Kill says Gophers fill holes with recruits

By Andy Greder
St. Paul Pioneer Press
MINNEAPOLIS - Four recruiting services have the Gophers’ incoming football class near the bottom half of the Big Ten Conference, but half of their recruits could fill needs on the offensive line and in the defensive backfield.
Of the 24 players who signed letters of intent Wednesday, seven are defensive backs and five are offensive lineman.
Coach Jerry Kill avoided hyperbole in talking about his fifth recruiting class at Minnesota being his best one. He instead looked it as adding depth with potential playmakers.
“Today where everybody signs on that dotted line and every coach in America says this is the best recruiting class they’ve ever had and there have never been any bad ones,” Kill said at the start of his news conference.
What Kill did say is Minnesota addressed “two big needs” in the defensive secondary and on the O-line, “and we continued to increase our skill.”
What both position groups have in common is size and length.
Secondary
With many secondary players recently departed or set to depart after next season, the Gophers attempted to restock the cupboard. Minnesota had signed three members of the secondary in its two previous classes combined.
“It was important that we get some kids with some height and length to replace some kids,” defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys said.
The incoming defensive backs are headlined by Charlie “Ace” Rogers from Iowa Western Community College and Dior Johnson from Southfield (Mich.) High School, the only four-star recruit in the Gophers class, according to Rivals.com.
Ray Buford, Alonzo Craighton, KiAnte Hardin, Jacob Huff and Antonio Shenault round out the incoming class of defensive backs.
The Gophers lost Cedric Thompson and Derrick Wells from last year’s team that went 8-5 and lost 33-17 to Missouri in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1. The Gophers will return cornerbacks Eric Murray and Briean Boddy-Calhoun and safety Demarius Travis; all will be seniors.
Kill said those three could be all-Big Ten players and get selected in next year’s NFL draft.
“The kids come into a good culture and they get a chance to learn from some guys that are very, very good,” Kill said.
Buford and Johnson are both 6 feet 2, and Craighton and Rogers are 6-1.
“With the way we’re seeing more and more big receivers, it’s important that we continue to recruit defensive backs that have some length and like to play,” Claeys said.
Kill said added depth is key with the need to go nickel (five defensive backs) and dime (six defensive backs) against spread offensive formations.
“The tough thing in recruiting is you have to gauge is do you have one as good as that or better, and that’s not easy when you are getting better players,” Kill said. “We feel like this is a good crop.”
Offensive line
Two Minnesotans are among a group of five recruits that Kill said is “the biggest group that we’ve recruited and as athletic a group as we’ve recruited.”
The Gophers netted two recruits who had impressive lists of other offers: Tyler Moore from Galena Park, Texas, and Quinn Oseland of Springfield, Ill.
“They needed help on the offensive line group, and they have one of the best (classes at that position group) in the Big Ten,” said recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.
Moore, who is 6 feet 4, 300 pounds, had offers from Texas, Texas Tech, Colorado, Oregon State, Kansas and Illinois. The Longhorns offered him a “grayshirt,” meaning they wanted him to enroll in the spring 2016 semester. Instead, he was one of four recruits to enroll this spring at Minnesota.
Oseland, 6-6, 301 pounds, received offers from Oregon, Mississippi State and Michigan State.
“Schools were coming for him from around the country,” said Allen Trieu, a Midwest recruiting analyst at Scout.com. “He has all the tools to play early in his career.”
The Minnesotans are Nick Connelly of Red Wing and Bronson Dovich of Chaska. Connelly is listed at 6-7 and 277 pounds, while Dovich is 6-5, 295.
Kill said some of the offensive line recruits could play next season.
Ted Steiber, a 6-6, 290-pounder from Akron, Ohio, is the other offensive line recruit.
“They will pass the look test,” Kill said of their sizes.
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