Probably about time or overdue for a war room. Here we go:
Right now the plan is to take three more: a QB, lineman, and then the best available. At this point, everything is fluid. With only a few spots left, official visit season approaching, and all teams going through their first early signing period, things can and probably will change. When more coaches start to get fired across the country, I’d expect Minnesota to be aggressive poaching as well.
There’s one commit right now who likely won’t be an academic qualifier but Minnesota has known about that for a long time and has had plenty of time to take action accordingly.
Next week and the following week, things will start to heat up since the coaches will be on the road recruiting. And remember, the big recruiting weekend is the weekend of December 8. Minnesota believes that it will be the biggest official weekend in NCAA history from a visitors standpoint. Fleck likes to have all the recruits at one time visit and bond together.
At QB, the Gophers are taking their time in some ways because they want to nail the right guy. It’s possible that Minnesota takes a JUCO as well as a high school QB. Names we’ve mentioned before include include Riverside CC’s Vic Viramontes, Boise State commit Zachary Wilson, three-star Colorado State commit Matthew Baldwin, three-star East Carolina commit Holton Ahlers, four-star Princeton commit Brevin White, and Arkansas three-star Gerry Bohanon.
Vic Viramontes: Michigan and Cal commit coming out of high school that enrolled at Cal briefly then opted to go the JUCO route after Sonny Dykes left. He has offers right now Coastal Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Kansas, New Mexico, and UNLV. He’s planning to take an official to Kansas in three weeks and nothing is set yet with Minnesota but I’d expect him to visit. This year for Riverside, he’s completed 74 of 112 passes (66.1%) for 1116 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He’s also the team’s leading rusher by far with 112 carries for 999 yards (8.9 ypc) and 13 touchdowns.
Zachary Wilson: Wilson a 5.5 three-star quarterback from Utah committed to Boise State. The Gophers have talked to him quite a bit and he’s reciprocated interest. He’s a December grad and early enrollee.
Matthew Baldwin: Baldwin is a 5.7 three-star from Texas committed to Colorado State. He’s received offers from Minnesota, Kentucky, and Ohio State recently. I’m told that Ohio State will get him if they want him but he’s not a take at the moment for the Buckeyes. His situation with OSU depends on them being able to keep Emory Jones and some of their other QB targets are enrolling early so Baldwin would probably take an official visit to Columbus late in the recruiting game. With Emory Jones’ status unknown, we’re still a few weeks away from knowing Baldwin’s status with OSU. Nick Krueger recently posted here that Baldwin’s a big fan of Fleck and that it will be tough for CSU to keep his commitment, which we at TGR agree with.
Holton Ahlers: Ahlers is a 5.7 three-star from North Carolina committed to East Carolina. Due to his family connections and long-time fandom, Ahlers could be tough to pull away from the Pirates. He has said that ECU is his dream school and it is important to him that he is playing only six miles away from his home. I still wouldn’t count Minnesota out, though. With playing time potentially available, the start of a new culture under the hot new coach, and lots of young receivers, I think the Gophers will have success with QBs that visit.
Brevin White: White is a 5.8-rated four-star who committed to Princeton over offers from a handful of Power 5 programs. He has yet to get a Gopher offer but there’s certainly interest. Minnesota would have to convince him why going Power 5 is a better option than Princeton, which is something that Arizona State, Oregon State, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Washington State couldn’t do. He’s a little bit smaller, has an accurate arm, and has a good feel/understanding of the game which in some ways makes him more college ready than most high school prospects, although I don’t think he has elite arm strength or athleticism. White may be sticking with Princeton due to an injury to his brother that makes him want to focus on his career after football.
Gerry Bohanon: Bohanon is a 5.7 three-star who has listed Arkansas, Baylor, Louisville, and Mississippi as his top schools and has recent strong interest from LSU, where he recently visited. Minnesota would be playing from behind a little bit but has made some calls. Bohanon will be an early enrollee and is a big, strong, mobile quarterback. I wouldn’t necessarily expect a ton to happen with he and Minnesota moving forward.
On the offensive line, four-star Florida commit and IMG four-star guard Curtis Dunlap, Tyler J.C. tackle Randon Haynes, Arizona Western CC tackle Jahmir Johnson, and Ventura CC tackle Trevor Elbert.
Dunlap is currently committed to Florida, and the Gators of course just fired McElwain. Dunlap will be visiting Minnesota on the big recruiting weekend of December 8. He attends IMG Academy where his roommate is PWO commit Zack Annexstad. ICYMI, Zack has started the last five or so games for IMG’s top team. Dunlap is willing to hear Minnesota out and of course would be a really big get.
Haynes was committed to UL-Lafayette out of high school and went the JUCO route. He has a handful of FBS offers right now but his only one from a Power 5 school is Minnesota. The Gophers are in a good spot.
Johnson holds a dozen Power 5 offers, including one from Minnesota. He’s from Philadelphia started his college career at Rhode Island before leaving for Arizona Western. Arkansas has been after him a long time and he visited Fayetteville this weekend. USC is also in the hunt. He plans on making a decision in January and signs in February. Minnesota’s in a competitive spot.
Elbert is a former Army All-American that went to Texas A&M in their 2015 class. Kevin Sumlin announced that he had a career ending injury as a sophomore, but now he’s obviously in a junior college and playing again. He’s a Texas native and his only offer is from SMU. Ed Warinner’s known him since high school, since Warinner recruited him when he was at Ohio State.
Jason Dickson is a 5.6 three-star JUCO lineman at Diablo Valley CC in the Bay Area. He’s a recent UCLA decommit and holds 12 other Power 5 offers.
Cardavian Myers is a three-star cornerback from Alabama with no offer but is a name to know. He’s been talking to Mo Linguist for about a month and Myers says the two have talked about a potential visit.
Craig Williams is committed to Baylor, but the Gophers are still involved. The Gophers like him as an athlete and scatback and he’s been a long-time target. Baylor is currently 1-10. I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes a late visit.
Kyle Wright is a three-star running back that’s recently heard from Minnesota and could fill a similar role as Williams. He holds offers from Colorado, Purdue, and lots of Group of 5 schools.
All in all, there's a lot to like. Minnesota has plenty of options at QB and OL that they're both very much in the mix for, as well as several options for a third. There may be some more names that pop up once the coaches are on the road next week. With only a few spots left, things are fluid and Minnesota can be selective.
Credit @Connor Stevens for much of this information.
Right now the plan is to take three more: a QB, lineman, and then the best available. At this point, everything is fluid. With only a few spots left, official visit season approaching, and all teams going through their first early signing period, things can and probably will change. When more coaches start to get fired across the country, I’d expect Minnesota to be aggressive poaching as well.
There’s one commit right now who likely won’t be an academic qualifier but Minnesota has known about that for a long time and has had plenty of time to take action accordingly.
Next week and the following week, things will start to heat up since the coaches will be on the road recruiting. And remember, the big recruiting weekend is the weekend of December 8. Minnesota believes that it will be the biggest official weekend in NCAA history from a visitors standpoint. Fleck likes to have all the recruits at one time visit and bond together.
At QB, the Gophers are taking their time in some ways because they want to nail the right guy. It’s possible that Minnesota takes a JUCO as well as a high school QB. Names we’ve mentioned before include include Riverside CC’s Vic Viramontes, Boise State commit Zachary Wilson, three-star Colorado State commit Matthew Baldwin, three-star East Carolina commit Holton Ahlers, four-star Princeton commit Brevin White, and Arkansas three-star Gerry Bohanon.
Vic Viramontes: Michigan and Cal commit coming out of high school that enrolled at Cal briefly then opted to go the JUCO route after Sonny Dykes left. He has offers right now Coastal Carolina, Eastern Kentucky, Kansas, New Mexico, and UNLV. He’s planning to take an official to Kansas in three weeks and nothing is set yet with Minnesota but I’d expect him to visit. This year for Riverside, he’s completed 74 of 112 passes (66.1%) for 1116 yards, 16 touchdowns, and five interceptions. He’s also the team’s leading rusher by far with 112 carries for 999 yards (8.9 ypc) and 13 touchdowns.
Zachary Wilson: Wilson a 5.5 three-star quarterback from Utah committed to Boise State. The Gophers have talked to him quite a bit and he’s reciprocated interest. He’s a December grad and early enrollee.
Matthew Baldwin: Baldwin is a 5.7 three-star from Texas committed to Colorado State. He’s received offers from Minnesota, Kentucky, and Ohio State recently. I’m told that Ohio State will get him if they want him but he’s not a take at the moment for the Buckeyes. His situation with OSU depends on them being able to keep Emory Jones and some of their other QB targets are enrolling early so Baldwin would probably take an official visit to Columbus late in the recruiting game. With Emory Jones’ status unknown, we’re still a few weeks away from knowing Baldwin’s status with OSU. Nick Krueger recently posted here that Baldwin’s a big fan of Fleck and that it will be tough for CSU to keep his commitment, which we at TGR agree with.
Holton Ahlers: Ahlers is a 5.7 three-star from North Carolina committed to East Carolina. Due to his family connections and long-time fandom, Ahlers could be tough to pull away from the Pirates. He has said that ECU is his dream school and it is important to him that he is playing only six miles away from his home. I still wouldn’t count Minnesota out, though. With playing time potentially available, the start of a new culture under the hot new coach, and lots of young receivers, I think the Gophers will have success with QBs that visit.
Brevin White: White is a 5.8-rated four-star who committed to Princeton over offers from a handful of Power 5 programs. He has yet to get a Gopher offer but there’s certainly interest. Minnesota would have to convince him why going Power 5 is a better option than Princeton, which is something that Arizona State, Oregon State, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Washington State couldn’t do. He’s a little bit smaller, has an accurate arm, and has a good feel/understanding of the game which in some ways makes him more college ready than most high school prospects, although I don’t think he has elite arm strength or athleticism. White may be sticking with Princeton due to an injury to his brother that makes him want to focus on his career after football.
Gerry Bohanon: Bohanon is a 5.7 three-star who has listed Arkansas, Baylor, Louisville, and Mississippi as his top schools and has recent strong interest from LSU, where he recently visited. Minnesota would be playing from behind a little bit but has made some calls. Bohanon will be an early enrollee and is a big, strong, mobile quarterback. I wouldn’t necessarily expect a ton to happen with he and Minnesota moving forward.
On the offensive line, four-star Florida commit and IMG four-star guard Curtis Dunlap, Tyler J.C. tackle Randon Haynes, Arizona Western CC tackle Jahmir Johnson, and Ventura CC tackle Trevor Elbert.
Dunlap is currently committed to Florida, and the Gators of course just fired McElwain. Dunlap will be visiting Minnesota on the big recruiting weekend of December 8. He attends IMG Academy where his roommate is PWO commit Zack Annexstad. ICYMI, Zack has started the last five or so games for IMG’s top team. Dunlap is willing to hear Minnesota out and of course would be a really big get.
Haynes was committed to UL-Lafayette out of high school and went the JUCO route. He has a handful of FBS offers right now but his only one from a Power 5 school is Minnesota. The Gophers are in a good spot.
Johnson holds a dozen Power 5 offers, including one from Minnesota. He’s from Philadelphia started his college career at Rhode Island before leaving for Arizona Western. Arkansas has been after him a long time and he visited Fayetteville this weekend. USC is also in the hunt. He plans on making a decision in January and signs in February. Minnesota’s in a competitive spot.
Elbert is a former Army All-American that went to Texas A&M in their 2015 class. Kevin Sumlin announced that he had a career ending injury as a sophomore, but now he’s obviously in a junior college and playing again. He’s a Texas native and his only offer is from SMU. Ed Warinner’s known him since high school, since Warinner recruited him when he was at Ohio State.
Jason Dickson is a 5.6 three-star JUCO lineman at Diablo Valley CC in the Bay Area. He’s a recent UCLA decommit and holds 12 other Power 5 offers.
Cardavian Myers is a three-star cornerback from Alabama with no offer but is a name to know. He’s been talking to Mo Linguist for about a month and Myers says the two have talked about a potential visit.
Craig Williams is committed to Baylor, but the Gophers are still involved. The Gophers like him as an athlete and scatback and he’s been a long-time target. Baylor is currently 1-10. I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes a late visit.
Kyle Wright is a three-star running back that’s recently heard from Minnesota and could fill a similar role as Williams. He holds offers from Colorado, Purdue, and lots of Group of 5 schools.
All in all, there's a lot to like. Minnesota has plenty of options at QB and OL that they're both very much in the mix for, as well as several options for a third. There may be some more names that pop up once the coaches are on the road next week. With only a few spots left, things are fluid and Minnesota can be selective.
Credit @Connor Stevens for much of this information.
