I just read the story about what Nebraska is paying their new coach. 7 years at 35 million. So if PJ does come out and goes 9-3 next year will he be looking at another raise? We have to keep up with the rest of the league right?

This will be a running tally for changes in Rivals Ratings for our commitments. I will update accordingly.

Recruits up in Rivals Rating:

Rashod Bateman - bumped to 5.8 4* (previously a 5.6 3*)
Nolan Edmonds - bumped to 5.7 3* (previously a 5.6 3*)
Brevyn Spann-Ford - bumped to 5.6 3* (previously a 5.5 3*)

Recruits down in Rivals Rating:

Terell Smith - lowered down to 5.5 3* (previously a 5.6 3*)

No change in Rivals Rating (so far):

Vic Viramontes - currently a 5.7 3*
CJ Smith - currently a 5.5 3*
Alex Reigelsperger - currently a 5.6 3*
Braelen Oliver - currently a 5.5 3*
Grant Norton - currently a 5.5 3*
Jack York - currently a 5.6 3*
Mayan Ahanotu - currently a 5.4 2*
Bryce Williams - currently a 5.5 3*
Thomas Rush - currently a 5.5 3*
Nathan Boe - currently a 5.5 3*
Josh Aune - currently a 5.4 2*
Mariano Sori-Marin - currently a 5.5 3*
Erik Gibson - currently a 5.5 3*
Jornell Manns - currently a 5.6 3*
Austin Beier - currently a 5.5 3*
Logan Richter - currently a 5.5 3*
Abi Okonji - currently a 5.5 3*
Benny Sapp - currently a 5.6 3*
Elijah Teague - currently a 5.7 3*

http://www.twincities.com/2017/12/0...ramontes-bringing-fire-tats-and-lots-of-hair/

From a couple days ago. I especially like his comment on the training center. "Jaw Dropping" In my mind the place is paying off pronto.

B1G RECOGNIZES 95 GOPHERS FOR ACADEMICS



Dec. 6, 2017 Ninety-five University of Minnesota student-athletes have earned Academic All-Big Ten honors, announced Wednesday by the conference office.

In total, 1,253 student-athletes were recognized by the Big Ten who competed in fall sports across the conference. To be eligible for Academic All-Big Ten selection, students must be in at least their second academic year at their institution and carry a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Minnesota honorees included 32 individuals from the football team, 27 from women’s cross country, 18 from soccer, 13 from men’s cross country and five from volleyball.

Of Minnesota’s fall honorees, three student-athletes from the women’s cross country team, Bethany Hasz, Emily Betz and Abby Kohut-Jackson hold a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.

Football (32)
Colton Beebe, Jr., Finance
Emmit Carpenter, Sr., Supply Chain & Operations Management
Carter Coughlin, So., Undeclared
Coney Durr, So., Undeclared
Clay Geary, So., Undeclared
Jacob Herbers, Jr., Mechanical Engineering
Drew Hmielewski, So., Undeclared
Phillip Howard, So., Undeclared
Julian Huff, Sr., Applied Economics
Merrick Jackson, Sr., Business And Marketing Education
Payton Jordahl, Sr., Youth Studies
Justin Juenemann, Sr., Human Rsrc/Indus Rel M A
Ko Kieft, So., Undeclared
Brandon Lingen, Sr, Supply Chain & Operations Management
Logan McElfresh, Sr., Kinesiology
Gary Moore, Sr., Youth Studies
Matt Morse, Jr., Journalism
Quinn Oseland, Jr., Undeclared
Samuel Pickerign, So., Communication Studies
Will Reger, Sr., Business And Marketing Education
Sam Renner, Jr., Applied Economics
Conor Rhoda, Sr., Human Resource Development
Steven Richardson, Sr., Business And Marketing Education
Ryan Santoso, Sr., Nonprofit Management
Sam Schlueter, So., Undeclared
Bailey Schoenfelder, So., Undeclared
Andrew Stelter, Sr., Kinesiology
Calvin Swenson, So., Physiology
Jared Weyler, Sr., Accounting
Everett Williams, Sr., Agricultural/Food Business Management
Mark Williams, So., Undeclared
Antoine Winfield Jr., So., Undeclared

Women’s Cross Country (27)
Courtney Alama , Sr., Psychology
Amelia Barczi, Sr., Speech, Language, Hearing Sciences
Emily Betz, Jr., Elementary Education
Emily Castanias, Sr., Environmental Engineering
Jenna Conzemius, So., Undeclared
Carissa Dock, Jr., Undeclared
Lindsey Greenlund, So., Undeclared
Bethany Hasz, Jr., Undeclared
Megan Hasz, Jr., Undeclared
Abby Kargol, Sr., Microbiology
Sarah Klecker, Sr., Art
Abby Kohut-Jackson, Jr., Spanish Studies
Abby Lange, Jr., Physiology
Val Larson, So., Undeclared
Zetta Mason, So., Anthropology
Bailey Ness, Sr., Retail Merchandise
Patty O'Brian, Sr., Elementary Education
Paige Peschel, Sr., Kinesiology
Elyse Prescott, Jr., Kinesiology
Samantha Prouty, Sr., Nutrition
Haley Rasmussen, Sr., Biomedical Engineering
Kelsey Sather, Sr., Chemical Engineering
Kelli Schmidt, So., Undeclared
Ally Smith, Jr., Genetics/Cell Biology
Madeline Strandemo, Sr., Marketing
Sarah Werking, Jr., Undeclared
Rachel Wians, Sr., Physiology

Men’s Cross Country (13)
Hamza Ali, So., Pyschology/Nuerology
Alec Basten, So., Undeclared
Sam Carlson, Sr. , Biochemistry
Joey Duerr, Jr., Biochemistry
Evan Ferlic, Jr., Economics
Owen Hoeft, So., Undeclared
Charlie Lawrence, Sr., Sport Management
Connor Olson, Jr., Marketing
Alex Plasencia, So., Undeclared
Nick Rink, So., Nursing
Hunter Staack, So., Undeclared
Shane Streich, Jr., Mathematics
Derek Wiebke, Sr., German, Scandinavian & Dutch Studies

Soccer (18)
Nikki Albrecht, So., Undeclared
Catherine Billings, So., Undeclared
April Bockin, Sr., Kinesiology
Tori Burnett, Sr., Physiology
Maddie Castro, Jr., Psychology
Molly Fiedler, Jr., Family Social Science
Hugrun Fridriksdottir, Jr., Undeclared
Maddie Gaffney, Sr., Kinesiology
Julianna Gernes, Sr., Journalism
Emily Heslin, Jr., Marketing
Megan Koenig, Sr., Biology
Kellie McGahn, Sr., Communication Studies
TJ McKendrick, So., Undeclared
Haley Mennes, So., Undeclared
Emily Peterson, Jr., Accounting
Kailee Sharp, Jr., Family Social Science
Sydney Squires, Sr., Marketing
Marisa Windingstad, So., Undeclared

Volleyball (5)
Maddie Beal, Sr., Global Studies
Sophie Beckley, Jr., Ecology Evolution/Behavior
Lauren Litzau, So., Undeclared
Brittany McLean, So., Undeclared
Dalianliz Rosado, Sr., Youth Studies

As hard as it is to think about, this is our basketball scholarship situation with our bench. Figure with 13 scholarships with 5 used on starters, that leaves 8 scholarships left for bench players.

Transfer - Stockman
Injury - out for the year - Curry
Barely serviceable players in D1 - Konate and Diedhou
A guy that got mop up minutes last year - Hurt
A guy that has had leg problems and been out for a couple of years - Fitzgerald

That is 6 out 8 scholarship players that are backups that we are basically getting little to no production.

The other 2 are freshman guards in Washington and Harris..Not big enough to play anywhere else but backcourt. Really we are getting only offensive production out of Washington.

Missing Curry and Springs from last year, big time

Not to be a downer but that is a recipe for disaster when playing a Big Ten schedule... Need a few of the healthy guys who are eligible to play, to step up. Tonight that got exposed.

I know the correct answer is everyone until they can sign, but is there any waffling that we know about. It seems like most of them are pretty solid.

Congrats to Steven! He will be missed by Gopher fans, and he was fun to cover the past few years. Hopefully, he'll be popping up on TGR because of NFL accolades in the future.

Login to view embedded media

Seems like he should've moved up along with Bateman; seems like he was in the news every week, but as a running back, not a receiver. Hope nobody gets any crazy ideas about poaching Bateman.

Rashod Bateman added fourth star today.

Login to view embedded media

By Fleck, tomorrow (Tuesday).
http://www.hawkcentral.com/story/sp...ize-dec-8-official-visit-minnesota/921877001/

I am not a Tiger Woods fan, but golf is better with him back playing.

I love the young golfers that have taken over the sport, add in Tiger, and 2018 could be a great year.

Will get tryout with Broncos.

http://nfltraderumors.co/broncos-scheduled-work-qb-mitch-leidner-next-week/

http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...eaving-oregon-take-florida-state-coaching-job

Is Isaiah Bolden on his way to Minny for the big weekend? I do see he had a pre-existing FSU offer also.

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2018/isaiah-bolden-10210

This interview aired Pre-Nebraska game:

Richard said this year has had the most early tests of any team he has had so far. It is good for team’s to be tested and learn early on, and grow from these games.

Coach likes to do personal 1-on-1 film sessions with players, because he believes that it is better to teach players in 1v1 settings rather than calling them out in front of the entire team. He believes that to be a positive of his youth to connect with the players.

For a one-day preparation such as the game (now yesterday) against Nebraska, Pitino wants the team to get a live run-through of the offense they are preparing against.

When Coach was first starting, there were complaints regarding the facilities. Richard didn’t want to complain since he didn’t want current players/recruits to think that we didn’t have the facilities necessary, but the Athletes Village has everything under one roof. “It needed to happen. We needed those facilities. Now we have to be able to recruit to that building. We’re really excited about the resources we have moving forward.”

Spencer Tollackson noted that when he was in school, they had to share a weight room with the hockey team. When Coach first started, he said that it was not a productive environment for players to have practice at Williams, academics in a different building, and the weight room in Bierman. Now, the players have everything under one roof and do not have to leave. “We went from five tutor rooms in Bierman, to 35 in Athletes Village. The cafeteria part of it is huge. Kids in the past they might choose to go to McDonald’s instead of eating something healthy. Now we have a cafeteria down the hall with healthy food and we can monitor what they are eating.”

“This took a lot from a lot of people to raise $100-some million. I’ve said from day one, we have what money can’t buy. Great academics, great fan support, great city, location. Now we have the money part of it. It’s going to really help in a lot of ways.”

Regarding the Miami game: “I didn’t like the way we played at all. I thought the illusion of the score made us think we were playing better than we are. Isaiah didn’t have enough time to prepare, maybe I did a poor job. Watch the Rutgers game, we seem more connected and everyone knows their role. I don’t think we played very hard. I didn’t like anything about that game, I didn’t do a good job preparing them. With Dupree, it was so weird we were unsure when he could come back. I thought that we thought the building would give us the win, and forgot what got us the win like at Providence.”

Pitino commented that the Miami game was the loudest the building has been since he has been here. If the team continues to get that for conference games, it will be a huge advantage.

The bench did not score against Miami (Isaiah Washington had to start due to Dupree injury). “Right now it’s hard to develop our bench since we’ve played a hard schedule. It’s challenging right now to develop the bench. Isaiah (Washington), Jamir (Harris) need reps. I like all of our bench players, they need time to develop. Davonte (Fitzgerald) looks out of sorts since he hasn’t played in a while. I like all the guys we have on the bench, they just need time to develop.”

Amir Coffey tends to play well in big games. Pitino noted that Amir can get frustrated by little things throughout the game (refs, etc.) however when he is locked in, he’s very good.

There is a balance between scheduling tough games, but wanting to not let it get the best of you since things can get negative pretty quick when the team loses.

Login to view embedded media
Gophers offer 2019 Ohio WR (and Notre Dame baseball commit) Jase Bowen. The Gophers are his first football offer.

Login to view embedded media
@Matt Jessen-Howard @Connor Stevens

Tip-off shortly. Read the Nebraska preview here and David's film review here.

Maybe they didn't make the right choice to Maryland....
Login to view embedded media

Chatted with former DB Tyrik Henderson following his de-commitment from Minnesota this past weekend. He explains it from his end and says the Gophers are definitely still an option for him going forward:

https://n.rivals.com/news/former-minnesota-commit-tyrik-henderson-resets-his-recruitment

like sleepovers. wonder if part of the gear up, Jim Khaki obtained the girlfriends names and birthdays.

Login to view embedded media

Tre Watson, Gabe Megginson, their best Defender/LB and best OL plus four other players transferring. We were in on both and would love to have both

we shall overcome one day. He gone! He had a messy stay here. You betcha Tanner! It’s ya job now boi! Fleck did give Demry a shot, I respect him for that. I thought the okie doke was in full affect after Rhoda & suspension but Demry is a smart kid. He knew and saw the handwriting on the wall. I think it’s better for everyone but you nitwits still suck And I’m callin Jesse right now.

Coaches know how to get their guys in there. He never loved Demry....I think he tried. But Fleck has a right to get his roster the way he likes it.

This interview aired yesterday, but was taped Pre-Wisconsin game, so pre-Viramontes commitment.

Sid opened asking if the Gopher rebuilding process has been more difficult than PJ thought it would be. Fleck responded it was exactly how he thought it would be. “It’s exactly what Mark Coyle and Eric Kaler talked to me about when I took the job. They told me what the issues are and what we had inside the program. It’s exactly what I thought it would be.”

Coach went on to say they are winning in recruiting, facility development, the culture, serving & giving, and development on/off the field.

The team is losing 16 seniors that have given a lot to the program, and PJ is very proud of what they’ve done for the University of Minnesota.

PJ said there will be a lot of freshman coming in that will contribute next year.

Sid then questioned about the quarterback situation. Fleck reiterated that they have been working on that for quite a while and they’re finding guys that want to be Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Fleck didn’t believe that they had injury problems, but that the eight players that got injured were key players.

Sid: “Do you think you’ll win here?”

PJ: “Absolutely. We will win here. It’s going to take a little longer than everyone wants. The problem is everyone has heard that for a lot of years. I can only tell you what I see and the process that I know works, and it is going to take a while.”


When asked the number of players that they’ll sign, PJ said 25.

I think it's a good hire and definitely worth a try.

But go ahead....start laughing and making fun of it. Most of you think they should hire an up-and-coming small school coach, right? There's no undefeated Fleck or Frost out there....but you still think they should hire one, or a little-known coordinator, right?

Agree or disagree....but it's an interesting article and interesting approach.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-f...-coach-announces-new-nfl-approach-to-program/