Recruiting – Page 8 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Word on Next U Basketball Coach Leads to Niko Medved

Posted on March 15, 2025March 15, 2025 by David Shama

Sources believe Niko Medved will be the next head men’s basketball coach at the University of Minnesota. Those sources include a former college basketball coach with Minnesota ties who called Sports Headliners Friday to say Medved, head coach at Colorado State since 2018, will succeed Ben Johnson who was dismissed earlier this week after four losing Big Ten seasons.

That source, speaking on condition of anonymity, believes a deal has been agreed to between Medved and the U.

It’s all but certain Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle had identified preferred candidates prior to firing Johnson, with Medved a target. With the player transfer portal opening March 24, the U and other programs across the nation want to move fast in acquiring players for next season. Hiring the next U coach is both a thoughtful and timely challenge.

Medved, with Gopher state roots and a consistent winning coaching resume, checks boxes for Coyle. “We need somebody that embraces Minnesota,” Coyle told local media yesterday.

Medved, Minneapolis born, is a U graduate. He has his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Minnesota in kinesiology and sports management respectively.

In the 1990s Medved was a student manager for U head coach Clem Haskins. The Roseville High grad was associate head coach at Macalester College from 1997-1999. After that he was an assistant coach at Furman, Minnesota (one season under Dan Monson) and Colorado State before becoming head coach at Furman, Drake and in Fort Collins with the Rams.

It’s been presumed for a while that Medved would welcome the opportunity to come home and coach at his alma mater. His availability would be attractive to Coyle who in his coaching search rhetoric prioritized hiring someone who will win consistently like rival Big Ten programs Illinois, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Medved’s resume is that of improving records over time and producing 20-win seasons. Hired for the 2013-2014 season at Furman, he spent four seasons building up a program that went from a 9-game winner to 21. After one season at Drake, he took over the Rams and in five of seven seasons his teams have won 20 games or more.

At one point last season his team earned a No. 12 national ranking and finished with a 25-11 record. Today the Rams, 24-9 overall and winners of nine consecutive games, play Boise State in the Mountain West tournament championship game.

A victory sends the Rams into the NCAA Tournament. A loss could put the team on the bubble for an invitation. Although Medved has never won a regular season conference championship, or tournament title with the Rams, his teams have qualified for the NCAA Tournament two of the last three seasons.

If the Rams miss the Big Dance, that could clear the way for an announcement about the Gophers job (if sources are correct about the hire). The urgency of getting started in the player retention and recruitment process can’t be overstated.

When a coach is fired, players can enter the transfer portal earlier than those who aren’t in that situation. It’s expected the Gophers want to retain their key holdovers from this winter’s team, guard Isaac Asuma and center Frank Mitchell. Guard Tyler Cochran has already entered the portal.

In the transactional world of college basketball players, a program’s fortunes can turn around in one or two off seasons. Coyle is reportedly committed to allocating more revenue sharing money to basketball players at the U than many other Big Ten rivals are planning. That would give Medved a competitive advantage in recruiting.

Medved would also be expected to boost Name, Image and Likeness monies considerably beyond what Johnson was able to do. He will be counted on to woo donors with his personality, track record and commitment to Minnesota.

As the Rams coach, Medved has recruited his home state. David Roddy, from Breck, was a Medved protégé who became a great player for the Rams and later a first round NBA draft choice. On this season’s team is Jon Mekonnen from Eastview High School.

A Medved contract buyout from Colorado State would be expected to cost about $4 million. His first-year salary at Minnesota might be around $3 million, plus yearly increases and incentives.

A Medved homecoming would likely reunite him with his friend Dave Thorson. The legendary former DeLaSalle coach joined Medved as an assistant at Drake in 2017 and then moved on with him to Colorado State. In 2021 Thorson returned to Minneapolis to be part of Johnson’s coaching staff. Coyle has asked Thorson to stay on staff to help hold the program together during the head coach process.

There is competition even in the Big Ten to hire a new head coach, with Iowa and Indiana searching. The opinion here is Johnny Tauer of St. Thomas would be the best replacement for Johnson but sources insist he won’t leave the Tommies.

Drake’s Ben McCollum, with a similar coaching resume to Tauer, is also a favorite in this space but the state of Iowa native may end up with the Hawkeyes or possibly Hoosiers. The Gophers may not interest him.

Former Timberwolves head coach Ryan Saunders, like Medved, has strong Minnesota roots having grown up in the state and he played for the Gophers. Now an assistant with the NBA Nuggets, Saunders likely would jump at the hometown job but he doesn’t have the college background it’s believed Coyle wants.

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Glen Mason: Eslinger Induction Deserves Big-Time Turnout

Posted on February 2, 2025February 2, 2025 by David Shama

Glen Mason was “ecstatic” and thought it was “long overdue” when Greg Eslinger, the most decorated offensive lineman in Golden Gophers football history, was announced last month as a member of the College Football Hall of Fame class of 2025.

Mason, the former Minnesota head football coach, is adamant that a strong contingent of Gopher enthusiasts should turn out to support the best center he ever coached when Eslinger is inducted into the Hall of Fame December 9 in Las Vegas. The National Football Foundation sponsors the Hall of Fame which is located in Atlanta. Tickets are available at https://NFF2025.givesmart.com.

Mason would love to see a strong showing in Vegas by the Gopher Athletic Department, prominent boosters and other fans of U football. “This is a big deal,” he told Sports Headliners. “I hope they put a contingent of people together for the Hall of Fame banquet when he goes out there. …”

“Yes, we plan to have representation in Las Vegas,” Gopher athletic director Mark Coyle said in a text on Friday to Sports Headliners. (Understandably, those plans may be in the earliest stages.)

Mason, even though he didn’t have a player being inducted, used to regularly attend the induction event. He saw how successful programs made a splash at the banquet by doing even more than advertising in the printed program and buying tables.

“Typically, Ohio State or Notre Dame or Alabama or Oklahoma, when they had an inductee, they had a hospitality suite, and people used to bounce around from one suite to the other suites. That’s a big-time image.”

Regardless of whether a school has an inductee or not, Mason said it’s important to send a message to the NFF that you are a supporter, and establish relationships. Thinking about Eslinger, Mason said, a strong showing of support in Vegas next December emphatically says: “you can accomplish anything that you want if you come to the University of Minnesota.”

Major college programs weren’t pursuing Eslinger when he was playing high school football in Bismarck, North Dakota and he was definitely an under the radar prospect. But as a prep player he caught Mason’s eye when attending a Gopher summer camp in 2001. Mason had been the offensive line coach at Ohio State before a head coaching career at Kent State and Kansas before Minnesota.

“I decided we were going to recruit him because of his energy,” Mason said. “Everything he did. Everything was full speed—above board, likeable kid—and I thought, you know, we’ll take him.”

Eslinger didn’t have the weight and strength in high school that he would acquire with the Gophers. Mason had thoughts of making the prep lineman into a fullback eventually.

But prior to the 2002 season it became apparent that Eslinger, as a true freshman, was ready to be the team’s starting center. Playing at 6-3 and about 250-pounds, Eslinger became a remarkable four-year starter who was a key reason Mason’s teams made it to bowl games each season.

Eslinger (No. 61) photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

His resume is eye-popping. He blocked with precision for some of the best rushing teams in Gopher history and he was a two-time All-American in 2004 and 2005. He won the Outland Trophy given to college football’s best interior lineman and the Dave Rimington Trophy recognizing the game’s best center. He was the 2005 Big Ten Offensive Lineman of the Year (only Gopher ever honored) and was awarded with the 2006 Big Ten Medal of Honor (the conference’s oldest and most prestigious award). He was also a two-time Academic All-American.

Mason remembered when Bill Curry, an ESPN college football analyst, sat in his office during Eslinger’s sophomore season. The former Green Bay Packers center and college head coach marveled at Eslinger, describing him as “the best I’ve ever seen.”

Eslinger had an amazing combination of athleticism and smarts. A vivid image for fans is seeing him pull out from the line of scrimmage and move downfield knocking blockers out of the way and opening up paths for great running backs Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney.

“It was a lot more difficult than you think because you have to (first) snap the ball,” Mason said. “You have to pull, and you know our running game was pretty sophisticated. He’d have to adjust who he was going after depending who the wide receiver was going to block, and he had to do it full speed, which he did.

“ And I remember after he (Greg) left, Tony Brinkhaus was an awful good lineman but we moved him to center, and running the same stuff, and I remember him saying to me, ‘I can’t believe how he did this stuff. This stuff is unbelievable.’ “

To write only about Eslinger’s on-field excellence is not doing him justice. “Every once in a while, you’ll come across a guy that I call a tone setter,” Mason said. “In other words, he is a cut above everybody in every degree. And what you want to do when you come across a guy like that is—and Greg was one of those guys—you put him out front and you try to encourage and motivate everybody to keep up with him.

“And so very seldom do you have a guy that is able to achieve what he did athletically and at the same time academically. And then within the program, within the University, if you would ask anybody who is the finest character on the team, almost everybody would say Greg Eslinger.”

Eslinger’s candidacy for the Hall of Fame was the result of multiple entities or individuals advocating for him, including the athletic department and Minnesota chapter of the NFF. He will be the 20^th Gopher player to join the Hall of Fame.

Eslinger is now an orthopedic sales consultant for DePuy Orthopedics in Fargo. His character shines through with his activities in the community including as a motivational speaker to elementary and junior high school students, and organizer of shoe collections and donations for underprivileged.

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Even More Success Could Be Next for Gophers Football

Posted on January 4, 2025January 4, 2025 by David Shama

What’s the ceiling now for University of Minnesota football?

P.J. Fleck has established a winning program since taking over in 2017. The latest triumph was last night’s 24-10 Duke’s Mayo Bowl win over Virginia Tech in Charlotte.

The Gophers entered the game about a 10-point betting favorite. With superior talent, a savvy college football authority told Sports Headliners he thought Minnesota might “play not to lose.”

But rather than take a conservative approach, the Gophers were aggressive on both sides of the ball. The authority, a former Big Ten and NFL player who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the offensive play-calling was “creative and fun,” while speculating the Gophers used more trick plays last night than in Fleck’s previous eight years leading the program. Defensively, the Gophers were aggressive with blitzes and sacked Tech quarterbacks five times.

“This was a really good football team,” the source said about a program he follows closely.

The victory made Fleck’s bowl record at Minnesota 6-0 and was Minnesota’s eighth straight post season win. Since Fleck arrived at Minnesota his teams are 24-3 against nonconference opponents including bowl teams. That’s one of the best marks in college football.

The Gophers finished 2024-2025 at 8-5. During the last four seasons Minnesota has averaged eight wins per season. This season and in three of the last four the Gophers had winning records in Big Ten games, with a cumulative mark of 19-17.

Fleck’s eight-year record is 58-39. He is fourth in program history in Big Ten wins (34) and is fifth in overall wins. His 597 winning percentage is third best among Minnesota coaches with at least 45 games leading the program.

Being the head coach at Minnesota is far from a cushy assignment. With limited Big Ten prospects among the high school ranks, and no adjacency to states with hotbeds of talent to recruit from, attracting elite personnel has long been a challenge for Gopher head coaches. In reality, his assignment probably is more difficult than any other coach at the U or professional coach in this town.

Fleck has established success despite the challenge, too, of more limited Name, Image and Likeness money than much of his competition. Not so long ago, Fleck could only wish a transferring player from his program good luck as he capitalized on NIL.

But through the efforts of Minnesota’s official collective, Dinkytown Athletes, that situation is improving. It’s believed the football program now has a few million dollars in NIL money with which to compete.

Revenue sharing with college athletes is expected to begin this year, and the Gophers will have similar money to their rivals with which to pay players. Power Four athletic departments are expected to devote about $20.5 million to revenue sharing with athletes in several sports. Minnesota will divide its money among football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s hockey and women’s volleyball. Speculation is athletic departments, including Minnesota’s, could allocate $12 million or more annually to football players.

The revenue share model is a very positive development for programs like Minnesota. Fleck acknowledged as much recently when he expressed gratitude to the U administration and indicated the money will be a difference maker when recruiting against non-Power Four programs who don’t have the money to share revenue like the big boys.

“The SEC and the Big Ten have major TV contracts that allow that money to be real, allow that money to be there,” Fleck said. “Our NIL and collective with Dinkytown Athletes, that money is there. It’s real. I can’t say that for everybody around the country, you know?”

The marquee football schools will still have a money advantage over the Gophers because of NIL resources. As Fleck says, it’s the thing “that separates” parity for all.

“But I think that you’re starting to see us being able to get a high-quality athlete, retain a high-quality athlete, and a student-athlete that we can (get),” Fleck said.

The Gophers have 14 transfer players coming in and the group is ranked No. 14 in the country by 247Sports. Fleck credits his current players for the job they do as hosts in selling recruits on the Gophers program.

The thousands of players in the transfer portal each year has been a positive development for the Gophers. Minnesota has had few key losses in recent history, while adding talent such as they did a year ago with quarterback Max Brosmer and cornerback Ethan Robinson.

Truth is the portal can help the “have nots” of college football dramatically. While the Gophers had 13 transfers come in last year, Indiana had 30 under new coach Curt Cignetti. The formula worked with Indiana improving from a 3-9 team to 11-2 and a spot in the College Football Playoffs.

Along with revenue sharing and the transfer portal, the expansion of the playoffs to 12 teams is another development that raises the ceiling for Gopher football success. A Big Ten team can now finish fourth, or even fifth in the standings, and potentially receive a playoff invitation.

Participation in the playoffs would be a huge lift for Minnesota’s program. The fanbase would be energized and grow in numbers. NIL dollars would flow like never before (not to mention athletic department donations and general giving to the U).

More revenue would be welcome in so many ways including football staff salaries. The Gophers are known to rank near the bottom in money paid to assistant coaches.

Despite that situation, Fleck has one of his better staffs during his eight years at Minnesota headed by offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. and defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman.

Give Fleck credit for those hires and the many other things he has helped to accomplish with his leadership, IQ and non-stop energy.

Even brighter days could be ahead for Golden Gophers football.

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