Per Football Scoop.....

Oregon State: Oregon State has parted ways with its entire coaching staff save for interim head coach Cory Hall, according to The Oregonian. The school will honor their contracts, but the staff was told to evacuate the football facility by Tuesday night.

Mariano Sori-Marin:


Strengths:

· Technically sound in his assignments. Providence used him in a few different ways, lining him up as a Will LB and as an edge defender (like Gophers do with Kamal Martin). As a weakside LB he appropriately stays backside of the running back and plays cutback lane very well. As an edge defender, he doesn’t give up ground at the point of attack and sets the edge, not allowing RB’s to bounce outside of him
· Good athlete. Played safety last year for Providence, and played WR for them this year
· Former safety. Understands coverages and plays his zone well, looking up threats


Weaknesses:

· Tends to leave his feet at times when he tackles. That will need to be corrected at the next level
· Straight line speed. While he put on weight from last year, he also seems to have a lost a step. His speed doesn’t pop off on film like it does for Braelen Oliver or Rush.

Sori-Marin, I believe, projects as more of a SAM LB for the Gophers, since he doesn’t give up ground at the point of attack and takes on blocks well. That will allow Oliver/other LB’s to run freely as Mike or Will LB’s. I don’t expect to see any of the linebacker commits playing next year barring injury, but Sori-Marin probably has the best chance since he’s technically sound and physically is the most ready. Should be a solid player for Minnesota down the road.

I keep hearing about the 0-12 to 12-0 performance, so I decided to do some looking. Reality is a bit different.

The year before they went 0-12, they went 9-4-1 under George O'Leary (the year before that they went 12-1), then O'Leary started 0-8 and resigned. An assistant ran the team to another 4 losses. Then Frost takes the team and doesn't go 12-0, but 6-7 in his first year. Then he goes 12-0.

Another point is quality of players. Throughout O'Leary's tenure, he constantly recruited in the top 3 in the conference, with a class average of about 62-3 in the nation. Frost's two classes were only slightly better, at 65th in 2016 and 55th in 2017.

So, Scott Frost is definitely a good coach, and probably a decent recruiter, but I certainly wouldn't put him above PJ Fleck, especially the way the current recruiting class is building.

A little postscript: He tried to steal Grant Norton and Norton declined.

warning: Bible stuff
Got Jesus?
September 23, 2017


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PREVIEW: GOPHERS AT ARKANSAS



Dec. 8, 2017

#14/15 Minnesota (8-2) at Arkansas (6-2)
Date / Time Saturday, Dec. 9 | 5:45 p.m.
Location Bud Walton Arena - Fayetteville, Ark.
Tickets Click Here
TV SEC Network
Live Video WatchESPN
Radio KFAN 100.3 FM
Live Stats Click Here
Live Update Click Here
Game Notes Minnesota | Arkansas
Official Sites Minnesota | Arkansas
Social Media Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, December 9, 2017
Time: 5:45 p.m. CT
Location: Fayetteville, Ark.
Arena: Bud Walton Arena (19,200)
TV/Live Video: SEC Network - Matt Schick (Play-by-Play); Pat Bradley (Analyst)
Radio: Learfield/KFAN 100.3 FM - Mike Grimm (Play-by-Play); Spencer Tollackson (Analyst)
Satellite Radio: Sirius 137/XM 190

SERIES INFORMATION
Series: Sixth Meeting (2-3)
Series (Away): Second Meeting (0-1)
Current Streak: W-1
Richard Pitino vs. Arkansas: Third Meeting (1-1)
Minnesota vs. SEC: 19-14*
Richard Pitino vs. SEC: 4-1
* - excludes vacated games

STARTING FIVE
• The Minnesota men's basketball returns to the non-conference schedule after a brief foray into Big Ten play, traveling to Arkansas on Saturday. The game is the second of a home-and-home series that began last year in Minneapolis, an 85-71 Gopher win. It is Minnesota's first road game at an SEC school since Dec. 7, 2001 (Georgia 77, Minnesota 55).
• Jordan Murphy is leading the team averaging 19.9 points (B1G: 2nd) and 12.8 rebounds (B1G: 1st/NCAA: 2nd)per game through the first 10 games. Murphy has posted 10 double-doubles (highest in the country) thus far this season, and the three-time Big Ten Player of the Week became the first Gopher to win the award in back-to-back weeks. Murphy is also just the second Gopher to win it three times in the same season. He is additionally leads the country in offensive rebounds (5.6) per game, as of Dec. 7.
• Reggie Lynch leads the country with 4.5 blocks per game, and this week, Lynch moved past Jeff Hagen (2002-05) and Michael Bauer (2000-04) to take sixth on the Gophers' all-time blocked shots list with 159. He needs just six more to tie Joel Przybilla for the most by any Gopher in two or fewer seasons of play in the Maroon and Gold (165).
• On Sunday, the Gophers snapped a four-game losing streak in B1G openers, winning its first since a 76-63 victory against Michigan State on Dec. 31, 2012. Last season, the Gophers dropped a 75-74 overtime decision versus the Spartans, and had previously lost conference-opening tilts at Ohio State, at Purdue during 2014-15, and at home versus Michigan. Since 1980-81, the Gophers are 12-20 in Big Ten openers (excluding vacated seasons).
• Head coach Richard Pitino won his 100th career game on Nov. 25 against Alabama. Pitino is one of five active Division I head coaches who have reached the 100 career victory mark in their sixth season or sooner.

SCOUTING THE RAZORBACKS
• Arkansas is 6-2 on the season including a perfect 4-0 mark at home. The Razorbacks' two losses came vs. North Carolina (87-68) in the PK80 Invitational in Portland, and at Houston (91-65) a week ago.
• Jaylen Barford leads the five Razorbacks averaging double figures with 19.6 points per game, a figure that ranks third in the SEC.
• Arkansas leads the SEC and ranks 23rd in the nation with a turnover margin of +4.9.

GOPHERS VS. THE SEC
• Minnesota has amassed a record of 19-14 against the current membership of the Southeastern Conference.
• That total includes the following individual opponent records: Alabama (1-2), Arkansas (2-3), Florida (1-1), Georgia (4-1), Kentucky (1-3), Ole Miss (2-0), Missouri (2-0), South Carolina (0-2), Tennessee (0-1), Texas A&M (1-1), Vanderbilt (5-0). Games that were later vacated are excluded from that list.
• The Gophers will face two SEC opponents this year in Alabama (Nov. 25) and Arkansas (Dec. 9). This is the second straight year of facing two SEC foes - prior to that, Minnesota hadn't played two SEC schools in the same year since 1997 (Alabama & Kentucky), results that were later vacated.
• Head coach Richard Pitino is facing a SEC opponent for the sixth time. He is no stranger to the conference, however, spending two seasons on Billy Donovan's staff at Florida.

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Link: Spann-Ford ready to row at eLITe18 Palooza

I was checking the SEC channel to be sure I still had it for the game tomorrow and ran across a show called Bo, Barkley and the Big Hurt. It was a show about Auburn athletes Charles Barkley, Bo Jackson and Frank Thomas who all played there in the 80s. It truly was a special time for a college to have those 3 play in the same decade. The Gophers best decade to try and match these would probably be the 70s with Winfield, McHale and Dungy. They wouldn’t beat the Auburn trio as they are phenomenal but our 3 wouldn’t be bad though Dungy came later as a coach. If I had to choose a football player during that decade it would probably be Rick Upchurch who was just scintillating. FYI the show was very good.

If Schiano were to end up at Tennessee, I wonder if he would try to pilfer some of the Gopher staff members?

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How fast is he, looks really fast on video?

Link: Reigelsperger ready to be a Gopher

Mods,
How many more OL are we taking?

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Daniel Fa'alele

Link: Norton's found his home as a Gopher

Link: Four-star Bateman in high demand but remains committed

GOPHERS LAUNCH HOLIDAY AUCTION



Dec. 8, 2017

This holiday season, Gopher Athletics is offering fans an opportunity to give or receive unique Gopher memorabilia while also supporting student-athlete scholarships as part of the first-ever Gopher Holiday Winter Auction.

The auction, which goes live on Friday, December 8, will feature a cross-section of signed items, game-worn apparel, and other pieces exclusively available through Gopher Athletics.

As fans get their hands on these hard-to-find and one-of-a-kind pieces, they will also be supporting more than 720 Gopher student-athletes who have helped make Minnesota the nation's number one public school for student-athlete academic achievement in each of the past four years. All proceeds from the Gopher Holiday Winter Auction will go directly to the Gopher Student-Athlete Scholarship Fund. This fund is a key source for covering the department's annual scholarship bill, which will be more than $12.5 million this year.

Some items available in the auction include: an all-Gold game helmet featuring the Block M on one side and Goldy's face on the other (worn by the football team in its 34-3 win on Sep. 16), a basketball signed by Richard Pitino or Marlene Stollings, a volleyball signed by Hugh McCutcheon, and a game-worn Gopher hockey jersey.

To view all the available items and place your bids to support scholarships for Gopher student-athletes, please visit z.umn.edu/holidayauction.

If you have questions about the auction, the items available, or the Gopher Student-Athlete Scholarship Fund, please contact the Golden Gopher Fund at (612) 624-GOLD or at ggf@umn.edu.

Rashod Bateman:

Positives:

• Elite athlete. He’s a natural pass catcher that is incredibly smooth
• Very dangerous after the catch. He has good feet, especially for his size, and reads blocks well
• Wins 50-50 balls. Shown by his ability to play basketball, he attacks the ball at it’s highest point and can go over the top of defenders

Negatives:

• Good not great route runner. Let me preface by saying that pretty much no high schoolers are precise route runners, but it something he’ll continue to work on at the next level. I trust Coach Simon to improve that
• Is slight in his frame. Will need to put on strength down the line
• Will need to learn release techniques at the next level. His tape hardly showed him working against press coverage, and given his slight frame, DB’s are going to try and be physical off the line with him

Rashod is a newly rated four-star for a reason, and someone we should be very excited about. All of the concerns with him are very typical of high school wide receivers. He’s an effortless athlete with tremendous ball skills and is excellent after the catch. I believe he’ll play from day one for playing time.

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Gophers offer 2019 3* Michigan OLB Lance Dixon. He has P5 offers from Minnesota, Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina State, Penn State, Purdue, Syracuse, and Wisconsin.

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@Matt Jessen-Howard @Connor Stevens

Per ESPN. No surprise here but will strengthen the West with another bright young coach.

Brevyn Spann-Ford


Strengths:

· Smooth athlete with size. Has an extremely large catch radius; his tape shows him making all sorts of catches on balls thrown his way
· Great hands. He is a natural pass catcher. Looks comfortable split out wide.
· Basketball player. Consistently wins 1v1 battles and jump balls
· Good use of hands vs. jams/press coverage. Rarely allows players to get their hands into his chest and interrupt his route

Weaknesses:

· Straight-line speed. Doesn’t have the typical burst on film that most D1 players have
· Not extremely quick footed. Not as concerning for tight ends
· Will need to learn blocking techniques against much bigger players

From an athleticism/size standpoint, Spann-Ford absolutely stands out as a Division I prospect. He’s extremely athletic and smooth for a person of his size. From a pass-catching/athleticism standpoint, he checks all the boxes. Since he projects as a TE, he will need to learn blocking techniques and get used to taking on defensive lineman/linebackers. For a guy his size, his tape didn’t show as many blocking highlights as you’d expect. His speed also will need to be improved upon as that is an area he lacks.

Fleck likes to use tight ends as pass catchers, where Spann-Ford excels. Blocking can be taught, but athleticism cannot. Jason Witten has never been known has quick but has been a standout in the NFL for years. I think Spann-Ford will a mismatch for all teams down the road for the Gophers.

So what's taking Franken so long to resign? Because they're test-running the excuses to focus-groups. To decide what makes Dems look the least bad....and to decide on how to continue the attacks on Roy Moore.

It was the same hospital in which Dieng was born on Jan. 18, 1990. There was nothing electronic at this hospital. Most beds didn’t have mattresses, so patients lay on springs. Babies were warmed in incubators by a lightbulb. The odds of getting decent health care were slim.

“I was visiting someone at the hospital and the doctor that was there was the same doctor I saw when I was in Senegal,” Dieng said. “I went to the visiting room to say hi to him and there was a pregnant lady laying on the ground. I asked him what was going on. He said he was waiting for someone to leave a table so she could lay there. I looked at the room and there was only one table there. No beds.

“I asked him if I could take a tour and see what the hospital needs. The building was OK, but the equipment was the issue. I told the doctor to give me a note and tell me everything that he needs. I told him, ‘I’m not going to promise you anything, but I will do my best to help.’ ”

Dieng has done more than his best to help his hometown and Senegal...

They began outlining a plan to aid Dieng’s hometown hospital. Matter next shipped medical supplies to Senegal. Through Dieng’s connections, the equipment sent overseas was able to get through customs relatively smoothly after a journey that took about a month. Matter sent beds, furniture and other hospital basics for treatment.

“After that meeting, I went back to the office, pushed pause on everything and said, ‘We’re going to help Gorgui send medical equipment back to this hospital where he was born,’ ” Marty said. “Within about two weeks, we had a 40-foot container on the water sent back to Senegal, where Gorgui was born and raised. That was the beginning of our relationship.”..

Marty and a contingent from Matter joined Dieng for a site visit to Senegal in 2014. Marty has seen struggling hospitals all over the world, but he was shocked by what he saw in Dieng’s hometown, saying the hospital had equipment that was “about 50 years behind the times.” Marty immediately began thinking about what more Matter could do to help through Dieng’s foundation.

“Over the last 20 years, because of the work that I do, I’ve seen a lot of dilapidated hospitals,” Marty said. “This one was among the worst. It was pretty small. I just remember seeing a lot of moms with kids that were sick, but the hospital didn’t have the resources to take care of them. Just walking through with Gorgui was a somber experience, knowing that this is where this guy playing in the NBA was born. It was still a place where people didn’t get the treatment they deserved.”

Today, the hospital in Dieng’s hometown is much improved, thanks to Matter and Dieng’s foundation. Another problem in Senegal was a lack of dialysis treatment centers in a country stricken with masses of people with kidney problems. A 200-bed dialysis center was opened in 2016 through Dieng’s foundation and the aid of Matter and other donors. There is also a new neonatal center to help babies. Marty said there are also Wolves season-ticket holders and Minnesota businesses that are aiding Dieng’s foundation.

In July 2018, Matter will join Dieng again with a contingent of about 20 people going to Senegal to tour his projects.

“It’s a much well-oiled machine now that the Gorgui Dieng Foundation is established,” said Marty, who has made three trips to Senegal. “We now have a whole system of requests that Gorgui is getting to help people. It went from the first container helping one hospital to people all over the country requesting our assistance. Within a couple years, we have a program that will go well into the future to help the whole country.

“The hospitals have been upgraded significantly. Now they are able to serve people with dignity and give them the care they need and should have.”

Dieng said he owns more than 100 acres in Senegal that he uses for farming, and it is not uncommon to see him on a tractor or tending to the animals. It also serves as a training ground for local and aspiring farmers.

Goats, lambs, chickens, cows and sheep are raised on Dieng’s land, with employees working the farm. It is difficult to grow fruits and vegetables because the farm has sandy soil on the edge of the Sahara desert. With the aid of Matter, Dieng’s foundation is teaching people how to farm more intelligently and successfully in Senegal. Matter provided the farmers with repurposed equipment from Minnesota farms in 2016. Dieng also has agricultural students working on his farm to gain experience while also aiding them with scholarships.

“Farming is very big in Africa, but people don’t do it the proper way,” Dieng said. “I love farming. Through my foundation, I can train people. I give up my own land so people can practice the proper way to farm. When they finish, they can help their own farm and my foundation can help them with pretty much anything they need. It helped them stabilize their community so people don’t have to go to the city to make money. You can farm where you are, the proper way, get great results and make a way of living.

https://theundefeated.com/features/...o-his-native-senegal-partnership-with-matter/

Gopher Commits:

Coach Callahan visited Brevyn Spann-Ford at school on Monday in-home this week. Callahan and Fleck then went to Missouri to see Grant Norton. Josh Aune and Benny Sapp were visited on Monday by Minnesota too.

Coach Callahan visited Tyrik Henderson on Tuesday. Coach Fleck, Burns, Smith, Linguist, and Warriner went to Florida to see C.J. Smith. Robb Smith and Bryce Paup also saw Mayan Ahanotu on Tuesday.

Coach Fleck, Linguist, and Simon were in to see Rashod Bateman on his birthday yesterday. Coach Warinner and Bryce Paup are visiting Alex Reigelsperger today. Coach Fleck’s visiting him on Monday.

Coach Fleck and Warriner visited Austin Beier today, and Fleck and will see Erik Gibson with Matt Simon later today (probably right now). Gibson will get a visit from Kenni Burns next week. Kenni Burns and Kirk Ciarrocca are visiting Nolan Edmonds.

Ed Warinner will visit Thomas Rush tomorrow. Fleck will visit with Rush on Monday.

Mo Linguist will be visiting Terell Smith on Monday and probably Abi Okonji as well. Abi told Connor multiple coaches will be in to see him Monday. Fleck, Smith, and Callahan will all see Elijah Teague on Monday.

On Tuesday, Fleck, Smith, and Linguist will visit Braelen Oliver.

Jack York tells TGR that the staff will be in some time next week.

Coach C will be visiting Vic Viramontes on Saturday while he is in California.

All commits will receive visits this week or next week, so the ones I didn’t mention (Mariano Sori-Marin, Bryce Williams, Nathan Boe, Jornell Manns, Logan Richter) all have either received visits this week already or will get them next week.

2018 Gopher Targets:

Coach Wenger and Burns were in to see three-star Baylor RB commit Craig “Sqwirl” Williams yesterday. He should be visiting next weekend.

After speaking to Rivals250 four-star center Verdis Brown, he said “almost all of the coaches” from Minnesota came to visit him at IMG on Tuesday. He just decommitted from FSU, and Minnesota is trying to set up an official visit so we’ll keep you posted about if he’s back next week. As far as we know, nothing’s finalized.

Coaches also visited PWO QB commit Zack Annexstad and four-star Florida offensive line commit Curtis Dunlap. They visited on Tuesday and may be back to IMG next week.

Kirk Ciarrocca will be in to see QB Matthew Baldwin at some point this week.

Some members of the Minnesota staff were in to see JUCO lineman Jahmir Johnson and likely Randon Haynes as well.

Coach Linguist was in to see three-star DB Taiyon Palmer who just decommited from Duke. Coach Mo went to reaffirm his offer to Minnesota.

2019 Gopher Targets:

Ciarrocca is visiting Rivals250 QB Hank Bachmeier tomorrow.

Coach Paup was in to see linebacker Nick Henrich (so likely Chris Hickman too) on Tuesday.

Paup and Ciarrocca were in to see QB Max Duggan earlier this week. He also saw defensive end Blake Peterson earlier this week.

Warinner saw four-star Rivals250 WR Mershawn Rice yesterday.

Eden Prairie’s Cole Kraemer told us that he was told coaches would be in too see him soon.

Coach Warinner will be visiting 5.7 rated three-star defensive end Dontay Hunter next week

Coach Wenger was in Kansas City on Monday to see ELITE 2019 DT Cooper Beebe @kcgorilla

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Who hates Iowa?