Brewster Lands Texas Tight End

Football coach Tim Brewster took a step forward in his 2008 recruiting class, landing Houston Lamar High School tight end Eric Lair, a three-star player and the No. 36 player at his position in the country according to Rivals.

In landing Lair, the Gophers outworked Oklahoma, Baylor, Oklahoma State and Nebraska, among others, according to Rivals.

Lair is 6'3, 215 pounds and can run a 4.46 40, which makes him perhaps a nice fit for Mike Dunbar's spread offense.

The Rivals article, which is subscription only, includes among other good tidbits this quote from Lair's high school coach.

... He is a big kid who can split out and create some mismatches in the passing game. He is also a very strong kid who can put his hand down on the ground and block for you. I believe he bench pressed 185 pounds 25 times and can max out at 320 pounds."

"I think Eric's game will be something that the Big Ten is naïve to, besides maybe Purdue, in that they will be splitting out some bigger guys to create those mismatches with linebackers and corners.

This seems to be good news for Brewster and his coaching staff. A tight end who can operate in the open field would be a welcome addition to the spread offense, especially with the reasonable concerns about the squad's lack of depth at the receiver position.

This is the first good recruiting news in a few weeks. A couple weeks ago we saw the first coveted Minnesota recruit in the Brewster era, Joe Schafer, leave the state. He picked Wisconsin over Minnesota. And we saw Matt Scott, a three-star dual-threat quarterback decide on Arizona over Minnesota.

The Lair verbal comes as somewhat of a surprise, considering the recruit has never visited campus. But it's a pleasant surprise.