Recruiting – Page 87 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Iowa Recruiter Put Down Gophers

Posted on September 27, 2013September 27, 2013 by David Shama

Gophers, Vikings and other notes leading up to the first official fall football weekend:

When Rodrick Williams was in high school his college football choices came down to Minnesota and Iowa. He told an Iowa recruiter he was interested in the Gophers.

“What he told me was, ‘I thought you liked to win.’ He laughed at me,” Williams said earlier this month. “So then it got in my head I am going to go to Minnesota and we’re going to beat Iowa. Let him know we’re the ones winning.”

Two years ago Williams was being recruited out of Lewisville, Texas. Back then the Gophers were experiencing what would turn out to be their second consecutive 3-9 season. Iowa, though, had records of 11-2 in 2009, 8-5 in 2010 and 7-6 in 2011.

Iowa was 4-8 last season while Minnesota finished 6-7 including the Gophers’ first bowl game appearance since 2009. This year Iowa is 3-1 and Minnesota 4-0 in nonconference games.

Williams, a sophomore running back, didn’t play last season when the Hawkeyes defeated the Gophers 31-13 in Iowa City. But Williams is expected to play tomorrow when Iowa comes to Minneapolis. He is the second leading Minnesota rusher with 277 yards.

Williams and the other Gophers are excited about tomorrow. The two teams are playing in their 2013 Big Ten Conference opening game. The winner of the annual border rivalry gets to keep Floyd of Rosedale, the bronze pig and trophy that dates back to 1935.

“I’ve been thinking about the Iowa game since this summer,” Williams said. “Try to get the pig back.”

Both programs want to move past recent mediocre seasons, making this perhaps the most important Minnesota-Iowa game in years. The winner makes a statement about not being suspect No. 1 to finish last in the Legends Division that also includes Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Northwestern — all teams considered superior in personnel to Minnesota and Iowa.

The winner of tomorrow’s game, of course, will dream bigger than just avoiding a last place finish in the division. In September there are ambitions about winning a lot of conference games and earning a trip to a big-time bowl.

And then there’s the emotion of the Iowa-Minnesota rivalry. Minnesota students annually chant, “We hate Iowa!” In recent days Gophers quarterback Mitch Leidner said he’s heard those three words on campus. “It’s all in good fun,” Leidner said.

Leidner, the Gophers’ redshirt freshman starting quarterback, will play in his first Iowa-Minnesota game. The importance of it, the atmosphere on campus, the sellout crowd and Floyd of Rosedale have him looking forward to kickoff. “It’s going to be awesome,” Leidner said. “Can’t wait.”

Leidner also said he has a close relationship with his teammates and has fun with them. “I wrestle Isaac Hayes quite a bit. There was one night that I pinned him five times in a row.”

Senior safety Brock Vereen said the Gophers don’t want their emotions to overtake their decision making against Iowa. “Sometimes it’s good to have emotion. Sometimes it’s not,” Vereen said. “Too much of it is a bad thing.”

Gophers coach Jerry Kill doesn’t seem too concerned about his team being distracted and not able to execute assignments tomorrow. “We’ve had enough distractions and things around here for a lifetime for the last two years,” Kill said. “…When we have control of them (the players) I feel very good about it. When we don’t have them and they’re not here, you worry about them if you’re playing Iowa or anybody.

“You don’t sleep when you’re in charge of 115 players. It doesn’t matter who you play, or what you do, you’re uncomfortable.”

Minnesota defeated Western Illinois two weeks ago, a team with a similar offense to Iowa’s. “Even though the personnel is very different, just to have the same looks and stuff…it will give us a lot more confidence going forward,” Vereen said. “But at the same time you can’t really compare the personnel.”

If you judge the personnel of Iowa and Minnesota by comparing players named to preseason awards candidates lists, the Hawkeyes are superior. Iowa linebacker James Morris and Minnesota tackle Ra’Shede Hageman are both being considered for the Bednarik Award and Nagurski Trophy, annually awarded to the nation’s best defensive player. The Gophers’ Williams is a candidate for the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award given to the player who best exhibits the on and off the field characteristics of Campbell.

But Iowa’s Mark Weisman is on the Doak Walker list for best running back, Mike Meyer is a candidate for the Groza Award recognizing the top placekicker, C.J. Fiedorowicz could win the Mackey Award for best tight end, and not only is Morris up for the Butkus Award given to the best linebacker but so, too, are linebacker teammates Anthony Hitchens and Christian Kirksey. That’s six Hawkeyes to two Gophers.

Unlike many observers, former Vikings assistant coach Dean Dalton doesn’t agree the team’s offensive line is playing subpar. He told Sports Headliners that defenses are crowding the line of scrimmage, making it more difficult for Adrian Peterson to rush for big yards. “You should be able to stretch the field,” Dalton said.

The line has been criticized for not only run blocking but also allowing too much pressure from pass rushers on quarterback Christian Ponder. But Dalton said the pressure is often caused by Ponder who needs to more quickly find a receiver, or throw the ball away. Instead, Ponder frequently holds the ball too long in the pocket.

The potential is present to “stretch the field.” Dalton likes the receiver group of tight end Kyle Rudolph, 2012 carryover wide receiver Jerome Simpson and offseason wide receiver acquisitions Greg Jennings and Cordarrelle Patterson.

The 0-3 Vikings play the 0-3 Steelers in London on Sunday. Because of a rib injury, Ponder isn’t expected to play and will be replaced by Matt Cassel who started eight of 16 games for the Chiefs last year. He threw 12 interceptions and six touchdown passes.

The Steelers are led by former Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh’s head coach since 2007. He is a boss who Matt Spaeth admires.

“I love him,” Spaeth told Sports Headliners this week. “I don’t think it gets much better. He’s very real, speaks the truth. He always knows the right thing to say whether it’s good, bad or indifferent. I’ve got a ton of respect for the guy.”

Spaeth, the former Gophers tight end from St. Michael, Minnesota, is on injured reserve. He has an injured right foot and has been unable to play in any games in what is supposed to be his seventh NFL season.

Spaeth doesn’t know when he will return to game action and although he has been rehabbing after surgery, he isn’t even running yet. “Trust me. It’s a very difficult time for me,” Spaeth said. “All the injuries I’ve had, I’ve never had an injury like this. It’s tough to watch (my teammates). I could be helping these guys. I want to be out there showing what I am capable of.”

Spaeth said the Steelers have been making too many turnovers. “Ball security has to be job No. 1,” he said.

A few years ago former Gophers basketball coach Tubby Smith said, “I don’t do the tweet.” But now Smith, soon starting his first season as Texas Tech head coach, has a Twitter account, @coachTubbySmith. He has sent eight tweets and has 13,776 followers but is following no one on Twitter.

The Timberwolves will have their media day in Minneapolis on Monday, then four days of training camp at Minnesota State, Mankato. The Tuesday through Friday practices are closed to the public.

The latest D3football.com poll has Bethel ranked No. 5, St. Thomas No. 6 and Saint John’s No. 21. Bethel plays at Carleton in a MIAC game on Saturday while St. Thomas has a bye.

Saint John’s takes on Concordia in its first conference home game under new head coach Gary Fasching.

Twins rookie catcher Josmil Pinto homered last night in the 6-5 loss to the Indians. It was his fourth home run in 80 at bats for Minnesota.

Rookie Michael Tonkin pitched in relief last evening and hasn’t allowed an earned run in 10.1 innings.

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Don’t Underrate Minnesota Prep Football

Posted on September 25, 2013September 25, 2013 by David Shama

It’s too obvious to ignore now. Young men who learned how to play football at Minnesota high schools are making regional and national headlines at the college level.

Twenty years ago such players didn’t command as much attention but it’s different now. Last Saturday ESPN College GameDay was in Fargo to pay homage to the North Dakota State Bison. All that program has done is use savvy coaching and a Minnesota-heavy roster to win the last two Football Championship Subdivision national titles.

The Bison roster this fall lists 35 Minnesotans. They and their teammates found glory a few weeks ago in Manhattan, Kansas defeating defending Big 12 champion Kansas State. No one should have been stunned since the Bison have defeated two other Bowl Championship Series schools since 2010 — Kansas and Minnesota. (BCS replaced the Division I-A label awhile ago and FCS replaced the smaller school Division I-AA title).

But the Bison weren’t the only showcase for Minnesota high school alums last Saturday. Former Eagan High School running back Zach Zenner ran for two first quarter touchdowns in Lincoln against Nebraska as the Jackrabbits took an early 17-14 lead. Zenner, a junior, led all FCS players in rushing last season and is No. 1 again this fall with 742 yards. He is one of 18 Minnesotans on the Jackrabbits’ roster, a team that is among the best in the FCS.

Scan the Division II top 25 coaches poll and there is Minnesota State-Mankato ranked No. 2 in the country. UMD is No. 13 and St. Cloud State No. 20 in the poll. The Mavericks have 23 Minnesotans on the roster while UMD has 60 and St. Cloud 48.

Pollsters obviously aren’t hesitant to rank Minnesota colleges high in the Division II poll. Why should they be after UMD won national championship games in 2008 and 2010? The coach of those teams, Bob Nielsen, is now in his first season coaching Western Illinois and he won’t surprise anyone if he recruits at Minnesota high schools.

St. Thomas has been in the mix for a Division III national championship the last couple of years. This summer the Tommies started the season ranked No. 2 in the country in the Division III coaches poll and despite a loss to Saint John’s last Saturday St. Thomas will remain a 2013 national power. The Tommies, who had won 36 consecutive regular season games, have 87 Minnesotans on the roster.

Minnesota colleges have loaded up their football programs with alums of state high schools. The nine MIAC schools playing football—all located in Minnesota—have 680 Minnesotans on their rosters. The 16-member Northern Sun Conference, with nearly all Minnesota-based schools, has 427 Minnesotans.

North Dakota, a member of the Big Sky Conference, has 24 alums of Minnesota high schools. Northern Iowa, from the Missouri Valley Conference like North Dakota State, has nine Minnesotans. The Panthers defeated Iowa State of the Big 12 Conference earlier this year.

It’s a nice success story for Minnesota prep football but the script grows weaker when searching the rosters of NFL teams and major college programs. Only a dozen Minnesotans are in the NFL with the most prominent names being wide receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Eric Decker.

No major program from the power conferences turns to this state’s talent pool for most of its needs. And that starts with the Gophers. On last week’s depth chart prior to Minnesota’s final nonconference game against San Jose State, the Gophers had seven state natives starting on offense and one on defense. The Gophers have 42 Minnesotans on their roster of 120 total players.

Many of the 42 will never be starters or major game day contributors. Some aren’t even scholarship players. The Gophers 2013 recruiting class had only one scholarship player from the state, linebacker Chris Wipson from Wayzata, according to Rivals.com. The year before the total was nine of 27 recruits from Minnesota.

But with so much success by other football programs — led by the North Dakota State bandwagon — are the Gophers missing the boat? Well, probably not. For openers, the Bison likely couldn’t win a lot of games week after week if they had to go against the speed, skill and depth of teams from major college programs.

Those programs recruit in talent rich states with more population and favorable climate. Generally speaking, former Minnesota preps are going to do better competing at the FCS, Division II and III levels.

“I think there’s a lot of solid high school football players in Minnesota but I don’t think there’s your elite level football players,” said Minnesota-based recruiting authority Zach Johnson. “I don’t think you can say Minnesota has the quality at the elite level that you would find in Texas, California, Florida (and) most of the southeast.”

Johnson tracks the Gophers recruiting classes and believes the program is correct in often conservatively targeting the number of Minnesotans for scholarships. “Yeah, they’re looking for a different football player,” he said. “They’re looking for a football player that can play at the highest level.”

Gophers coach Jerry Kill said “we’re doing the best we can” in recruiting state players. He believes the number of prospects who interest him as potential scholarship players can vary from five to 25. Having lived in Kansas, a state somewhat similar to Minnesota in population, Kill saw the importance of a large talent pool. “It has to do with population more than anything. More football programs, more schools, more players.”

The Gophers shouldn’t be second-guessed too much for losing to the Bison (Minnesota was rebuilding in its first season under Kill), or because of all the Minnesota natives on the rosters of teams from the Dakotas. “Minnesota is a perfect place for South Dakota schools and North Dakota schools to recruit because it’s loaded with a big metro area with a lot of football players that are just a step below what you need at the big time SEC, ACC level,” Johnson said. “You don’t see 31 Minnesota kids on a SEC roster or an ACC roster. How many Minnesota kids do you see playing in the Pac-12 and SEC and ACC and schools like that?”

Not many is the answer and that’s no surprise to even a Minnesota high school booster like Ron Stolski. He has been coaching high school teams in the state for 52 years and is executive director of the Minnesota High School Football Coaches Association.

He said states like California, Florida and Texas have special athletes blessed with speed and football is “king,” indicating the importance of the sport in those places. But that doesn’t mean Minnesota kids don’t receive top level coaching. “Our kids are as well coached as any in the country,” he said. “The feedback we get constantly is how in tune our coaches are.”

The success of the FCS, Division II and Division III programs in the region also doesn’t surprise Stolski who has sent many of his former players to those types of schools but only three to Division I football during more than a half century of coaching in Minnesota. “Remember they’re also playing schools with Minnesota kids on them. I think the coaching staffs of all those schools…are outstanding. They get that borderline Division I, Division II athlete. They coach the snot out of them.”

That “borderline athlete” is the kind of prospect the Gophers want to have join the program without a scholarship. Kill will tell you the success of his walk-on program will be critical to whether he turns the Gophers into one of the Big Ten Conference’s better teams.

And, of course, he wants the best Minnesota high school players in the worst way. That list could start with Cretin-Derham Hall defensive end Jashon Cornell, rated by ESPN as the No. 1 football player in the country for the class of 2015. Cornell and his teammates were the feature high school game on ESPN a few weeks ago.

That’s heady stuff and the kind of thing that makes someone like Rochester, Minnesota native and former Gopher Darrell Thompson feel good about this state’s prep football players. He thinks major college programs, including the Gophers, have overlooked the quality and depth of the state’s recruiting pool.

“This (Gophers) coaching staff doesn’t realize that there is more here (prospects) than people (think),” Thompson said. “The grass always looks greener. Just like someone’s wife always looks cuter than your wife or some girl. Someone else always looks better.”

Thompson believes the Gophers could typically take 12 to 15 Minnesotans for a recruiting class and be the better for it. “I wouldn’t think you’d have to go with 25 or 30 kids coming from somewhere else every year.”

Maybe the Gophers could pull that off if they could annually lock up each of the state’s best prep players. Bringing the Cornells, Fitzgeralds and Michael Floyds to Dinkytown each year would be precedent setting in this century.

Probably won’t happen but Minnesotans can know there are a lot of success stories on all levels of college football because of contributions made by this state’s high school football alums. “Our football is being played at a very high level,” Stolski said.

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Vikings Make History But Won’t ‘Panic’

Posted on September 23, 2013September 23, 2013 by David Shama

The Vikings are making history. Just the wrong kind.

After yesterday’s 31-27 loss to the Browns at Mall of America Field, the Vikings are off to a 0-3 regular season start. That’s a number only four other Vikings teams have put in the record book.

The 1962, 1967, 2002 and 2011 Vikings all started 0-3. I know what you are thinking: none of those teams made the playoffs. And in NFL history only three teams have started the season 0-3 and qualified for the playoffs.

The Vikings have lost three games by a total of 15 points. That’s enough to indicate the 2013 team isn’t the NFL equivalent of the Twins but 0-3 almost dooms this team to missing the playoffs.

NFC North Division rivals the Bears (3-0), Lions (2-1) and Packers (1-2) all have better records. The Vikings almost certainly won’t qualify for the playoffs as a wild card team and winning the division title will be a major challenge after yesterday’s loss.

It was the second consecutive Sunday the Vikings defense couldn’t stop the opponent from scoring the winning touchdown in the game’s last minute. It was another Sunday when the performance of quarterback Christian Ponder was spotty. But it was also an unusual day when the Browns used a fake punt to set up a field goal and a fake field goal attempt to score a touchdown—all in the second quarter.

Former Vikings assistant coach Dean Dalton told Sports Headliners after the game he thinks the Vikings are a good team with a chance to be better than last season’s 10-6 club but they’ve lost close games and are playing in an improved NFC against formidable opposition. He isn’t giving up on the season after three games and predicted the Vikings, including head coach Leslie Frazier, won’t either.

“This group won’t panic,” Dalton said. “They’ve been in three games where they’ve had to fight it out all 60 minutes. It’s a very balanced group. The veteran leaders that they have are rock solid. The leadership of…Leslie Frazier is rock solid. He won’t flinch. He’ll be upset. He’ll be frustrated. He’ll make the corrections but he won’t panic.”

Worth Noting

The 1962 club, a second year expansion group of misfits, holds the franchise record for worst start ever at 0-5.

The Vikings play the Steelers in London next Sunday in a regular season game where Minnesota is the home team. The Vikings will be guaranteed monies equal to their average revenue for a game at Mall of America Field.

The Vikings leave Minneapolis Monday night and arrive in London Tuesday morning. The Steelers won’t be in London until Thursday but as the home team the Vikings want to arrive earlier in the week and help with promotion. General manager Rick Spielman told Sports Headliners the Vikings will stay at a hotel about one hour from London and practice at a nearby field. A tent-like facility will serve as a locker room.

The game represents ongoing marketing by American sports to expand global identity. Next year, for example, MLB will send the Dodgers and Diamondbacks to Australia for regular season games March 22 and 23.

London is a likely eventual home for an NFL team and a MLB team in Mexico could happen some day. MLB has opened seasons in Monterrey, Mexico, Tokyo, Japan and San Juan, Puerto Rico. MLB might like to open a season in Europe but spring weather poses a problem.

Jashon Cornell is ESPN.com’s No. 1 ranked high school football player nationally in the class of 2015. The Cretin-Derham Hall defensive end has 21 college offers, according to former Gophers center and Raiders offensive line coach Ray Hitchcock.

Hitchcock said Gophers coach Jerry Kill was the first to offer Cornell a scholarship. Does Hitchcock believe Cornell is serious about the Gophers? “Yes, I do,” Hitchcock said. “It would be great to get him and stay home… .”

Hitchcock describes Cornell as sometimes “unblockable.” Cornell particularly excels in rushing the passer.

Last week Kill likened Mitch Leidner, his 6-4, 230-pound redshirt freshman quarterback, to Collin Klein, the similarly sized former Kansas State quarterback who was a Heisman Trophy finalist in 2012. “Mitch runs like Collin,” Kill said.

Both are punishing runners, particularly for quarterbacks. Leidner rushed for 151 yards and four touchdowns last Saturday in his first college start to lead the Gophers to a 43-24 nonconference win over San Jose State.

Leidner said Kill even compared him to Klein last year. “Toughness is something I definitely try to model myself after and be a physical player,” Leidner told Sports Headliners.

How did he develop that toughness? “Probably growing up with brothers and all of us just pounding the crap out of each other all of the time,” Leidner said.

Today the Big Ten Conference selected Leidner as Freshman of the Week for his performance against San Jose State. He tied a school record for most rushing touchdowns in a single game.

Sign of the times: “Can Souhan.” That was the message on a sign displayed by fans during the Gophers game Saturday at TCF Bank Stadium referring to Star Tribune columnist Jim Souhan who wrote a controversial column last week about Kill.

Gophers defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman will sometimes play defensive end where he is more difficult to double team. Hageman, a likely NFL draft choice next year, values his school work and is majoring in urban youth studies.

“I could walk down a flight of stairs and break my leg. I can always have my degree,” Hageman said. “Football isn’t promised but just having an education, having something to fall back on is always a good thing.”

Gophers offensive coordinator Matt Limegrover will speak at Friday’s Goal Line Club luncheon at Jax Café in Minneapolis. Limegrover will have comments about the Gophers prior to Saturday’s Big Ten opening game with Iowa at TCF Bank Stadium. The luncheon is open to the public. More about the noon luncheon and program at Goallineclub.com.

Volleyball is important in Darrell Thompson’s household. Thompson was a record setting running back for the Gophers but daughters Indigo and Dominique, and wife Stephanie, have excelled at volleyball. Indigo, a senior at Armstrong High School, has accepted a volleyball scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth. Dominique is on scholarship at Wisconsin where she is a redshirt junior. Stephanie played volleyball for Iowa from 1987-1990.

Congratulations to Edgerton/Ellsworth football coach Andrew Fleischman for winning his 100^th career game with a victory on Friday night over Westbrook-Walnut Grove.

New Timberwolves center Rony Turiaf throws out the ceremonial first pitch at tonight’s Twins-Tigers game at Target Field.

The Capitals will host the January 1, 2015 NHL Winter Classic, a date the Wild had targeted for the outdoor event in Minneapolis. The local NHL team will now presumably try for 2016.

Rochester radio commentator Ed Rauen emailed with news about two of his city’s outstanding girls tennis players, both high school juniors. Ingrid Neel has been working on her game at the IMG Academy in Florida. Jesse Aney played in Florida summer tournaments and this school year will be on the girls hockey team at Rochester Century High School.

Canterbury Park’s 69-day racing season, the longest since 2006, concluded with gains in average handle and attendance. Off-track wagering (dollars bet on Canterbury races at other tracks and through Internet sites) increased by 46.7 percent while average daily on-track wagering was up 4.8 percent. Average daily attendance was 6,656, a Canterbury Park record since the track re-opened in 1995.

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