Yesterday I looked at the talent level that the state of Minnesota produces and today I look at each position and reflect on if we could survive like the men’s hockey team with a roster exclusively filled with Minnesotans.
Quarterback, arguably the most important position to recruit every year, is a little hit and miss for Minnesota. There are some guys that could be Big 10 starters like Joe Mauer, Jon Stocco and Adam Weber. But the rest may not be ready for prime time like Marcel Jones, Phil Haig, John Nance, Brian Athey, Nate Tice, Jon Carlson and Moses Alipate. It’s not bad if there is a solid in-state option but I think it’s best to not limit ourselves for this position.
Running Backs – Marion Barber, Thomas Tapeh, Alexander Robinson, Lamonte Edwards and Rashon Powers-Neal all had a decent career. But guys like Shady Salamon, Jerod Arlich, Andre Tate and Jay Thomas might leave something to be desired. Minnesota does not produce many RB options so offering elsewhere is necessary.
Wide Receivers – There are some really talented WR’s to come out of MN. Larry Fitzgerald, Eric Decker and Michael Floyd come to mind. Bryce McNeal was highly touted but has yet to be productive at Clemson. Nate Swift put up good numbers at Nebraska as did David Gilreath at Wisconsin. Branden Robinson played at BC but wasn’t a standout by any means as well as Isaac Anderson at Wisconsin. Devin Crawford-Tufs is a young, fast guy. Minnesota is producing more and more WR and they are of decent quality. Given Kill’s desire to run and then run some more to make the opposing team put nine guys in the box, we might be OK just grabbing locals.
Tight End – This has been one of the stronger positions from Minnesota. Dominique Byrd, Matt Spaeth, John Carlson and Ben Utecht are all playing in the NFL. Others such as Joey Hiben, Marcus Freeman, Chris Joppru, Everett Pedescleaux and Jordon McMichael never lived up to expectations. Nick Rengel and Carter Bykowski are living up to their low expectations. Odds are MN will produce enough TE’s for the Gophers, especially since Kill’s TE’s have not historically caught many passes.
Offensive Tackles – Mark Levoir and Ryan Harris were pretty good tackles for Notre Dame. Others that were solid include, Ed Olson, Steve Shidell, Joe Ainslie, Trevor Olson and Rian Melander. We’re in wait and see mode for Seantrel Henderson, Tyler Marz, Jimmy Gjere and Josh Campion. Possible depth guys would be Roszell Gayden, Jon Brost Matt Stommes, Casey Dehn and Paul Backowski. We do not need to go outside MN for offensive tackles.
Interior Offensive Linemen – Names like Mark Setterstrom, Lydon Murtha, Tony Brinkhaus, Rafael Eubanks, Matt Carufel, Jacob Fahrenkrug, Marcus Coleman and Tommy Olson come to mind when you bring up interior linemen. Other guys that would provide depth are Chris Bunders, Scott Stephenson, Ned Tavale, Tim Mattran, Ryan Orton, Joe Vanstrom, Ryan Wynn, Trey Davis and Joe Bjorklund. We also do not need to go outside of MN for these positions either.
Defensive End – This is one of the weaknesses of Minnesota recruits. There is some production from Willie Van De Steeg and Brod Binns and young guys like Matt Garin, Brandon Kelly, and Tobi Okufemi. The other is Brian Arnfeldt who doesn’t really play much at Northwestern. If what Kill is really looking for in his DE’s is speed and length, then he will need to look elsewhere.
Defensive Tackle – There seems to be a lot of potential for the tackles coming out of Minnesota ,but not really big time production. Willie Mobley, Walker Ashley, Brandon Hoey and Anthony Jacobs seem to be the poster children . Trevor Laws was really good for ND and there are some young guys that could be productive include Rashede Hageman, Anthony Hayes and Beau Allen. Players that didn’t amount to much include Eric Stenzel, Sean McWhirter and Maurice Buchanon. I think that Minnesota can definitely supplement the DT position if not take care of the need altogether.
Linebackers – It starts with James Laurinaitis. Lil Animal was a great college player. There are some other guys that are solid but not spectacular players like Blake Sorenson, Nate Triplett and Derek Earls. Dominique Sims and Sam Maresh were highly touted but have yet to live up to expectations. Brothers Phil and Brandon Archer made it to the NFL. Depth guys include Bryce McNaul, Mike Rallis, AJ Tarpley, Paul Joran, Peter Westerhaus, Ryan Grant, Jordan Waiwaiole, Tommy Becker, Mike Sherels and John Shevlin. I wouldn’t count on many in-state guys playing LB for the Gophers, but you never know.
Defensive Back – I’ve combined safety and corner back as there are just not that many to talk about. Dom Barber is in the NFL as is Marcus Sherels and Mike Lehan. Kim Royston was solid and Anthony Longe never lived up to his hype. Fletcher Terrell, Fritz and Reggie Rock all had some problems in their recruitments and were nothing spectacular on the gridiron. Time will tell if James Farrow will pan out or not. Shane Potter only lasted a year at Minnesota. There may or may not be a DB athletic enough for us to offer every year and we’ll take at least 3 DB’s per year so we’ll have to outsource these positions for sure.
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