Gophers Earn Seven Phil Steele All-Big Ten Honors


Christopher Mitchell / Sport Sho

FOOTBALL | 12/18/2018 1:51:00 PM

Tyler Johnson adds another accolade to his resume with First Team honors. Carter Coughlin and Blake Cashman each took home Second Team honors. Rashod Bateman, Payton Jordahl and Demetrius Douglas as both a kick returner and punt returner earned Third Team recognition.

Johnson had a season for the record books as he caught 74 passes (second in B1G) for 1,112 yards (second in B1G) and 10 touchdowns (third in B1G). His 74 catches, 1,112 yards and 10 touchdowns are the second most ever for a Gopher in a single season. He is 10 catches behind Eric Decker's record of 84 set in 2008 and is 14 yards shy of breaking Ron Johnson's single-season yardage record of 1,125 set in 2000. Ron Johnson (2000) and Omar Douglas (1993) each caught 11 touchdowns to share the school record.

Coughlin tied for the Big Ten lead in sacks with 9.5 this season and tied for the team lead with Cashman for 15.0 tackles for loss. The junior also forced four fumbles this season and made 46 tackles, 32 of which were solo stops. Cashman led Minnesota with 104 tackles, which tied for fifth in the Big Ten. He also broke up five pass and forced one fumble, which he returned 40 yards for a touchdown.

Bateman has had a fantastic freshman season. He has 49 catches for 670 yards and six touchdowns (all TDs in B1G play). His 49 catches is a freshman record (broke Ron Johnson's record of 38 set in 1998) and his 670 receiving yards ranks first in school history by a freshman (broke Ernie Wheelwright's 2004 record of 654 yards). Bateman needs two more touchdowns to break Wheelwright's freshman record of seven.

Jordahl will become the first Gopher to start 51 games. He has snapped 498 times in his career (269 punt, 144 PATs and 85 FGs), made 10 tackles and recovered one fumble. He was also named an Academic All-American. Douglas returned seven punts for 113 yards this year to average 16.14 yards. He returned a punt 69 yards for a touchdown at Wisconsin and he averaged 24.75 return yards on kickoffs (24 returns for 594 yards).

https://gophersports.com/news/2018/...arn-seven-phil-steele-all-big-ten-honors.aspx

#2 today

Williamson rips off 40 yard run, Kramer hits Udovich for a seeet TD. Then they row the boat in the end zone. South leads north 33-0.

Hope they can get Navatril from
pine Island to walk-on, kid is a monster.

to sign up -- although we have more bodies registered than last time we still have room for a few more before we have to shut it down and give the caterer a final number.

Here is the link to the registration form: https://goallineclub.org/

why is Mount Union so good every year. Are most of their players local. Thanks in advance.

We are ranked 31st by the posted rankings but another site member stated we were in the low 40s with prospects of climbing to the high 30s ... understanding that everything is fluid but it’s hard to believe there’s that much swing from day to day... what’s the truth about our rankings?

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...ater-high-school-back-still-seeking-attention

Fullback or not, I definitely think this kid could find a spot on the field. No offers with 70 TD year.

Any more insight on Robinson or Houston? What happened with JUCO D. Williams? Thanks in advance.

the edge in the final minutes of the Browns/Broncos game. Boddy-Calhoun had a nice sure tackle as the Broncos tried and failed to mount a last minute comeback.

Fun to see one of my favorite Gophers succeed on an up-and-coming team!

Not a fan of Pat, but maybe this statewide exposure will help.I paid about $2000 for 4 seats. This works out to around $70 per seat per game. I easily could get the same seats or better on the street for far less. When the U tried to sell FB tickets for less than what season tickets + scholarship fee are, some "elite" ST holders got their undies in a bundle. I buy season tickets to support the U and for the ease of the gameday experience, it affords. I personally don't care if the U deeply discounted tickets to get butts in the seats. It would add to the gameday festivities and hopefully increase the fan base. I also have WBB STs the 1st home game with a huge house was great. SKI-U-MAH &RTB!!!

and it's a little disconcerting. We're section 127, row 3, which is right on 50 yard line. I'm in the President's club etc, but still surprised to get seats this good. I was hoping for nosebleed in the endzone, lol.

i know the TCF Bank sign police are more than a little bit up tight, but creativity needs to win out.

saw this today. pretty good.

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Tony Johnson Jr. picked up a Minnesota offer last week. Honestly, it was not a surprise. The Gophers coaching staff first saw him last summer with the Georgia Stars of the EYBL circuit, and have been in Atlanta four times this winter to watch him with The Skills Academy. So the question about a scholarship offer from the Gophers was not if but when.

The Gopher Report was in the gym in Augusta, Georgia last July at the Peach Invitational when Ed Conroy saw him. Since then, he and Kyle Lindsted have piled up the frequent flier miles between Minneapolis and Atlanta.

"Minnesota has been down to his school to see him several times, " his trainer, Cory Underwood told us on Sunday night. "Coach Lindsted came and saw him. Coach Conroy saw and loved him, and then Coach Lindsted came again. There was another visit in there too, but I'm not sure which coach came. I met Coach Lindsted the last time he came down and spoke with him for about an hour and a half. He loved him."

It was just natural that the multiple visits led to an offer.

"Coach (Richard) Pitino called him last week and offered. Tony was excited. He texted me right away as soon as he got it. I coached Tre McGowens and he really liked it when he took an unofficial up there. Everything was really nice. I think Tony will really like it too when he sees it up there."

Wherever Johnson ends up in college, his road began in the small town of Eufaula, Alabama in the southern part of the state which is more noted for bass fishing than for producing elite basketball players.

"He was highly touted out of there, "Underwood explained. "He played up in age groups while he was there. That was where I first saw him. I was coaching with the Southern Stampede and we played against him in Orlando. Jordan Walker played for us and he was friends with Tony."

Conversations between Johnson and Walker developed to the point that the Eufaula native moved to Atlanta to play his senior season and eventually ended up moving in with Underwood. He also has two sisters who live in the city.

"Tony started playing with us. We also had Jalen Lecque who blew up. That took some of Tony's playing time, but he took it all in stride. But he came to me one day and told me that he wanted to move to Atlanta and reclassify."

Johnson transferred to Berkmar High School where he made All-Region and All-State, but the offers still didn't come in to his liking.

"New Mexico and Texas A&M came in to see him, but they didn't offer, " Underwood continued. "He is a 4.0 student, so I told him to give the Ivy League a shot. That upset him a little bit. He told me he wanted to go to a Power Five school. I told him that it's more about fit that looking for a Power Five program, but that is what he wanted to do."

Johnson stayed in school even though he was scheduled to graduate last May. He decided to go the prep school route instead of reclassing. That also gave him an extra summer to play AAU ball. He did that with the Georgia Stars.

"That situation was sort of like with the Stampede. They had Trendon Watford and Kira Lewis. They both blew up and the offense went through them. In July, a lot of the players went there on way and guys like Tony, Lewis, Balsa Koprivica and some younger players stayed. He did a great job defending. He was guarding the other team's one through four. He played his tail off on offense and scored a lot. It was like being back in high school when he was getting touches."

Through fifteen games with The Skills Factory this winter, his squad is 15-1. Johnson is averaging 20.1 points and 5 assists per game.

Rivals' National Basketball Recruiting Analyst, Dan McDonald, lives in Atlanta, and has gotten to see Johnson play on several occasions.

"Johnson can play either spot. He has good size for a guard. He is more of a scorer, but is also a good decision maker, so he can also be a lead guard. He is a good shooter, but is working to become more consistent."

Underwood also offered his own critique of his protégé.

"Tony is 6-foot-3, 205 pounds. Somebody told me last week that he is Isaiah Briscoe, and I thought, they are right. He's got that same body, and plays with that same pace. He has great anticipation.He can really make you pay in the pick and roll. If you go over it, he is strong. He leans into you and uses his body. He understands angles and he has a nice floater. If you go under the screen he will knock down a three. He's already had a couple of games this year where he had hit five or six."

Underwood also described how he can impact a game without scoring.

"He can play off the ball some. Tony has a great passing feel. If he were to play in the Big Ten, he could guard the one through the three. Tony isn't fast, but he isn't slow. He has a great pause and hesitation. He just plays at a great pace. He also rebounds at his position. He has a college ready body."

His trainer says the intangible that may be the most important is something that can't be measured during a game or go in a box score.

"He was in a rough spot before he transferred to Atlanta. He had picked up some bad habits playing in Alabama. The competition wasn't as good and he took some shortcuts. Then his confidence went down playing with Lecque. He hit a crossroads. He could either pout or get in the gym and work harder. That is what he did. He is in the gym everyday. When I am in town, he is always wanting me to go with him. He doesn't run from work. Tony isn't a top 100 or top 150 player right now, but he will catch up with all of those guys eventually because of his work ethic."

Minnesota was Johnson's first Power Five offer according to Underwood. He said that Providence, St. John's, Houston, Hofstra, Murray State, Tulane, Georgia Tech, and UMASS are also in heavy contact with him. He has offers from the likes of Santa Clara, Middle Tennessee State, Jacksonville State, St. Bonaventure, Georgia Southern, and Fresno State.

Meanwhile, Underwood doesn't think this one will drag out, and that the Gophers could also be in the thick of it.

"He will definitely visit in January. He's waiting on his mom to get off work then he will get up there ASAP. I also don't think he will wait until the spring to decide. I believe he wants to get it over with. He will probably take another visit, but I would be shocked if he took more than two."

Some of the other news outlets are talking suspensions. Heard anything??

Nothing official yet, but it looks like there will be another transfer announced soon. Rey Estes seems to be on his way out. Good luck to him, and I hope he finds a spot that fits him. Very talented athlete and very good person as well.

sorry but I'm in need of some

at the moment.
I'm soo fricken anxious for signing day.

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Camden Lewis took a visit to Oregon, so this is a good indication of what that means for his offer

“Minnesota believed in me from the start, and I knew it was just meant to be”

Bronko Nagurski MVP: Tyler Johnson
Carl Eller Outstanding Defensive Player of the Year: Carter Coughlin
Bruce Smith Outstanding Offensive Player of the Year: Mo Ibrahim
Outstanding Defensive Freshman of the Year: Esezi Otomewo and Terell Smith
Outstanding Offensive Freshman of the Year: Daniel Faalele and Rashod Bateman
Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year: Brevyn Spann-Ford
Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year: Mayan Ahanotu
Special Teams Scout Team Player of the Year: Preston Jelen
RTB Trust Award (develop in all four areas of life): Sam Renner and Blaise Andries
Quad Team Member Award (play on all four special teams units): Julian Huff, Mariano Sori-Marin, Calvin Swenson, Justus Harris, Jordan Howden
Neil Fredenburg Outstanding Team Player: Thomas Barber
Bobby Bell Outstanding Special Teams Player: Payton Jordahl
Trench Award (lines): Jared Weyler and Carter Coughlin
Bob McNamara Gopher Elite Award: Curtis Dunlap Jr.
Gary Tinsley Award for Nekton Mentality: Jacob Huff
Tony Dungy Character & Community Service Award: Seth Green
Paul Giel Sportsmanship Award: Emmit Carpenter
Butch Nash Scholar Athletes Award: Payton Jordahl, Gary Moore, and Jared Weyler

The Senior point guard is originally from Eufaula, Alabama. He now attends the Skill Factory in Atlanta. The staff has been in to see him several times. We’re not surprised he was offered. We will have more later on.

If the Vikings win out against the Lions and Bears, they are in the playoffs.. SImple as that.. If they lose a game, things get dicey.. Philadelphia plays tonight against the Rams, then Houston who is fighting for a better playoff spot, then Washington who is also fighting for a playoff spot.. I think Philly will get knocked out.. I say the same for Carolina as they have to play New Orleans twice in the last 3 games.

BUT Dallas and Washington are fighting it out for the division championship... Dallas has both their remaining games against teams that are 5-9(Tampa bay and the Giants) so they theoretically have the easiest path... Washington goes to Tennessee then play Philadelphia. Washington may have trouble with Tennessee but those are winnable games.

Seattle may lose to the Chiefs but have Arizona the last week so I like their chances to remain a 5 seed.

Minnesota should beat the Lions but the Bears will be a tall order, even at home..

THE BEST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN TO GUARANTEE THE PLAYOFFS FOR THE VIKINGS?? Philly loses tonight, Carolina loses Monday, and Washington loses Saturday.. Then if the Vikings beat the Lions, they are guaranteed a playoff spot.

I am getting set and have started to put together my class ranking numbers by offers, and then will put into tiers for all the Big 10 classes (for the early signing period). Since many may have missed this last year(s), I thought I'd provide the background on how I calculate the stars by offers.

Purpose and Rationale: is to provide an alternative ratings system to the subjective systems from 247 and Rivals based upon offers and type of offers the recruit receives. In other words, how coaches evaluate and scout the players provides us some data points for comparison. Helmet schools can be more picky in who they offer, and so helmet schools typically show the most value. P5 offers typically show more value than non-P5 offers. In other words, you can re-tier recruits based upon level and quantity of offers.

Limitations of System: My annual disclaimer that I can only work with reported or listed offers shown on the recruiting sites or that are otherwise based upon reliable information. There are the obvious issues created of: 1) under-reported offers; 2) over-reported offers; 3) offers that show up that may be contingent; 4) offers from the same school that may not = the same value based on timing of the offer (ie. an early Alabama offer v. an end of class Alabama offer); 5) Jucos that don't typically receive the same amount of offers as a HS recruit; and 6) Early local commits that don't tend to get later offers (and maybe are only softly approached for interest).

Even with those limitations, I am still working with an apples to apples comparison with the other Big 10 schools and feel it is a fairly objective method of evaluating the class. Everything else being equal, I will rely upon the offer list v. the 247 or Rivals rating.

How it works:

6.0 (rivals), High 4* (247) = 10+ Helmet school offers
5.9, Mid 4* on 247 = 4+ HS offers OR 15+ P5 offers
5.8, Low 4* = 1 Helmet school offer + 6(+) P5 offers OR 11+ P5 offers
5.7, High 3* = 6+ P5 offers
5.6, Mid 3* = 4+ P5 offers
5.5 Low 3* = 1+ P5 offer or 5+ FBS offers

*I do not include the school they committed to in the calculations.
*I have made a few tweaks to the system and raised the bar for getting a 4* so my tiers more closely match the Rivals and 247 systems.
*To help soften the juco issue equivalent where they just don't get the same amount of offers, I will bump them up one tier.
*I also will bump up a local, early commit (by summer before senior year) one tier since that deflates their total offers.
*I am also adding one more change this year for a local, early commit that if they rank in top half of state's typical rankings (top 5 in Minnesota, top 25 in a state like Ohio, top 50 in a state like Texas, Georgia, California, etc), then I believe that merits a rating of mid 3*, or 5.6 on rivals. That doesn't always work, but that would balance some early commits that are clearly ranked high by the recruiting sites.
*The bottom of what I categorize as Helmet School offers may slightly change from year to year, but I do keep it the same for every team. I also currently subjectively raise a UCF and Boise St. offers as equivalent to P5 offers.
Once I do the Big 10 teams calculations, I will then sort into tiers based upon the balance of total number of mid 3*s and high 3*s, low and mid 4*s, and high 4*s. I apologize to the TLDR crowd.

I don't think they'll fire him this year, but I think he's lost it.

I think his meddling and undermining of the OC and QB has killed the offense's confidence, and even if you don't believe that, well, then the alternative is he hired the wrong OC. The kicking game has been sh*t since he's been here -- 4 different kickers and all struggled -- which is either due to the ST coordinator he hired or due to his constant complaining and heaping more pressure on kickers. The defense has piled up good stats, but doesn't get many turnovers and has gotten steamrolled by good offenses ever since the playoffs last year.

He looks old and defeated.

Contrast that to Pete Carroll. I can't believe the Seahawks are going to make the playoffs after losing Chancellor, Sherman, Earl Thomas, and all those other guys. Defense apparently just reloaded with a bunch of no-names.

Did Damarion Williams de-commit?

2. Which committed 2019 player have you seen this winter whose potential impact in college should be getting more notice?


Samuell Williamson
Nick Lucero/Rivals.com
Bossi: I just can't help but think people across the industry haven't made a big enough deal of how good

Samuell Williamson
could be for Louisville. Maybe others haven't seen enough of him or maybe it's him going bonkers when myself and Corey have seen him this season, but he's a guy that we feel will move up from his current spot of No. 35 in the 2019 Rivals150. As far as I'm concerned, he's a McDonald's All-American quality recruit and should be an instant impact guy for Chris Mack.


Evans: We can talk openly about the early struggles at Villanova but what it comes down to their lack of a go-to offensive threat during crunch time. The Wildcats are at their best not just when they have great guard play to go with a low post threat.

Eric Paschall
was expected to be that guy but his efficiency has suffered this year. That is why
Jeremiah Robinson-Earl
is just the guy that Villanova needs. Jay Wright isn’t the biggest advocate on relying heavily on freshmen but Robinson-Earl will force his hand. He is super polished, super mature and super versatile. He continues to expand his game and when we talk about fit, there is not a better one between prospect and college than Robinson-Earl and Villanova.


McDonald:

Tre Williams
of Wastach Academy in Utah is an absolute steal for Richard Pitino and Minnesota. His play at last month's Hoopsgiving event in Atlanta was an eye-opener for me. He's a play-maker, a shot maker, and a high level athlete at 6-foot-4. He should be a good one for the Gophers

The first B1G game is on December 26 so look for the game to begin about 7-10 days in advance at the latest which will give you time to consider all the injuries & defections still to come.

(Bestnick, Whytetail and Tundra -- watch your little message thingy at the top right of the screen for an incoming missive in a little while)...