Until Signing Day, the focus without a doubt was on finishing the 2016 class, and the staff would still like to add a late qualifier or two. I'm not sure how much the staff has met and talked about the 2017 class, but I can't imagine it would be much at all and understandably so. There will be tons of names that pop up, especially after the staff travels the South watching spring practices, but here are some names to know about for the time being.
Minnesota prospects
Marshall tackle
Blaise Andries - Andries holds offers from Colorado State, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, and Northwestern. He grew up a Gopher fan and would drive to games with his dad before he got the free recruit tickets. Knowing that, the Gophers are definitely positioned well to land him, but they'll likely have to fight off a dozen power five programs and maybe a couple helmet schools.
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Robbinsdale Cooper tackle
Eric Abojei - Abojei was offered on Junior Day, and Minnesota is his only offer to date. The Gophers have several natural advantages in that (a) he and his family grew up fans and his brother is/was a U student, (b) I get the sense that he's very close to his family and one would think that staying near them would be a draw, and (c) he's great friends with Phillip Howard. Abojei played tackle for Cooper but could make the transition to guard in college.
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East Ridge kicker
Grant Ryerse -- Ryerse was offered the summer before his sophomore season, and assuming his offer is still committable (Nunez is now gone so we'll see), he'll be a Gopher. Ryerse comes from a family that bleeds maroon and gold; their family went to the Citrus Bowl. I haven't heard anything to suggest that Ryerse won't be a Gopher.
Woodbury outside linebacker
Nico Bolden - Bolden plays safety for Woodbury, but will be an outside linebacker at the next level. He already holds offers from Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, and South Dakota State. He's 6'4", 195 pounds, and certainly a good athlete. If he improves his pad level, he's definitely a power five outside linebacker in my opinion.
Here's a screenshot of my notes on his film if you're interested in learning more about him as a player.
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Eden Prairie defensive end
Jermaine Johnson - Johnson is an extremely explosive defensive end that looks more like a wide receiver than a defensive end. His first step is exceptional, and he dominated in pass rushing drills when I watched him in June and July. You can read my recap of his June camp performance here and July camp performance here. The 6'5", 223 pound defensive end does not hold any offers but they will come. If an offer comes, I think he'll be a Gopher, as he told me he'd pick Minnesota over Ohio State "any day of the week." He's a big fan.
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Benilde St. Margaret's guard
Eric Wilson - Wilson already was offered by the old staff at Iowa State, and currently holds offers from Miami (OH), Penn, Princeton, South Dakota State, and Yale.
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Benilde St. Margaret's running back
Ricky Floyd - Floyd put up monster numbers this year for BSM, so many programs have their eye on him. He has good speed, shiftiness, and hands, but doesn't get many yards after contact.
Burnsville athlete
Jackson Martens - Martens is a great athlete and could end up at a couple of positions at the next level, but linebacker would be my guess for now. He's flown under the radar, but several people I've talked to are very high on him.
Lakeville South center
Eric Rousemiller - Rousemiller was once considered to be maybe the best 2017 prospect in the state, but didn't have his best performance at a Gophers camp over the summer, and that's brought his stock down a little bit. He'll get another chance to earn an offer at camp this summer. He's very strong and a state champion competitive weight lifter.
Caledonia defensive end
Ezekiel Ott - Ott opened eyes this summer at a Junior Elite Camp. He has a very quick stop and a great motor. At 6'2" and 205 pounds, his size might hold him back picking up big offers, but he was certainly one one of the best 2017 defensive lineman this summer and earned the staff's attention.
Osseo tackle
Nash Jensen - Jensen is a good-sized tackle who moves pretty well for his size.
I do not anticipate any more in-state offers to be extended until the staff watches them at camp. Other names that I've mentioned before to know about are Woodbury's DE/OLB Kolade Amusan, FB/DT/MLB Jalen Morrison, and TE Nate Bursch, Triton ATH Leif Bungum, Providence Academy G Gavin Blomberg, Burnsville ATH Steph Olson Jr., East Ridge RB Dominik London, Hopkins ATH Malik Loftin, Mound Westonka ATH Isaiah Cherrier, Cretin-Derham Hall C Nick Neumann, North ATH Jamire Jackson, and Apple Valley ATH Mario Lewis. I'm at least somewhat familiar with all of these names, so let me know if you have any questions about them.
Out-of-state prospects who visited for Junior Day
Out-of-state campers from the summer
- Pittsburg (Kansas) tight end Trevor Kent has the look of a Big Ten tight end. He has the height and weight to add more weight. Minnesota would have offered if his 40/shuttle had tested just a little bit better, although I thought he moved well when he watching routes. He has good hands, as well. Being from Pittsburg, the staff has a great relationship with his coaches. Kent already holds offers from Iowa State, Kansas, Michigan, and Missouri.
- IMG Academy (Fla.) wide receiver Brock Annexstad was the most impressive receiver at the July Junior Elite Camp. He ran very crisp routes and got in and out of his cuts quickly. He transferred to IMG from Mankato West.
- Jesuit (Oreg.) defensive back Demetrius Davis camped in June and is the son of Omar Douglas. I wasn't overly impressed with him, but there were so many receivers and corners that I didn't get to see a lot of his reps. He's a smooth athlete and the staff worked with him for a long time after the camp ended.
- Mullen (Colo.) cornerback Christian Cumber has received some interest from the staff. Cumber has good size and is a 5.7 three star with offers from Colorado and Colorado State.
- Iowa City West (Iowa) offensive lineman Alex Kleinow was the best pass blocker at the July 19 Junior Elite Camp and has good size at 6'6". He holds an offer from Iowa State.
- Orchard Lake St. Mary's (Mich.) outside linebacker Dwayne Chapman is short at just 6-feet tall but moves well and has quick feet. He's also built well. Chapman holds ten MAC offers.
- Saline (Mich.) tight end Bryce Wolma - Wolma had decent size, had good hands, and ran good routes. He also came to a Gopher game this fall.
- Kimberly (Wisc.) quarterback Danny Vanden Boom
2017 out-of-state offers
I'm not including four and five stars who have indicated zero interest or are committed elsewhere.
- Orchard Lake St. Mary's (Mich.) cornerback Richard Bowens III - Bowens earned his offer at camp this summer and also visited for Junior Day. He's exactly the press cover corner that Sawvel looks for and Minnesota has already put in a decent amount of legwork for Bowens. He holds other notable offers from Cincinnati, Iowa State, and Syracuse.
- Neuqua Valley (Ill.) wide receiver Isaiah Robertson - Robertson is a four star that sounded receptive to Minnesota when I spoke to him (fwiw). He heard from Minnesota on the first day when contact was first permitted on September 1.
- Bolingbrook (Ill.) defensive end Izayah Green-May - Green-May is a product of the same high school as the Huff brothers. Like many Gopher defensive end targets, he's tall and long but in need of adding weight (6'5", 205 pounds). Green-May holds offers from Illinois and Syracuse, in addition to Minnesota and a couple of MAC schools.
- Lake Park (Ill.) defensive end Jacub Panasiuk - The Gophers recruited Jacub's older brother in this class, but he committed to Michigan. The Panasiuks come from the same high school as Antonio Shenault, and I know from talking to the Lake Park coach that he really likes the Minnesota staff. Panasiuk holds a Michigan State offer, and I imagine that will be tough to beat. Minnesota has put in some work with him, though. He's listed Minnesota as a school of interest for a while.
- Newton (Ga.) outside linebacker Jaquan Henderson and wide receiver Jeremiah Holloman - Anderson visited these two twice over the contact period, so there's strong interest even though they're committed to UCLA and Michigan.
Out-of-state names to know about
None of these players have offers but all are on Minnesota's radar, and many of them heard from the Gophers during the first day of contact for juniors, which was September 1. Many of these recruits are from the Midwest, and I think there will be more Southern recruits on the board after coaches head south to watch teams practice.
