By Chris Monter
FOXSportsNorth.com
January 24, 2011
To quote the words of the famous philosopher Paula Abdul, the Minnesota recruiting Class of 2011 took two steps forwards and two steps back this week. Minnesota head football coach Jerry Kill and his staff, who are working hard to finalize their first Golden Gopher recruiting class landed two commitments, but lost two verbals, including one to a Big Ten rival. The coaches had two visitors this past weekend and will bring in another group next week as they work towards the national signing day, which is February 2nd.
Minnesota has 20 commitments to date after landing Steven Montgomery, a 5-foot-10, 191-pound cornerback/safety from Miramar (Flor.) High and Joe Bjorklund, a 6-foot-6, 285-pound offensive tackle from Rosemount (Minn.) High
Montgomery visited the Twin Cities for the USC game, but was uncertain about the Golden Gophers after the firing of former head coach Tim Brewster. However, Northern Illinois had recruited him and when head coach Jerry Kill took over and showed that they were committed to his recruitment, Montgomery felt the decision to join the Big Ten school was fairly easy.
"Just the coaches and how much love they showed me," Montgomery said. "They had recruited me at Northern Illinois, but they didn't recruit me really hard because they didn't think they had a shot of getting me. But when they got to Minnesota, the thing that turned me on was as soon as he got hired, two days later two of the coaches were in my living room. That showed me that they really wanted me and was interested in me. Another thing that turned me on was the depth chart. I think that I can come in and play right away if I work hard and do my part."
Bjorklund, who is one of the top linemen in the state, has committed to Minnesota as a greyshirt candidate. This means he will enroll in January and participate in spring practice in 2012. He helped lead the Irish to a 12-1 mark as they lost to Wayzata 31-14 in the Class 5A Prep Bowl.
Bjorklund, who visited Minnesota last weekend, was named to the Star Tribune and Kare-11 All-Metro teams and the Minnesota Vikings and St. Pioneer Press All-State teams. He was one of ten finalists for the Mr. Football Award.
Bjorklund had not received much attention from former head coach Tim Brewster and his staff, which had caused him to look at several other schools, such as Toledo, his other top school.
"I was a little bit bitter from not getting very much recruiting interest from the old coaches, but when I met the new coaches, I just fell in love with them," said Bjorklund. "I really don't care what happened before. They want me now. I'm ready to play for them.
"I just felt like Minnesota was the right place for me. I kind of felt like that since I made my visit this weekend, but it just kept getting more and more firmly that I wanted to go to the University of Minnesota."
However, the Golden Gophers lost Tamani Carter, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound defensive back from Pickerington (Ohio) Central, who de-committed from Minnesota and will sign with Michigan.
Junior college transfer Junior Osunde from Kilgore (Tex.) Community College, decided to stay closer to home and will play for Texas Tech after having committed to Minnesota last month.
The Golden Gophers had two visitors this past weekend in defensive ends Wedley Estime from Delray Beach (Flor.) Atlantic and Denzell Perine of Mobile (Ala.) Davidson.
NOTES:
- Jerry Kill continues to win over fans as he impressed a crowd of nearly 300 people Saturday as the Goal Line Club hosted a "Meet & Greet Gopher Football Staff" in the DQ Club Room at the TCF Bank Stadium.
- Ohio State dropped from second to third nationally in recruiting, according to Scout.com. The Buckeyes have seven Top 100 players, compared to six by the other conference teams. They have three other five-stars recruits (compared to just one from the other Big Ten schools) and 11 four-star recruits (compared to 14).
Newest Big Ten member Nebraska's recruiting class is currently ranked No. 26, followed by Michigan State (24); Iowa (28); Penn State (34); Michigan (35); Wisconsin (37); Illinois (42); Northwestern (tied for 55th); Indiana (58); Minnesota (62) and Purdue (70).
Minnesota doesn't have a four or five-star recruit, according to Scout.com's rankings.
- Several top Minnesota players have made their college choices this week.
Frank Veldman, a three-sport standout from Rosemount, has committed to North Dakota State.
Fellow Mr. Football finalists Dylan Ulferts is headed to Winona State.
- The National Signing Day Day 'Sota Social will also be held in the DQ Club Room at TCF Bank Stadium Wednesday, February 2nd from 5:00 - 8:00. The event is being moved from the practice facility, which will be hosting the baseball team with the collapse of the Metrodome.
- Coach Kill will be the Grand Marshal of the St. Paul Winter Carnival Torchlight Parade Saturday, February 5th at 5:30.
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