabe fits into the equation. He followed Kill over from NIU but has two seniors (Lair & Eure) ahead of him at TE and Rabe is a JUCO transfer so he only has two years of eligibility remaining. Seems to be more of a pass catching TE than a blocker so that too will be interesting to see how that is utilized in a run first offensive scheme.
Sleeper – Cockran for reasons mentioned above
Bust – Montgomery, something just doesn’t feel right there
