I was looking back at some of the prior rankings I had for Tim Brewster’s classes (I really don’t count 2007 as a Brewster class) and it was interesting to see what I was thinking at the time. This is how I was expecting the players to perform just after signing day 2008.
The Class of 2008
1. Marquise Gray – 4* QB Army All-American, Indy Nike Camp co-MVP and was an Elite 11 QB invitee but Indiana HS rules prohibited him from participating
2. Simoni Lawrence – 3* S JUCO was tabbed early on as the #1 defensive recruit for the Gophers
3. Tramaine Brock – 3* S JUCO has good speed and a nose for the ballalong with SEC offers
4. Keanon Cooper – 4* S UA All-American is a great athlete who can play at either safety position and possibly at WLB
6. Sam Maresh – 4* LB tremendous athlete and a great competitor, offers from Mich, Miami, etc.
7. Matt Carufel – former 4* OG ND transfer who had offers from everyone but USC back in HS
8. Spencer Reeves – 3* LB had over 20 offers from some pretty good schools; should be versatile
9. Traye Simmons – 4* JUCO CB should make an immediate impact on pass d, offers from Fla, Clem and Cal
10. Rex Sharpe – 3* JUCO LB former 4* signee for Auburn; 1st team preseason NJCAA all American
11. Kevin Whaley – 3* RB was rated as a 4* with offers from VT, PSU, WV, MSU and Maryland
12. Broderick Smith – 3* WR won him in a dogfight with Oregon and KSU; good size and very athletic
13. Brandon Kirksey – 3* DT really wanted to be a Gopher and stuck despite a late offer from LSU
14. Jewhan Edwards – 3* DT UA All-American chose the Gophers over a late offer from Florida
15. Terrell Combs – 3* ATH great size/measurable and had offers from FSU, Auburn and Michigan
16. Cedric McKinley – 3* JUCO DE Brew was claiming that he had NFL size and athleticism
17. Vince Hill – 4* ATH Prep school athlete could play either WR or DB.
18. David Pittman – 4* JUCO QB will immediately push for PT at QB and was a passing machine in JUCO
19. Tim McGee – 3* JUCO DT has nice size and mobility; should help out right away
20. Roszell Gayden – 3* OT didn’t technically sign but he was committed for nearly a year; mountain of a kid who hasn’t even begun to tap into his potential
21. Eric Lair – 3* TE great athlete who could cause fits for the jumbo sized Big Ten LB’s
22. Jonathan Dandridge – 3* CB scout ranks him the #27 CB; has good size for a CB
23. Troy Stoudermire – 3* ATH great football player who could excel at many positions
24. Shady Salamon – 3* RB the guy who got the whole thing rolling; could be plugged in on offense or defense
25. Dajon McKnight – 2* S very good athlete who could have several options for position choice
26. Deleon Eskridge – 3* RB beat out Nebraska for his services but their offer was as a S
27. DL WIlhite – 3* ATH It’s always good to bring in guy swho play RB in HS; offered by WV and Purdue
28. Gary Tinsley – 3* LB FlaVarsity ranks him the #61 player in the state and possibly the best LB on his HS team (2 LB teammates signed with FSU and SCAR respectively)
29. Xzavian Brandon – 2* WR just turned 17 and is at a high level for what could be his junior year
30. John Nance – 2* ATH was to be the QB of the class and Mike Floyd didn’t throw the ball to himself in HS
31. Ryan Grant – 2* LB heady player should make a difference on ST right away and LB later
32. Johnny Johnson – 2* CB every one seems to think he was brought on as part of a package deal with B Green
I would have graded this class as solid B because it really JUCO heavy, but based on the roster we did need it at the time. This class was such a contrast to the ones we were used to from Mase as there were so many guys that either had the high ranking by scouting services or a really nice offer list.
The problem was that some of the guys never made it to campus (Gayden, Vince Hill and Tim McGee) some only lasted one year (Tramaine Brock, Broderick Smith, Jonathan Dandridge, Terrell Combs and John Nance) and others arrived a year late (Marquise Gray, Sam Maresh and Spencer Reeves). Some guys suffered injuries that really hampered their careers (Xzavian Brandon, David Pittman and Matt Carufel) and others had their time at the U come to an abrupt end due to off the field issues (Kevin Whaley, Jewhan Edwards and Sam Maresh). Factor in the JUCOs (Simoni Lawrence, BPT, Rex Sharpe and Cedric McKinley) and even though it was just three short yeasr ago the great first class of Tim Brewster is almost gone due to academics, JUCOs, attrition and being frugal with the redshirts.
As far as my rankings go we’ll see if Gray really deserves top billing but he has two years to earn it. Dajon McKnight has certainly outperformed his ranking as has Troy Stoudermire.It’s hard to tell with everyone else as their body of work isn’t very large so it’s hard to say how I did ranking them.
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