In a league lacking star power, including freshmen of influence, Gopher newcomer Ralph Sampson III is a player to watch in the Big Ten Conference.  Sampson, a 6-foot-11, 220-pound forward-center, has been improving of late and was a major contributor in Minnesota’s rout of Illinois last week and his help will be needed tonight against first place Michigan State in East Lansing.

In the Illinois game Sampson scored 10 points and had seven rebounds.  In the previous game against Indiana he had Big Ten career highs in points with 13 and rebounds, eight.  He also had a career high in blocks with six.

Sampson is the Gophers’ fourth leading scorer in conference games at 6.3 points and is tied with Paul Carter for the best rebounding average, 4.3.  As of Monday, Sampson ranked third in rebounding and fifth in scoring among freshmen in the Big Ten including both conference and nonconference games.

With athleticism, a lanky body and a family pedigree that includes a father who was three times the Naismith national player of the year, Sampson will be intriguing to watch this season and beyond.  Illinois coach Bruce Weber said last week that during the next off-season Sampson is likely to add strength and skill, improving as young big men do with extra work.

Already Weber and others are impressed.  “He battles. He’s very competitive for a young guy,” Weber said. “He’s big, bulky, makes it tough.  You gotta fight your butt off on him.  He made his free throws (eight of 10 against Illinois), which is huge for a big guy.

“…I think he’s had a great freshman year, probably better than maybe they expected.  He’s played better than I ever anticipated and he’s got a great future for them.”

When the Gophers begin spring football practice on March 24, it’s quarterback MarQueis Gray who seems a sure bet to be the focus of media and fan attention.  He was the prize recruit in last year’s class of newcomers but wasn’t eligible to play in 2008.

Gray will be a freshman this spring and next fall.  Although the Gophers will have promising players in the recruiting class they announce today, part of national signing day across the country, none may make the impact next fall of Gray. Coming out of Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, Gray was known for his passing and running.  He was ranked by rivals.com as the No. 3 dual threat quarterback in the country.

The No. 1 guy was Terrelle Pryor who became a starter for Ohio State last season.  Opinion is Gray will prove to be the superior passer in college.

Both because of necessity and talent, Gray won’t be redshirted in 2009 even though he could be, coach Tim Brewster told Sports Headliners.  Backup quarterbacks Tony Mortensen and Mike Maciejowski were seniors last fall and must be replaced.  That leaves Gray, redshirt freshman John Nance and walk-on Adam Lueck as the backups this spring for returning starter Adam Weber, the No. 1 quarterback the last two seasons.

Weber will be held out of contact this spring following surgery on his left shoulder.  “This is going to be a great spring for him (Gray) because Adam is going to be very limited,” Brewster said.  “He’s going to get all the first team snaps.”

Brewster anticipates this spring will prepare Gray to play and help the Gophers as the No. 2 quarterback next season.  Brewster said the offensive plan for each game will include Gray and that his young quarterback will take some snaps in place of Weber.

Brewster also said Weber could be “one of the better quarterbacks in the country” next season.  He expects Weber to be challenged by and benefit from working with new offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch who is respected in the NFL including by All-Pro quarterback Peyton Manning of Indianapolis.

The Big Ten Network will have a Big Ten Conference Football Signing Day Special beginning at 3:30 p.m. today Minneapolis time.  The 90-minute program will feature video highlights of top recruits, university press conferences and interviews with Big Ten coaches.  Among those offering comments will be former Gophers’ coach Glen Mason and Scout.com national recruiting authority Allen Trieu. The show re-airs at 10:30 p.m. tonight, and 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Friday.

Here’s advice about national football recruiting rankings: Don’t dismiss them, nor take them as gospel.  Mostly the schools that lead the rankings each year also annually have the better football teams.  This doesn’t mean other schools not rating high in the recruiting rankings won’t have powerful teams.  Just ask Michigan or Alabama, both of whom lost to the 2008 Utah Utes.  Boise State showed its might in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl, upsetting Oklahoma.

Give Denny Green credit for drafting two of the NFL’s most explosive receivers in the modern era.  Green was the Vikings’ coach when the franchise chose Randy Moss with the 21^st pick in the first round of the 1998 NFL draft.  As Arizona coach in 2004, Green and the Cardinals took Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald, Jr. with the third pick in the first round.

Illinois coach Bruce Weber talking about the Gophers’ unselfishness said he doesn’t think “they really care who gets theirs (acknowledgements).”

Timberwolves guard-forward Mike Miller told Sports Headliners he misses his wife and two children who remain in Memphis where he played last season.  Otherwise, he’s happy to be with the Wolves and in Minneapolis.

The Twins’ TV commercial that aired during Sunday’s Super Bowl can be seen on the team’s website, www.twinsbaseball.com.  The commercial is entitled “Trucks” and includes many Twins players such as Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Denard Span making deliveries to the Target Field construction site.

Sunday’s game was the most viewed Super Bowl of all time, besting last year’s record setter. The “M-A-S-H” series finale years ago remains the most viewed American TV program ever.

Baseball America has named Hamline’s Dan Kaczrowski, from St. Anthony, the preseason NCAA Division III player of the year, according to the MIAC Website, www.miac-online.org.  Baseball America includes him on its preseason All-American team at second base and rates him the No. 2 Division III prospect for the 2009 major league baseball draft.  Last season he hit .500 against MIAC opponents with 18 RBI and 24 runs scored.