Football Recruiting: Chaos or Panic Time?

With the December 31 firing of veteran football coach Glen Mason and the January 15 hiring of former Denver Broncos tight ends coach Tim Brewster as his replacement, the Dinky Gopher Nation is wondering about recruiting for the upcoming season.

* Fact: The football Gophers were 6-7 in 2006 and didn't scare anyone, especially on defense.

* Fact: Rivals.com rates the upcoming class recruited by Mason 54th best in the country. The only Big Ten teams with lower rankings are Indiana (#61) and Purdue (#62). Even Northwestern and Michigan State have more highly regarded classes.

* Fact: Any time there is a complete coaching overhaul, some of the committed recruits will probably decide to go elsewhere. Brewster has elected to keep none of Mason's assistants, two of whom had been kept on to keep recruiting afloat. Those two, Luke Tressel and Gordy Shaw, have received walking papers.

Is it time to panic?

Maybe not.

First, let's look at the class Mason recruited. Rivals shows 20 total commits, of which there are zero five star players, 1 four star and 7 three stars. Of the twenty, five are Jucos. Of the fifteen high school recruits, eleven are from Minnesota and Wisconsin. The highest-regarded player is four star DE Anthony Jacobs. He's rated as the finest prospect in Minnesota and 14th in the country at his position. None of the other recruits are listed as either top 2 in the state or top 25 at their position.

The teams needs bodies. Many of the existing recruits are solid, but none appear on paper to be truly exceptional. Only time will tell how they turn out. So far, at least the in-state guys are sticking.

Second, pretty much every media report cites Brewster as a strong recruiter. He plans to beef up the emphasis on getting the best Minnesota talent, and that will help in the long run. There have also been reports that he's going to see how firm some of the oral commitments given to out-of-state schools are -- I wouldn't expect him to be able to change many minds at this point, but as a breath of fresh air, at least he'll get a listen that Mason and his staff wouldn't.

These may not be enough to make the Nation optimistic about 2007 football prospects, but it's enough to prevent full-blown panic. Next checkup: February 7, national signing day.