The best player in the Gophers’ football recruiting class that will be announced today is Mahtomedi High School guard Tommy Olson, according to local recruiting authority Zach Johnson.

Johnson, who has been covering Gophers recruiting since 2003, told Sports Headliners that Olson is the “face” of new coach Jerry Kill’s first recruiting class, including Minnesota natives and players from other states.  “I think with Tommy Olson…you’re looking at, at least a three year starter on the line,” Johnson said.

Johnson, whose reporting is read on GopherIllustrated.com, groups four other Minnesota preps together when asked who the state’s second best player is.  He said Olson distances himself from anyone else and didn’t label a No. 2 player among Edina wide receiver Devin Crawford-Tufts (Gophers), Minnetonka defensive back James Farrow (Virginia Tech), St. Thomas Academy defensive lineman Anthony Hayes (Stanford) and Holy Family tight end-defensive end Peter Westerhaus (Gophers).

Rivals.com, the often quoted web authority on major college football recruiting, doesn’t give Olson or any other member of Kill’s projected recruiting class a four or five star rating.  Seventeen of the 21 players listed by Rivals receive three star ratings, and four of them are two stars, and Johnson is surprised Olson isn’t labeled a four.

Johnson couldn’t remember a time when the state’s best player wasn’t a four but he’s been told interior offensive linemen sometimes don’t receive high ratings because of the position they play.  “There’s no doubt in my mind that he’s going to be a great lineman in the Big Ten,” he said.

Kill’s class is ranked No. 49 in the country by Rivals.com and among Big Ten schools is listed ahead of only Indiana, Northwestern and Purdue.  “I wouldn’t call this (Minnesota’s class) subpar,” Johnson said.  “I would call it on-par with what you would come to expect from Minnesota.  When Mason was here (1997-2006) their recruiting classes were (ranked) in the 40’s and 50’s.”

Johnson believes the Gophers are “fortunate” to have as much quality in this class as they do given that Kill is a new coach and only had several weeks to recruit.  Johnson said recruiting is about “relationships” and it’s not fair to judge a head coach until his second class.  Former Gophers coach Tim Brewster’s second class was the best of his four, a top 25 nationally ranked group that included quarterback MarQueis Gray from Indianapolis.  That class was not only Brewster’s highest ranked class but surpassed any of his predecessor, coach Glen Mason.

Johnson said Kill’s expected class includes three players who had committed to him when he was coaching at Northern Illinois.  Offensive lineman Foster Bush, defensive back Marcus Jones and tight end John Rabe were Huskies commits.  Another Gopher commit, defensive end Drew Goodger, was recruited by Kill at Northern Illinois but hadn’t said he would play for the Huskies.

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There won’t be a lot of media praise for the Gophers class but the lack of buzz fits with projections about Big Ten recruiting in general.  Rivals.com team recruiting rankings don’t include a Big Ten school in the top 10.  Ohio State is ranked No. 11      and Nebraska, No. 16, is the other Big Ten school in the top 20.  The mid-January issue of Sporting News Magazine listed Ohio State at No. 4 and Nebraska No. 18 but then didn’t include any other Big Ten schools in its top 25.

A Sporting News list of the nation’s top 100 prep players was dominated by high schoolers from southern states, Texas and California.  Worse news for the Big Ten was that conference schools often weren’t listed as the verbal commitment or even potential college choice for many players.

Johnson said the Big Ten needs to pay attention to such news.  There’s been a trend of the Midwest and Northeast not producing high school players like the South.  “Look at where the players are coming from,” Johnson said.  “There’s a reason the SEC is the best conference in football.  It’s not even close.

“The talent is in the South.  It’s much like in baseball.  I am afraid that college football in 10 years could resemble college baseball where…all your  dominant programs are going to be in the South and out West.  That’s something that’s got to be a big concern for the Big Ten.”

Although the rankings of prep players and recruiting classes is far from perfect, Johnson said fans can regard the listings as credible and an indication of things to come.  Ohio State winning the Big Ten most years and also outdoing its conference rivals in the recruiting rankings is no coincidence.

“Who wins the Big Ten every year?” Johnson asked.  “Who wins the Big Ten in recruiting every year?  Does that answer it for you.  You can talk all you want about all these stars mean nothing. …(But) when we’re sitting around watching football on January 5^th, 6^th and 7^th…we’re watching Alabama, Texas, USC, Ohio State (play in the major bowl games).

“I mean I am sorry.  You can try to do what you can with hidden gems, and sleepers and two star kids, but you tell me a program that’s winning big with those kids.  I’ll show you a lot more that are winning with four and five star kids.”

Alabama is No. 1, Texas No. 2 and USC No. 5 in the Rivals.com team rankings of recruiting classes for 2011.

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Kill said on WCCO Radio’s Sunday Sports Huddle program that he wants his first recruiting class to have “24-27” scholarship players, plus “10-12” walk-ons.

There will be a Signing Day ’Sota Social tonight starting at 5 p.m. in the DQ Club Room at TCF Bank Stadium.  Kill will speak at 6:30 p.m. with comments on his recruits.  Although the event is sponsored by the Goal Line Club, nonmembers are welcome and for $25 can register at the door.  For more information, or to join the Goal Line club, visit www.GoalLineClub.com.

Minnesota, 5-4 in the Big Ten, needs to win tonight’s basketball game against mediocre Indiana, 2-7, in Bloomington.  The Gophers have five home conference games remaining and after tonight only three on the road.  Minnesota has won five of the last six games against Indiana, although coach Tubby Smith’s team had an unexpected loss against the Hoosiers in Bloomington last season.

Gophers forward Trevor Mbakwe leads all Big Ten players in double doubles with 13 and is tied for seventh in the country, according to stats released by the Big Ten office on Monday.

Former Gophers basketball player Walter Bond, now a nationally recognized motivational speaker, turned 42 yesterday.

Twins president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners he expects MLB commissioner Bud Selig to announce this spring or early summer a National League site for the 2013 All-Star game.  As an American League team, the Twins organization remains in pursuit of the 2014 game.  “We continue to be very bullish on our chances for 2014,” St. Peter said.

The franchise will induct pitcher Jim Perry into the Twins Hall of Fame at a Target Field game June 11.  The Twins will retire pitcher Bert Blyleven’s No. 28 at a home game ceremony on July 16 before he’s inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame on July 24.  Blyleven wore that jersey number for most of his major league career but was No. 22 with Pittsburgh.

The Twins have commitments from most of their players from the 1991 World Series championship team to participate in a 20^th anniversary celebration in Minnesota the weekend of August 5-7.  Shane Mack and Chuck Knoblauch aren’t committed yet but the Twins are working on their participation, too, according to club marketing executive Patrick Klinger.

FOX Sports North will televise five Twins spring training games including March 14 starting at noon against Florida.  Other telecasts will be March 21, 23, 28 and 30.

The NBA’s Charles Barkley and NFL’s Michael Strahan were eating at Chicago Cut Steakhouse as the Wild had its annual rookie dinner last week.  Barkley and Strahan talked with the players for about an hour.

The Wild, which plays its first post All-Star break road game tomorrow night in Denver, is 14-8-3 away from home.  That tops the road record for the entire 2009-2010 season, 13-24-4.

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