Nolan Edmonds:


Strengths:

· Exceptionally quick for a bigger back. He has great initial burst through the line
· Is decisive in his cuts. Doesn’t wait and dance around in the backfield for the hole
· Strong enough to run through arm tackles of LB’s and DB’s


Weaknesses:

· Isn’t a natural pass catcher. His film only showed him catching a few screens, and he didn’t appear to have natural pass-catching skills
· Top end speed. Tape showed him being caught up to from behind by defensive backs. If that happens at the high school level, will happen at the Division-I level

Edmonds is listed at 205 pounds, but I think with his frame he’ll get up to 215-220 rather quickly. With McCrary graduating, I believe Edmonds has a great chance to play right away if injuries occur to Rodney Smith/Shannon Brooks. His high school team ran a spread offense with a lot of inside zone/counter schemes like the Gophers, so there will be familiarity with the system and running lanes. I’m very excited about Nolan and think he’ll be an impact player for the Gophers.

is there a pinned thread with a collection of senior year highlights for our current commits?

I would love to be able to see what our guys looked like this year!

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Gophers offer 2019 3* Georgia CB Warren Burrell. He has P5 offers from Minnesota, Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan State, Mississippi State, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wake Forest.

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@Matt Jessen-Howard @Connor Stevens

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Iowa and Iowa State have both offered for football.

Football Profile

Basketball Profile

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Gophers offer 2020 Nebraska WR Zavier Betts. He has P5 offers from Minnesota, Iowa State, and Nebraska.

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@Matt Jessen-Howard @Connor Stevens

from the Scoop:

Throughout this search, sources told FootballScoop that Ed Warinner has remained the one Power 5 assistant that has shown true interest. We’re told the veteran Power 5 assistant and current Minnesota run game coordinator has the support of Nick Saban, Urban Meyer and P.J. Fleck for the job. And yet, somehow, Warinner has not been offered the job.

http://footballscoop.com/news/update-kent-state/

Really happy for him.

http://m.startribune.com/jack-morris-elected-to-baseball-hall-of-fame/463251813/?section=/

Nathan Boe:


Strengths:

· Mobility. First thing that I noticed on film is how quick he is. He consistently gets a step on nose tackles due to his quick first step and rapidly climbs to the second level.
· Athleticism: Gets to the second level and doesn’t allow linebackers to run around his blocks.
· Leverage. Boe utilizes leverage in a couple ways: he comes off low getting under lineman, but he also has a knack for when he does fit somebody straight on, he torques his hips and abdomen to seal them off
· Effort. Blocks to the whistle every time. The best OL I’ve evaluated from this class so far in terms of always blocking to the whistle and driving opponents to the ground.

Weaknesses:

· Size. Boe is listed at 6’4” and 250 pounds, so he’ll have to put on some strength/weight to be ready to physically compete.

Boe projects as a center at the next level with his mobility and size. From a technical standpoint, I am really impressed with Boe. He’s fundamentally sound, has impressive effort, and is quick for an offensive lineman. I think Boe is a sleeper of this class. He may not have been recruited as heavily as other players from an offers standpoint, but I believe with a couple years in a Division-I S&C program that he is going to be a very good center down the road.

Too bad about him, never wish that upon anyone. However, I suspect this will help the Vikes a bit.

THE MURPH FACTOR



Dec. 12, 2017

by Tommy Sletten, Athletic Communications Student Assistant

In the last decade, only two players in Division I men’s basketball have started the season with 12 consecutive double-doubles: Kansas State’s Michael Beasley during the 2007-2008 season, and this season, Gophers junior Jordan Murphy.

Beasley, a future No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft, went on to be the Big 12 Player of the Year that season, and Murphy has similarly found success and accolades.

Murphy leads the Big Ten in points and rebounds, with 20.3 and 13, respectively. Murphy’s 13 rebounds per game is also good for first in the nation. His 12 double-doubles is also atop the national leaderboard.

The 6-6 junior dominates opponents inside, and uses his superior athleticism and length to leap over his adversaries and grab seemingly impossible boards.

With just under two minutes to play in Minnesota’s 68-67 win over Drake, Murphy snatched the momentum from the Bulldogs with a powerful offensive board with three defenders around him, and put the ball back up for a quick two points.

That's just one example of Murphy’s high-motor this season. Twelve double-doubles passes the statistics test. But what is seen on the court paints an even clearer picture of how Murphy has impacted the Gophers on both ends of the court.

“I think he’s been terrific,” head coach Richard Pitino said after Minnesota’s 86-74 win at Providence. “What I love about him is he understands that if he plays hard, how good it makes him look. And he’s not a selfish kid, he wants to win.”

Murphy’s drive to win has been hugely impactful for his team, leading Minnesota to a 9-3 record to start the season, and has been a spark plug for his team, opposed to last season.

As a sophomore, Murphy posted averages of 11.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, which are solid numbers worthy of respect.

But, at times, Murphy’s effort on the court for the full 40 minutes was questioned, earning him the nickname “Low-Motor Murph.”

With Murphy’s renaissance this season, Pitino says the nickname may have reached its end.

“He’s just confident right now, he’s saying all the right things, he’s taking the coaching, so yeah, we might have to retire that one,” Pitino said.

From Shooter:

Pssst: After one season as offensive coordinator at Rutgers, there’s some question as to whether ex-Gophers coach Jerry Kill, for health reasons, will return.

http://www.twincities.com/2017/12/0...bridgewater-in-vikings-regular-season-finale/

Here is a discussion about it on the Rutgers board (you all have access to post):

https://rutgers.forums.rivals.com/threads/jerry-kill.136116/

ScarletNation.com story with quotes: Jerry Kill weighing decision on whether to return as Rutgers OC

Link: Edmonds: The family atmosphere at Minnesota is real

I'll post quick quotes from visitors here. Most are on the plane home right now and a few I believe are on their visit until 8:30 tonight, so Connor and I will update this thread as we get more quotes. We'll also have full stories coming up too.

Erik Gibson: “I had fun! The visit went well. I enjoyed myself. My favorite part had to be eating or being hypnotized by the hypnosis.”

Jack York: “The visit was great! The go carts were freaking legit man, that was fun.”

Benny Sapp: “It was elite! My favorite part was being hypnotized last night. What impressed me the most was the two big boys! Big Dan and big Curt committed yesterday.”

Terell Smith: “I just loved everything.”

Thomas Rush: “The visit was amazing, beyond words to describe it. I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed getting to see everyone and meeting more players. Overall I was impressed with Coach Fleck’s presentation to the whole recruiting class last night about what’s going to happen in the future with us.”

Abi Okonji: “It was elite! The hypnosis act was really cool and hearing Coach Fleck speak about the culture is always impressive.”

Trevor Oppedal: “I’m really excited to play with my friends and be here for the next part of my life. The coaches and the people that make this all happen impressed me the most. It’s a new culture that I’m excited for.”

Micah Roane: "It went great! The new facilities were definitely an impressive point of the visit, but the players were all welcoming as well, so that was very fun."

C.J. Smith: "My visit was ELITE!! My favorite part was meeting the entire class in person for the first time."

Braelen Oliver: "My visit was great and really can't say what was my favorite. Everything was just fun and we all had a great time."

Jack McNeil: "Visit was amazing. Everything we did was fun but my favorites were the hypnotist and facility tours."

Michael Vojvodich: "The visit was absolutely elite. The Gopher staff did an awesome job planning and coordinating the events."

Jornell Manns: "It was nice. I got there like nine hours late because my flight got canceled, but linked up with all the recruits. I think Minnesota's gonna shock everyone."

Erik Gibson: "It was an amazing, elite visit. What really caught my eye was how big the steak was we ate at Fireside Grill. The photo shoot was really fun."

Antonio Montero: "The visit went great! I was extremely impressed by the energy that the coaches bring and the culture that they're creating."

Mayan Ahanotu: "It was great. My favorite thing was seeing the new facility and driving all around the Minneapolis area."

Jason Dickson: "I committed to Minnesota because of PJ Fleck. He has great energy and passion. The visit was amazing, too...Minnesota came on late so that shows you how good of recruiters they are."

Nolan Edmonds: "The visit went great! My family and I were able to spend time with the commits and their families. We discussed Minnesota, the University of Minnesota academics and athletics as well as the expectations of the school and program."

Link: Gibson recaps eLITe18 Palooza weekend

Niko Medved had his guys ready to play.. It took us 31 minutes to pass them up so they did a good job scouting and hustling.. His team was picked 10th in the preseason in the MVC so he has nothing to lose.. A huge loss to South Dakota but had some nice games against an ACC team(Wake Forest) and a PAC 12 team(Colorado) that he had a close game. I am guessing his assistant, Dave Thorson, is a great resource both in preparation and game management. Congrats to them on a tough game.

I think Niko is connected to his guys and they seemed to respond well.. He ultimately didn't have the horses to beat us but one point is awfully close. A 3 point shooting team can always be dangerous on a given night.

One thing I thought was interesting.. No doubt RIchard wanted to get the ball low to Jordan and Reggie to take advantage of the size difference.. I thought we had a huge size advantage with Amir Coffey on his man, as well.

I am not doubting Richard P's game plan one bit but I thought we may see more 'hi-low' with Jordan and AMIR INSTEAD OF REGGIE... The reason I say that is both are good passing out of the double team low and can dribble hard to the basket from out high... I understand that RIchard may have wanted Amir on the wing for the kickout 3 ball.. But I would have been tempted to run a 'hi-low' with Jordan and Amir because both can handle.. Amir can cause a lot of havoc by driving and drawing defenders for the pass to the post.. Maybe bring Reggie off the weakside and spend time screening on the outside. Sometimes, I feel that Amir does not recognize his talent advantage over the player that is trying to guard him... It seemed that Nate and Dupree would not mind playing more off the ball and set their feet for the 3-ball though Mason does that a ton off his own dribble... I just think that we have to keep Amir Coffey more engaged as he has so much ability untapped, IMO. Going forward, I feel most of our work has to be mental by the coaches and players.. Maybe relational as well.

Tonight we beat a team that was supposed to finish 10th in a mid major conference for this year. Played them at home. Our starters played 172 out of 200 possible minutes.. 86% of minutes played by starters, Gaston had a bucket.. I thought this would be a great game to get Harris involved. I hope that this little break will be good for the team but I hope EVEN MORE that the leadership on the team would get our guys together and air out whatever problems if there are any, or talk through what they need to do to play together the best possible. We still have a ton of work to do but we can do it.

https://uga.forums.rivals.com/threads/bateman-got-an-offer-today.296540/

If true, it's concerning that he hasn't tweeted out the offer like he has the others...

Bateman got an offer today
per my few and sparse connections. my splinter cell says we have a good shot but he likes to row the boat as well.

The next 9 days need to come quicker!

David's preview here.

Drake is an undersized team that beat Wake Forest this year and narrowly lost to Colorado but has also lost three games to mid-majors. They're No. 194 by Kenpom.

@Littlefinger Missing out on all those likes, while the vulture @Viperman69 comes guns blazing with the Twitterverse.



What a great ending to the night!

I’m sure it’s been posted somewhere, but who exactly are they??

Link: Dickson commits to Minnesota after "amazing" visit