Hardcore Hawk

Does a team have to fall back to earth? Since the two are not in the same conference, I don't think the success of one and the lack of success of the other is as intertwined as it used to be

If that's the case, then I would think he'd go after some bigger recruits, guys that Wisconsin and Iowa and Michigan State go after, and leave at least some of the local talent that Minnesota typically scoops up to the rest of the schools in the area.

Makes sense to want to stockpile on O-line, though, right? It's the biggest position group in terms of players on the field (unless you put CBs and Safeties into one category). Plus, as we saw with all the injuries this past year, it seems you can never have too many.

When do the offensive line commitments begin to come in? Just one so far, and I would have to think with Bubba would want to emphasize that in this recruiting class after his remarks about the play of the offensive line this year.

I'm curious to see if Gopher players still want to leave the program after this hire. It seems like this was the best hire the school could have made. Does that change the mind of some of those players who felt like they were "betrayed" by the administration when they fired Claeys?

PJ Fleck can now row the boat on any one of the 10,000 lakes

PWO?

Tough, tough break for Arnell.

I'd also like to see Zimmerman push Studsrud for starting time right away. Competition brings out the best in people, and I don't think Studsrud has been tested in two years.

I've got to agree. I rarely watch the Gophers play, but whenever I do, it seems the thing that shoots them in the foot more often than not is the coaching and Leidner being unable to lead the team when he is supposed to. Claeys seemed like a forced hire, and I don't think he ever would have been able to take the next step, contending for a Big Ten title

Does Zeke Ott contribute as a true freshman? One of the bigger signings in UND's DI history, but the defensive line is one of the deeper spots going into next season

I'd like to see Johannesson and Oliviera together in the backfield and Santiago as a slot receiver. It'd be tough to give all three of those guys enough touches out of the backfield, but moving Santiago would make the most sense.

WMU won 4 games before hiring Fleck. Four years later they went 13-0 in the regular season. It's all about recruiting guys that fit your program. I get that the Gopher program isn't a typical powerhouse, but with a guy like Fleck, you don't have to be a powerhouse to get guys to play for you.

Don't get me wrong, I'll take a goal any way we can get it. But it would just be adding another weapon to his arsenal. I'm not saying stop getting the tap-ins and redirections. But take a few more shots away from the net, and see what happens.

Something I seem to notice about Gersich is the vast majority of goals both this season and last have been on redirections or quick rebounds off of shots. What I'd like to see in the second half of this season is more wrist shots from him. Become more of a shooter, rather than just getting the garbage goals.

Wouldn't Fleck want to go somewhere to win a national championship? I know Minny isn't exactly a powerhouse, but any Big Ten school has a better shot at that than WMU. Even after going 13-0 this year, they only were ranked 12th nationally. Going to a Power 5 school gives Fleck that opportunity to coach for a national title, something the MAC can't offer

PJ Fleck has met with Minnesota officials to discuss a future hiring, which is pretty shocking. I would think he's still going to get better offers than Minnesota, but even now, this would be a crazy fortunate signing for Minnesota's program.

Since we're in a bit of a dead period, I thought it would be nice to get a debate going. Who on the list of commits and signings so far will have the biggest impact next season? I personally think that Tamas Stewart will be a big part of the defense right away, especially if Arnell isn't granted a medical redshirt. His Hudl shows great pursuit, and I think he and Reyes would work well next to each other.

Very true. Sherman only has one year left on his contract and is scheduled to make nearly $2.3 million next year. If the Chiefs were to cut him, even after the $500,000 hit in dead cap, Will would still be a much cheaper option.

Rousemiller, so far anyway, has only been offered by UND and has a walk-on available at UM. I personally would be shocked if he walked on at that program rather than take a scholarship at UND, but crazier things have happened.

A quick comparison at Will and the Chiefs current FB, Anthony Sherman Will is 5 years younger, meaning he already has a leg up because in today's NFL, and especially in the backfield, youth is a huge factor on if you can make the team or not. He's one inch taller (unofficially) and nearly 15 pounds heavier. Despite being bigger than Sherman, his 40 time is nearly a quarter of a second faster (Sherman 4.75, Ratelle 4.54). Of course, the only thing that matters at the end of the day is if you do your job better than the other guy. Will got a tough break, being behind DiMarco in Atlanta (one of the better fullbacks in the league) and injuring his ankle during training camp, but if he can outperform Sherman, there's a very good chance we'll see Ratelle playing on Sundays in 2017.