PJ Fleck
- Players did a spectacular job of hosting and recruiting the players on the official visits. Sometimes that positivity isn't always consistent. The players have done a great job in the classroom and volunteering.
- Want to say thanks to the faculty and everyone associated with the UMN. Elite day for everyone involved and the state.
- Remember, OJ Smith and Chris Williamson are a part of this class.
- Reviewed some numbers and rankings and left out Rivals since right now Minnesota's not in our top 25.
- Usually one or two JUCOs a year. Think that's a necessity.
- Terell Smith is the fastest Big Ten corner commit since 2009.
- Seven players will enroll early.
- 25 of the 26 players are multi-sport athletes. That's important.
- Mark Coyle was here at 5:00 am. He was excited for Signing Day too.
- Chernoff is a special person and was the designer of the class. He's high energy which is a prerequisite for working on this staff.
- Want to thank the coaches' wives and the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.
- Ahanotu (Ah-HAN-ah-too): Dad played in the NFL over ten years. Explosive defensive end. After visiting, he's driving to an ACC school. There's a car accident in front of him, and he turned to his dad and said it's a sign and that he wanted to be a Gopher and they didn't visit that ACC school.
- Annexstad: Early enrollee, legacy, true leader.
- Aune: 4.0 student, he's a camp offer and took every rep at camp. He played everything for Highland Park.
- Bateman: Truly special. Loves a restaurant that I don't even know how to pronounce. Earned an offer at the Georgia camp and visited on the spot. He had already done his homework before the camp. Special person. Had Big Ten offers in basketball.
- Beier: Over a 4.0 student, 30 ACT, tough, athletic. His mom is a kickboxer so he comes from a tough family.
- Boe: He's what a Nekton is all about -- always attacking, never full. Tremendous OL play and tradition and Lakeville North (s/o Benhart).
- Dickson: If you put Dickson and Donnell Greene together, they look like their brothers. Told Fleck that Minnesota was a long ways before his visit and later said that he had no idea the Twin Cities is what it is before the visit.
- Dunlap: Early enrollee, committed before visiting and said "you have to trust me." Lost his father and said his mom had to see campus because his mom's his heart. Five-star person. Roomed with Annexstad at IMG.
- Edmonds: Mo Linguist has established relationships in Georgia for years and young people absolutely love him. He's an exceptional recruiter and coach. Fleck always asks to see recruits' rooms because he wants to see how they live and if it's clean. Nolan's room is immaculate. Send the commits Gopher talk quotes and all of them were shaped in the word "elite" on his wall. Wants players to think at an elite level, and he already had elite spelled out.
- Faalele: The one thing that makes him special is heart. What mattered to him is his mom coming here, who's from Melbourne. It takes over a day to get here from Melbourne. Give credit to the administration for paying for that. He looked for fit and family and found it. Remember, he's only played one year of football and is a dynamite rugby player.
- Gibson: Known him for 2.5 years and recruited him at Western Michigan. He moved from receiver to safety this year because his team needed him there.
- Manns: Four-sport athlete including bowling. He's a two-handed bowler and he's exceptional with a 212 average. I did beat him in bowling with a special Gopher ball.
- Okonji: His name, Okonji, means "I am here, and I came to conquer." Strong lower half.
- Oliver: He's a thumper that can hit and fly. He had 164 tackles this year, almost 15 per game. It's his first year playing basketball and was explosive everywhere. His girlfriend hit the game winning three-pointer the game before.
- Norton: Came to camp and was sick and got sicker at camp. Came back better and crushed it.
- Reigelsperger: Very active on Twitter. His motor never stops. True Nekton.
- Rush: Satellite Ohio camp individual. He's never had all As his entire life. Played linebacker, running back. After getting an offer, he wanted to commit but said he needed to see campus and within 12 hours he was on campus.
- Sapp: Laid out the vision to Benny Jr. and Sr. and his dad almost didn't believe Fleck at first when he said he was going to land a top 25 class. He's relentless and the definition of the row the boat mantra.
- Terell Smith: Loyal recruit who committed before seeing campus and has been dating his girlfriend since 6th grade. Nicknamed Flash because he's so fast.
- CJ Smith: After weeks of corner study, they knew they needed to add corners and CJ kept coming to the top. He's physical, he'll hit you. The Big Ten is a physical conference. He hasn't left Jacksonville that much, and you should have seen his eyes when he got here.
- Sori-Marin: Great student from one of the best football programs in the country. 3.98 GPA and only had one B. His heart is huge, and his work ethic is incredible. He's Cuban and his mom makes incredible flan. He'll be a mike backer.
- Spann-Ford: Multi-sport athlete with incredible hands. Big, long target that will be a redzone threat and love his physicality after watching him defensively this year (he'll be a TE of course though).
- Teague: Chicago tough. Calls himself a Pescatarian and Vegan, but he eats more eat than anyone, so he embraces who he is at that day every single day. He's another player whose mom is everything to him. He'll probably play next year.
- Viramontes: Will only take a JUCO QB if they can play three years. Commands the huddle and the team and is a prideful person and prideful of his family. Trainer kept telling Fleck that he has no idea what great of person and player that he got.
- Williams: Think Robert Smith as his style of play. All-Conference all four years of high school. His speed gives him power and allows him to finish runs. He's quiet and all business and works hard.
- York: Heck of a lineman but an even better cook. Had a steak cookoff between his dad and his son. His dad cooked filet mignon on the green egg. It was elite. Jack cooked a filet mignon on a gas grill. Mom and dad already have heated hats, gloves, pants, and socks for their visits.
- Wishes the Vikings all the best and wants them to be the first team to be the home team to play in the Super Bowl.
- It was a six month panic worrying about Bateman flipping, but he never wavered. He gets paid to worry. Bateman had to tell Fleck for the 15th time that he wasn't going anywhere.
- Vic has a lot of energy, passion, leadership, connectivity. He's a natural leader. The greatest relationship in sports is the head coach and the quarterback. It takes a special person with confidence to be able to handle the pressure, and Vic has that.
- Getting two great running backs is a credit to all the elite running backs Minnesota has had before.
- When Nolan Edmonds decommitted, he wanted to see something else but he had to decommit. He found his way back. Normally, you don't want to take those players back, but Fleck knew he would come back and knows his family well.
- When our commits say they're committed, they're committed. Only one true decommit the past few months. The class knows each other inside and out.
- Doesn't comment on recruits that aren't ours but wishes them the best.
- The eLITe18 Palooza was a great event. It's not only about connecting players but about connecting the parents. It's important that the parents see who they're going to tailgate with and exchange numbers. Had the help of the administration, academic staff, businesses, Vikings and Twins. They're as much a part of the recruiting class as anyone.
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