By Chris Monter
FOXSportsNorth.com
Feb. 20, 2011
Minnesota head football coach Jerry Kill has added several late additions to his first recruiting class signing since the National Signing Day on February 2nd. However, perhaps even more exciting to Golden Gopher fans is the strong strides he has made in landing commitments for the Class of 2012.
Phil Nelson, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound quarterback from Mankato (MN) West who is considered the state's top signal caller, committed to Minnesota Saturday.
Nelson helped lead the Scarlets to 10-1 mark and a No. 2 rank in Class AAAA. They lost to Mahtomedi in the state quarterfinals 23-14. Nelson completed 162 of 241 passes (67.2 percent) for 2439 yards and 30 passing touchdowns. Nelson is also an outstanding rusher, who had 117 carries for 669 yards and 13 scores.
Nelson said that there was plenty to like about Minnesota and the new coaching staff.
"Just the fact that is the right situation for me to go into," said Nelson. "It is such a good fit. I feel very comfortable with all the coaches that I'm around up there. I just felt that there was no need to wait around and look any longer, because I've looked at the other colleges already and the Gophers were honest with me throughout this whole process. I'm their number one guy who they wanted, so I figured that there is no point in waiting any longer and making them wait. Just showing my commitment by doing it earlier in the process."
Many Gopher fans were concerned that their hated rival Wisconsin would land Nelson. His father, Pat, was a fullback at Wisconsin from 1976-79 and the family lived in Madison until he was in fifth grade. However, Nelson said that he is firmly committed to Minnesota.
"This decision really doesn't have anything to do with Wisconsin," said Nelson. "Even if Wisconsin would have offered, Minnesota is the right fit for me. There is no other college that I would rather be at. There is no college I'd rather be at than Minnesota."
Nelson will be throwing to 6-foot-3 junior wide receiver Andre McDonald from Minnetonka (Minn.) Hopkins, who committed to Minnesota two weeks ago. The two attended the Minnesota Junior Day together February 6th and McDonald admitted that he was going to work hard in recruiting Nelson to Minnesota.
"I was talking with him a lot, actually," said McDonald. "I think that he would be pretty cool to play with. He is a good quarterback and I could see myself fitting in with him pretty well.
NOTES:
Minnesota offered junior Issac Hayes, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound lineman from St. Thomas Academy this weekend. His older brother, Anthony Hayes, signed with Stanford earlier this month. Hayes has also received scholarship offers from Air Force, Western Michigan, North Dakota State, Virginia Tech, Army, and Navy.
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The Minnesota Golden Gophers will host several talented juniors February 22nd. The players will visit the Minnesota campus, visit with the coaching staff and attend the Minnesota-Michigan State basketball game.
Jonah Pirsig, a 6-foot-9, 285-pound junior left tackle/defensive end from Blue Earth, is expected to attend. He has received scholarship offers from Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Ohio State.
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More than 300 top prospects for the 2011 NFL Draft will participate at the annual combine in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, which runs from February 24-March 1. Unfortunately, none of the Golden Gophers were invited. They will perform in front of NFL scouts at the Gopher Pro Day next month.
