Gophers defensive coordinator and acting head coach Tracy Claeys doesn’t hesitate when talking about senior defensive tackle Ra’Shede Hageman being chosen during the first round of next spring’s NFL Draft.
“He will be a first round draft pick. I don’t see 20 teams passing him up, let alone 32 once they get a chance to work him out,” Claeys told Sports Headliners this week.
If Claeys is correct, Hageman will be the first Gopher selected in the first round since running back Laurence Maroney in 2006. Hageman became the first Minnesota player to be chosen first team All-Big Ten since 2009 (wide receiver Eric Decker) when he made both the media and coaches all-conference teams.
Hageman finished the 2013 regular season with 34 tackles, a team-high 11 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, one interception, eight pass breakups, one fumble recovery, one blocked field goal and one blocked extra point.
A converted tight end, the 6-foot-6, 311-pound Hageman was announced as the Gophers’ MVP and outstanding defensive player at the team’s awards program on Sunday. “I think he’s improved a lot since we got here,” said Claeys who came to Minnesota with head coach Jerry Kill for the 2011 season. “Each year he’s made leaps and bounds (improvement). I think this year he made a lot more individual plays than he has in the past, and that caused people to have to double team him more.”
Claeys said Hageman has “tremendous upside” and will benefit from playing in the NFL where he won’t face as many blocking schemes. “He’s right up there with the best that is in the Big Ten and I think that will show on draft day,” Claeys said.
Media specializing in draft analysis have varying opinions on where Hageman will be selected, with Dane Brugler from CBSsports.com among the more optimistic. He projects Hageman being selected No. 29 in the first round by the Patriots. He also ranks him No. 2 among projected defensive tackles available for the draft.
Claeys also believes senior Gophers defensive back Brock Vereen will be drafted. He projects Vereen as a “middle rounds” choice because of his abilities including experience playing both cornerback and safety for the Gophers.
Worth Noting
Chris Werle, Gophers senior associate athletic director, e-mailed that as of Wednesday morning 40,000 tickets had been sold for the outdoor Hockey City Classic at TCF Bank Stadium. The doubleheader, featuring the Gophers men’s and women’s teams, will be played the evening of Friday, January 17. If severe weather causes postponement, the classic will be rescheduled for Sunday, January 19.
The athletic department is looking for financial help with the cost of busing students to the Texas Bowl where the Gophers play Syracuse in Houston on Friday, December 27. The Gophers football marching band will fly to Houston.
Big Ten Network football analyst Gerry DiNardo said on Sunday after the announcement of the seven Big Ten bowl game assignments that the Gophers have the most favorable match-up. The Gophers are 4 ½ point favorites to defeat Syracuse, according to yesterday’s Linemakers story on Sportingnews.com.
Jeff Jones, the state’s 2013 Mr. Football, visits Iowa State this weekend. He visited the Gophers last weekend. Other official visits aren’t scheduled yet.
Last night legendary former Saint John’s head football coach John Gagliardi received the Contributions to College Football Award during the Home Depot College Football Awards show on ESPN. Gagliardi retired after the 2012 season as the winningest coach in college football history.
The Eagles team that plays the Vikings on Sunday at Mall of America Field has won five consecutive games and owns a league best 5-1 road record. On Sunday the Eagles, led by new head coach Chip Kelly, will try to become the fifth team in NFL history to have 11 games of 400-plus yards in a single season.
Nick Foles has emerged as the Eagles quarterback and he is featured in this week’s Sports Illustrated. Kelly is quoted in the story as saying Foles will be the team’s quarterback “for the next thousand years.”
Gophers basketball players heard from Louisville coach Rick Pitino when he was in town earlier in the week to watch Minnesota play South Dakota State at Williams Arena. Gophers forward Oto Osenieks said Pitino told the players that to be a better team they have to improve defensively. “He said he watches us all the time on TV,” Osenieks said.
Asked about the similar mannerisms and appearances of Pitino and his son Richard Pitino, the Gophers coach, Osieneks said: “You can tell they’re related.”
Phil Jackson includes Minnesota connections in his bestselling new book Eleven Rings. The NBA coaching legend writes about his Williston High School team losing in the North Dakota state tournament finals to Rugby led by Paul Presthus who went on to become captain of the Gophers. Jackson also writes about the “my way or the highway” style of Bill Fitch, his University of North Dakota coach, who after going to Bowling Green coached the Gophers. After a great career at North Dakota, Jackson chose the New York Knicks of the NBA over the ABA’s Minnesota Muskies.
Timberwolves forward Kevin Love is fourth among front court players and guard Ricky Rubio is eighth among backcourt players in voting for Western Conference players to determine who will participate in the Sunday, February 16 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. The NBA issued the first of voting updates yesterday. Balloting concludes on Monday, January 20.
Former Gophers basketball coach Jim Dutcher has high praise for Apple Valley point guard Tyus Jones. “I think he is the best (prep) guard in state history,” Dutcher told Sports Headliners. “He has great court awareness and when he needs to take over the game he does. I think he will play well immediately for Duke (next year). An NBA friend told me he thinks he can play at the next level.”
Saint John’s men’s basketball coach Jim Smith is one victory away from tying Ed Diddle (Western Kentucky, 1923-64) for 17th on college basketball’s all-divisions win list. Smith has a 758-538 career record in 50 seasons.
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