Buck Bravo

Antoine Lewis, a wide receiver/cornerback from Proviso East High School in Maywood, Illinois, has committed to join Minnesota’s 2010 recruiting class.  Lewis is listed at 5′10 175 pounds at Rivals, and 6′0 185 pounds at Scout.  He’s only a junior in high school, so it is quite possible that the measurements were taken at different times.  If his listed forty yard dash time of 4.3 turns out to be accurate, Lewis could add blazing speed to the Gophers’ lineup in 2010.  Lewis’ film is impressive in that he not only demonstrates good hands and breakaway speed as a wide receiver, but he is also not afraid of contact on the defensive side of the ball.  Lewis’ video is definitely worth watching.  Antoine Lewis, welcome to the Gopher Nation:

The 2009 Big Ten class rankings for Rivals, Scout, and ESPN have been discussed and analyzed by many.  What has been frequently overlooked is the average quality of incoming classes.  Class rankings typically weigh both quantity and quality of recruits.  Let’s take a look at just the average quality of the incoming classes.

Rivals uses two different scores for rating players.  First, let’s take a look at the average number of stars that have been awarded to recruits:

Here’s a graph depicting the same data:

Notice that the Big Ten teams are generally divided into three tiers.  The first tier of Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State are significantly higher than other teams yet progressively decrease sharply.  The second tiers of Illinois through Penn State are rather close in average quality.  The third tier, Indiana through Iowa, drops off sharply and teams progressively worsen from one to the next.

Let’s take a look at the Rivals Rating average quality.  Rivals Rating is a more detailed score given to recruits that in theory is more accurate than stars:

Here’s a graph for Rivals Rating averages:

Once again, there are three distinct tiers.  However, the more detailed ratings has pushed Minnesota to the bottom of the top tier and rearranged a few of the other rankings.

Scout.com uses a star system to rate recruits, and for the 2009 Big Ten classes the average star ratings for recruiting classes are as follows:

Here’s a graph for the average Scout stars:

Just as with both rating methods for Rivals, average quality using Scout stars yields three tiers for Big Ten teams.  Ohio State and Michigan still claim the top two spots, but Penn State has taken the third spot.  Minnesota through Wisconsin are very close to each other in the second tier.  Indiana through Iowa have established a fairly consistent bottom in the third tier.

ESPN rates players on a numerical scale that ranges from about 40 to 100.  Note that ESPN does not assign a rating to JUCO transfers, which does affect the accuracy of the averages.  Here’s the average 2009 Big Ten recruiting class quality using ESPN ratings:

Here’s a graph of the same ESPN rating averages:

ESPN’s average ratings appear to follow a rather consistent linear regression.  Ohio State and Michigan are still head and shoulders above the rest of the Big Ten.  Just breaking the Big Ten into thirds in order to form tiers, Minnesota would be borderline first/second tier of the Big Ten.

Having looked at the averages for these different rating systems, Minnesota appears to have one of the better classes in the Big Ten.  However Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State clearly have much better average ratings for their classes across the board.  A few years ago Minnesota was an annual cellar dweller when the Big Ten class rankings were released.  Keeping company with Illinois, Wisconsin, and Penn State in the recruiting battle should be encouraging for Gopher fans.  With a strong 2008 class and a solid 2009 class, if such recruiting efforts continue Minnesota should be fielding a team with upper level Big Ten physical talent within a few more years.

Check back later this week for a breakdown of historical Big Ten recruiting class rankings and how those classes have predicted yearly performance.

Since Michael Carter’s commitment to Minnesota has already been widely reported, let’s keep this simple.  First, Carter is an amazing prospect who will be an impact player for Minnesota.  Michael is the cousin of Gopher great Tyrone Carter, and will have a chance to make his own place in the history of the program.  Second, here are some interesting links regarding his commitment:

- The Daily Gopher highlighted Carter’s commitment to Minnesota this morning in this article.

- Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune discusses Brewster’s perspective relative to Carter’s switch.

- A Pioneer Press article notes that Carter was also recruited by Florida.

- MNDaily.com has some quotes from Tim Brewster regarding Carter:After signing with the Gophers,

Brewster said Carter told him, “If you liked Tyrone, wait until you see me.”

“He’s probably as good of a cornerback as there is in America,” head coach Tim Brewster said. “He has tremendous one-on-one coverage skills. Obviously he has to get bigger and stronger, but he’s got tremendous speed and competitiveness and will make an impact on this team quickly.”

Michael Carter, welcome to the Gopher Nation.

According to Rivals.com, offensive lineman Zach Mottla has decided to play football for the Minnesota Gophers. ESPN has Mottla rated as the 8th best center in the nation. ESPN analysis and video of Mottla in action can be viewed at this link. Mottla attends Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, which throughout the years has been a high school powerhouse in Minnesota. Mottla was an honorable mention offensive lineman for the Minnesota All-State Football team. According to ESPN, 6′2 270 poind Mottla:

…is a very solid center in terms of both run and pass protection; he is only limited by physical size.

Zach Mottla, welcome to the Gopher Nation.

Though not officially confirmed the Gophers have reportedly hired Jedd Fisch, an assistant coach with the Denver Broncos, as a new offensive coordinator. All of the information that I’ve been able to find about Fisch, at least so far, indicates that he could have a promising future as an offensive coordinator. Here’s what I’ve been able to dig up:

1. Mike Shanahan apparently gave a strong recommendation for Jedd Fisch to be the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions:

Former Broncos HC Mike Shanahan has spoken of Fisch in an impressive way, saying his former receivers coach is ready to be an offensive coordinator.

2. With an endorsement from Shanahan, he apparently was interviewed by Detroit for the position of offensive coordinator. If Shanahan considers him ready to be an offensive coordinator in the NFL, he’s likely ready for the Big Ten.

2. Based upon this linked article, Jedd Fisch will insist upon hard-nosed, fundamentally sound football. He is also reported to have developed Denver’s young wide receivers:

Fisch…helped Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall make significant strides early in their careers.

3. Fisch is only 32 years old, but he may have already been considered to be the offensive coordinator at UCLA over a year ago.

4. According to a Broncos’ blogger, Fisch has a thorough understanding of the NFL passing game:

He used to be quarterback assistant at Baltimore so therefore he knows the passing game well. He also knows the different types of QB’s. He and the Ravens played 3 QB’s last year including former Pro Bowler Steve McNair.

Having experience working with young NFL wide receivers and NFL quarterbacks including Steve McNair could be just what the Gophers needed to continue the development of their young wide receivers and quarterbacks.

That’s all for now.

Former Nebraska defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove has been named the Gophers’ co-defensive coordinator along with Ronnie Lee, who was promoted from his current position as the Gophers defensive backs coach. Both Cosgrove and Lee are proven recruiters, and Cosgrove has extensive experience as a defensive coordinator at both Nebraska and Wisconsin. Ronnie Lee has been on the Gopher staff since Tim Brewster’s hiring in 2007, and likely earned a well-deserved promotion. Cosgrove has a wealth of experience to analyze. Let’s take a look at Cosgrove’s track record at Nebraska:

Cosgrove’s defenses were solid in 2005 and 2006, and below Nebraska standards for 2004 and 2007. Nebraska fans have been dissatisfied with the Cornhusker football program for years, and some speculate that Cosgrove may have been targeted as a scapegoat. The question that remains to be answered is whether the Gophers can expect the solid Cosgrove defenses of 2005-2006, or the questionable Cosgrove defenses of 2004 and 2007. Cosgrove left Nebraska after a 2007 season in which his defense gave up 37.9 points per game. One statistic that indicates Cosgrove may have been unfairly judged is that the 2008 Cornhuskers, under a new defensive coordinator, still gave up 29.2 points per game. It’s quite possible that Nebraska’s defense had dwindling talent during the Cosgrove years in a strong Big 12.

Gopher fan reactions can be viewed in the comment section of Kent Youngblood’s blog at the Star Tribune, and Cornhusker fan reactions can be viewed at the Journal Star football blog. Ronnie Lee coached a strong defensive backfield in 2008 that featured aggressive play and fundamentally sound tackling. I expect that the defensive backfield will be even stronger in 2009 with all four starters returning, Kim Royston and four star junior college transfer Taikwon Paige added to the mix, and Ronnie Lee’s continued guidance as co-defensive coordinator. Time will tell if Kevin Cosgrove can help to build a stronger defense as co-defensive coordinator with Ronnie Lee.

Based upon Everett Withers’ success at North Carolina, it is fair to assume that much of Ted Roof’s success in bringing the Gopher defense back to mediocrity was due to an influx of JUCO talent. Expect the 2009 Gopher defense to be bigger, stronger, faster, and older than the 2008 team. There is no reason that Lee and Cosgrove shouldn’t be able to field an improved defense in 2009.

Gophers’ offensive coordinator Mike Dunbar has reportedly resigned. For details, follow this link to Kent Youngblood’s blog at the Star Tribune. Based upon past vacancies, I would expect a new hire to be announced within the span of a few days.  If I had to make a wild guess, I’d predict that a replacement has already been chosen and will join the Gopher staff from a high profile BCS program or an NFL team.

Four star junior college cornerback Taikwon Paige from Milledgeville Georgia Military College has committed to Minnesota. Paige is a gifted defensive back who also had offers from Oklahoma State, Rutgers, and East Carolina. Having prototypical height and size with a 4.40 forty yard dash time, Paige should be an impact player for the Gophers. Oh, and he’s also a track star who has run as fast as 10.84 in the 100 meter dash. GopherHole.com recently conducted an interview with Paige. Check out a video of Paige in action by clicking here and you’ll see how he earned all four of those stars. Taikwon Paige, welcome to the Gopher Nation.

The 2009 Insight Bowl was a great football game…for the first quarter. The game initially appeared to be a Wild West gunslinger showdown with two touchdowns scored in the first two minutes of the game. By the second quarter, Kansas began to pull away as their seasoned veterans overpowered a young Gopher team. Rather than a play-by-play analysis, let’s look at what was to dislike and like about the game:

Dislikes

1. Officiating - While fair officiating probably wouldn’t have made a difference in the outcome of the game, it definitely would have resulted in a closer matchup. In particular, the pass interference call against Steve Davis on third down in the second quarter was a morale-buster. On the replay, he did not hold or impede the receiver from catching the pass. To add insult to injury, the pass was also uncatchable. That bad call resulted in a Kansas touchdown and the beginning of the end for the Gophers. Kansas was not called for a single penalty in the first half despite chop-blocking or grabbing fist-fulls of Gopher jerseys on nearly every offensive play. Also, Minnesota was called for an illegal formation when Kansas had previously gotten away with the exact same violation.

2. Lack of a hurry-up offense - With 10:56 left in the game and down by fourteen points, the Gophers had the ball and were within striking distance of tying the game with two possessions. Minnesota ran almost five minutes off of the clock without scoring. They haven’t run a hurry-up offense all year, and extended huddles with the clock running during this drive was frustrating to watch. Hopefully Minnesota will develop a hurry-up offense for next year as players gain experience and maturity.

3. Todd Reesing’s accuracy - Kansas fans must have been ecstatic, but it was excruciatingly frustrating to watch him throw every pass right on the numbers.

Likes

1. Gophers’ offensive adjustments - Minnesota added some new formations to their offense that should compliment the core spread offense in years to come. Having a power running option for goal line and short yardage situations balances out some of the inherent shortcomings of the spread offense.

2. David Pittman - Pittman was injured for the majority of the 2008 season, but was finally let loose against Kansas. His first quarter bomb to Eric Decker was long overdue. Hopefully 2009 will have a healthy David Pittman more involved in the offense.

3. Da’Jon McKnight - He was only in the game for the final drive but he has the size, speed, and agility to justify predicting a bright future for the freshman wide receiver.

4. The Gophers’ offensive line - While not dominant, the Gophers’ offensive line exhibited improvements in footwork, balance, and positioning versus the Kansas defense. Adam Weber actually had time to pass the football.

All in all, the 2009 Insight Bowl was a disappointment for Minnesota. Nobody expected Minnesota to win, but a victory would have been a great capstone for the 2008 season. Gopher fans can take consolation in knowing that while the game ended in a loss, the 2008 season wasn’t even supposed to end with a bowl game.

Kenny Watkins, a three star recruit from Detroit, has committed to play football for Minnesota. At 6′0 and 185 pounds with a 4.47 forty yard dash time, Watkins has good size and speed for a safety. ESPN states that “Watkins has the chance to be a very good collegiate player.” Watkins is also listed as having had an official offer from Indiana, and additional schools of interest included Iowa, Michigan, and Michigan State.