Recruiting – Page 61 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Twins Win Tonight Won’t Surprise

Posted on October 3, 2017October 3, 2017 by David Shama

A Tuesday notes column, with analysis and reporting on the Twins, Vikings and Gophers.

The Twins have been surprising both supporters and critics all season. They could do more of that tonight in their American League Wild Card game against the Yankees in New York.

While fans and oddsmakers understandably dwell on the Yankees superior overall personnel, few will argue the underdog can win in a one-game playoff to determine who advances in the postseason. For that to happen tonight, the Twins most probable path to victory is a dominant performance by starting pitcher Ervin Santana.

Close to ideal will be six or seven innings from Santana, with him yielding a run or two at most. Twins hitters need to produce at least a few runs in the game’s early or middle innings. What Minnesota wants to avoid is playing from behind and facing the Yankees superb bullpen.

Look for the Twins to strategically be prepared. This season it seems like the organization has improved its advance scouting including the use of metrics. Maybe that hasn’t translated into more victories during the regular season against the Yankees (New York was 4-2 versus Minnesota) but it could pay off tonight. There are so many subtleties in baseball that might impact the outcome of a game. Things like how to position fielders, or strategic pitching to a batter with two strikes.

This Twins team has told the baseball world all season “don’t sleep on us.” Critics buried them before the season started and during the summer when the club’s decision makers dumped All-Star closer Brandon Kintzler on July 31. If there was a Minnesota postseason bandwagon back then it was pretty empty, but the last two months of the season the Twins played some of their best baseball.

During the month of August the Twins were 20-10 and hit .280 as a team. The overall ERA was 3.78. The club had some big wins in September too but was 0-3 against the Yankees. Last Sunday the Twins finished a turnaround year where they won 26 games more, and lost 26 fewer, than in 2016.

The Twins made believers out of their fans and media. Whatever happens tonight is another positive in a successful year. And if you’re looking for a good omen consider this, the 1987 World Series champion Twins went 85-77 during the regular season, just like the 2017 club.

Mike Zimmer is in his fourth season as head coach of the Vikings and the ultimate goal is to play in next February’s Minneapolis Super Bowl. The odds are against that happening because of injuries to quarterback Sam Bradford and running back Dalvin Cook that are limiting the Vikings offense, but it would be ironic if Zimmer could win the Super Bowl like his mentor Bill Parcells did in his fourth season as Giants head coach.

The Giants won the 1986 Super Bowl, defeating the Broncos. Later when Parcells was coaching the Cowboys, Zimmer was his defensive coordinator. He worked four seasons for Parcells who usually texts the Vikings head coach after games.

“I have a book…of things he told me to remember as a head coach,” Zimmer said. “He talked a lot about field position. He talked about doing your job the right way, preparation and making players accountable and things like that.”

The Vikings are 2-2 after four games and their record characterizes the parity of the NFL. After four weeks the 4-0 Chiefs are the league’s only undefeated team. The opportunities most immediately ahead for the Vikings are winning in Chicago next Monday night against an inferior 1-3 Bears team, and then playing consecutive home games against the Packers and Ravens before visiting London and facing one of the league’s worst teams, the Browns.

No definitive news on whether Bradford’s troublesome knee allows him to play against the Bears after missing the last three games. Bradford excels under pressure from defenses, even setting an NFL single season record for completion percentage (71.6) last season despite playing behind a leaky offensive line. Profootballfocus.com reports that backup Case Keenum was “4-of-11 for 63 yards while under pressure” in Minnesota’s 14-7 loss to the Lions last Sunday.

Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant told Sports Headliners yesterday that Benny Sapp III, who is out for the season because of meniscus surgery on his left knee, should be recovered by late this year, but not in time to play for the Eagles. Sapp, who has also had two ACL surgeries on the same knee, is verbally committed to the Gophers as part of their 2018 recruiting class.

The loss of Sapp, a playmaker at cornerback and receiver for Grant, is unfortunate but the 5-0 Eagles could still win the 6A state title. Among their interesting standouts is running back Solo Falaniko who rushed for 187 yards last week against Maple Grove. Falaniko missed practice time this summer when he returned to his native Samoa after the death of his grandfather.

The Gophers’ fragile path to enough wins for bowl eligibility took a hit with their loss to Maryland last Saturday. Minnesota, 3-1 and 0-1 in Big Ten games, probably can’t withstand another defeat this Saturday in a winnable game against Purdue. Here is how Sports Headliners ranks the Gophers, Boilermakers and the other 12 Big Ten football teams starting with the West Division:

1.Wisconsin (4-0, 1-0). Badgers are good but are playing Charmin-soft nonconference and league schedules.

2. Iowa (3-2, 0-2). Hawkeyes have elite defense but struggle to score against quality opponents.

3. Nebraska (3-2, 2-0). Unpredictable Cornhuskers will answer more questions at home Saturday against Wisconsin.

4. Northwestern (2-2, 0-1). The Wildcats have gone from West Division title dark horse to the Big Ten’s most disappointing team but don’t discount the possibility of a mid-season comeback.

5. Purdue (2-2, 0-1). The best new coach in the Big Ten might be Purdue’s Jeff Brohm who took over a horrible program and has impressed in losses to nationally ranked Louisville and Michigan.

6. Minnesota (3-1, 0-1). Yup, P.J. Fleck, maybe not Brohm, could prove to be the league’s best newcomer in 2017, and he can boost his resume with a win Saturday at Purdue.

7. Illinois (2-2, 0-1). Year two in the Lovie Smith coaching experiment and he receives no vote of confidence from this keyboard.

East Division

1.Michigan (4-0, 1-0). It’s Harbaugh time in Ann Arbor, with the Wolverines probably winning their first conference title under “coach Khaki” this fall.

2. Ohio State (4-1, 2-0). Yes, the Buckeyes are loaded with talent but lost a few too many players to the NFL last spring.

3. Penn State (5-0, 2-0). Defending Big Ten champs get upset at Northwestern on Saturday. (Maybe).

4. Michigan State (3-1, 1-0). The college football world knew the Spartans and feisty coach Mak Dantonio weren’t going to have another 3-9 season.

5. Maryland (3-1, 1-0)). The Terps have an athletic roster and road wins at Texas and Minnesota.

6. Indiana (2-2, 0-2). IU used to be all about offense, and now the strength is more on defense, but Hoosiers still don’t have the balance and personnel to contend in the East.

7. Rutgers (1-4, 0-2). Offensive coordinator Jerry Kill coached in the press box for the first time last Saturday but the hapless Scarlet Knights lost 56-0 to Buckeyes.

Comments Welcome

Big Ten Title Team to Motivate Gophers

Posted on September 28, 2017September 28, 2017 by David Shama

More than 35 players from Minnesota’s 1967 Big Ten championship football team will be in Minneapolis Friday and Saturday to celebrate their 50th anniversary. That was the last Gopher football team to win the conference title and new head coach P.J. Fleck values the link to the past.

“I think it’s incredibly important,” Fleck said Tuesday. “We talked to them (his players)…about embracing your past to create your future. We want to bring the championships back to Minnesota.

“That doesn’t happen overnight. I said that from day one in my press conference, and every time I’ve talked. …But the one thing I’ll say is, we want to make sure, when the 1967 team watches our game (Saturday), they’re inspired. It brings them back to their day.”

Fleck and some players will attend a reception for the 1967 alums on Friday night at TCF Bank Stadium. Lockers at the stadium will temporarily have nameplates with names of the ex-Gophers and a gift in each space.

Prior to Saturday’s 11 a.m. home game against Maryland the ’67 champions will hear Fleck’s pregame speech. Then between the first and second quarters the ’67 group will be recognized on the field.

Minnesota quarterback Conor Rhoda said he and teammates are grateful to have the legacy players back in town. The 3-0 Gophers, going into their opening Big Ten game against the 2-1 Terps, want to show their elders how much they’ve accomplished in the last eight months.

“Hopefully, we’re able to do that Saturday and be able to show them that this program has taken the steps to get back to how it was in the ‘60s when they won the championships,” Rhoda said.

The 1967 group was the last of coach Murray Warmath’s championship teams from that decade. He has passed away and so has most of his staff, although former assistant Mike Reid will attend the reunion. Deceased players include Mike Condo, Ron Kamzelski, Charlie Sanders and John Williams.

Worth Noting

Fleck has travelled to high school games in the metro area via helicopter. Rhoda said the expense of using a helicopter sends a message. “For those kids that he was out recruiting it would show how important they are to him and how badly he wants them,” Rhoda said.

Fleck said a helicopter allows him to use his time efficiently. He not only wants to see players but engage with coaches and fans at high school games. “The more places we can see, the more benefit we have,” he said.

Rhoda talking about second team quarterback Seth Green, a redshirt freshman who so far has minimal college game experience: “He’s got all the skills in the world.”

It would be interesting if either Iowa or Wisconsin tries to hire popular former Gophers linebackers coach Mike Sherels. He isn’t coaching now but has a great reputation in the state of Minnesota where both the Hawkeyes and Badgers recruit.

The Vikings and Lynx games were both televised in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market last Sunday afternoon. How did TV audiences in the 18-plus category compare? The Vikings telecast averaged 665,500 viewers, the Lynx 40,700.

Profootballfocus.com gave third-year cornerback Trae Waynes the fifth highest grade among Vikings after last Sunday’s win against the Bucs. The former 2015 first round draft choice has been known for his inconsistency.

“Trae seems to be getting better all the time,” said head coach Mike Zimmer. “I think he’s starting to develop more confidence. There’s still things he needs to work on, but he’s got such great athletic ability that he just needs to continue to use it. Sometimes he overthinks a little bit—just go out and play.”

Zimmer, known for his defensive coaching, can appreciate the seven interceptions the Lions have in three games. “They do a good job of getting pressure on the quarterback,” he said. “They play tight in coverage. They are very well coached scheme-wise—fundamentally sound and they are around the football so they end up getting a lot of picks.”

The Lions and Vikings are both 2-1, and Sunday’s game at U.S. Bank Stadium is probably anyone’s guess as to the winner. The Lions won both games last season.

Despite starting quarterback Sam Bradford missing two games, the Vikings have the third most passing yards through three games in franchise history. They have 882 yards, compared with 982 in 2004 and 988 in 1981.

After last Saturday’s “Holy Grail” game won by St. Thomas, the D3football.com national rankings have the Tommies No. 3 and Saint John’s ninth.

The Twins, who play their final regular season game on Sunday, have four players with 20 home runs or more. If Max Kepler hits one more home run to total 20 he will make the 2017 season only the third time in club history five players have reached that level. Brian Dozier (33), Miguel Sano (28), Eddie Rosario (27) and Eduardo Escobar (20) are the 2017 home run leaders.

Gophers sophomore basketball forward Eric Curry, who had successful reconstructive knee surgery September 20, is on crutches and attending classes, but will miss the upcoming season.

The 35 players expected at Big Ten Media Day October 19 at Madison Square Garden in New York will include Gopher center Reggie Lynch and guard Nate Mason. Lynch was Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season, while Mason was All-Big Ten.

Condolences to Gophers center and Norway native Matz Stockman, the Louisville transfer, who lost his father Eirik last summer. Stockman, who is redshirting this season, returned home to Norway for awhile because of his father’s death.

Athlon’s college basketball magazine ranks Rochester John Marshall’s Matthew Hurt the No. 5 prep player nationally in the class of 2019. Because his brother Michael is already on the team, the Gophers might be favorably positioned to land Matthew.

Kevin Burleson, who played guard for the Gophers from 1999-2003, is an assistant coach for the NBA Rockets.

Mike Hastings is among the best coaches in men’s college hockey so it wasn’t surprising this week when both a coaches poll and media poll ranked his Minnesota State team most likely to win the WCHA’s regular season championship in 2018. His teams have won 122 games, the fourth most nationally, since he took over the program for the 2012-13 season. Bemidji State was voted No. 2 in the polls.

The WCHA offices are based in the Twin Cities and the men’s administration is led by commissioner Bill Robertson, a former executive with the NHL Wild.

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4-Star Recruits in U Football Future

Posted on August 24, 2017August 24, 2017 by David Shama

P.J. Fleck’s 2018 recruiting class doesn’t have any four-star players and has been trending down in the team national rankings. Each of the Gophers’ 23 football recruits is a three-star player, according to the 247Sports composite national rankings that has Minnesota No. 34 in the country after flirting with the top 10 early in the year.

Ryan Burns, the recruiting authority from GopherIllustrated.com, offered perspective on the numbers above during an interview with Sports Headliners. He said Tracy Claeys, Fleck’s predecessor as Minnesota head coach, recruited players who were “low threes and twos” regarding star rankings that go as high as five. Burns said those Claeys players were recruits often without offers from major college programs—schools like Louisiana-Lafayette and Western Kentucky.

“Now you look at P.J.’s first true recruiting class here in 2018 and (about) 75 percent of them have a Big Ten offer, and north of 80 percent of them have other Power Five (conference) offers, and they’re all mid to high level three-stars,” Burns said. “P.J. wasn’t going to immediately walk in the door and four-stars were going to want to come and play for him.

“Is that (four-stars) the expectation for 2019? Yes, I think they’ll go from probably one or two four-stars this class to—you’re hoping—they get three or four next class. …If next year they don’t have any (four-stars), then I would start to be a little bit surprised.”

Burns believes there are at least a couple—perhaps up to four—Gopher commits in the class of 2018 who via high school performances this fall could earn their way up to four-star status. Ask him who might be the best player in the class and he mentions dual-threat quarterback Brennan Armstrong from Shelby, Ohio. Burns watched Armstrong during summer workouts in Minnesota.

“He has a lot of great physical tools,” Burns said. “He’s 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. He runs extremely well. He’s a lefty. I think he reminds a lot of people of Kellen Moore, former Boise State quarterback (now a backup with the NFL Cowboys).

“He (Armstrong) really just knows how to be a great leader and knows how to win. He throws a really good ball. I am excited to see what he looks like this spring (2018 with the Gophers).”

Two other players Burns talked about who could move into four-star status are defensive tackle Elijah Teague from Chicago and Eden Prairie cornerback Benny Sapp III. Teague, whose college offers included Oklahoma, will likely be part of a roster next year with depth issues at defensive tackle. “I think he’s a guy that’s going to have to come in and play right away,” Burns said.

Sapp is the son of former Vikings cornerback Benny Sapp. Burns said “from talking with the Eden Prairie coaching staff, they think he is a very, very special player.”

While as of yet the Gophers have no four-stars or even five-stars prospects, they did make an early splash in the national recruiting rankings. They did so by not only receiving verbal commits from good players, but also by doing it early in 2017. The Gophers total of 23 (probably just two or three more commits will be added) ranks among the highest in the nation.

“P.J. likes to get it done early,” Burns said. “He really trusts in their (Fleck and his staff’s) live evaluations throughout the spring and summer. I guess the thing that has impressed me most about P.J.’s recruiting efforts is probably (having) 23 commits—I think everyone has been on campus, and I believe only a handful are from the state of Minnesota. …They all came on their own dime to come up here and see Minnesota. Some of them multiple times.

“That has not happened at Minnesota in quite some time. People want to come up and see Minnesota now because of P.J. Fleck, and that’s why he’s got so many commits right now.”

Burns believes that when the college football recruiting period for the class of 2018 ends next February, Minnesota will finish “somewhere” in the mid-30s of the national rankings. If so, that will be higher than Minnesota has done for several years with previous final rankings in the 40s and above.

Worth Noting

Where do the Gophers rank in 2018 recruiting among Big Ten programs? As of today they are No. 6 in the 247Sports composite rankings.

Recruiting rankings, of course, don’t guarantee success on the field for college teams. Tim Brewster’s 2008 class included seven four-star players led by quarterback MarQueis Gray and finished No. 17 in the Rivals national rankings. Brewster was fired as Gophers head coach during the 2010 season.

The Buffalo Bulls football team the Gophers open their season against at TCF Bank Stadium on August 31 had a 2-10 record last year including 1-7 in the MAC East Division. “Should be a growth season but not in the win-loss column,” said Lindy’s 2017 college football magazine.

The Bulls roster includes Kayode Awosika, a 6-5, 285-pound freshman offensive tackle from Plymouth who attended Maple Grove High School.

Minnesota will honor its 1967 Big Ten championship football team at the home conference opener against Maryland. Among players expected to attend the game will be former defensive lineman Ed Duren who now is without his legs because of diabetes, according to 1967 teammate Jim Carter.

Carter remains close to former Gophers head coaches Jerry Kill and Tracy Claeys. Kill, of course, is the new offensive coordinator at Rutgers, while Claeys is home in his native Kansas but has visited football friends including at Arkansas and Georgia.

With four football teams included, the Big Ten has more schools in the A.P. top 11 than any other conference. SEC powerhouse Alabama is No.1 with Ohio State second, Penn State sixth, Wisconsin ninth and Michigan 11th.

Vikings defensive end Brian Robison, 34, started all 16 regular season games last year but indications this summer are 22 year-old Danielle Hunter might replace him. Robison declined to be specific when asked if the Vikings have officially said Hunter, with two years experience, will now be the starter. Robison said he is “not worried about things I can’t control.”

Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen turned 27 on Tuesday. Former Twins owner Carl Pohlad would have been 102 yesterday.

Deepest condolences to my friend Don Gaudette and wife Ann following the recent loss of 24-year-old son Luke Gaudette, a former offensive lineman at Augsburg who grew up in Savage and played high school football at Prior Lake.

The Twins have placed catcher Jason Castro on the seven-day concussion disabled list. They have recalled outfielder Zack Granite.

It will be 55 years ago on Saturday that the Twins Jack Kralick threw the first no-hitter for the Minnesota franchise. There have been four other no-hitters in Twins history, with the most recent by Francisco Liriano in 2011.

Minneapolis restaurateur Wayne Kostroski, who founded the Taste of the NFL in Minneapolis for the 1992 Super Bowl, e-mailed that Minneapolis events featuring former Vikings and other celebrities are planned for September 10 and 11 to benefit Second Harvest Heartland. There will be wine tasting and a reception at Corner Table September 10 (more at EventBrite.com). On September 11 a lunch and auction will be at Mission American Kitchen and Bar (more information at 612-339-1000).

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