The next Gopher football recruiting class will be “one of the best in school history.” Coach Tim Brewster, who according to NCAA rules can’t talk specifically about recruits at this time, said at his weekly news conference yesterday that the response by prospective players to Minnesota is outstanding. The Gophers have 16 verbal commitments for 2008, including three players rated four out of five stars, according to rivals.com.
The players with the four star rating are wide receivers Brandon Green of Chicago and Vincent Hill of New Berlin, New York, and linebacker Sam Maresh of Champlin, Minnesota. The Gophers, of course, will continue to recruit beyond the 16 players until signing day next winter. While Brewster has generated a lot of attention with his spread offense, he made it clear yesterday the Gophers will emphasize defensive recruits and that the way to championships is built with great defensive players.
Brewster said yesterday he “loves to recruit” and he’s assembled much of the staff in his image. Asked what elements are appealing to recruits so far, Brewster launched into praise of the present and future facilities at the University including the new TCF Bank Stadium scheduled to open in 2009. He identified the stadium as the only such completely new facility built in the last “50 to 60 years” on a college campus. “We’re re-connecting with our past history and tradition and getting back on campus,” he said.
Brewster also spoke about the academic opportunities at the University and the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. “The Twin Cities is one of the amazing sells in the Big Ten,” he said. “We’re not out in the middle of the corn field. We’re in a beautiful city environment here with so many things to offer. There are 20 Fortune 500 companies here within a 20 mile radius of this University. That’s better than any college in America. …”
With the Gophers 1-7 and lacking talent and depth at various positions, there are opportunities for new players to play soon. Brewster called that factor a “tremendous selling point.”
If Brewster and his staff come up with a top 25 rated recruiting class it will be the first within memory at Minnesota. It won’t hurt the rankings that people like Brewster including media who specialize in recruiting information.