Did anybody watch? How did KJ and Murray do?

Pick your hairstyle.

FSN main channel, 4PM.

Jan Brady U edged Mankato State Teachers College in the opener.

Has it been determined yet which geographic areas Jay Johnson and Bart Miller will be responsible for? It seems like Johnson has a lot of contacts in areas covered by Sawvel.

3 star guy had committed at end of last weekend..

http://www.onthebanks.com/2016/1/30...cruiting-korab-idrizi-flips-to-boston-college

Penn State flipped the Rutgers kicker earlier this week.

Jayson Ness Qualifies for U.S. Olympic Team Trials

Ness’ title at the Dave Schultz Memorial International in Colorado Springs clinched a spot for him at April’s U.S. Olympic Team Trials


Jayson Ness' dominant performance in Colorado Springs on Saturday clinched his spot in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials

GopherSports.com
Jan. 29, 2016

Jayson Ness won the 65-kilogram title in freestyle at the Dave Schultz Memorial International in Colorado Springs, Colo. on Saturday, a victory that guarantees the former Gopher and 2010 NCAA champion a spot in the U.S. Olympic Team Trails this April.

Ness won the title in definitive fashion, allowing just one point throughout his four matches. Ness began his day with a pin at 1:47 of his first bout, before earning tech falls over fellow Gopher alum Nick Dardanes (12-1), Chase Pami (10-0) and, in the finals, Bernard Futrell (10-0).

Five other Gopher alums were in action on Friday and Saturday at the Olympic Training Center.

In Greco-Roman competition on Friday, Alec Ortiz placed third at 75 kilograms with a 3-1 effort. A semifinal loss to Corey Hope was the only hiccup for Ortiz on the day. Dylan Ness also wrestled Greco in the event, competing at 66 kilograms. Ness opened with a pair of victories before a consecutive losses eliminated him from the field.

The freestylers took the mat on Saturday and the 65 kilogram bracket was rife with Gophers. Though he lost to Ness, Nick Dardanes put together a 3-2 tournament that included tech fall victories over both Jimenez Darnelio in the opening round and Michael Dunkum during wrestlebacks. Chris Dardanes also wrestled in the event, but went winless. At 57 kilograms, Zach Sanders went 1-2 with an opening round tech fall before a pair of losses by decision.

Full match-by-match results for the six former Gophers in the field are below.



Match-by-Match Results

66 kg Greco

Dylan Ness (2-2)
Champ Rnd 1: Dylan Ness tech fall Hector Castillo, 11-0
Quarters: Dylan Ness tech fall Jamel Johnson, 12-4
Semis: Alejandro Sancho dec Dylan Ness, 9-5
Cons Semis: Hayden Tuma tech fall Dylan Ness, 8-0

75 kg Greco

Alec Ortiz (3-1, 3rd Place)
Champ Rnd 1: Bye
Quarters: Alec Ortiz dec Jesse Porter, 6-2
Semis: Corey Hope tech fall Alec Ortiz, 10-0
Cons Semis: Alec Ortiz fall (5:10) Jefrin Mejia
3rd Place: Alec Ortiz dec Kamal Bey, 19-12

57 kg Freestyle

Zach Sanders (1-2)
Champ Rnd 1: Zach Sanders tech fall Reynhardt Louw, 10-0
Quarters: Stevan Micic dec Zach Sanders, 13-7
Round of 12: Ben Kjar dec Zach Sanders, 6-2

65 kg Freestyle

Jayson Ness
Champ Rnd 1: Jayson Ness fall (1:47) Michael Mitchell
Quarters: Jayson Ness tech fall Nick Dardanes, 12-1
Semis: Jayson Ness tech fall Chase Pami, 10-0
Finals: Jayson Ness Bernard Futrell

Nick Dardanes (3-2)
Champ Rnd 1: Nick Dardanes tech fall Jimenez Darnelio, 10-0
Quarters: Jayson Ness tech fall Nick Dardanes, 12-1
Round of 12: Nick Dardanes forfeit Chris Dardanes
Cons Quarters: Nick Dardanes tech fall Michael Dunkum, 10-0
Cons Semis: Nazar Kulchytsky tech fall Nick Dardanes, 12-0

Chris Dardanes (0-2)
Champ Rnd 1: Dave Habat dec Chris Dardanes, 9-1
Cons Rnd 1: Bye
Round of 12: Nick Dardanes forfeit Chris Dardanes

I'd be happy with Fant, Lindsey, Johnson ,and Williams. I think Snelson is gone. If we keep the rest in tact, this is a solid class guys.

Illinois with 11 official visitors this weekend.

Tonight's game on paper seems scary.

Purdue is the best rebounding team in the nation, Minnesota one of the worst.

Going in though, know that two years ago, Purdue was in a very similar spot to where Minnesota is now. They can be somewhat of a blueprint for the Gophers. And maybe for the fans hoping the Gophers can match the same tracks.

Remember, two years ago Purdue lost 7 in a row, 12 of 14 in Big Ten play. The next year they were in the Dance.

https://minnesota.n.rivals.com/news/purdue-pregame-2

We did pretty well early on.

http://mweb.cbssports.com/ncaaf/wri...0-years?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

I'll update this thread as I hear more, as I don't think everything has been set up yet. There will certainly be less recruits receiving visits, as you would expect with things getting closer to Signing Day.

Monday

• A Gopher coach, presumably Phelps, will visit Noah Fant tomorrow at school and basketball practice. There may be more than Phelps on this visit.
• Reeves will visit Ko Kieft tomorrow in school.
• Sawvel will do an in-home visit with Antoine Winfield Jr.

Tuesday

• Miller and Reeves will do an in-home visit with Trystan Castillo. This is a huge visit, as he announces a decision the next day and Missouri is apparently will be his decision. If the Gophers are his last coaches he talks to, there's a chance.
• Tamarion Johnson will have a Gopher coach watch his basketball game. I would assume it's Reeves or Phelps.
• Sawvel is visiting longtime target Daniel Thomas, who has picked up some P5 offers. If the Gophers want him, they'll probably have to set up an official visit. Apparently South Carolina is the favorite for Thomas right now, with North Carolina as #2.
• Sawvel will also visit defensive end Kelvin Lucky. Lucky has received some contact throughout the contact period. It will be interesting to see what happens here, as he's visiting Texas this weekend, and the Gophers would have to get him on campus to land him.

Wednesday

• Sawvel will see Coney Durr for sure, and I imagine Lloyd Cushenberry too.
• Johnson will visit DeMarcus Williams.
• Anderson and Poore have an in-home visit with Arkeem Byrd.

Thursday

• Jay Johnson will do an in-home visit with Dredrick Snelson.

Friday

• Sawvel will visit Kiondre Thomas.

Saturday

• Claeys has an in-home visit with Sam Schlueter.

Sunday

• Conner Olson has a visit with a Gopher coach, probably Miller.

Other notes

• I would think that just about all of the staff will be back in Minnesota on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to host the official visitors. Saturday is Junior Day, so they'll for sure all be back then.
• Kansas cornerback commit Ian Peterson says he'll receive a visit from Sawvel, but that the date is up in the air.
• Chase Allen told me he doesn't anticipate Minnesota coming. I think we can say that door is closed.

Daniel Thomas tells me he'll be on campus today and tomorrow for an official visit. Thomas has been the top safety target without an offer forever. I do think he might have a spot regardless of Tyrez Lindsey's decision (which should come soon). UNC, South Carolina, and Auburn jave all been involved. Minnesota was on him way before any of those three, though. Sawvel was talking to Thomas quite a bit back when he only had a couple FCS offers. Edit: also read my other thread that lays out Thomas' entire situation.

I don't know if somebody already covered this, but is Maye in the Senior Bowl? I thought he was, but he isn't listed on the roster on the senior bowl website

Badger Blitz tells me that Muskego (Wisc.) defensive lineman Sam White has committed to Minnesota as a preferred walk-on. You can watch his Hudl here.

Sorry I didn't post this earlier. Nunez has left to become the tight ends coach and special teams coordinator at Southern Illinois. Not exactly sure what that means for specialist recruiting, but I'll look into it.

If you're still thinking, stop the wheels, line up the 7's and get 'er done. 1PM today (Friday) is the deadline for registration for next Wednesday's LOI Signing Day Party in the DQ Room high in the lofts of The Bank. (We need to know the # attending early for the caterer.)

Some highlights include a close look at the recruit highlight reel on multiple screens; very informal meet & greet not only with the coaching staff but with many of the behind the scenes people that make things go - equipment, training, medical, strength, recruiting, digital, and other department assistants and staff; light dinner buffet to take the edge off before & after wings across the street; adult beverages available; photographic opportunities with cheerleaders, Goldy & treasures from the past; (tentative) - autograph session with current players; silent auction for Gopher tickets and items; Coach Claeys talk & evaluations; mingling with Interweb superstars and bullies and more.

The yearly talk & Q&A by Director of Recruiting Billy Glasscock is worth the price of admission to any of the frequenters of GI, Scout, 24/7 or the other places; if you haven't seen it before, the same is true of the tours of the Gopher locker room that will be available.

Parking will be available in the Maroon (& Gold?) lots at a nominal cost (usually $3 or $5); entrance as usual will be through the Benton County entrance by the stadium ticket windows. The link below will take you directly to registration for the event...
http://goallineclub.com/

any ideas where he'll be visiting this weekend?

Big recruiting win for Minnesota as Tamarion Johnson tells me he'll be here this weekend. Remember, Purdue, Iowa, and Iowa State all offered recently and pushed for visits.

Update: Visiting Iowa State on Sunday

Link: Noah Fant radio segment on Soundcloud

Above is Noah Fant on the radio or a podcast. I haven't listened to it yet as I'm in class, but I will soon.

I'm told (maybe this was on this radio thing, I don't know)...

• He's still visiting Minnesota and already has plane tickets. This we knew.
• Visiting Minnesota got him in trouble with his basketball team. So that's a clear sign of significant interest in Minnesota.
• Iowa is still recruiting others at his position.

With that being known, Minnesota has a better chance of landing Fant than I originally thought. He'll still be a tough flip, but there's obviously some serious interest on his end.

Hawkeye Report got this message from Spencer's mom: "Spencer will NOT be visiting MN. Yes he was offered an official. He's a Hawkeye. It would be tough for anyone to change that."

http://m.jsonline.com/sports/badger...xas-defensive-back-b99659475z1-366712911.html

Had been at USC, Washington. Tennessee, Boise.

From Sid this morning.
http://www.startribune.com/moving-from-place-to-place-taught-gophers-qb-seth-green-plenty/366791231/

Fairly normal blah article from Sid, but one quote of note below. It fits with the older Claeys quote about being happy with 70% (or whatever the % was) of the offense. I still think they will and should add some pepper to the offense this year for sure.

Green said he has liked the Gophers' system and doesn't expect that to change under new coaches.

"It's a good system, especially with [newly hired offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Jay] Johnson here, I feel like he's going to do a good job of utilizing all of the quarterbacks' abilities and strengths to try and get points on the board," Green said

Fwiw:

gobie tweets that Tyler impressed 247 evaluators at Semper Fi all star game and will be bumped to their highest 3* available,

matches Rivals, which gives him a 5.7, just short of four star.

Scout has him as #6 safety in Midwest, #52 in nation.

Curious to see what Gophs do with Johnson, Howard, Martin and Hmielewski. Four guys who have raw tools to do a lot of things. I think all multi sport guys.

Ryan James had a Tweet about Hmielewski looking like he has been in weight room.

seven or eight guys transferring, bunch of decommits

http://www.thechampaignroom.com/201...nsfer-announcement-linebacker-fighting-illini

Loses dline coach to Eagles

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/sec/university-of-missouri/article56865013.html

Chris Boucher, the JUCO big we were recruiting HEAVILY last year and were a finalist for (between us, Tech and Oregon), is third in the country in blocks right now with 65 this season. Here is his ESPN profile. Can you imagine how much better we would be with a rim protector like that in our lineup right now?

This, the development of Jaquan Newton (who we also were recruiting heavily but he went to Miami), and the JP Macura stuff really makes me wonder what this team could have been like this year with just a few more pieces we missed on.

Clearly Pitino, and this staff, can evaluate and recruit talent. Still think preaching and being patient is the way to go...