Gopher coach Tim Brewster’s goal is to have a “top 20” college football recruiting class for 2008. Brewster and his assistant coaches have devoted extraordinary time and energy the last several months to making their first recruiting group one of the best in school history.
“We will be very, very disappointed if we don’t have a top 20 recruiting class in the country,” Brewster told Sports Headliners. “…Obviously, if we’re in the top 20 in the country, then…we’ll be in the upper end of the Big Ten (Conference) which is where we need to be, which is where we should be.”
Beyond 2008? Brewster expects to set the goal at top 15 or better in recruiting rankings. “Each and every year I think we’ll take steps of re-establishing ourselves as one of the elite programs in college football,” he said. “Without question that’s going to be accomplished. …
“I couldn’t be any more excited about how the (recruiting) process is evolving to this point. We’ve made tremendous inroads in the state of Minnesota and in the country in areas in which we targeted. … California, Texas, Florida where we’re going to go get dynamic football players that can help us win a championship.
“And then obviously it’s got to translate on the field. We’ve gotta win. More than anything that’s what’s going to help us in recruiting, when kids see our style of play. When they see a brand new on-campus football stadium it’s going to be huge in allowing us to return to greatness.”
Brewster won’t know the complete recruiting results until signing day in February but the bar has been set high and is going higher. A verbal commitment in the fall from one or more high school superstars will add further evidence of Gopher progress. No potential commitment looms larger than that of Cretin-Derham Hall wide receiver Michael Floyd, considered one of the elite school boy players in the country. Another barometer will be Brewster’s son Nolan, a consensus choice as a top safety, who currently is committed to Texas.