Brewster Stealing Some Cheese

One Brewster first walked on campus he made a promise to close down the borders and stop the flow of Minnesota talent to other schools, mainly Wisconsin. While he has not completely stopped the gap (Floyd, Mobley, he has done a pretty good job. In Glen Mason's last full recruiting class of the top 10 Minnesota recruits 3 choose Minnesota (Weber, Eric Ellestad, and Sean McWhither) and 3 choose Wisconsin (Kim Royston, Brandon Hoey, and Issac Anderson). Interestingly both Royston and Carufel have both come home. In Brewster's last class of the top 10 Minnesota recruits 6 choose Minnesota with Bryce McNeal (Clemson) and Casey Dehn (Wisconsin) escaping.

It wasn't enough for Brewster to stop the flow of Minnesotans to Wisconsin he wanted to reverse the flow and bring the Wisconsinites to Minnesota. In the past week Brewster has received commitments for two Wisconsinites in Matt Eggen and Zac Epping. They join Tom Parish giving the Gophers currently 3 commitments from Wisconsin. They would have had 4 if not for this fool. So far 3 of the top 7 Wisconsin recruits are headed to Minneapolis. Of the top 10 in Wisconsin Konrad Zagzebski is the only one to commit to Wisconsin with even Iowa and Indiana getting commitments.

While the jury is still out on Brewster with this year being a turning point, nothing makes me happier than him getting kids from Wisconsin. While the results are not there yet he is bringing in a lot more talent and has done better recruiting than Mason ever did or even thought about doing. The result is our future looks brighter and Bret Bielema has the Badgers headed in the other direction much to the chagrin of Badger fans and the delight of me.

Why You Can't Trust a 17-year Old Kid

There is now a football player from Wisconsin that I hate as much as Brett Farve and it is a 17 year old kid. Linebacker Konrad Zagzebski was the first commit to Brewster for the 2010 class. He spoke about the commitment to Gopher Illustrated. Here is what he said to Gopher Illustrated on January 22nd:

"I am psyched right now and super pumped to be a Gopher. I had a feeling that an offer was coming and I knew that if it did my recruiting process would be over. I don't care who else offers, I want to be a Golden Gopher." I knew that even if all the schools in the Big Ten were to offer that I would end up at Minnesota," he said. "I felt loyalty from the Minnesota staff ever since they started to recruit me last year. According to Zagzebski, this decision is final. "The way I see it Wisconsin and everyone else had their chance, but to be honest I really never saw myself playing at Wisconsin," he said. "Minnesota is where it is at right now and it doesn't take long to recognize that they are a program on the rise. There is a lot of excitement within the program and I cannot wait to play in the new stadium. I just want to be at Minnesota. My decision is over and I can now focus on one more year of high school ball."

Surprise, Surprise 4 months later he has de-committed and committed to Wisconsin.

I know kids are fickle and de-commit all the time but this is ridiculous. No one made him be so definitive. I have no respect for anyone who can not be trusted or taken at their word. I'm glad this kid isn't a Gopher and by his actions the Badgers deserve a little flake and tool like him.

Tragedy and Other News

• After throwing six shutout innings against the Oakland Athletics, 22-year old uber-prospect Nick Adenhart was killed in a hit-and-run accident after a driver ran a red light. This is a great tragedy to lose someone who was so young and future was so bright.
• Travis Busch has left the Gophers Basketball program. This is not a great surprise as there wasn't a scholarship for him next year and their also did not seem to be a lot of playing time for him also. Busch may not have been blessed with a lot of talent but he worked hard and contributed more than anyone thought he would when he transferred here from Cal-Poly.
• Royce White was named Mr. Basketball. The chairman of the award commented that he had the ability to score far more but chose to do whatever to make the team better and lead them to an undefeated season. For those that like to hate on Royce they fail to see how he came in to an already formed team and instead of making it his team and taking it over he found a role on the team that became one of the best in MSHSL history. I would look for him to do the same thing next year with the Gophers.
  
• I attended my first Twins game of the year last night. It was student night so I was way up in the Upper Level GA seats. Sitting 3 seats away from me was on Adam Weber and it was a shock in more than one way. He is listed by the Gophers at 6'3" 217. That is not true, he was shorter than me and at best he is 6'1" 210. He also had a less that stellar posse. You would expect the Big Ten quarterback would have a girl on each arm at a game but his posse was 5-6 guys who all looked to be 17 years old and seemed more likely to play D&D than football. Weber did have a good time and was a little drunk by end of the game.

TCF Bank Student Seating Update

The Star Tribune finally shines some light on a the situation for student seating in TCF Bank next year. I have been following this with great interest as I am a graduating senior this year and have been hoping to still be able find a way for student season tickets next year. With this news it is not looking good for me. I was hoping that a student could still buy two tickets as I had someone who will still be enrolled lined up but that is out the window. I don't have the money or Gopher Points to get season tickets elsewhere and will continue to look for a loophole but it looks like I'm going to have to scalp for the opener and spend the rest of the Saturday's tailgaiting then heading over to the bars to watch the game. The only possible loophole I see in the story is that they are sold online in April when I will still be a student and I am curious as to how they will make sure you will be a student in the fall.

On the price, 84 dollars is a steep jump from the 60 dollars I spent freshman year but that is still ridiculously cheap considering it is a brand new stadium and Wisconsin Student Tickets are around 200 dollars. I would guess the price might keep increasing after 2009.

Offseason Goldy News and Thoughts

• Scout and Rivals have revealed their top 300 and 250 respectively for the football class of 2010 and the Gophers are off to a good start. Offensive lineman Jimmy Gjere is #161 overall on Rivals and a 4-star and #159 and a 4-star on Scout. Linebacker Konrad Zagzebski is #239 on Scout. Other notables Sentreal Henderson is #1 overall on both lists by a wide margin according to reports. Beau Allen is #247 on Scout.
• With Spring Football approaching the Daily Gopher noted that Brewster has started participating in the irritating fad that is Twitter. Here is his feed. Reading through this Brewster is devolving into just a characticture. Sometimes it is really hard to take him serious with the rah-rah nonsense that comes out of his mouth.
• Speaking of a character babbling non-sense Pat Reusse is at it again. Nothing gets me more annoyed than Pat Reusse taking potshots at the University of Minnesota. I don't know what the University did to him but he clearly hates the U. He writes an article about how every Gopher program this year was mediocre and collapsed and while it is true in some cases, he is stretching and bringing pessimism to a whole new level. He then ranks the disappointments in order of most disappointing.
• He claims the Volleyball team failed because it was ranked 10th nationally and lost at home in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Explain how to me that is a failure. The Washington Basketball team was ranked high and won the Pac-10 this year but lost in the second round in Portland to Purdue. Were they a failure? No, then why would the Volleyball team be one.
• Next is the Women's Hockey team that only won the WCHA crown, was ranked #1 for a lot of the year and lost in the Frozen Four to Mercyhurst. While it is disappointing they could not win, never is a trip to the Frozen Four a failure or a collapse. When it is one and done anything can happen.
• Wrestling came next. They were acknowledged to be in a down year and had a bad year but every powerhouse has a bad year as they finished 7th in the Big Ten tournament. I would take any bet that they will be a lot better next year.
• Then he had the balls to list the Men's Basketball team as a failure or collapse. He uses the excuse that the team was ranked #19 and was mediocre down the stretch. He claims that Damian Johnson regressed in Big Ten play and anyone who actually watched the team knows the opposite is true as he became our best player down the stretch. He doesn't dwell on the fact that this team won 9 games two years ago and still has 4 players from that team contributing. This team met or exceeded any rational expectations for this team heading into the season. I think Reusse would fit right in as a Kentucky Wildcat fan.
• He again thinks the Women's team failed for making the second round of the NCAA and beating a higher seed on its own home court. He was around when the Women were at the bottom and 100 people watched them in the Sports Pavilion and now being one of the top 32 teams isn't good enough.
• He then brings up the Gopher Football "collapse". What always is failed to be mentioned is that the Gophers never beat a bowl team the whole year. They did not collapse they just beat crappy teams early. People thought the Illinois and Purdue wins were impressive but they ended up not to be. The Gopher football team definitely has not been an overnight success but they did improve over 2007 and there is no reason to believe they won't improve on 2008 next year.
• Then finally he brings up the Hockey collapse. While I admit that it was a terrible collapse and this team had way too much talent to miss the NCAA tournament, he took it too far. Here is his quote about the hockey team "Don Lucia again turning his Yankees of college hockey into the St. Paul Saints". I don't even fully get the analogy and to say it is an overeaction is to put it mildly. They finished as the 15th best team in the nation and while they disappointed this year they certainly were not a minor league team.
• I'm sorry for the rant and it is probably hard to follow and read but I hate Reusse and I don't get why he feels necessary to rip the U. If Tubby wins the Big Ten next year, Reusse will either write an article about some old football coach talking about his playing days at Gustavus or he will take the day off and wait until they lose in the tournament and rip the failure of the program.
  

More Maresh Setbacks

It is being reported that Sam Maresh has had another setback to making his Gopher debut. Doctors have discovered a tumor on his left leg. There is good news to this story. It is not related to his heart condition that required heart surgery causing him to miss this past season and there is also a very low chance of it being cancerous. It is also not made up of blood vessels but it is causing him pain and needs to be removed. It is tough to see a 19-year old kid face so many obstacles in trying to just do what he loves in playing football. I hope all goes well and I think I speak for all Gophers when I say I hope to see him leading the Gophers on to the field in the first game in TCF Bank and he is in uniform.

In other Gopher football news, Brewster has hired a new Wide Recievers coach to replace George McDonald who left for the NFL. It is Richard Hightower. He spent the last few years as an assistant for the Houston Texans. He played for the University of Texas from 1999-2002 as a defensive back and wide receiver. I think the reason for his hiring is thinly veiled. He is a Texan through and through being born and raised in Houston and he will be used to recruit the Texas area where we have done fairly well under Brewster getting Hasan Lipscomb, Kerry Lewis, Spencer Reeves, and Keanon Cooper. His obvious main objective is to lure Mike Davis up north.

On Gopher Illustrated it has a story about how junior guard Jacob Thomas wants to be a Gopher. He has flown so far under the national radar but is likely the best junior guard in the state and might be the best junior in the state. He is averaging 21.5 ppg and scored 41 against Cooper and Rodney Williams and 30 in his last game while Saul Smith was in attendance. I think he will be a very good player the problem is, in my opinion, whether he becomes a Gopher or not is out of his hands. It is in those of Cory Joseph. He is the younger brother of Devoe Joseph and by accounts might be the better of the two. He is more of a true point guard than Devoe. He is the point guard for the #3 high school team in the nation and along with an offer from the Gophers he has offers from Georgetown, Louisville and Marquette. If he heads to Minneapolis there won't be room for another guard, but if Joseph heads elsewhere you will likely see Thomas in a Gophers uniform come the Fall of 2010.

I mentioned in the previous post about Hopkins making a name for it self on the east coast over the weekend. Well, I wasn't just talking. They are now the #16 team in the nation and ESPN.com in it's coverage of the event listed Royce White as the most impressive player in the event which featured Lance Stephenson (#9 in nation) and Dexter Stickland (#17 in nation). I almost just want this season to end so we can see Royce in maroon and gold. He should come in next year and win Big Ten freshman of the year.

Stats of the Day

• 0: Minnesota players in the Rivals Top 150 for 2010. There are 5 in the 2009 Top 150 and 2 in 2008. Tubby is going to have to look elsewhere for his recruits like he did in 2008.
• 87 - 57 : The average score of a Hopkins game this season. When you average beating a team by 30 you need to find a harder challenge.

Your 2009 Gopher Football Recruiting Class

This class is not the wow and top 25 class than Brewster brought in last year but there is talent in the class. There won't be a lot of contribution next year but over the 4 years they should make their presence felt. Here is a summary of the commits so far:

Hayo Carpenter - JC WR 5' 11" 175 - Scout 5 stars Rivals 4 stars
Was recruited by everyone. Rivals has him the 13 best JC player in the nation. He runs a sub 4.4 40 and should make the biggest impact next year. Should fit in nicely as the slot receiver next to Decker and Brandon Green.

Michael Carter - #12 CB 5' 11" 154 - Scout 3 stars Rivals 4 stars
This was the signing day surprise. He had committed to West Virginia at the All-American Bowl but changed to the Gophers on signing day. He is the cousin of Gopher standout Tyrone Carter. He needs to get into the weight room but is very talented and could see time as a nickel back this year.

Hasan Lipscomb - #24 RB 5' 11" 201 - Scout 3 stars Rivals 4 stars
He has kind of gone under the radar but he is the recruit I am most excited about. He runs a 4.4 40 and has good size. He played in the shadow of QB Russel Shepard (#3 player in nation) in high school but I think he will come in and back up Duane Bennett as a freshman and may over take him.

Ra'Shede Hageman - #6 TE 6' 6" 251 - Scout 4 stars Rivals 3 stars
He is a physically imposing player. He already is NCAA TE size ready. He is also very athletic and has a very impressive highlight reel. He was recruited by every school including Ohio State and Oklahoma. He might not play much as a freshman learning the system but he should continue the tradition of Ben Utecht and Matt Spaeth.

Matt Garin - #21 DE 6' 4" 220 - Scout 4 stars Rivals 3 stars
A recruit who has moved up a lot this year and has started to get a buzz around him. He looks to have a bright future. Will likely be redshirted to add weight or possibly become an outside linebacker.

Moses Alipate - #16 QB 6' 5" 230 - Scout 3 stars Rivals 3 stars
Has the prototypical size for a QB. Didn't put up huge stats in high school but played for a terrible team and never had time to show off his abilty. There is talk he will change positions but I think he will come in a as a QB. Will be redshirted and will be behind Weber and Gray.

Kendall Gregory-McGhee - #35 Ath 6' 4" 214 - Scout 3 stars Rivals 3 stars
It is unknown where he will play at the next level. He has good size and is very athletic. Could play TE or LB. Will be redshirted to help him find his best position.

Josh Campion - #41 OT 6' 5" 265 - Scout 3 stars Rivals 3 stars
One of many Offensive lineman that were added to bulk the weak spot in the current Gophers team. Will be redshirted to bulk up.

Bryant Allen - #52 Ath 6' 0" 160 - Scout 3 stars Rivals 3 stars
Very good athlete who played QB in high school but will need to change positions. Will likely be a WR but could also play CB. There is talk that he will also walk-0n to the Gophers basketball team. He averages 25 ppg and is a favorite to be Mr. Basketball in Missouri. Won't be a starter but could see time on special teams and at WR.

Kerry Lewis - #41 CB 5' 9" 178 - Scout 3 stars Rivals 3 stars
Will likely play safety in college. With the departure of Tremaine Brock, he might be able to compete for playing time but likely won't see much of the field next year.

Joey Searcy - #43 DT 6' 1" 276 - Scout 2 stars Rivals 3 stars
He might be a sleeper. He might move over to DE but might see time as a DT on third downs.

Brent Singleton - #58 OLB 6' 0" - Scout 3 stars Rivals 3 stars
He will be a safety in college. He de-committed from South Carolina to head to Minneapolis. Won't see playing time as a freshman.

Ed Olson - #67 OT 6' 7" 285 - Scout 3 stars Rivals 3 stars
He has big potential. He could be a back-up this season and should be starting at some point in his career. His brother has already committed to the Gophers as a sophomore and might be the better lineman.

Victor Keise - #98 WR 6' 1" 160 - Scout 2 stars Rivals 3 stars
One of the first commits to the Gophers. Decent speed. Will need to add weight and strength. Won't see time as a freshman.

Kenneth Watkins - #42 S 6' 0" 185 - Scout 2 stars Rivals 3 stars
Might also play CB but has good speed and might develop. Will redshirt next season.

Brooks Michel - #94 OT 6' 7" 280 - Scout 3 stars Rivals 3 stars
Has very good size and frame. Will add size and likely be plus 300 lbs.

Jeff Wills - JC OT 6' 7" 350 - Scout 2 stars Rivals 3 stars
Not much is known about this prospect but his size gets people talking. He is the guy brought in to show the committment to the power running game. Will be competing for a starting spot on the line.

Eric Jacques - #61 OG 6' 2" 280 - Scout 1 star Rivals 3 stars
Came with Michael Carter in a package on signing day. Did not recieve other similar offers. Will defintely be red-shirted.

Nick Rengel - Ath 6' 3" 225 - Scout 2 stars Rivals 2 stars
Will likely be a DE or Outside Linebacker in college. Has some abilty and will be red-shirted as a freshman.

Dan Orseske - #32 K 6' 3" 195 - Scout 2 stars Rivals 2 stars
Might also punt. Will compete with Eric Ellestad for the kicking job. Will likely be kicking or punting for the team next year.

There it is so far. There may be some late additions as the signing period continues for a couple weeks. Some players might not get in or otherwise not make it to campus by September. I will later show how this class stacks up with other classes in the nation.

News and Notes

• The Alabama job is officially a possibility as Alabama has fired Mark Godfried. Alabama is 12-7 and 2-3 in the terrible SEC. I am going to get so sick of the speculation that Tubby might leave just because of those who think Minnesota is an inferior school.
• The Gophers fell out of the top 25 in the AP poll but are still ranked 24 in the ESPN poll. The team is 36 in the latest RPI. The latest bracketology has the Gophers a 7 seed playing Florida State.
• Lawrence Westbrook is no longer the only Gopher averaging double digits in scoring. With 18 against Indiana Damian Johnson is now averaging 10.1 ppg along with 4.2 rebs.
  
• Gophers Illustrated has released the top 10 juniors in Minnesota football. If you have the premium service you can view it here. Seantrel Henderson (Cretin) could be the number 1 player in the nation. Other juniors who will be strongly recruited are Jimmy Gjere (Irondale), Beau Allen (Minnetonka) , Tobi Okuyemi (Wayzata), and Joel Bauman (Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg). I don't see the Gophers getting Henderson because he can go anywhere and start on day one and the Gophers have never been able to recruit Cretin kids. He likely will follow the Cretin train to Notre Dame. The Gophers should be able to get the others however.
• Some Vikings news: The NFL has settled the lawsuit with Korey Stringer's widow. It has been 7 years since the incident. There is still a pending lawsuit with Ridell, the maker of the helmet and shoulder pads he was wearing at the time. Viking great Carl Eller has been found guilty of assaulting a police officer.
• Blake Wheeler was named the MVP of the YoungStars game leading the rookies with a hat trick. He will get some serious consideration for Rookie of the Year. I would not have guessed that considering his underwhelming run as a Gopher. He went from barely making the team out of training camp to 14g, 16a and a whopping +/- of 27.
  

Gopher Football Very Busy

The Gophers have been very active recently considering it is the end of January. It has already been mentioned about the new offensive coordinator, but here is what else is going on:

• Tramaine Brock is no longer enrolled at the University. This hurts as I thought Simmons and him were the main reasons for the defensive improvement. He was a sure tackler with athleticism. I hope the Gophers find a solid replacement.
• The Gophers are close to setting up a home-and-home with USC. Fans have been clamoring for better non-conference games, but I don't think this was what they had in mind. You would like to schedule opponents that you can compete with. However, I already want to get a ticket for when USC comes to TCF Bank Stadium.
• The Gophers have secured there first commitment for 2010. It is Konrad Zagzebski. Two things have me excited about this. One it is a great name and I wish I had an idea on how to pronounce it. The best fact is that he is from Wisconsin and should be the top prospect from Wisconsin. No only if we can get the top prospect from Minnesota (Seantrel Henderson) we will really be in business. It feels good to win some recruiting battles. Here is his film reel.
  

Major Changes Coming to Dinkytown

There are major changes coming to the Gophers football program in the upcoming month. Both Mike Dunbar, the offensive coordinator, and Ted Roof, the defensive coordinator, have left the program. The Dunbar move was not surprising. When Tim Davis was brought in from Alabama to install a power running game the writing was on the wall. He became the scapegoat for the offense lack of improvement and losing the last 5 games. The Roof move is surprising. He is leaving to be the defensive coordinator at Auburn. He was highly regarded for the drastic improvement in the defense after being fired as head coach at Duke. I didn't think he would be here long as I'm sure he wants another shot at head coach, but I definitely thought he would be here a few years.

This means Brewster will be on his third defensive coordinator in 3 years and second offensive coordinator. I do have some worries about this news. Will this affect the incoming recruits? Roof recruited a lot of players like recent commit Taikwon Paige, the offensive recruits came for a wide open spread offense like MarQueis Gray and Hayo Carpenter, if the new offense doesn't fit their ability they might leave. I would like to see the spread stay as that is the evolution of NCAA football. They do need to add a running game but once we get depth at the WR spot and Weber and Grey develop the offense should get going.

There are no indications of who Brewster will find to replace them. One thing I have liked about the Brewster is ability to find quality and exciting coordinators. I think it isn't out of the realm of possibilities that Davis will be promoted to coordinator. There will be a lot of changes and where the program heads from this month will have a huge impact on the future and legacy of one Tim Brewster.

Stats of the Day

• 79th: Minnesota's rank in total defense up from 119th the previous year
• 91st: Minnesota's rank in total offense down from 48th the previous year
• 72: rushing yards for Texas in its win over Ohio State. I guess you don't need a running game if you have an All-American Quarterback and more than one quality receiver.

Video of the Day

Here is a video clip of future Gopher Rodney Williams showing of his athletic ability at the Timberwolves Gatorade Shootout. I can't recall when the Gophers have had someone with this leaping ability.