Gary Trent was Duke's leading scorer today in #1 Duke's loss to Boston College. He scored 25 points. He would have looked good in maroon and gold. Is he a "one and done" player for Duke?

Lost to BC. Nebraska beat BC. Nebraska > Duke

When do you think we'll see a new commitment from the weekend visitors?

I saw the video of PJ Fleck in some of the ball drills competing with the players.. He won most of the battles.. My guess is that even though Fleck is not real big, he would probably be more than a handful in a fight. I know the fights that I have seen or been in during my teen years, the big guys just need to hit you a couple times to be effective but I always thought smaller guys could be a lot tougher in a fight because they were quicker. Another example for the older guys is Cliff Harris, former safety for the Dallas Cowboys.. I have older friends from Texas that knew of him and said more than once that a bigger fan, TE, lineman, or LB would try to pick a fight with Harris and when it was all over, Harris was standing and the bigger guy lying on the ground bloodied with missing teeth or a broken jaw. Fleck looks to me like he would have a bit of an 'edge' to him in desiring and showing others he could overcome despite natural circumstances.. Which is a good thing.

That said, I would love to ask him a question about recruiting WRs. He was one himself and again, not a big guy.. Corey Davis wasn't a big guy at Western Michigan.. Mohammed Sanu had a bit of size when Fleck was an assistant out there.. MY POINT IS THAT HE IS RECRUITING A LOT OF MORE SLIGHT BUILT RECEIVERS.. I find that interesting, NOT WRONG, seeing that we don't have a proven QB with good accuracy.

I remember Dan Marino having the 'mighty mites' to throw to in WRs Mark Duper and Mark Clayton at Miami...I still feel that if I had 2 receivers like Jerry Rice and Steve Largent that I would do fine in the passing game in any generation. Rice and Largent weren't necessarily big nor fast.. Though Rice could be as fast as he needed to be at a given time.

I admit that I like the big receivers like Aaron Hosack, Eric Decker, Drew Wolitarsky, etc. with the large catching radius to mitigate a QB that may not be so accurate..Can muscle the corners for position to move the chains on 3rd down..I am not sure that we have anyone like that on our team now... THE ADVANTAGE of the small guys is if they have good technique, they can make quick cuts and breaks on the ball.. Rather have quick and precise routes that can create separation so I understand the small guys' advantage.

I am NOT SUGGESTING that Fleck has 'NAPOLEON COMPLEX' when it comes to recruiting receivers..Maybe getting guys that are like himself that may need to overcome size with an attitude of showing they have something to prove. Though I am sure when he was going through school himself that he had to prove his abilities against bigger guys..

Chris Bell, Mark Williams(yes he was a QB), Harry Van Dyne, Jornell Manns, Rashod Bateman, Philip Howard are all slighter guys though Van Dyne has some height... Hmielewski and Tyler Johnson arent big guys, either.. I wonder if that is philosophical for Fleck in how he recruits WRs or is that just the playmakers he happened to find in recruiting in the last couple years..

Bigger receivers are more forgiving with the passes but we SURELY know that does not guarantee success on the field.. Examples being Isaiah Gentry, Melvin Holland, Hunter Register and Rashad Still.. None panned out for us.. NOT TRYING TO STIR UP TROUBLE HERE but just think this is interesting though our QB situation hopefully is looking up.

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.