2007 Golden Gopher Football Signees
Name Pos. Hgt. Wgt. Hometown (Last School)
Duane Bennett RB 5-9 190 Fairview Heights, Ill. (O'Fallon Township)
Clint Brewster QB 6-1 190 Denver, Colo. (J.K. Mullen)
Chris Bunders OL 6-3 305 Maple Grove, Minn. (Osseo)
Justin Chatman ATH 5-9 165 Mesquite, Texas (Horn)
Marc Cheatham WR 6-2 210 Oakland, Calif. (Laney College)
Durrell Clark-James DB 6-1 190 San Francisco, Calif. (City College of San Francisco)
Ryan Collado DB 5-9 165 Cincinnati, Ohio (Hills Christian)
Trey Davis OL 6-2 275 Farmington, Minn. (Farmington)
Serge Elizee DT 6-1 300 Miami, Fla. (College of the Sequoias)
Tray Herndon WR 5-10 170 Jacksonville, Fla. (The Bolles School)
Harold Howell ATH 5-8 160 Jacksonville, Fla. (Mandarin)
Anthony Jacobs DE 6-2 265 Northfield, Minn. (Northfield)
Collin McGarry TE 6-4 230 Stillwater, Minn. (Stillwater)
Ryan Orton OL 6-4 265 Eden Prairie, Minn. (Eden Prairie)
Shane Potter DB 6-1 195 Clearwater, Minn. (Becker)
Eric Small DL 6-2 265 Naperville, Ill. (Joliet JC)
Andre Tate' RB 6-2 215 Mendota Heights, Minn. (Henry Sibley)
Kyle Theret DB 5-11 185 Denver, Colo. (J.K. Mullen)
Curtis Thomas S 6-1 190 Aldine, Texas (Aldine)
Jimmy Thompson WR 6-1 180 Hayward, Wis. (Hayward)
Logan Uu LB 5-10 225 Oakland, Calif. (Laney College)
Damien White WR 6-0 170 Culver City, Calif. (Culver City)
Ryan Wynn OL 6-5 240 Plymouth, Minn. (Maple Grove)
Duane Bennett
Bennett has been a solid running back with good receiving skills. He started ten games as a freshman and rushed 107 times for 442 yards with three touchdowns and caught 18 passes for 145 yards and one score. Bennett got off to a fast start in 2008 as he rushed for 92 yards in the season opener versus Northern Illinois and had 100 rushing yards against Bowling Green. Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the win and finished the year with 140 rushing and 125 passing yards. He made a good comeback from the injury in 2009 and rushed for 395 yards and had 194 receiving yards with eight scores. Bennett rushed for a career low 3.8 yards per carry. He had seven starts this season as he had career highs in rushing yards (529 yards) and 319 receiving yards on 33 catches. Bennett has 1487 career rushing yards and 792 receiving yards.
Clint Brewster
Brewster had originally committed to Illinois out of Denver (Colo.) Mullen, but switched his pledge to Minnesota when his father was named the head coach in January of 2007. He redshrted as a freshman and transferred to College of the Sequoias for the 2008 season, taking over the starting assignment at quarterback for the final six games of the year. He signed with Tennessee Tech, but did not play in the 2009 and 2010 season. Cass Barnes and Tre Lamb, who split starting duties for the Golden Eagles, will be back for the 2011 season.
Chris Bunders
Bunders, who is now list at 322 pounds, redshirted as a freshman. He started three of seven games at right guard after moving to tackle in 2008. Bunders started all 13 games at right guard in 2009 and all 12 contests in 2010 at left guard. He will be counted on heavily with the graduation loss of seniors Jeff Wills, Matt Carufel, Dominic Alford and D.J. Burris. All four started 20 or more games for the Golden Gophers.
Justin Chatman
Chatman redshirted as a freshman at Minnesota before transferring closer to his Mesquite home at North Texas. He was not on the active roster this season.
Marc Cheatham
Cheatham, a junior college transfer, redshirted in 2007. He transferred to Southern Illinois, where he played in all 12 games and started eight. Cheatham was named honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Football Conference as he finished as the team's second-leading receiver with 29 catches. He had 16 catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns in 2009, which was his senior season.
Durrell Clark-James
Clark-James, a junior college transfer, left the team after being suspended from participating in spring practice. He transferred to Delaware, where he played with former CCSF teammate Julian James. Clark-James suffered a wrist injury and did not play for the team in 2007. The Blue Hens finished 11-4 that season and advanced to the Division 1-A championship, losing to Appalachian State as current Baltimore Raven quarterback Joe Flacco was the signal caller. Clark-James played in the first two games of the 2008 season, but had no individual stats. He left the team at midseason.
Ryan Collado
Collado started nine of 12 games as a freshman with 51 tackles. He started one game as a sophomore with 22 tackles and 4 games as a junior with 34 tackles. Collado started all 12 games as a senior at cornerback as he had a career high 60 tackles and two interceptions. He finished his career with 25 starts, 167 total tackles, three interceptions, two sacks and nine breakups as a Golden Gopher.
Trey Davis
Davis left football team to focus strictly on track and field last March. He played in 12 games and made six starts during his Gopher football career. Davis was a two-year letterwinner at the center position. He started in five games in 2008, including the 2008 Insight Bowl and one in 2009. Davis missed the second half of sophomore season with an ankle injury. He finished fourth in the shot put at the 2010 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships. Davis was the Big Ten runner-up in the shot put with a throw of 60-0 1/2, his first mark over 60 feet and the eighth-best toss in school history. He had a third-place finish in the Big Ten discus with a season-best throw of 172-5. Davis was named All-Big Ten Second Team and Academic All-Big Ten.
Serge Elizee
Elizee, a junior college transfer, participated in spring practice and was expected to play a big role for the Gopher defense, but left the program after failing to land in the business school. He transferred to SMU, where he played in 11 games in 2007 and just one game in 2008.
Tray Herndon
Herndon appeared in all 12 games as a freshman with seven starts. He caught 22 passes for 235 yards and one touchdown. Herndon transferred to Vanderbilt, where he sat out the 2008 season. He caught one pass in the 2009 season opener for 17 yards, but didn't have a reception the rest of the year and failed to play in seven contests. Herndon had 13 catches for 122 this season and he has one year of eligibility remaining with the Commodores.
Harold Howell
Howell appeared in 10 games as a reserve wide receiver and a kick returner as a freshman. Howell did not catch a pass, but had two rushes for 15 yards on reverses. He had 72 yards on a team-high 15 punt returns (4.8 average) and a 23.1-yard average on a team-leading 30 kickoff returns. Howell finished with the third-most kickoff returns and the fourth-most kickoff return yards in school history. He was dismissed for violations of academic and team guidelines after his freshman year.
Anthony Jacobs
Jacobs redshirted as a freshman before playing in ten games with seven tackles in 2008. He started four time in 13 games in 2009 as he finished with 19 tackles. Jacobs had the best season of his career this past season as he finished with 41 tackles as he started 10 of 12 games at both defensive end and defensive tackle. He is one of four returning starters on the defensive front and will be counted on heavily as a senior.
Collin McGarry
McGarry is the younger brother of former Gopher long snapper Robert. He played in three games as a freshman, but did not see any playing time as a sophomore. McGarry played in nine games as a junior and seven contests this season. He caught his only two passes for his career this year for 14 yards.
Ryan Orton
Orton redshirted as a freshman, but started his first ever college game in 2008. He came off the bench for the next six games, but started the final five contests. Orton had one start in 2009 and three starts in 2010. He has made 10 starts in his career, six at left guard, one at right guard and three at tackle.
Shane Potter
Potter redshirted his freshman season after he missed most of his senior year with a torn ACL suffered in the season opener. He transferred to South Dakota, where he could be eligible immediately. Potter played in all 11 games, starting one and finished fifth on the team with 45 tackles in 2008. He was a second team All-Great West Conference selection in 2009, where he started all 10 games at strong safety and finished second on team with 67 tackles, including 36 solo stops. Potter was a All-Great West Conference second-team selection this past season as he started all 11 games at strong safety. He finished second on the team with 76 tackles.
Eric Small
Small was a junior college transfer who had three years of eligibility with the Golden Gophers. He had six starts in 12 games in 2007 as he had 18 tackles on the season. Small started 12 of 13 games in 2008 as he made 25 tackles. He started all 13 contests in 2009 and had 27 tackles.
Andre Tate'
Tate' redshirted as a freshman and was named the outstanding defensive scout team player award. He missed the 2008 season with an injury. Tate' eventually transferred to Illinois State, but did not appear in any games this season.
Kyle Theret
Theret was a late addition who attended the same high school as Clint Brewster. He emerged as a four-year starter, starting all 49 games that he played. Theret had 39 tackles and three interceptions as a freshman. He had a career-high 80 tackles and snared three interceptions as a sophomore. Theret had 73 tackles and three interceptions as a junior. He missed the first two games of the season, due to a suspension, but finished with 72 tackles. His 10 interceptions is sixth in school history.
Curtis Thomas
Thomas started six games as a true freshman safety, but decided to transfer to Texas Southern to be closer to home. He played 33 games in his three year with the Tigers. Thomas had 37 tackles and six interceptions, two returned for a touchdown in 2009 and four interceptions this season.
Jimmy Thompson
Thompson redshirted his freshman year and played in just four games on special teams in 2008. He transferred to South Dakota, where he was reacquainted with former Minnesota offensive coordinator Gordon Shaw, who had recruited him out of high school. Thompson started all 10 games at free safety in 2009 as he finished fourth on team with 59 tackles. He started South Dakota's first game at free safety and made one tackle before suffering a season-ending injury.
Logan Uu
Uu, a junior college transfer, redshirted in 2007. He appeared in the first three games of the 2008 season before going down with a leg injury. He missed the next eight games of the year before returning for the season finale. Uu finished with three total tackles. He moved from linebacker to fullback for his final season in 2009.
Ryan Wynn
Wynn redshirted his freshman season, but started all 13 games in 2008. He missed the 2009 season with a back injury, but has been a versatile offensive line performer who has play center, guard and tackle for the Golden Gophers. He had one start this season versus Northwestern and will likely find a starting spot somewhere this upcoming season.
The Golden Gophers landed two wide receivers in the spring.
Ralph Spry
Spry appeared in all 12 games and made six starts as a freshman. He caught 23 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns and finished third on the team in all three categories. Spry started Minnesota's first seven games but had only seven receptions for 63 yards. He was suspended for two games this season for violating team rules and never regained his starting role. Spry played just one more game the rest of the season and did not catch another pass. He transferred to Auburn, where his father is the Tigers' head track and field coach. Spry sat out the 2009 season and had one kickoff return for 20 yards this season as the Tigers won the national title.
Damien White
White committed to Minnesota in April and left the team before the 2008 season. Tragically, he was shot to death shortly after 1 a.m. after he left a party in South Los Angeles in April 2009.
