Recruiting – Page 76 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

‘Sky’s the Limit’ for Vikings Defense

Posted on June 17, 2015June 17, 2015 by David Shama

Notes on the Gophers, Twins and Vikings.

The Vikings ranked No. 14 in total NFL defense last season. Minnesota was No. 25 among 32 teams in rushing defense and No. 7 in pass defense. This week the team is finishing mini-camp for the spring and veteran defensive end Brian Robison likes what he sees.

“I think the sky’s the limit for us (defensively),” Robison said yesterday. “I think we’ve got an opportunity to do some really special things around here.

“I think our DBs are playing tremendous right now. I think they’re even better than what they were last year. Defensive line wise, I think we’re rushing very well. Linebackers, having Chad (Greenway) back and having a few of those guys back in there doing the things they’re doing. Fifty-four (rookie Eric Kendricks) is doing some great things out here.

“Yeah, we’ve got very high expectations for our defense and now it’s just about going out there and doing it. We can always have high expectations but if you don’t put it on tape then it doesn’t matter.”

Contrary to a published report earlier this spring, J.D. Spielman hasn’t verbally committed to the Gophers. Vikings general manager Rick Spielman told Sports Headliners yesterday the Gophers remain on the list of possible college destinations for his son who will be a senior football player at Eden Prairie High School next season.

Spielman said he and his son visited Michigan and coach Jim Harbaugh two weeks ago. Additional college visits are planned later this month but Spielman declined to identify the schools. J.D., who just finished his lacrosse season for Eden Prairie, has football offers from Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska. Spielman said his son is being recruited as an “athlete,” meaning he could play collegiately on offense, defense or special teams.

Zac Epping, the former Gophers guard, is working with Minneapolis-based agent James Selmer and drawing interest from several NFL teams including the Titans. Epping, who has lost weight since his Gophers days and feels quicker, now weighs 310 pounds and hopes to have a deal soon with an NFL club.

Teams are looking at Epping as either a guard or center. The 6-2 Kenosha, Wisconsin native impressed during his Gophers career with his work ethic and passion for competition. As a young college player, former Gopher offensive lineman Matt Carufel made an impact on Epping. “He kind of taught me, don’t take any crap from anybody,” Epping said.

The Vikings and U.S. Bank officially announced a 20-year naming rights deal on Monday for the new downtown domed stadium. U.S. Bank Stadium has long been rumored to be the name for the facility that opens next year. Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported Monday the deal is for $220 million.

If an $11 million per year figure is accurate, the deal is by far the largest of its kind for a Minnesota sports venue. Target Field naming rights have been estimated in the $5 to $6 million range annually with Xcel Energy Center perhaps worth half that, and Target Center and TCF Bank Stadium under $2 million each.

Dave Mona is looking for auction items for the sixth annual Camden’s Concert on July 13 at the Hopkins Center for the Arts. Among items already secured are prime seats at Lambeau Field for the Packers and Vikings game. The concert features the Wright Brothers and is named after Dave and Linda Mona’s grandson Camden Mona. The event raises money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Anyone with ideas for auction items can call Dave Mona at 952-944-5344.

Phil Steele’s College Football Preview and Athlon Sports have named Gophers punter Peter Mortell first team preseason All-Big Ten, according to a June 1 Gophersports.com story. Both Steele and Athlon included Minnesota defensive backs Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Eric Murray on their All-Big Ten second teams. Defensive end Theiren Cockran made Steele’s second team and offensive tackle Josh Campion was on Athlon’s second unit.

Former Gophers associate athletics director Tom Wistrcill has resigned as Akron athletics director to become an executive with Learfield Sports, the national company that works with colleges and conferences developing sports related revenues including for broadcasting.

Whether 21-year-old rookie center fielder Byron Buxton goes back to the minor leagues will have a lot to do with if he can hit breaking ball pitches. Buxton debuted on Sunday, struck out twice and was hitless in four at bats. He saw plenty of breaking balls. He is hitting .200 in three games with the Twins.

Breaking balls are a challenge to most young hitters, and whatever the reasons the Twins organization is working on a string of promising prospects who have floundered early in their MLB careers. The list includes Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks, Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas. All but Hicks impressed with early hitting only to stumble later.

Part of hitting success is confidence and the Twins didn’t allow Arcia, Buxton, Hicks, Santana and Vargas to play and excel for a full season in Triple-A, baseball’s highest level in the minors. The suspicion here is Buxton will be dispatched back to the farm system in a couple of weeks if he doesn’t impress at the plate. No doubt that would be a good move for this highly scrutinized athlete who is rated among the top prospects in baseball.

Buxton is a social media hit with over 24,000 Twitter followers. Decades ago Buxton’s rookie trading card would have been a hot item but now sports memorabilia, including card collecting, has much less interest. The value of old baseball cards for the bigger names is still impressive, though. Harmon Killebrew’s rookie card could command $250, with Rod Carew’s at $150. Mickey Mantle’s rookie card still is the gold standard with a price that might exceed $25,000.

St. Thomas men’s basketball coach John Tauer has authored a book on youth sports and parents. “It’s a combination of psychology, motivation research, anecdotes from the playgrounds to the pros on how and why kids excel or get burned out on sports,” Tauer wrote in an e-mail to Sports Headliners. The book is titled Why LESS is MORE for WOSPS (Well-Intentioned, Overinvolved Sports Parents) and more information is available at Amazon.com. Dr.Tauer, a St. Paul native, has his doctorate in social psychology.

The Warriors likely wouldn’t have earned an NBA title if high scoring guard Klay Thompson had been traded last summer to the Timberwolves. There was interest inside the Warriors organization in sending Thompson—the son of former Gophers All-American center Mychal Thompson—to the Wolves in a deal involving disgruntled power forward Kevin Love who was later traded to the Cavs. But Warriors consultant Jerry West insisted Thompson not be traded and was ready to resign if the deal was made, according to a SI.com story last Thursday by Chris Ballard.

West is a brilliant talent evaluator, perhaps the best in NBA history. He played a major administrative role in the Lakers winning eight world titles in Los Angeles and more recently helped turn around both the Grizzlies and Warriors. The legendary West was drafted as an All-American guard out of West Virginia in 1960, the same year the Lakers left Minneapolis, so he never played here. Ballard wrote that West’s drive for perfection is still present and he can shoot his age, 77, on the golf course.

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50% of Coach Kill’s Time Spent Recruiting

Posted on April 16, 2015April 16, 2015 by David Shama

Gophers football notes.

The Gophers coaches finished spring practice last Saturday and won’t be engaged in formal practices on the field with players until August, but this is a busy time with various tasks including recruiting. The NCAA allows college football assistants to be on the road recruiting now and head coaches like the Gophers Jerry Kill can recruit via telephone during this period of the spring.

Kill told Sports Headliners recruiting is a 365 days activity, and he and his staff spend 50 percent of their collective time each year in that process including evaluation and contact with potential Gophers. He said the football office receives approximately 5,500 e-mails annually regarding recommended prospects.

From all their research the staff has to figure out who they want as players and who will accept Gophers scholarships. Multiple players each year also agree to walk-on without a scholarship. Kill has eventually rewarded some walk-ons with scholarships.

The Gophers have several verbal commitments for the class of 2016 but much more work remains before high school players can sign National Letters of Intent next winter. “Right now in recruiting, it’s a critical time,” Kill said.

Kill’s staff will be visiting areas of the country where high school players have spring practices. That aids the evaluation process but spring practices don’t go on in Minnesota so Kill’s summer camps are vital to the evaluation process, and possible scholarship offers.

The Gophers coaches evaluated existing personnel on their roster yesterday morning. Sometimes after several weeks of spring practices players are moved to different positions, but not now. “We’re not moving anybody,” Kill said.

Kill’s health has gained attention during his time at Minnesota but the news is all good now. “I have been seizure free for 18 months,” he said.

The coach praises epilepsy special Dr. Brien Smith from Grand Rapids, Michigan for helping him. In addition to medication, Kill tries to walk every day and is diligent about eating at regular intervals.

Kill’s youngest daughter, Tasha, 24, will be married in Marion, Illinois on May 23 to Jason Hines.

The Gophers aren’t boasting but a visitor at spring practices developed the impression players and coaches might be thinking Minnesota will have one of the Big Ten’s best defenses next season. “I think there’s a very good chance,” Hank Ekpe told Sports Headliners. “We’ve been working hard all spring. We’ve been committed to what coach Kill is saying and what coach Tracy Claeys has been telling us. I think we’ll have a very good defense.”

Ekpe, a junior defensive end next season, was a force in the spring game last Saturday. His older brother Scott Ekpe, a senior in the fall, could replace the graduating Cameron Botticelli at starting defensive tackle. The Ekpes were starters together at Lewisville High School in Lewisville, Texas and could be regulars next fall, too.

Rodrick Williams, who will be a senior next season and likely the Gophers No. 1 running back going into August practices, is determined to maintain his weight at about 227 pounds after dropping 20 pounds since last season. He wants to avoid many carbohydrates. “…Like Little Debbie Snack Cakes,” Williams said, offering an example. “Too much bread, stuff like that.”

The 5-foot-11 Williams, who backed up David Cobb last year, said he’s faster than when he broke off late season touchdown runs against Nebraska and Missouri. “I still got my power. Little quicker, and I can move a little better, and I don’t get tired as quickly.”

The Big Ten Network announced this week there will be six Saturday night primetime football games including Minnesota at Iowa on November 14.

Worth Noting

Congratulations on another “great catch” by former Gophers and Vikings tight end Doug Kingsriter who is engaged to Kim Deason. Both are living in the Dallas area.

The Minnesota Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame hosts its 8th Annual Minnesota Football Honors event May 3 at the Hilton Minneapolis. The event is open to the public and sponsored by the Vikings. The NFL club will announce its team awards for MVP, Rookie of the Year, Man of the Year, and Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.

The following individuals will be presented awards by the Minnesota chapter: Tom Obarski, Concordia-St. Paul, Bob Stein Scholar-Athlete; David Cobb, Gophers, Bobby Bell College Impact Player of the Year; David and Janis Larson, Bud Grant Distinguished Minnesotan; retired coach Dick Hanson, Burnsville High School, John Gagliardi Legacy; Mike Max, WCCO radio & TV, Sid Hartman Media; Josh Benson, Hinckley-Finlayson, Courage; Garrett Gardner, St. Paul Central High School, Stacy Robinson Leadership; Nicole Dailey, University of Minnesota, Cheerleader.

Scholar-athlete award winners will be Trey Anderson, White Bear Lake Area High School; Tom Auger, St. Cloud Cathedral High School; Ben Ellefson, Hawley High School; Gunnar Grimsrud, Rochester Mayo High School; Ismael Kamara, Harding High School; Taylor Ottersetter, Mayer Lutheran High School; Ben Shoults, Maple Grove High School; John Solberg, Cambridge-Isanti High School; Mitchell Stangel, Crosby-Ironton High School.

The event includes a social hour starting at 5 p.m. followed by dinner and the awards program. More at Minnesotafootballhonors.com.

The St. Thomas football team will take a 13-day trip to Italy this summer with stops in several cities including Rome and Naples. An NCAA foreign travel policy allows the trip and coach Glenn Caruso’s Tommies will have a special cultural experience and also play a game against Giaguaire Torino.

The Big Ten placed two teams in this year’s Final Four and the conference could be impressive next season too. Sports Illustrated writer Seth Davis issued his “Way-Too-Early College Basketball Top 25” April 8 and included six Big Ten teams: Maryland, No. 5; Michigan State, No. 8; Indiana, No. 9; Michigan, No. 16, Wisconsin, No. 17; Purdue, No. 19. Virginia was No. 1, and Iowa State, coached by former Timberwolves guard Fred Hoiberg, ranked No. 6.

Tonight’s opening Stanley Cup playoffs game for the Wild and Blues is historic. The two franchises have never played against each other in the playoffs, although the North Stars and St. Louis competed in nine series. The last of those series was in 1991 when coach Bob Gainey’s Stars defeated the Blues in Game Six behind two goals from Bobby Smith.

Women’s basketball coach Marlene Stollings today announced the signing of 6-foot-1 forward Kynadi Johnson and 6-foot-3 center Karley Barnes to National Letters of Intent to play for the Gophers beginning next season. Johnson is a transfer from Butler Community College in Kansas and Barnes is a transfer from Tallahassee Community College in Florida.

The Minnesota State High School League kicks off a 100-year celebration Friday and Saturday at the State Speech Tournament at Lakeville North High School. The Minnesota State High School Athletic Association, the forerunner of the MSHL, began in April of 1916. Today the MSHL annually serves over 400 high schools, and more than 200,000 participants in 42 activities. The 100-year celebration will extend into 2016.

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Carter Coughlin Firm on U Commitment

Posted on March 23, 2015March 23, 2015 by David Shama

Gophers’ football fans with long memories might be a little concerned about whether Carter Coughlin will keep his verbal commitment to play for coach Jerry Kill.

The fans most worried will recall that in 2004 James Laurinaitis changed his mind about Minnesota and accepted a scholarship to play for Ohio State. Laurinaitis was a junior linebacker for Wayzata High School and a Rivals three-star recruit who gave a verbal commitment to the Gophers in early 2004 before he flipped that decision in December. Coughlin is a junior linebacker at Eden Prairie High School and Rivals.com ranks him as a three-star prospect.

Laurinaitis became a rare three-time college All-American and is the most decorated linebacker in Buckeyes history. He played on four Big Ten championship teams, with OSU winning two outright and sharing two others. He was the kind of home state defensive force the Gophers needed from 2005-2008 when they slogged their way through a cumulative conference record of 10 wins and 22 losses.

Laurinaitis was recruited by Ohio State assistant coach Luke Fickell. The Buckeyes co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach also recruited Coughlin and made a very favorable impression on him.

But this looks like payback time for Gophers fans because Coughlin insists his college decision is final even though Ohio State was tempting. “I am set in Maroon and Gold,” Coughlin told Sports Headliners. “There’s no question.”

Ohio State is college football’s defending national champ and will be a heavy favorite to repeat next year. What if the Buckeyes keep calling Coughlin and the Gophers have a bad season? “I am going to help build the program brick by brick,” Coughlin said. “I am completely invested in Minnesota and that’s my final decision.”

Coughlin, who could be the state’s top prep football recruit next fall, admitted it was “50-50” between Minnesota and Ohio State before he decided on the Gophers and announced his decision March 12. His mom, Jennie Coughlin, said her son “really had not let on yet” the big news was coming that Thursday.

That same day Carter had long distance phone work to do. “He was real close to coach Fickell,” Jennie said. “That was a tough phone call for him to make. …It was pretty emotional for him. He said it was probably the hardest thing he’s ever had to do…to tell coach Fick what his situation was.”

Coughlin is personable and admits to being a “people pleaser” so the call to the Buckeyes coach was understandably difficult. But when he went to Minnesota’s campus and told the coaches there of his decision he saw smiles on their faces and it removed the “pain” he was feeling about Fickell.

“I can’t even explain how excited I am about this (Gophers) coaching staff,” Coughlin said. “Looking at what coach Kill has done with every single program that he’s had—every single program just keeps getting better and better. Minnesota has gotten so much better in the past couple years and it’s just going to keep continuing to grow.”

Last fall Kill led the Gophers to a 5-3 record in the Big Ten, the first time Minnesota has been over .500 in conference games since 2003. In Kill’s first two seasons his overall record was 9-16 but in the last two it is 16-10. Minnesotans, including the Coughlin family, are impressed.

“He has tremendous respect for the man,” Jennie said. “It’s exciting to see what’s happening with the Minnesota Gophers and how much they’re growing and building, and he wants to be a part of that. I think it’s been his dream as a young boy to play for the Gophers. Dream come true, really.”

Coughlin, who said his decision to choose Minnesota was his and not the family’s, has deep Gopher roots. His grandfather, Tom Moe, was a starting end for Minnesota in the late 1950s. Although he built a law career in Minneapolis, Moe also served as the Gophers athletic director after an academic fraud scandal hit the basketball program in 1998. Jennie played No. 1 singles and doubles for the Gophers women’s tennis team and her husband, Bob Coughlin, was a starting defensive lineman on the U football team.

Carter acknowledged he values family and it was a major factor in thinking about his college choice. “That’s one of the most important things in my life, and I’d say that was a big thing at the end (of the decision making process) for me.”

Schools can’t talk about high school players until they sign National Letters of Intent as seniors but if the Gophers coaches could discuss Coughlin publicly they no doubt would rave about him. The first attribute out of the mouth of Kill or linebackers coach Mike Sherels would likely be speed. (Sherels also made a big impression on Coughlin during recruiting).

Coughlin has been timed at 4.44 in the 40-yard dash, and that’s moving for a high school linebacker, or even a running back. He is almost 6-foot-4 and plans to increase his weight from 205 to 220 for his senior season at Eden Prairie where the Eagles are defending state 6A champions.

Many prep prospects don’t finalize college choices 11 months before they can sign National Letters of Intent like Coughlin, but he wanted to make the decision and focus on high school including another state championship. “It also allows me to be able to recruit other kids in the state—and out of the state—and try to keep building up the 2016 group,” he said.

Sounds like Coughlin—who will be a business major and describes the Carlson School of Management as “incredible”—is sold on Minnesota.

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