Recruiting – Page 75 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Gophers 4-Star Recruit a Nice Fit

Posted on February 23, 2015February 24, 2015 by David Shama

Kevin Dorsey is the only Rivals.com four-star recruit in the Gophers’ 2015 class. The point guard from Clinton Christian High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland is also a leading candidate to start for the Gophers next fall.

The Gophers starting point guard for most of this season, DeAndre Mathieu, is a senior. The team’s top shooting guard, Andre Hollins, is also in his last season of eligibility. Minnesota coach Richard Pitino will be looking for replacements and while freshman Nate Mason can play the point he might be a better fit in the starting lineup next season as a shooting guard.

Ryan James, the basketball recruiting authority for Rivals affiliate Gopherillustrated.com, told Sports Headliners that “without a doubt” Dorsey could be one of the Big Ten’s top dozen freshmen next season. James has seen Dorsey play five times and also watched him online.

James said to his knowledge Dorsey is the highest-ranked point guard the Gophers have ever recruited out of high school. While James won’t predict Dorsey as an immediate starter, he is confident the teenager will be a major contributor. “I just know he’s going to get a lot of minutes just because he’s an excellent on-ball defender and off-the-ball-defender, and he’s one of the best pace pushers you will see. I mean he will fly with the basketball in the other direction, and he often ignites it with his own defense.”

At about 5-11, 160, Dorsey certainly doesn’t impress with his stature but his athleticism, including his quickness, draws attention. So, too, does his competitiveness and aggressiveness. “Yes, I don’t think I saw a guy on the summer circuit that played as hard in an AAU-style of game defensively,” James said. “He was always drawing the other team’s best assignment, and that said everything.”

Pitino is an advocate of fast play offensively. Grab the defensive rebound and push the basketball fast toward the Minnesota goal, or create a steal and accelerate into a fast-break. Dorsey sounds like a clone of the point guard prototype for the Pitino system.

“This offense is perfect for him,” James said. “This is exactly the right fit.”

A weakness? James said Dorsey is an okay shooter. “I saw him make jumpers but I think overall he probably has to get better in that regard.”

Dorsey is rated the No. 87 prospect nationally in the class of 2015, according to Rivals.com. In 21 games for Clinton Christian High School he has averaged 22.1 points, 3.8 assists and 3.1 steals, according to Maxpreps.com.

But it’s the eye test that also impresses about Dorsey. James observed that Dorsey wears basketball shorts that are short enough not to bother his knees while trying to move his feet and legs on defense. “He doesn’t care about the shorts. He cares about getting it done, and that’s another reason why people like him.”

While saying to heck with more fashionable longer shorts, Dorsey takes the court to create a frenzy including on offense. “You have to get in front of him or he’s going to hurt you,” James said.

Gophers fans hope he will do some hurting on opponents immediately next fall.

Worth Noting

This observer’s opinion on the Gophers’ chances of winning on Thursday night at Michigan State: 10 percent. Minnesota, 5-10 in the Big Ten, has lost three consecutive games and plays a Spartans team, 10-4, that has won four straight and leads the conference in field goal percentage defense. Coach Tom Izzo has the Spartans on another classic bull run to season’s end.

The Vikings announced this morning the signing of free agent linebacker Brian Peters who played the last two seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League. In 2014 the former Northwestern player led the Roughriders with 78 tackles, plus he had three sacks, one forced fumble and two interceptions.

The Twins open their home spring training schedule at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers next week with exhibition games against the Gophers March 4 and Red Sox March 5. A dugout box seat costs $15 for the Gophers game but $44 to see the Red Sox. Both games will be telecast on Fox Sports North Plus starting at 6 p.m. Minneapolis time.

Twins second-year slugger Kennys Vargas was listed at No. 25 by USA Today in a February 13 article about “young players primed to make impacts during the major league season.” The 24-year-old designated hitter and first baseman hit .274 with nine home runs and 38 RBI in 215 at bats last season for the Twins. Vargas, 6-5, 290, was the only Twins player listed in the article headlined “The 50 names you need to know.”

Kevin Garnett is 38 but he remains feisty. He was suspended one game last month for head-butting Dwight Howard of the Rockets. Known for his temper when he played for the Timberwolves from 1995 to 2007, Garnett’s altercations with teammates included Wally Szczerbiak and Rick Rickert. Garnett, who was traded by the Nets last week to the Wolves, averaged 5.1 points and 17.4 minutes per game during January. He makes his home debut with the Wolves Wednesday night against the Wizards.

Timberwolves rookie star Andrew Wiggins has his 20th birthday today in Houston where his team plays the Rockets. Wiggins was about five months old when the Wolves drafted Garnett in June of 1995.

Jim Petersen, Timberwolves TV analyst and Lynx assistant coach, turned 53 yesterday. The former Gophers and NBA player was a McDonald’s All-American at St. Louis Park High School. As a prep senior he was also the 1980 Minnesota Mr. Basketball winner.

Gophers football fans can take encouragement from a recruiting analysis article in the February 9 issue of Sports Illustrated. Big Ten powers Michigan State and Wisconsin averaged No. 6 and No. 13 in the final Associated Press rankings from 2010-2014 despite neither program having high enough averages to be in the Rivals.com top 25 team recruiting rankings during the same period.

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Kill: Gophers Get a Quarterback ‘Steal’

Posted on February 4, 2015February 4, 2015 by David Shama

Demry Croft was the first player asked about when Jerry Kill was interviewed this afternoon on the Big Ten Network’s “Signing Day Special.” Kill said the 6-5, 200-pound quarterback from Boylan Catholic High School in Rockford, Illinois showed him impressive attributes at the Gophers summer camp last year including a “very, very strong arm,” length and speed.

“Very blessed in my opinion (to get him),” Kill said on BTN. “He’s a steal…we got him into camp and we could see what he could do. He had a good senior year. You look around the league, you better have an athletic guy that can run and throw it, and this young man can.”

Gopherillustrated.com recruiting authority Ryan Burns praised Croft in a Sports Headliners’ column last Sunday. He said Croft, who threw for over 2,000 yards last season and had only four interceptions, may eventually be the best of any quarterbacks signed by Big Ten schools in 2015.

BTN program host Mike Hall asked Kill to identify a player that hadn’t been mentioned during a brief introduction of the Gophers recruiting class. Kill answered that he is excited to see running back Jonathan Femi-Cole practice with the Gophers. He noted a lot of people probably don’t know about Cole because he is from Canada but said the 6-1, 218-pound game-breaker has “tremendous upside.”

Last week Burns identified (in addition to Croft) two other Gopher recruits who particularly intrigue him. He said Jasper, Georgia running back Shannon Brooks could earn playing time as a true freshman. Brooks gained 2,223 yards, averaging 9.9 yards per carry his senior year of high school, according to Gopherillustrated.com. Burns said Brooks led the state of Georgia in rushing.

“He’s got a lot of explosive ability,” Burns said. “He’s a really big kid; he’s 5-11, 205. He’s got a lot of good burst, a lot of good speed. I think he could potentially come in and compete right away.”

Ray Buford, from Southfield, Michigan, is a good athlete and another player who has Burns’ interest. He likens the 6-2, 190-pound Buford to Gophers cornerback Eric Murray who probably will be among the Big Ten’s best secondary defenders next fall. “I think if you were to project him, he could be a taller Eric Murray (6 foot) down the line,” Burns said. “He’s got a lot of ability. He can run well. He’s got good length.”

The Gophers’ class of 24 signed recruits that was announced today includes five offensive linemen and six secondary players. Those are two areas of need Kill mentioned on BTN. He believes the staff was successful in signing “big and athletic” linemen who will help in the future. A year from now the Gophers will lose four defensive backs so the secondary received emphasis in recruiting, too. “I think they’re very talented, like the group we have right now,” Kill said.

Offensive lineman Tyler Moore, a guard-center from Galena Park, Texas, drew the attention today of BTN analyst Howard Griffith. “…When he decides to lock on to somebody, you’re not going anywhere,” Griffith said. “He’s going to drive you to the ground. He’s got a lot of nasty in him.”

Kill said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” program Sunday that because of increased depth and quality he turned down a prospective recruit at a position he didn’t identify—a first for Kill at Minnesota. “I think every year we have improved in our recruiting classes,” he said.

The Gophers, 8-5 in their fourth year under Kill in 2014, continue to attract more size, strength, speed and length among recruits. Recruiting director Billy Glasscock was recognized last month by national recruiting analyst Tom Lemming as one of five outstanding national directors of operations for 2014.

A player the Gophers didn’t get today is Chicago Raby High School defensive tackle Jamal Milan. He told the Chicagotribune.com today that he chose Illinois (over the Gophers and others) because he was most “comfortable” with the Illini program.

Worth Noting

The Gophers didn’t have any players on Btn.com’s list of the Big Ten’s top 20 recruits but former Cretin-Derham Hall defensive tackle Jashon Cornell who signed with Ohio State was ranked No. 7. Cornell has superb physical skills but will also need consistency to play for the Buckeyes.

Parade Magazine had an interesting selection on its February 1 high school football All-America team. Kellen Overstreet from Penney High School in Hamilton, Missouri is one of the wide receivers and he accepted a scholarship to play for coach Craig Bohl at Wyoming, an obscure program entering its second season led by the former FCS national championship coach at North Dakota State. Overstreet ran for 4,259 yards and 70 touchdowns his senior year, one less than the national record for a single season, according to a February 2 story on Wyosports.net. Overstreet, though, is only listed as a two-star player by Rivals.com and had scholarship offers from Air Force and four FCS schools, according to Wyosports.net.

Sunday’s Super Bowl drew a record 114.4 million viewers and during the regular season the NFL dominated television numbers with the most watched programming. But you can be sure there were Sunday viewers who wondered about football’s future. Youth football participation has been trending down nationally because of safety concerns, most notably the potential for concussions.

Awhile ago PBS’s “Frontline” program offered a sobering look at the results of blows to the head caused by football. The media attention to the problem is growing and on January 25 the Los Angeles Times published a front page story headlined: “The hits that loosen NFL’s grip—Effects of football violence threaten its status as America’s game.”

Gophers women’s basketball center Amanda Zahui B. has 16 double-doubles this season in 22 games. Her most recent effort was 13 points and 15 rebounds on Sunday when the Gophers (17-5, 6-4 in the Big Ten) lost to Northwestern. Monday she was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week after averaging 14.5 points, 14 rebounds, eight rebounds and 2.5 steals last week.

Last week espnW included Zahui B. on its midseason All-America team. The website referred to the Gophers as the midseason’s “biggest surprise,” and coach Marlene Stollings as a coach of the year candidate.

The men’s basketball Gophers had an announced crowd of 13,253 for last Saturday night’s game against Nebraska. In 15 home dates this season, the Gophers haven’t sold out a game after having four capacity crowds at Williams Arena last season.

The Gophers, with a disappointing 3-7 Big Ten record after going 11-2 in nonconference games, likely will sell out one game when Wisconsin plays here on March 5. As of yesterday several hundred tickets remained for the game in Williams Arena, capacity 14,625.

The 20th annual Minnesota Vikings Arctic Blast Snowmobile Rally to help raise money for the Vikings Children’s Fund will be Friday-Sunday in Thief River Falls, Minnesota. The event features current and former Vikings players along with team executives. Among current players scheduled (subject to change) are Brandon Fusco, Charles Johnson, Everson Griffen, Phil Loadholt, Kyle Rudolph, Harrison Smith and Adam Thielen.

Former Twins marketing executive Patrick Klinger has helped organize the new Capital Club featuring local sports authorities as speakers. The club meets on selected mornings at Town & Country Club in St. Paul. Twins manager Paul Molitor speaks on February 11. The event will include a buffet breakfast from 7 to 7:30 a.m. and is open to the public. For more information contact patrickklinger@klingercompany.com.

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Ex-Bridgewater Teammate Top Prospect

Posted on January 13, 2015January 13, 2015 by David Shama

It’s possible that with the No. 11 pick in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft the Vikings will choose a former teammate of quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. DeVante Parker was a much targeted wide receiver when the two played their junior seasons at Louisville in 2013.

Parker, 6-3 and 210, is one of the best wide receiver prospects for the 2015 draft. Although Parker doesn’t have elite speed, he has quickness and has shown ability to get open and make yards after a catch. In 2013 he gained 785 yards on 55 catches while scoring 12 touchdowns.

After his junior year he considered coming out for the draft but remained at Louisville. A broken bone in his foot last season limited him to seven games but he had team best and impressive stats—855 receiving yards, averaging 19.9 yards per reception and 122.1 yards a game.

The Vikings have multiple needs including offensive line, linebacker and in the secondary, but it might be difficult to pass on Parker, a player Bridgewater knows well. Bridgewater established himself as the team’s No. 1 quarterback during the 2014 season but the passing game has plenty of room for improvement.

The Vikings were 29th in the 32-team NFL last season in touchdown passes. They had 17 touchdown throws and 18 interceptions, making them one of three teams in the league with more interceptions than touchdowns. Minnesota’s average pass gain of 6.9 yards ranked No. 25 and only four teams had fewer pass plays of 40 yards or more than the Vikings with seven.

Former Viking Bob Lurtsema, who remains close to the team, said “absolutely” he believes the front office should select a wide receiver with the No. 11 pick who can stretch the field. “You gotta get the corners off, get the corners to back up and respect you,” he told Sports Headliners. “Teddy Bridgewater is the real deal.”

Lurtsema learned to admire Bridgewater during the season including the poise of the 22-year-old and how teammates warmed to him. “He’s a great kid,” Lurtsema said.

Bridgewater was named to the All-Rookie Team by the Pro Football Writers Association, according to an announcement today. The Vikings had a 6-6 record in his 12 starts. He completed 259 of 402 attempts (64.4 percent) for the third-highest completion percentage among rookie quarterbacks in NFL history.

Bridgewater’s 85.2 passer rating ranks as the seventh-highest passer rating among rookies in league history and best for a rookie in Vikings history. He led all rookie quarterbacks with 224.5 passing yards per game. He threw for 14 touchdowns and had 12 interceptions.

Worth Noting

Lurtsema has a lot of praise for another Vikings newcomer last season. He compares head coach Mike Zimmer’s no baloney style with legendary Bud Grant. “Zimmer is out of sight,” Lurtsema said. “Players love playing for him. … He tells it like it is. He’s got a little Budism. He’ll tell you the truth.”

Later this month the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee will consider former Vikings center Mick Tingelhoff among 18 finalists for induction into the Canton, Ohio shrine. Tingelhoff played in 240 consecutive games over 17 seasons with the Vikings. He participated in six Pro Bowls.

Former Vikings running back Clinton Jones, who played collegiately at Michigan State, is part of the 2015 College Football Hall of Fame group announced by the National Football Foundation.

Giovan Jenkins, who played at Washburn and later became an assistant coach, is resigning as head football coach for the Minneapolis high school. In March he will become a volunteer assistant for the Gophers.

“I am very excited for the opportunity of a lifetime,” Jenkins told Sports Headliners. “It was a tough decision.”

During his 14 seasons as an assistant or head coach, the Millers compiled a 109-34 record. They won 13 city championships, appeared in six section playoff finals and one state tournament. Jenkins had many outstanding players on his team including Jeff Jones, a Rivals.com four-star recruit in 2014, who hopes to be the starting running back at Minnesota this fall.

Jenkins will continue his position as ninth grade dean of students at Washburn. Moving up into a college football role is something he’s thought about for years. “Leaving home is never easy,” Jenkins said. “I bleed orange and blue.”

With the Gophers Jenkins’ assignments are expected to include on-campus recruiting and analyzing game films. “It will be an opportunity to learn college football at the highest level from some of the best people in the business,” he said.

No announcement has been made about Jenkins’ successor at Washburn.

Aaron Hicks, 25, has played parts of two seasons in the major leagues for the Twins but hasn’t established himself as the team’s regular center fielder. In 150 total games with 467 at bats the athletic center fielder’s batting average is .201. Twins president Dave St. Peter recently told Sports Headliners it can take time for the “game to slow down” for some players and noted Torii Hunter, who became an All-Star, went “back and forth” between the majors and minors before establishing himself as one of the Twins’ best players ever.

St. Peter said there is no update on whether former manager Ron Gardenhire will accept an offer to stay with the organization. Gardenhire’s role hasn’t been defined. St. Peter said after 13 seasons leading the Twins, Gardenhire has earned the opportunity to set his own schedule regarding future plans.

Glen Taylor, the longtime Timberwolves owner, is the new owner of the Star Tribune and the Mankato-based billionaire meets monthly to be advised about the newspaper. Taylor said his daughter, Jean Taylor, represents him and typically meets weekly regarding newspaper details.

Gophers football coach Jerry Kill said on WCCO Radio’s “Sports Huddle” program Sunday that he expects four newcomers to participate in spring practice which begins March 2. Kill said he wasn’t sure if NCAA policy allowed him to identify them on the air. One player is known to be Iowa Western Community College transfer Charlie Rodgers, a defensive back. As a junior college player, he was allowed to sign his National Letter of Intent last month.

Kill also said among players who have been injured and unable to play, defensive lineman Scott Ekpe is the only one not expected to participate in spring practice. Ekpe, a junior, made his first career start in Minnesota’s opening game in 2014 but suffered a season-ending knee injury.

The Gophers will be looking to find a replacement for record-setting senior running back David Cobb. Kill mentioned multiple candidates but the most surprising name was Josh Parks from Chisago Lakes. Parks is a redshirt freshman and preferred walk-on who joined the program last year. His senior year in high school he averaged 9.5 yards per carry and was named third team all-state.

National Football Signing Day for high school players is February 4. Kill said the Gophers 2015 recruiting class may total about 23 players.

Zac Epping, who started 47 consecutive games on the offensive line for the Gophers and this fall was named first team All-Big Ten by the media, has retained Minneapolis-based attorney James Selmer of Selmer Sports Management as his agent. Epping is preparing for the NFL Draft with the help of Gophers strength and conditioning coach Eric Klein, and offensive coordinator and line coach Matt Limegrover.

It won’t be surprising if the College Football Playoff National Championship is played in Minneapolis within the next several years. Last night’s first ever game was hosted by AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The 2016 game has been awarded to the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Raymond James Stadium in Tampa will host the 2017 game. Arlington and Glendale have retractable roof stadiums while Raymond James is open air.

The College Football Playoff is run by FBS schools including the Big Ten. With schools represented from all over the country there is likely to be sentiment for staging the championship game in varied locations including the north. The new domed Vikings stadium is scheduled to open in 2016 and its only competition to host the national title game within Big Ten country comes from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and Ford Field in Detroit. With the Minneapolis stadium expected to be state-of-the-art and among the newest NFL covered football facilities in the country, odds seem high the city will one day host the game. Stadium promoters can already boast of booking the 2018 Super Bowl and 2019 Final Four.

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority, the Vikings and SMG announced recently that Patrick Talty has been hired as SMG’s general manager for the new Minneapolis stadium. SMG is contracted to operate and manage the facility on behalf of the MSFA. Talty joins SMG from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) where he most recently served as the senior vice president of Live Events. Talty’s career experiences include assistant general manager for the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale.

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