This is good news for Gophers fans. I've said before that I Byrd is the most interested in Tennessee and Georgia Tech. He likes how GT is close to home, and just marveled at several things with Tennessee when I asked them about him. Both are recruiting him as a defensive back. Tech is waiting to see if Romeo Finley will commit there before they go full swing on Byrd, and Tennessee is waiting on Nigel Warrior. Warrior and Finley, by the way, are both no longer considering Minnesota.

Link: Michigan exceeds Chase Allen's expectations
Link: Michigan leads for Chase Allen

Michigan is his leader, and I think it's very likely that's where he ends up. Minnesota didn't really have room for him anyway (Jay Johnson told him as much), so it's not a big deal if that's where he ends up.

The Danceline took 1st in Pom! Can you say dynasty? We did stub our toe and take 2nd in Jazz, but you can't win them all! They're going to need a Bigger trophy case!

While the varsity wrestlers were busy beating Rutgers this past weekend, 13 non-starters and redshirts were competing at the Worthington Open on Saturday. Four redshirts won titles, and redshirts Bobby Steveson and Larry Early were not there. Here's the summary from GopherSports.com:

Gophers Win Four Titles at Worthington Open

Minnesota sends five to the finals as eight place, including a foursome of first-time individual champions

GopherSports.com
Jan. 17, 2016

Three Gophers swept titles across consecutive weights at the Worthington Open on Saturday and were later joined by their heavyweight teammate as each earned his first career tournament title. Starting at 141 pounds and running through 157, Ben Brancale, Carson Brolsma and Fredy Stroker all captured individual championships, then Rylee Streifel capped off the event by winning the title at 285. Four additional Minnesota wrestlers placed in the tournament.

Brancale put together a 3-0 day at 141. After a pair of decisions, he capped his tournament with an 18-2 technical fall over Joe Fischenich (Augustana) in the title bout, the first tech fall for Brancale this year. After consecutive fourth-place finishes to open his season, he has now reached back-to-back tournament finals.

At 149, Brolsma went 4-0 to join Brancale as a first-time tournament winner. Brolsma came out quickly, pinning Quentin Wren (Iowa Central) in 1:03 and bookended a pair of decisions with a tech fall over Daniel Close (Minnesota State-Mankato) in the finals. Brolsma won each of his four matches by at least seven points. The first-place performance was four spots better than his former career-best, a fifth-place showing at the Cobber Open.

Stroker capped off the run of Gophers on the top of the podium with a 3-0 march through 157. Like Brolsma,
Stroker earned a quick fall in his first match, pinning Andrew White in just one minute. He added a major decision over Logan Peterson (South Dakota State) in the semis before a 7-2 decision in the final. Saturday was the first time Stroker had wrestled in a championship match this season. His previous best finish was a third-place showing at the Daktronics Open.

The Gophers biggest champion may have had the biggest day among the Minnesota contingent. Streifel began his tournaments with a first period pin like two of his teammates before recording back-to-back decisions to reach the final. Streifel then pinned Jeff Velez in the second period to win the championship. It was the second time Streifel reached an event final this season. He lost to All-American teammate Michael Kroells in the finals at the Daktronics Open.

A fifth Gopher, Will Balow, reached his championship match, but finished as the runner-up at 184 pounds after a 13-8 defeat. The highlight of Balow’s day came in the quarters, where he earned a first period fall. Colin Carr finished third at 165 after a 4-1 tournament. A 7-4 loss in the semis was the only blemish on a stellar day for Carr that included a pair of major decisions and a tech fall in the third-place match. Both 133-pounder Gresh Jones and 157-pounder Dalton Clark took fourth. Jones’ wins came by tech fall and pin, while Clark fought back from an opening-match defeat to reach the third-place match in his first collegiate tournament.

Five other Gophers wrestled but did not place in the event: Gannon Volk at 141; Dalton Lunde and Faris Karaborni at 184; and, Nate Rose and Chase O’Connor at 285.

Full match-by-match results from the Worthington Open are listed below.

Match-by-Match Results

133

Gresh Jones (2-2, 4th Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Quarters: Gresh Jones tech fall Lane Nichols (Morningside), 15-0
Semis: Mike Rhone (St. Cloud State) dec Gresh Jones, 10-3
Cons Semis: Gresh Jones fall (1:15) Morgan Engbrecht (Augustana)
3rd Place: Henry Pohlmeyer (St. Cloud State) maj dec Gresh Jones, 8-0

141

Ben Brancale (3-0, 1st Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Quarters: Ben Brancale dec Craig De La Cruz (Unattached), 5-3
Semis: Ben Brancale dec Colby McIntire (Minnesota State-Mankato), 8-4
Finals: Ben Brancale tech fall Joe Fischenich (Augustana), 18-2

Gannon Volk
Champ Rnd 1: Gannon Volk dec Trent Butcher (Southeast Minnesota State), 8-2
Quarters: Wilfred Charbono III (Morningside) med. forfeit Gannon Volk
Round of 12: Zach Scott (Rochester Community and Technical College) med. forfeit Gannon Volk

149

Carson Brolsma (4-0, 1st Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Carson Brolsma fall (1:03) Quentin Wren (Iowa Central)
Quarters: Carson Brolsma dec Nathan Ryan (Unattached), 12-5
Semis: Carson Brolsma dec Dyan Herman (Minnesota State-Mankato), 9-2
Finals: Carson Brolsma tech fall Daniel Close (Minnesota State-Mankato), 20-3

157

Fredy Stroker (3-0, 1st Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Bye
Quarters: Fredy Stroker fall (1:00) Andrew White (Unattached)
Semis: Fredy Stroker maj dec Logan Peterson (South Dakota State), 12-3
Finals: Fred Stroker dec Coltan Laganiere (Rochester Community and Technical College), 7-2

Dalton Clark (3-2, 4th Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Tyler Perry (Unattached) fall (0:10) Dalton Clark
Cons Rnd 2: Bye
Cons Rnd 3: Dalton Clark med. forfeit Cory Hasbrouck (Unattached)
Round of 12: Dalton Clark dec Jared Nickman (Minnesota West), 10-7
Cons Semis: Dalton Clark dec Coltan Laganiere (Rochester Community and Technical College), 6-4
3rd Place: Logan Peterson (South Dakota State) dec Dalton Clark, 8-4

165

Colin Carr (4-1, 3rd Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Colin Carr maj dec Nick Esping (Southwest Minnesota State), 11-1
Quarters: Colin Carr dec Skylar Weber (Briar Cliff), 12-6
Semis: Brett Bye (South Dakota State) dec Colin Carr, 7-4
Cons Semis: Colin Carr maj dec Brad Maas (Minnesota State-Mankato), 11-2
3rd Place: Colin Carr tech fall Connor Hanson (Rochester Community and Technical College), 18-3

184

Will Balow (2-1, 2nd Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Quarters: Will Balow fall (2:11) Alex Kubicek (Rochester Community and Technical College)
Semis: Will Balow med. forfeit Dalton Lunde
Finals: Martin Mueller (South Dakota State) dec Will Balow, 13-8

Dalton Lunde (2-0)
Champ Rnd 1: Dalton Lunde dec Josh Casperson (South Dakota State), 5-3
Quarters: Dalton Lunde dec Cory Flaata (St. Cloud State), 6-4
Semis: Will Balow med. forfeit Dalton Lunde
Cons Semis: Josh Casperson (South Dakota State) med. forfeit Dalton Lunde

Faris Karaborni (1-2)
Champ Rnd 1: Cole Hennen (Southwest Minnesota State) tech fall Faris Karaborni, 15-0
Cons Rnd 1: Bye
Round of 12: Faris Karaborni fall (1:06) Alex Kubicek (Rochester Community and Technical College)
Cons Semis: Cole Hennen (Southwest Minnesota State) fall (2:37) Faris Karaborni

285

Rylee Streifel (4-0, 1st Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Rylee Streifel fall (2:26) Guy Henson (Iowa Lakes)
Quarters: Rylee Streifel dec Gary Whitaker (Ellsworth Community College), 6-0
Semis: Rylee Streifel dec Brian Ervin (Briar Cliff), 5-
Finals: Rylee Streifel fall (4:21) Jeff Velez (Unattached)

Nate Rose (2-0)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Nate Rose dec Chris Zimmer (Minnesota State-Mankato), 6-4
Quarters: Nate Rose dec (SV-1) Chase Nottestad (Rochester Community and Technical College), 5-3
Semis: Jeff Velez (Unattached) med. forfeit Nate Rose
Cons Semis: Andrew Petersen (Southwest Minnesota State) med. forfeit Nate Rose

Chase O'Connor (1-2)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Champ Rnd 2: Chase O'Connor dec Quinn Bullard (Southwest Minnesota State), 5-1
Quarters: Jeff Velez (Unattached) dec Chase O'Connor, 8-3
Round of 12: Chris Zimmer (Minnesota State-Mankato) dec Chase O'Connor, 6-1

Just saw a tweet he was offered by unc.....u feel he's taking that ticket?

MJH and others, I have a lot of wonderings about recruiting this weekend, so I decided I'd put them all in one thread. MJH, I'd love to know what you've heard about any of the questions below, and I know there are some posters who are pretty good at gaining info from a variety of other sources and sites, so I'll take answers from anyone who has them.

Michigan fans thought Allen would commit on his visit. So far that doesn't appear to have been the case, though it doesn't mean he won't commit soon. Anyone besides me feeling better about our chances if things drag out?

Does the UNC offer change Durr's mind?

Pine sounds like he had a great official to Pitt. Has he let our coaches know that he will not be visiting?

How did Watts enjoy his Indiana visit?

Is Iowa State a legit threat with Castillo?

Is Snelson still claiming that he's going to be a Gopher after his visit to UCF?

Did Howard's visit to Memphis solidify his commitment to them?

Any word on whether Epting got an offer? I really expected to hear about his commitment already, would love to hear the latest.

Any surprises in terms of our commits visiting elsewhere this weekend?

Any other guys we are trying to close out with who took visits this weekend?

I know that was long and begging for info, but it's crunch time and I have a lot of curiosity

Here is the preview:

https://minnesota.n.rivals.com/news/indiana-pregame-1

I am actually in Sioux Falls and they had gave me a suite to work in that had a TV for the game but the weather is blowing hard and right now no feed.

I will be in and out for Gopher game while I also cover high school stuff here at the Pentagon.

Our #21 (dual meet ranking) Gophers are home today vs. #8 Rutgers at 1pm (on BTN +). Rutgers beat #9 NE and we lost to NE 24-10, but I'm projecting an 18-13 loss (see below). Here's the story from GopherSports.com:

Gophers Return Home for Sunday Dual with Rutgers

Sunday's matinee will be the first time the Scarlet Knights have ever visited Minneapolis

This Sunday, Michael Kroells will look to improve to 2-0 all-time in his series against Billy Smith

GopherSports.com
Jan. 14, 2016

Minnesota Match Notes (RU)

Rutgers Match Notes (MN)

Coming off a weekend split, No. 21 Minnesota (5-6, 1-2) returns to the Sports Pavilion this Sunday for an afternoon dual with No. 8 Rutgers (11-2, 2-1). This weekend's dual will be the first time the Scarlet Knights have ever visit Minneapolis and just the second all-time meeting between the two programs, the first coming in New Jersey last year during Rutgers' inaugural Big Ten season.

The Gophers are back on to campus after a quick trip to Lincoln last Sunday to cap off a 1-1 weekend. Minnesota returned to dual action on Friday night against Maryland, taking seven of the night's 10 matches and adding bonus points in three of those wins to knock off the Terrapins, 26-12. On the heels of that win, Minnesota headed west to take on No. 9 Nebraska, falling to the Cornhuskers, 24-10, on Sunday. The Gophers return to their home building this weekend, where they are 5-1 this season (3-0 on the Williams Arena side and 2-1 on the Sports Pavilion side). Minnesota is 27-3 when wrestling in Minneapolis during the past five seasons.

The Scarlet Knights will make their debut in the Land of 10,000 Lakes looking to continue one of the best seasons in program history. Minnesota will be the eighth ranked opponent for Rutgers already this year. The Knights are 5-2 in those matches, with wins over North Carolina, Northern Iowa, Oregon State, Cornell and Nebraska, as well as losses to Oklahoma and Iowa. Most recently, Rutgers recorded its first Big Ten shutout, a 34-0 home win over Michigan State last Sunday. That victory also gave Rutgers its second conference win of the season, matching its total from a year ago. Prior to beating Sparty, Rutgers took third in the Midlands Championships over the holidays, finishing behind only Iowa and Nebraska.

The two teams will send nine ranked wrestlers to the mat Sunday afternoon, a collection that will produce two ranked-versus-ranked matches.

At 141 pounds, a pair of underclassmen will square off when No. 10 Tommy Thorn takes on No. 4 Anthony Ashnault. Ashnault was an All-American last year as a redshirt freshman, finishing eighth at the NCAA Championships. For Thorn, Sunday's match will be his ninth against a ranked opponent, matching Brett Pfarr for the most on the team.

The ranked-versus-ranked matchup at heavyweight between No. 7 Michael Kroells and No. 16 Billy Smith is also one of two expected rematches from last year's dual. Kroells defeated Smith, a three-time NCAA qualifier, 6-5 in the final match of last January.

A rematch of last year's 184-pound bout will bump up to the 197 slot this weekend when No. 4 Brett Pfarr takes on Hayden Hrymack. Pfarr scored a series of take downs in last year's showdown and earned a 19-9 major decision. Pfarr leads the Gophers with 11 major decisions this season.

In addition to those matches, ranked wrestlers in action also include No. 9 Jake Short (149) for the Gophers and No. 18 Anthony Giraldo (133), No. 15 Richie Lewis (157) and No. 10 Anthony Perrotti (165) for Rutgers. At 157 pounds, Lewis will be the third consecutive ranked opponent for Brandon Kingsley, who has dropped 3-2 decisions to No. 18 Lou Mascola (Maryland) and No. 17 Tyler Berger (Nebraska) in his last two outings.

The Gophers defeated the Scarlet Knights in their first-ever meeting last season. That dual was defined by two streaks. First up was Rutgers, which opened the meet with four consecutive wins to build a 12-0 lead. Momentum shifted when Dylan Ness pinned Dylan Painton in the second period of their 157-pound contest. Including Pfarr and Kroells' wins, Minnesota won every match the rest of the way and took the dual, 23-12. Minnesota returns four starters from that dual: Short, Kinglsey, Pfarr and Kroells. Rutgers will have six returning: Ashnault, Hrymack, Smith, Sean McCabe (125), Nicholas Gravina (up two weights from 165 last year) and Phil Bakuckas.

First match for Sunday is set to begin at 1 p.m. Central. Fans can stream the entire dual live on BTN Plus and receive mat-side updates throughout the dual by following Gopher Wrestling on Twitter.

Prior to that day's dual, the Gophers will host the first of two youth clinics this season. Click here for more information on youth clinics.

Match Projections:

Wt. Name Yr. Hometown/ High School 2015-16 Record (Dual)


125 Sean McCabe R-Jr. Ronkonkoma, N.Y./ Connetquot 10-7 (7-5) (0-3)
-OR- Josh Patrick R-So. Rector, Pa./ Ligonier Valley 10-3 (1-0)

133 Anthony Giraldo R-Fr. Guttenberg, N.J./ North Bergen 12-7 (8-5) (0-6)

141 Anthony Ashnault* R-So. South Plainfield, N.J./ South Plainfield 18-1 (12-0) (0-9)

149 Tyson Dippery R-So. Harrisburg, Pa./ Central Dauphin 11-7 (8-5) (3-9)

157 Richie Lewis Jr. Toms River, N.J./ Toms River East 15-3 (9-1)) (3-12)
-OR- John Van Brill R-Fr. Mullica Hill, N.J./ Clearview 8-6 (2-1)

165 Anthony Perrotti** R-Sr. Roseland, N.J./ West Essex 13-2 (11-1) (3-15)

174 Phil Bakuckas R-Jr. Hammonton, N.J./ Hammonton 11-7 (6-5) (6-15)
-OR- Anthony Pafumi R-Jr. Westfield, N.J./ St. Peter’s Prep 7-5 (2-1)

184 Nicholas Gravina R-So. Allendale, N.J./ Northern Highlands Regional 12-6 (8-3) (6-18)

197 Hayden Hrymack Sr. Point Pleasant, N.J./ CBA 11-7 (8-5) (10-18)

285 Billy Smith*** R-Sr. Wantage, N.J./ High Point 16-5 (10-3) (13-18)


It should be interesting to see how we perform today. I'm hoping that we are continuing to improve!!

78-76. Bailey hits game winning 3 pointer.
Banham with 24. Gophers get Northwestern and Nia Coffie next at home.

Castillo will make a decision on the 27th and has moved his Mizzou visit up to this coming weekend (before it was scheduled for the weekend before Signing Day). He enjoyed the ISU visit but I'm hearing they're not going to beat out Minnesota or Mizzou. I still believe the home state draw to Mizzou will make him a Tiger, but we'll see. If he decides to go elsewhere, I'm confident it will be Minnesota.

I just want to add a short comment.. It takes awhile to get used to anything.. I realize that It is awfully early as well... I kinda like the old front page better.. WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE OLD was the tweets that you guys put out in the corner so I could read it. Always thought those were interesting even when Ryan J would show offers for D2 or D3 basketball players... Everything was very accessible in the front page: Schedules, recruiting, players recruited... I don't know. I just liked the first way better than now..Maaybe I just need more time to get used to it. More of a preference than anything as i don't have any complaints about the new. Just like the old style better. This site is obviously not about me and I am just giving my opinion as others probably have a very different view.. I did not know how else to share so I am sharing it this way but i just thought I would give one opinion.

The visitors aren't done until Monday, so I won't have post-visit stories until then. I'm sure many of you were expecting them tonight, so I thought I'd let you guys know.

Sam Schlueter talked about his first impressions of Bart Miller from the in-home visit with Miller and Sherels.

https://minnesota.n.rivals.com/news/schlueter-has-great-first-impression-of-bart-miller

Miller's dogma: "What we're going to do here is establish the mind-set that you are the meanest, toughest, nastiest guy on the field."

I like !!

Edwards Brothers will play with Minny's latest victom.

Another legend gone. Wish I'd realized his greatness a little earlier in my life.

Minnesota wins 3-1 for a weekend split. Men's Hockey the only team in town, college or pro, to win these days.

he likes his job, he has some passion, he is going to work the boys hard. he says they need to live and eat and train the right way, there will be excitement, they will hit in practice ( oh no brat).

I am very happy to see there will be a change in complete attitude on our O line !! AT the very least, we have
someone who LIKES his job, has passion, is hard nosed. Hiopefully we will have the mind set of Mr.Tyler across the whole line.

A thread I started recently got zapped as it was deemed to be "a little bit too much as a personal attack". Maybe I missed something said that was offensively written by someone else in the thread, which is understandable to zap, but I don't think pointing out a disagreement about team play that you have with someone on this board should be considered a personal attack. Especially when done without name-calling. I've said some things to others over the years (one last week, but no it wasn't you @bradt42 ) that maybe I haven't been too proud of, but I'm pretty sure I was careful to be not offensive to "he who shall not be named" that I started the thread about. Maybe I'm wrong. It's no longer available for me to see if I slipped.

But, it just bugs me how long it took to censor some of the seriously b.s. statements made by certain posters over the years. Now it swings the other way. That's fine and dandy, and I'm cool with being censored when deserved, and I'll try to abide by the new world order if that's the case, but it better be consistent.

I know...

and

but...

You know I have a point

Reading the Pitt article, Pine sounds pretty set on Pitt. Slightly disappointing, sounds like a really good player.

Pine

QB Jacques Perra transferring from the Gophers to the University of St. Thomas. Has that been announced here? If it has I'm sorry.
Stay warm today.

He hires the USF DC, then announces his DC "will not return". Watts is there now.

I wonder if Berkley will join him there and run track?

Up 47-25 at half..This is the 2nd time they played Michigan State already, as Iowa beat them in Iowa City recently. Iowa shooting 9 of 15 from the 3s in the first half.. Outplaying Michigan State.. Michigan State doing a horrible job defensively in communication..... It happens to other teams other than the Gophers(though maybe not consistently)... I dont like Iowa but when you get a team full of shooters like that, if they can get it clicking they are tough to stop.. If Iowa can sustain that this year, they could be a scary team.. History does not dictate that but they have the pieces to make it tough on the good teams.