David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

U No. 13 in Football Recruiting Rankings

Posted on April 23, 2023April 23, 2023 by David Shama

With 11 commits, the Golden Gophers are No. 13 nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings of football recruiting classes for 2024.

The Gophers have picked up five of those verbal commitments this month. “It’s been quite the run the last few weeks,” recruiting authority Ryan Burns of GopherIllustrated told Sports Headliners.

The two recruits with the 247 highest composite rankings are players that excite Burns the most. Offensive lineman Riley Sunram of Kindred, North Dakota and safety Koi Perich of Esko, Minnesota are from small towns but are big names in the recruiting world. Burns said, “I think in this day and age, it proves if you’re good enough they will find you anywhere. …”

Sunram has offers from Big Ten schools, plus Kansas State and Miami (Florida). At 6-5, 295-pounds he is athletic and capable of playing both sides of the football. “I am a big fan of Riley Sunram from North Dakota,” Burns said.

He raves, too, about Perich who not only turned down Iowa and Wisconsin but said no to Michigan. Burns said Perich’s highlight tape just goes on and on with impressive plays, while those of most prep players are much briefer. Perich averaged over 20 points for a winning Esko basketball team and is a track star with achievements including winning the state Class A long jump as a sophomore.

Perich is one of five Minnesotans who are verbal commits. Burns thinks head coach P.J. Fleck and staff are connecting with Minnesotans because the program is winning.

Throw out the COVID year of 2020 and the Gophers have won nine games or more each of the last three seasons and had winning records in the Big Ten. The 2019 team finished No. 10 in the country and qualified for a program rarity, playing in a New Year’s Day bowl game. “They (recruits now) saw the Auburn win,” Burns said about the Gophers winning the Outback Bowl.

The hope is to bolster the 2024 recruiting haul by adding two of the most coveted state players who haven’t committed anywhere yet. Offensive tackle Emerson Mandell from Irondale High School and edge rusher Wyatt Gilmore from Rogers have plenty of big schools in pursuit including the Gophers. “I mean they’re (the Minnesota staff) certainly making a big push; I’ll tell you that,” Burns said. “And those are two big fish that are out there right now.”

Gilmore attended the Oklahoma spring football game Saturday and Burns said potential visits to Wisconsin and Purdue may await. Mandell’s offers include Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Penn State.

“Now I think (the Gophers) they’re trending positively with both,” Burns said. “Do I think both are going to make a decision here in the coming weeks? I wouldn’t say that. But Wyatt Gilmore was just back on campus for what I believe was his fifth visit to campus since he was offered in June. …Emerson Mandell I believe has already been here four times. So they’re (the Minnesota staff) doing their part. We’ll see what those two kids decide.”

Burns said both players have a lot of offers, including from schools with more established Name, Image and Likeness success than the Gopher program. Realistically, what are Minnesota’s chances of commitments from both home state stars? “I think 50-50 to land both is probably a good number right now,” Burns said.

The Gophers had their spring game on Saturday, but they have a double digit number of 2024 recruits and that’s ahead of other years. The Gophers definitely have momentum in recruiting. None of the 11 players are composite four-star players but the possibility is there for that to change. “I think a lot of these kids in this (2024) class already have four-star potential,” Burns said.

In addition to Burns’ input on Sunram and Perich mentioned above, here are comments from him about the other nine verbal commitments the Gophers have. Players are profiled in the order of their 247 recruiting rankings, starting from the highest (after Sunram and Perich) to the lowest.

Jide Abasiri, defensive lineman from Prior Lake High School. At about 6-5, 265, Burns describes Abasiri as “incredibly, incredibly long” and with the potential to perhaps someday “play on Sundays.” The physical ability is there. “He looks the part of what Big Ten defensive linemen look like,” Burns said.

Mo Saine, defensive lineman from Eden Prairie High School. Like Abasiri, he is new to playing football but has the makings of a special player, too. At 6-5, 270, Saine needs more coaching, playing time and dedication in the weight room, but the promise is there for an outstanding college career.

Zahir Rainer, safety from Richmond, Virginia. At 5-10, 185, Rainer takes inspiration from former Gophers All-American safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. who was a dynamo at a similar size. Burns expects Rainer to play with a “chip on his shoulder” and maybe contribute early on special teams. “…Being able to land the son of an eight-year NFL vet with 30 plus offers is a big deal,” Burns added while referring to Wali Rainer.

Corey Smith, wide receiver from Brownsburg, Indiana. Burns said Gopher coaches saw him run in January and were impressed, including the speed of the 6-1, 170-pound athlete. The Gophers were his first Power Five offer, but attention has been growing. “Any time he touches it, he can potentially take it to the house,” Burns said.

Mason Carrier, linebacker from Detroit Lakes High School. Burns said Carrier, at 6-2 and 225 pounds, is an athlete that runs 4.6 in the 40 and reminds him of current Gopher Cody Lindenberg as players deserving of more recruiting interest. Burns added that Carrier is “steadfast” in his commitment to Minnesota and that he’s “very excited about” the northern Minnesota linebacker.

Brady Pretzlaff, linebacker, Gaylord, Michigan. At 6-3, 215, Pretzlaff is long in build and can move well and accepted a Gopher offer in January after Minnesota defensive coordinator Joe Rossi saw him, according to Burns. Stanford offered Pretzlaff recently.

Jaydon Wright, running back, Kankakee, Illinois. Wright is a powerful runner at 220 pounds and reminds Burns of former Gopher Ky Thomas. “He can move like he’s not 220 pounds,” Burns said. “He moves incredibly well for his size.” Illinois has now offered Wright but he remains committed to Minnesota.

Dallas Sims, wide receiver from Clearwater, Florida. The Canadian native has about 20 college offers and at 6-2 has more height than wide receivers on the Gopher roster now. Burns admires Sims’ ability to go up in the air and catch the football, and his competitiveness. “Love that kid’s mindset,” Burns said.

Simon Seidl, cornerback from Hill-Murray High School. Seidl plays for former Gopher assistant coach Rob Reeves who told Burns his player has everything needed by a Big Ten corner. Another player new to football, the 5-11, 170-pound Seidl is “very, very fast,” per Burns, and is an exceptional athlete who also plays hockey and had double digit points last season.

Burns believes Minnesota’s recruiting class for 2024 could eventually total about 22 players.

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Vikings QB Process: No Need to Panic

Posted on April 19, 2023April 19, 2023 by David Shama

There is endless speculation about when and how the Vikings will find their next quarterback to replace 34-year-old Kirk Cousins. No need to overthink the process.

The Vikings are highly likely to find their guy sometime in the next 12 months or so. They may acquire a quarterback via trade or free agency within that period. Of course, next week’s NFL Draft will be an opportunity, too, and so will the 2024 draft.

To find a coveted prospect in the opening round of the 2023 draft, the Vikings will have to move up from their No. 23 position in the first round. While that could happen, chances are more likely the Vikings will move down from No. 23, trading that selection to acquire more picks in draft. Minnesota has just two draft spots in the top 100 and only five total in the seven round draft that starts April 27 and continues through April 29.

GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, head coach Kevin O’Connell and others in the organization have spent a lot of time looking at quarterback prospects who will be in the draft, including those who will go in the later rounds. While Minnesota has been linked to likely first rounders Will Levis (Kentucky) and Hendon Hooker (Tennessee), the Vikings seem more likely to end up with second or third round quarterbacks. Possibilities could include Tanner McKee (Stanford) and Dorian Thompson-Robinson (UCLA), prospects the Vikings could develop during the coming season and not rush into game action.

Cousins, who turns 35 in August, is in the last year of his contract. If he and the Vikings push far into the playoffs, O’Connell and the front office are all but certain to want Cousins to return for the 2024 season. The Vikings, though, need a major upgrade to their defensive personnel to be a team that gets deep into the postseason.

The possibility is Minnesota could have a losing season and for next year’s draft have a top 15 or better draft position in the first round. Next year’s draft looks quarterback friendly, too, starting with big names Caleb Williams (USC) and Drake Maye (North Carolina)

Clearly there is time and options for the Viking quarterback scenario to play out.

Worth Noting

Minnesota sports hero Joe Mauer’s 40^th birthday is today. It’s a noteworthy year for the three-time American League batting champion who retired in 2018 and will be inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame August 5.

The Wild might be on a run of good fortune after winning Monday night’s two-overtime thriller in Dallas against the Stars, 3-2. The Wild haven’t won an opening round playoff series since 2015 and that was the last time Minnesota was victorious in the first game.

Hot goalies always weigh heavily in determining postseason success and Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson was superb Monday night and entered the game with an impressive regular season goals against average of 2.10 and 22-9-7 record. Marc-Andre Fleury, the Wild’s 38-year-old backup goalie, struggled as the starter in the team’s opening playoff series a year ago when the Blues eliminated Minnesota in six games, but Gustavsson was brilliant Monday night with a franchise record 51 saves.

The Wild likely caught a break, too, in facing the Stars instead of the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche. Colorado struggled with injuries and performance much of the season but came on late to win the Central Division, with the Stars finishing second and the Wild third. The Avalanche are gritty and talented.

Word is Wild GM Bill Guerin has a new contract, with an established hockey source telling Sports Headliners it’s probably worth $1.5 to $2 million per year.

The Wild announced this morning the club has recalled forward Sammy Walker from Iowa. The former Gopher led the Iowa Wild in goals with 27.

The Athletics’ poll results of NBA players have Wolves’ forward Jaden McDaniels voted the fifth most underrated player in the league, with teammate and guard Anthony Edwards No. 8. McDaniels is also No. 7 as the league’s best defender.

The poll, asking players questions in various categories while providing anonymity, has Wolves center Rudy Gobert ranked as the fifth most overrated player (tied with Jarren Jackson Jr. from the Grizzlies). Former Wolves’ head coach Tom Thibodeau, now leading the Knicks, is the No. 1 coach players don’t want to play for.

The Minnetonka girls’ basketball team could be the best girls prep team in the state next season. The Skippers will take on another power, Providence Academy, in a January 27 game at St. Michael-Albertville. Players to watch include Minnetonka guard Tori McKinney and Providence Academy’s Maddyn Greenway, daughter of former Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway, who as a freshman last winter gave notice she will be a special player.

McKinney, a senior next school year, is likely a recruiting target of new Gopher women’s head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. Word is the new coach has made a more than favorable impression on her players, displaying basketball leadership and likeability.

Minneapolis-based attorney and journalist Marshall Tanick wrote an informative article about Minnesota baseball-related litigation for Minnesota Lawyer. https://minnlawyer.com/2023/04/06/perspectives-new-saints-recall-old-

Congratulations to Ron Stolski, Jim Dotseth and other leaders of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association on the success of their recent clinic that registered 1,542 attendees. That’s the most ever for the popular annual clinic.

The MFCA will sponsor both a recruiting fair and combine for players May 6 at the Vikings’ complex in Eagan. High school coaches will meet with college coaches to discuss prospects at the fair. Players in eighth through 11^th grades will be tested for skills in a variety of categories. https://www.mnfootballcoaches.com/recruit

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Wolves & Denver Looks Like Mismatch

Posted on April 17, 2023April 17, 2023 by David Shama

There was a significant discrepancy in talent, scrap and performance between the Nuggets and Timberwolves last night. It’s just one game in a potential seven game series, but based on what happened in Denver late Sunday night and the season long reputation of the two teams it appears this playoff matchup could end soon.

Denver, the No. 1 seed in the NBA Western Conference, encountered little resistance from No. 8 seed Minnesota in winning 109-80. The Nuggets, led by two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, finished with a regular season record of 53-29. The Wolves, who prompt a lot of head scratching to figure out their team MVP, were 42-40.

The Wolves look like a team that has regressed from a year ago when they opened the playoffs by defeating a solid Grizzlies team in Memphis after finishing the regular season with a 46-36 record. The 2023 team looks dysfunctional too much of the time including in last night’s game that saw the Wolves out scored 32-14 in the third quarter after trailing 55-44 at halftime.

Even at the intermission the Wolves were drawing criticism from TNT analyst Charles Barkley. Targeting the Wolves’ Twin Towers of 7-foot Karl-Anthony Towns and 7-1 Rudy Gobert, Barkley said “Minnesota’s biggest problem” is the combo isn’t effective enough on offense to justify playing them together.

Gobert, acquired in a controversial trade last summer with the Jazz, scored eight points, while Towns, picking up some late points in the meaningless fourth quarter, had 11. And it wasn’t just scoring where the Wolves’ bigs were lacking. In plus-minus stats that measure a player’s contribution on the floor, Gobert was a team-high -28 while Towns was -11.

The Wolves used 13 players last night and Wendell Moore Jr., who played for two minutes, was the only individual with a plus rating (two).

Denver coach Mike Malone wanted his team to be more aggressive and disciplined than the Wolves for the playoff opener. Combine those elements with better talent, the result is what happened last night.

Worth Noting

Because of national TV scheduling the game had an absurd start time of 10:51 p.m. Eastern, 9:51 Central. The next game is Wednesday (also in Denver) with a scheduled tipoff at about 9 p.m. Central.

Walker Kessler, among five players and multiple draft choices the Timberwolves gave up in the trade to obtain Gobert, is one of three finalists for NBA Rookie of the Year. The 7-foot Jazz center averaged 9.2 points and 8.4 rebounds in his first professional season.

Only three other NBA players bettered Kessler’s 2.3 blocks per game. The other finalists for Rookie of the Year are Paolo Banchero of the Magic and Jalen Williams of the Thunder.

Former Wolves star Jimmy Butler, now with the Heat, is a finalist, along with De’Aaron Fox of the Kings and DeMar DeRozan of the Bulls, for NBA Clutch Player of the Year.

The Wild-Stars playoff series opens tonight in Dallas with possibly seven games needed to decide the winner. The two teams played a combined 55 overtime games during the regular season. Both franchises have recent histories of scoring droughts in the playoffs. The Wild hasn’t advanced out of the first round since 2015.

The Wild was 7-2-3 when star scorer Kirill Kaprizov was injured and unable to play late in the season. Minnesota had balanced scoring during that stretch and must continue that with forwards Matt Boldy, Ryan Hartman and Mats Zuccarello needed to step up on the playoffs.

The Stars franchise, known as the Minnesota North Stars until relocating to Dallas in 1993, might never have moved if the Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission had funded a major renovation of Met Center in the late 1980s.

The Frozen Four championship game April 8 on ESPN 2 between the Gophers and Quinnipiac averaged 808,000 viewers, a 100 percent increase over the 2022 title game, per Front Office Sports.

St. Paul native Bill Robertson, commissioner of the USHL, said there were 80 alums of his league playing in the Frozen Four that also included Boston University and Michigan. Twenty-three of those players were from the state of Michigan and 22 from Minnesota.

Since 2017 the Twins are 4-18 at Yankee Stadium in regular season games. That record includes wins Thursday and Friday that ended up giving Minnesota a series split over the weekend.

Minnesota’s Sonny Gray, 2-0 with a gaudy 0.53 ERA, will start Tuesday night in Boston when the Twins open a three-game series against the Red Sox. The Twins’ starting staff, all of whom were acquired from other teams, has been leading MLB in multiple statistical categories including ERA and batting average against.

Happy 90^th Birthday today to former Gophers’ head basketball coach Jim Dutcher. Articulate and sharp as ever, Dutcher has always been a great family man and travelled to Houston this spring to watch son Brian’s San Diego State men’s team finish second in the Final Four.

Joe Salem, who was the Gophers’ head football coach when Jim Dutcher’s 1982 team won the Big Ten title, will be 85 on May 1. He told Sports Headliners via email his health is “okay,” but wife Sue has dementia and is in memory care in Sioux Falls. He spends much of his time following football and literally has a family coaching tree.

Sons Tim (a former Gopher quarterback) and Brad coach tight ends at Pittsburgh and Memphis State respectively. Both programs won their most recent bowl games. Brad’s son Eli is a reserve quarterback at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and the team won the Division III national championship Stagg Bowl last year. Jeremiah is a freshman quarterback at Eastern Michigan, 2022 winners of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

“The family was 4-0 in bowl games last fall,” Joe Salem wrote. “Not bad.”

Son Wade sells motivational programs to school athletic teams while son Brent, a former college football coach, is an insurance executive in the Twin Cities.

The Capital Club’s next breakfast program at Mendakota Country Club is April 27. Charles Adams III, head coach of the North Community High School Polars football team and a recently retired Minneapolis police officer, will help lead an “important conversation about life, death, humanity and how sports can bring people and communities together,” according to an email from club organizer Patrick Klinger. Former Gopher football star Darrell Thompson, president of the Bolder Options mentoring program, will be the program moderator. More information about the Capital Club is available from Klinger, patrick@agilemarketingco.com

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