Here's the latest on what I've heard about where things are in Minnesota's recruiting. This list is in no way represent Minnesota's actual board. It's all my best guess. Nothing more.
Quarterback
Committed:
Illinois quarterback Early senior highlights
Everything I've heard from sources is that Minnesota is done with quarterbacks for the 2015 class. Demry will be the guy. Just know that Penn State's QB coach will be at his game tomorrow.
Running Back
Committed:
Georgia running back Early senior highlights
Ontario running back Early senior highlights
North Dakota running back Early senior highlights
Top targets:
1) Alabama running back Bradrick Shaw
2) Alabama running back Early senior highlights
Most likely the Gophers will be done at running back from what I've heard lately.
But if Minnesota decides to take another, it'll be either these two. Shaw may be simply too good of a talent to pass up and Kirksey may be in the same boat.
Other names to keep an eye on:
[/B]Alabama running back Bradrick Shaw
Alabama running back Early senior highlights
[/B]
Wide Receiver
Committed:
Georgia wide receiver Early senior highlights
Top targets:
1) Louisiana athlete Early senior highlights
2) Georgia wide receiver Early senior highlights
I believe that Minnesota will take one or two more receiver and these two are very high on the Gophers list.
I feel pretty safe in saying that Register is the top WR option on the board right now with his official visit starting tomorrow and both of his parents are joining him. Sources have told GI that both the offense and defensive staff would take Register (WR on offense or safety on defense), but if he does commit to Minnesota, he'll be starting as a wide receiver as that's the position he wants to play in college. It'll be either Louisiana-Lafayette or Minnesota for Register at the end of the day. Register's offer at ULL is for both basketball and football, his brother is on the basketball team and the campus is ten minutes from his house. A lot of factors there in favor of ULL, but the Gopher staff has put in a lot of work. It'll ultimately come down to how the visit goes this weekend, so stay tuned.
Coach Sherels and Coach Anderson watched Pinkney live two weeks ago and Sherels has been kept in touch with him weekly for the past few months. Pinkney has been starting to blow up a bit landing offers from Vandy and UCF, along with significant interest from Virginia Tech, Iowa State and Kansas State. Pinkney wants to do his official visits after the season, so if Minnesota decides to move a little more on Pinkney, expect a visit in November/December. I get the feeling that Minnesota would be in the drivers seat if they go after him a bit more as Sherels was the only coach on him this summer and offered him back in the spring, that meant a lot to Pinkney.
Other names to keep an eye on:
Florida wide receiver Marvin Robinson
Texas wide receiver Donta Thompson
Texas wide receiver and Illinois commit A.D. Miller
Ohio wide receiver Reggie Rogers
Kansas JUCO wide receiver Early JUCO highlights
Tight End / H-Back
Committed:
None.
Top targets:
1) Kansas athlete Early senior highlights
2) Florida tight end Early senior highlights
I'll start off by saying that if Beebe and Bargas wanted to commit today, the Gophers would take both in a heartbeat.
Sources have told GI that the reason Beebe's visit was rescheduled from this weekend to the Iowa game as it worked better financially for Beebe's parents to accompany their son on the trip. Sounds like the Gophers are looking at Beebe as a fullback/H-back on offense and potentially a defensive end or defensive tackle as well. It would depend on how his body develops once he gets to Minnesota. I'd be surprised if Beebe doesn't commit shortly after his visit.
Bargas has been committed to Wake Forest since early June, but it sounds more and more like Minnesota will be getting a visit from Bargas for the Iowa game. Another team to watch in this is Louisville as it they're trying to get a visit scheduled as well. The player I most compare Bargas to is Maxx Williams as he's a very good athlete for his size and just is dominant when watching his highlights.
Offensive Line
Committed:
Minnesota offensive tackle Early senior highlights
Minnesota offensive lineman Bronson Dovich
Illinois offensive lineman Quinn Oseland
Ohio offensive lineman Ted Stieber
Top targets:
1) Alabama offensive lineman Ezekiel Mayblen
2) Alabama offensive lineman Early senior highlights
3) Texas offensive lineman Early senior highlights
4) Minnesota offensive lineman Drayton Carlberg
5) Alabama offensive lineman Kenny Thomas
The more I hear, the more I think Minnesota will take a fifth offensive lineman in the 2015 class. That being said, Nothing is new with anyone in this group as none have set up official visits to Minnesota yet.
Defensive Line
Committed:
None.
Top targets:
1) Georgia defensive lineman Early senior highlights
2) Georgia defensive lineman Early senior highlights
3) Florida defensive lineman Early senior highlights
4) Florida defensive lineman Early senior highlights
5) Alabama defensive lineman Early senior highlights
6) Florida defensive end Early senior highlights
From what I heard this past week, Minnesota is looking at signing three defensive linemen. You'll notice the new name at the top of the list in Anree Saint-Amour. I left him off the board last time as I didn't think the Gophers had a real shot and man was I wrong. Not only is he taking an official visit here this weekend, his mother is joining him. Now, a parent doesn't come with unless there is some type of serious interest there, so very good news. I wouldn't expect a commitment this weekend no matter what happens, but still good news for the Gophers.
Zuniga is another new name to the War Room board, but from after speaking with Zuniga after his offer, Minnesota is firmly in his top three with Kansas State and N.C. State. Also sounds like he'll be taking an official visit to Twin Cities for the Iowa game with his mother. Zuniga has really improved since the end of his junior year as he lost some bad weight and became more explosive. Very good sign that the Gophers were able to get an official visit lined up just a few days after offering.
Ray already took an official visit to Minnesota and despite being committed to Boston College at the moment, sources have said it's certainly not over yet, including Ray himself who said that he's still considering Minnesota. The Gophers have been in hot pursuit since his visit and will be on him until signing day.
Johnson is another new name to the DL radar as Coach Reeves paid him a visit back during the bye week and the Gophers are really pressing to get an official visit set soon, but it'll be extremely tough to get Johnson out of Florida. I've heard that Johnson is considering taking an official visit for the Iowa or Ohio State game, but getting him out of the SEC and the state of Florida will be tough. Florida State is considered the favorite at this point in time.
Hall received an offer from Coach Sawvel this past week and is working on setting up an official visit. He'll be visiting Alabama this weekend with his coach after speaking with the Crimson Tide staff, so we'll see what happens there. I think Hall is further down the list that guys like Saint-Amour and Zuniga for the obvious reason that the staff can slow play him a bit as he really doesn't have any other options. I have no idea if that's true and it's solely my opinion, but we'll see when Hall's official visit is scheduled in the coming days and weeks.
Another new name to the list is Dana Levine. You'll remember that Levine received an offer about a month ago now and was paid a visit by Coach Reeves. I've heard from Levine that it's looking like he'll be taking an official visit to Minnesota sometime in the November/December range, but nothing has been set in stone yet.
Other names to keep an eye on:
Ohio defensive tackle Early senior highlights
Oklahoma JUCO defensive tackle Early JUCO highlights
Coffeyville (Kan.) athlete Ricky Parks
Linebackers
Committed:
Illinois linebacker Early senior highlights
Texas linebacker Jaylen Waters
Top targets:
1) Oklahoma linebacker Early senior highlights
2) Ohio linebacker Early senior highlights
My take is that Minnesota could take anywhere from one to two more linebackers if it's the right guys. I'll start by saying that to my knowledge, Bo Wallace is not visiting this weekend and is considered to be a 100% lock to Notre Dame, so he'll be taken off the board.
Whitfield did have an official visit scheduled to Minnesota for the homecoming game against Purdue, but his brother couldn't fly up with him, so it'll be rescheduled for the Iowa or Ohio State game. That being said, I continue to hear the Gophers are sitting very well. Sherels went to see Whitfield live back in the spring and is expected to go see Whitfield during the next bye week. New teams such as Tennessee are beginning to get involved, so it'll interesting to see how things play out.
McKee is still expected to take an official visit to Minnesota for the Gophers game versus Ohio State in November. It'll be extremely tough getting McKee away from Oklahoma, but if McKee does step on campus, the Gophers have a pretty good percentage over the years of landing a commitment. Crazier things have happened right?
I've heard that Gophers have McKee and Whitfield extremely high on their board and they would be takes.
Other names to keep an eye on:
[/B]Alabama athlete Early senior highlights
Cornerback
Committed:
Michigan athlete Early senior highlights
Louisiana cornerback Early senior highlights
Missouri cornerback Early senior highlights
Illinois cornerback Early senior highlights
Top targets:
1) Michigan athlete Early senior highlights
I'll start by saying that I believe Minnesota is now done at cornerback unless two things happen.
1) John Kelly wants to be a Gopher. Kelly could play corner, safety, wide receiver or running back and is a take no matter what the numbers situation is. He's an elite recruit and anytime you're able to get a recruit with a legit Michigan State offer out of Michigan, you do it. No questions asked. Kelly loved his over-night unofficial visit to Minnesota this past weekend, raving about how the Gophers have "the best campus ever" and that he'll definitely be back for an official visit. I don't believe Kelly is close to a decision anytime soon, but the Gophers are firmly planted in his top two.
2) One of the current defensive back commits starts to look around (i.e., takes an official visit elsewhere and to my knowledge, this goes for any of the defensive backs committed) - Minnesota had a lot of defensive back targets that were interested and had offers (Sykes and Davis come to mind) who were seriously thinking about committing before the Gophers filled up this past week. If one of the commits takes a visit elsewhere, don't be surprised if the Gophers part ways then and call up a Willie Sykes or Trenard Davis and ask if they're in or see a Mike Jackson visit.
I don't expect that to happen when looking at any of the four guys above, but we'll see how things play out.
Other names to keep an eye on if a commit looks elsewhere:
[/B]Texas cornerback Early senior highlights
Florida cornerback Trenard Davis
Florida cornerback Early senior highlights
Alabama cornerback Michael Jackson
Safety
Committed:
Illinois safety Early senior highlights
Top targets:
1) Kansas safety Early senior highlights
2) Iowa safety Early JUCO highlights
3) Louisiana safety Early senior highlights
I keep hearing that Minnesota will be taking three safeties this class, putting them a total of seven defensive backs for the 2015 class.
Alex Barnes will be taking an official visit to Minnesota for the Purdue game this weekend and both he and his mother tell GI that he's planning on coming to a decision by the end of this month. It's a two-team race between Minnesota and Kansas State from the info I've gather. Kansas State is close to home so Mom can see him play and more importantly, they want him at running back and that's definitely his preferred position of choice in college, where as Minnesota wants him at safety. Remember that Coach Kill has so many connections to the city of Pittsburg from his days coaching there and I've heard from multiple people that Barnes has people in his eye around town saying go play for Coach Kill at Minnesota. Barnes even met Gopher great Bobby Bell after one of his games, so we'll see how the visit goes this weekend. He's also a top priority because he's a December grad.
Charlie Rogers is above Nick Beasley and other JUCO DB's right now and I think that's the way it's going to stay. Word is that Claeys went and saw Rogers live during the bye week and came back very impressed. Rogers tweeted out last night that he's down to five schools and he tells GI that Minnesota is firmly in that group. I still find strange that Rogers hasn't committed yet as I don't know what he's waiting for, but I find it hard to believe he'll go anywhere but Minnesota.
Justin Reid is on the list, but I'm not sure for much long. He's the most unrealistic recruit as he's got a lot of other options and hasn't visited Minnesota to this point. Reid told GI a few weeks that there's a 70% chance that he'll take an official visit to the Twin Cities and at that point, it's anyone's ball game as the Gophers do well landing recruits once they get them on campus. If it doesn't happen before mid-November, Minnesota's chances go almost to zero in my opinion.
Other names to keep an eye on:
[/B]
Louisiana safety Early senior highlights
Mississippi JUCO safety Early JUCO highlights
Any questions or comments, please leave below.
Quarterback
Committed:
Illinois quarterback Early senior highlights
Everything I've heard from sources is that Minnesota is done with quarterbacks for the 2015 class. Demry will be the guy. Just know that Penn State's QB coach will be at his game tomorrow.
Running Back
Committed:
Georgia running back Early senior highlights
Ontario running back Early senior highlights
North Dakota running back Early senior highlights
Top targets:
1) Alabama running back Bradrick Shaw
2) Alabama running back Early senior highlights
Most likely the Gophers will be done at running back from what I've heard lately.
But if Minnesota decides to take another, it'll be either these two. Shaw may be simply too good of a talent to pass up and Kirksey may be in the same boat.
Other names to keep an eye on:
[/B]Alabama running back Bradrick Shaw
Alabama running back Early senior highlights
[/B]
Wide Receiver
Committed:
Georgia wide receiver Early senior highlights
Top targets:
1) Louisiana athlete Early senior highlights
2) Georgia wide receiver Early senior highlights
I believe that Minnesota will take one or two more receiver and these two are very high on the Gophers list.
I feel pretty safe in saying that Register is the top WR option on the board right now with his official visit starting tomorrow and both of his parents are joining him. Sources have told GI that both the offense and defensive staff would take Register (WR on offense or safety on defense), but if he does commit to Minnesota, he'll be starting as a wide receiver as that's the position he wants to play in college. It'll be either Louisiana-Lafayette or Minnesota for Register at the end of the day. Register's offer at ULL is for both basketball and football, his brother is on the basketball team and the campus is ten minutes from his house. A lot of factors there in favor of ULL, but the Gopher staff has put in a lot of work. It'll ultimately come down to how the visit goes this weekend, so stay tuned.
Coach Sherels and Coach Anderson watched Pinkney live two weeks ago and Sherels has been kept in touch with him weekly for the past few months. Pinkney has been starting to blow up a bit landing offers from Vandy and UCF, along with significant interest from Virginia Tech, Iowa State and Kansas State. Pinkney wants to do his official visits after the season, so if Minnesota decides to move a little more on Pinkney, expect a visit in November/December. I get the feeling that Minnesota would be in the drivers seat if they go after him a bit more as Sherels was the only coach on him this summer and offered him back in the spring, that meant a lot to Pinkney.
Other names to keep an eye on:
Florida wide receiver Marvin Robinson
Texas wide receiver Donta Thompson
Texas wide receiver and Illinois commit A.D. Miller
Ohio wide receiver Reggie Rogers
Kansas JUCO wide receiver Early JUCO highlights
Tight End / H-Back
Committed:
None.
Top targets:
1) Kansas athlete Early senior highlights
2) Florida tight end Early senior highlights
I'll start off by saying that if Beebe and Bargas wanted to commit today, the Gophers would take both in a heartbeat.
Sources have told GI that the reason Beebe's visit was rescheduled from this weekend to the Iowa game as it worked better financially for Beebe's parents to accompany their son on the trip. Sounds like the Gophers are looking at Beebe as a fullback/H-back on offense and potentially a defensive end or defensive tackle as well. It would depend on how his body develops once he gets to Minnesota. I'd be surprised if Beebe doesn't commit shortly after his visit.
Bargas has been committed to Wake Forest since early June, but it sounds more and more like Minnesota will be getting a visit from Bargas for the Iowa game. Another team to watch in this is Louisville as it they're trying to get a visit scheduled as well. The player I most compare Bargas to is Maxx Williams as he's a very good athlete for his size and just is dominant when watching his highlights.
Offensive Line
Committed:
Minnesota offensive tackle Early senior highlights
Minnesota offensive lineman Bronson Dovich
Illinois offensive lineman Quinn Oseland
Ohio offensive lineman Ted Stieber
Top targets:
1) Alabama offensive lineman Ezekiel Mayblen
2) Alabama offensive lineman Early senior highlights
3) Texas offensive lineman Early senior highlights
4) Minnesota offensive lineman Drayton Carlberg
5) Alabama offensive lineman Kenny Thomas
The more I hear, the more I think Minnesota will take a fifth offensive lineman in the 2015 class. That being said, Nothing is new with anyone in this group as none have set up official visits to Minnesota yet.
Defensive Line
Committed:
None.
Top targets:
1) Georgia defensive lineman Early senior highlights
2) Georgia defensive lineman Early senior highlights
3) Florida defensive lineman Early senior highlights
4) Florida defensive lineman Early senior highlights
5) Alabama defensive lineman Early senior highlights
6) Florida defensive end Early senior highlights
From what I heard this past week, Minnesota is looking at signing three defensive linemen. You'll notice the new name at the top of the list in Anree Saint-Amour. I left him off the board last time as I didn't think the Gophers had a real shot and man was I wrong. Not only is he taking an official visit here this weekend, his mother is joining him. Now, a parent doesn't come with unless there is some type of serious interest there, so very good news. I wouldn't expect a commitment this weekend no matter what happens, but still good news for the Gophers.
Zuniga is another new name to the War Room board, but from after speaking with Zuniga after his offer, Minnesota is firmly in his top three with Kansas State and N.C. State. Also sounds like he'll be taking an official visit to Twin Cities for the Iowa game with his mother. Zuniga has really improved since the end of his junior year as he lost some bad weight and became more explosive. Very good sign that the Gophers were able to get an official visit lined up just a few days after offering.
Ray already took an official visit to Minnesota and despite being committed to Boston College at the moment, sources have said it's certainly not over yet, including Ray himself who said that he's still considering Minnesota. The Gophers have been in hot pursuit since his visit and will be on him until signing day.
Johnson is another new name to the DL radar as Coach Reeves paid him a visit back during the bye week and the Gophers are really pressing to get an official visit set soon, but it'll be extremely tough to get Johnson out of Florida. I've heard that Johnson is considering taking an official visit for the Iowa or Ohio State game, but getting him out of the SEC and the state of Florida will be tough. Florida State is considered the favorite at this point in time.
Hall received an offer from Coach Sawvel this past week and is working on setting up an official visit. He'll be visiting Alabama this weekend with his coach after speaking with the Crimson Tide staff, so we'll see what happens there. I think Hall is further down the list that guys like Saint-Amour and Zuniga for the obvious reason that the staff can slow play him a bit as he really doesn't have any other options. I have no idea if that's true and it's solely my opinion, but we'll see when Hall's official visit is scheduled in the coming days and weeks.
Another new name to the list is Dana Levine. You'll remember that Levine received an offer about a month ago now and was paid a visit by Coach Reeves. I've heard from Levine that it's looking like he'll be taking an official visit to Minnesota sometime in the November/December range, but nothing has been set in stone yet.
Other names to keep an eye on:
Ohio defensive tackle Early senior highlights
Oklahoma JUCO defensive tackle Early JUCO highlights
Coffeyville (Kan.) athlete Ricky Parks
Linebackers
Committed:
Illinois linebacker Early senior highlights
Texas linebacker Jaylen Waters
Top targets:
1) Oklahoma linebacker Early senior highlights
2) Ohio linebacker Early senior highlights
My take is that Minnesota could take anywhere from one to two more linebackers if it's the right guys. I'll start by saying that to my knowledge, Bo Wallace is not visiting this weekend and is considered to be a 100% lock to Notre Dame, so he'll be taken off the board.
Whitfield did have an official visit scheduled to Minnesota for the homecoming game against Purdue, but his brother couldn't fly up with him, so it'll be rescheduled for the Iowa or Ohio State game. That being said, I continue to hear the Gophers are sitting very well. Sherels went to see Whitfield live back in the spring and is expected to go see Whitfield during the next bye week. New teams such as Tennessee are beginning to get involved, so it'll interesting to see how things play out.
McKee is still expected to take an official visit to Minnesota for the Gophers game versus Ohio State in November. It'll be extremely tough getting McKee away from Oklahoma, but if McKee does step on campus, the Gophers have a pretty good percentage over the years of landing a commitment. Crazier things have happened right?
I've heard that Gophers have McKee and Whitfield extremely high on their board and they would be takes.
Other names to keep an eye on:
[/B]Alabama athlete Early senior highlights
Cornerback
Committed:
Michigan athlete Early senior highlights
Louisiana cornerback Early senior highlights
Missouri cornerback Early senior highlights
Illinois cornerback Early senior highlights
Top targets:
1) Michigan athlete Early senior highlights
I'll start by saying that I believe Minnesota is now done at cornerback unless two things happen.
1) John Kelly wants to be a Gopher. Kelly could play corner, safety, wide receiver or running back and is a take no matter what the numbers situation is. He's an elite recruit and anytime you're able to get a recruit with a legit Michigan State offer out of Michigan, you do it. No questions asked. Kelly loved his over-night unofficial visit to Minnesota this past weekend, raving about how the Gophers have "the best campus ever" and that he'll definitely be back for an official visit. I don't believe Kelly is close to a decision anytime soon, but the Gophers are firmly planted in his top two.
2) One of the current defensive back commits starts to look around (i.e., takes an official visit elsewhere and to my knowledge, this goes for any of the defensive backs committed) - Minnesota had a lot of defensive back targets that were interested and had offers (Sykes and Davis come to mind) who were seriously thinking about committing before the Gophers filled up this past week. If one of the commits takes a visit elsewhere, don't be surprised if the Gophers part ways then and call up a Willie Sykes or Trenard Davis and ask if they're in or see a Mike Jackson visit.
I don't expect that to happen when looking at any of the four guys above, but we'll see how things play out.
Other names to keep an eye on if a commit looks elsewhere:
[/B]Texas cornerback Early senior highlights
Florida cornerback Trenard Davis
Florida cornerback Early senior highlights
Alabama cornerback Michael Jackson
Safety
Committed:
Illinois safety Early senior highlights
Top targets:
1) Kansas safety Early senior highlights
2) Iowa safety Early JUCO highlights
3) Louisiana safety Early senior highlights
I keep hearing that Minnesota will be taking three safeties this class, putting them a total of seven defensive backs for the 2015 class.
Alex Barnes will be taking an official visit to Minnesota for the Purdue game this weekend and both he and his mother tell GI that he's planning on coming to a decision by the end of this month. It's a two-team race between Minnesota and Kansas State from the info I've gather. Kansas State is close to home so Mom can see him play and more importantly, they want him at running back and that's definitely his preferred position of choice in college, where as Minnesota wants him at safety. Remember that Coach Kill has so many connections to the city of Pittsburg from his days coaching there and I've heard from multiple people that Barnes has people in his eye around town saying go play for Coach Kill at Minnesota. Barnes even met Gopher great Bobby Bell after one of his games, so we'll see how the visit goes this weekend. He's also a top priority because he's a December grad.
Charlie Rogers is above Nick Beasley and other JUCO DB's right now and I think that's the way it's going to stay. Word is that Claeys went and saw Rogers live during the bye week and came back very impressed. Rogers tweeted out last night that he's down to five schools and he tells GI that Minnesota is firmly in that group. I still find strange that Rogers hasn't committed yet as I don't know what he's waiting for, but I find it hard to believe he'll go anywhere but Minnesota.
Justin Reid is on the list, but I'm not sure for much long. He's the most unrealistic recruit as he's got a lot of other options and hasn't visited Minnesota to this point. Reid told GI a few weeks that there's a 70% chance that he'll take an official visit to the Twin Cities and at that point, it's anyone's ball game as the Gophers do well landing recruits once they get them on campus. If it doesn't happen before mid-November, Minnesota's chances go almost to zero in my opinion.
Other names to keep an eye on:
[/B]
Louisiana safety Early senior highlights
Mississippi JUCO safety Early JUCO highlights
Any questions or comments, please leave below.
