Notebook: Ohio satellite camp
Marc Givler | Special to The Gopher Report @Marc Givler
Several hundred prospects gathered at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton (Ohio) where Walsh University hosted its Hall of Fame prospects camp. The Minnesota coaching staff was out in full force and there was plenty of news coming out of the camp, with five new offers and a commitment.
Below is a mix of news, notes, and observations from the camp.
Chase Kline
- There is no question that Minnesota is going to make the state of Ohio a priority moving forward. Historically, it has been very difficult to win a Big Ten championship without an Ohio presence and the Minnesota staff absolutely worked that camp on Tuesday night. With three Ohio commits on hand helping the recruiting efforts and an all-out effort from the coaches, there is little doubt that Minnesota will be a player in Ohio as long as Fleck is at the helm.
- Four new offers were made public on Tuesday night coming out of the camp, all to Ohio prospects in the 2018-2020 classes.
- The biggest name to get offered on Tuesday evening was four-star Chardon linebacker Chase Kline. While Michigan State is likely still the team to beat for Kline, his sit down with P.J. Fleck could not have gone better and the result looks to be a mid to late July visit after the dead period ends. This was trending heavily towards Michigan State, and again the Spartans should still be considered the favorite here, but Fleck and Kline hit it off on Tuesday and the Gophers are the one school that could potentially make this problematic for MSU.
- After Kline, the next offer to go out was to class of 2020 Akron Buchtel running back Darvon Hubbard. The 6-foot, 193-pound prospect is on the verge of blowing up and Minnesota beat the rest of the Power Five to the punch. Hubbard entered the camp with just a Toledo offer but added one from both the Gophers and Bowling Green during the camp. Kentucky followed suit shortly after. Hubbard has a chance to be one of the elite prospects in Ohio in 2020. He has great size, lateral quickness, and burst and he also has soft hands for a big back. Hubbard will have 20+ offers at this time next year.
- The third offer to go out went to former Canton (Ohio) McKinley offensive tackle Charles Turner, a class of 2019 prospect who is transferring to IMG Academy in Florida this summer. Turner has long been on the radar of Minnesota assistant Ed Warinner and Warinner watched him closely on Tuesday evening before ultimately offering him a scholarship. Much like Hubbard, Turner's offer from Minnesota was his first Power Five offer but it won't be his last. This is another prospect who will hold 20+ offers at this time next year. Turner is an ideal tackle body at 6-foot-5, with very long arms. He simply needs to fill out his frame at just 255-pounds. Turner has an excellent compete level and took rep after rep in 1-on-1's, winning most of his battles. Added weight/strength will help him anchor better in pass protection, but the size, length and athleticism are all there.
- The final offer to go out publicly on Tuesday evening was to intriguing class of 2019 Columbus (Ohio) DeSales defensive end Dontay Hunter. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound prospect has the ideal weak-wide defensive end body and he impressed throughout camp both in drills and 1-on-1's. Hunter is a bit of a late bloomer as he hit a growth spurt in the past year. He was not a starter at powerhouse DeSales last year, but that will change this fall and he has a chance to be one of the better pass rushers in Ohio this year, especially playing alongside a big-time defensive tackle in 2019 classmate Rodas Johnson. Hunter's best football is still ahead of him and he'll be an interesting prospect to watch moving forward as he fills out his frame and improves his technique.
- Of course, a fifth offer also came to light on Wednesday morning with the flip of Marysville (Ohio) LB Thomas Rush, who had been committed to Bowling Green. Rush received a ton of attention from P.J. Fleck on Tuesday evening but after camp he wasn't ready to say anything definitive about both his status as a Bowling Green commit or his offer status with Minnesota. That changed on Wednesday morning as Rush flipped his pledge. Rush had been committed to Bowling Green as a running back, but Big Ten schools like Penn State and Minnesota both see a future linebacker and he moved around very well at the position during Tuesday's camp.
Rush is a pretty big framed kid, pushing 6-foot-3 with long arms and should fill out to play at over 230-pounds at the college level. Combined with his testing numbers, he has been running sub 4.6 in the 40-yard dash, and this could be a diamond in the rough for Fleck and his staff.
https://minnesota.rivals.com/news/notebook-ohio-satellite-camp
Marc Givler | Special to The Gopher Report @Marc Givler
Several hundred prospects gathered at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton (Ohio) where Walsh University hosted its Hall of Fame prospects camp. The Minnesota coaching staff was out in full force and there was plenty of news coming out of the camp, with five new offers and a commitment.
Below is a mix of news, notes, and observations from the camp.
Chase Kline
- There is no question that Minnesota is going to make the state of Ohio a priority moving forward. Historically, it has been very difficult to win a Big Ten championship without an Ohio presence and the Minnesota staff absolutely worked that camp on Tuesday night. With three Ohio commits on hand helping the recruiting efforts and an all-out effort from the coaches, there is little doubt that Minnesota will be a player in Ohio as long as Fleck is at the helm.
- Four new offers were made public on Tuesday night coming out of the camp, all to Ohio prospects in the 2018-2020 classes.
- The biggest name to get offered on Tuesday evening was four-star Chardon linebacker Chase Kline. While Michigan State is likely still the team to beat for Kline, his sit down with P.J. Fleck could not have gone better and the result looks to be a mid to late July visit after the dead period ends. This was trending heavily towards Michigan State, and again the Spartans should still be considered the favorite here, but Fleck and Kline hit it off on Tuesday and the Gophers are the one school that could potentially make this problematic for MSU.
- After Kline, the next offer to go out was to class of 2020 Akron Buchtel running back Darvon Hubbard. The 6-foot, 193-pound prospect is on the verge of blowing up and Minnesota beat the rest of the Power Five to the punch. Hubbard entered the camp with just a Toledo offer but added one from both the Gophers and Bowling Green during the camp. Kentucky followed suit shortly after. Hubbard has a chance to be one of the elite prospects in Ohio in 2020. He has great size, lateral quickness, and burst and he also has soft hands for a big back. Hubbard will have 20+ offers at this time next year.
- The third offer to go out went to former Canton (Ohio) McKinley offensive tackle Charles Turner, a class of 2019 prospect who is transferring to IMG Academy in Florida this summer. Turner has long been on the radar of Minnesota assistant Ed Warinner and Warinner watched him closely on Tuesday evening before ultimately offering him a scholarship. Much like Hubbard, Turner's offer from Minnesota was his first Power Five offer but it won't be his last. This is another prospect who will hold 20+ offers at this time next year. Turner is an ideal tackle body at 6-foot-5, with very long arms. He simply needs to fill out his frame at just 255-pounds. Turner has an excellent compete level and took rep after rep in 1-on-1's, winning most of his battles. Added weight/strength will help him anchor better in pass protection, but the size, length and athleticism are all there.
- The final offer to go out publicly on Tuesday evening was to intriguing class of 2019 Columbus (Ohio) DeSales defensive end Dontay Hunter. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound prospect has the ideal weak-wide defensive end body and he impressed throughout camp both in drills and 1-on-1's. Hunter is a bit of a late bloomer as he hit a growth spurt in the past year. He was not a starter at powerhouse DeSales last year, but that will change this fall and he has a chance to be one of the better pass rushers in Ohio this year, especially playing alongside a big-time defensive tackle in 2019 classmate Rodas Johnson. Hunter's best football is still ahead of him and he'll be an interesting prospect to watch moving forward as he fills out his frame and improves his technique.
- Of course, a fifth offer also came to light on Wednesday morning with the flip of Marysville (Ohio) LB Thomas Rush, who had been committed to Bowling Green. Rush received a ton of attention from P.J. Fleck on Tuesday evening but after camp he wasn't ready to say anything definitive about both his status as a Bowling Green commit or his offer status with Minnesota. That changed on Wednesday morning as Rush flipped his pledge. Rush had been committed to Bowling Green as a running back, but Big Ten schools like Penn State and Minnesota both see a future linebacker and he moved around very well at the position during Tuesday's camp.
Rush is a pretty big framed kid, pushing 6-foot-3 with long arms and should fill out to play at over 230-pounds at the college level. Combined with his testing numbers, he has been running sub 4.6 in the 40-yard dash, and this could be a diamond in the rough for Fleck and his staff.
https://minnesota.rivals.com/news/notebook-ohio-satellite-camp
