Your Usual Saturday Links To Gophers Stuff

Starting next week I'll be going over what I see as the positions of concern for your 2007 Gophers football team. I'll discuss the quarterback battle, the wideout position, the secondary, and perhaps more.

Until then, there has been an assortment of news to catch up on.

** In the best news I've read in months, the Pioneer Press' Charley Walters informs us that it is unlikely Glen Mason will call any Minnesota games for the Big Ten Network. Something tells me Mason will be lobbying to call as many games possible that include Ohio State.

** In Shooter's column, we also learn that Andrew Brommer, who verbally committed to Dan Monson's Gophers before rescinding when Tubby Smith took over, apparently has new offers. Monson's Long Beach State 49ers have offered and so have Colorodo State, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Valpariso and Dayton. The scuttlebutt on Brommer was that Tubby wanted to go in a different direction and that the Rosemount youngster could find a better situation elsewhere. With the schools that are in the mix for Brommer, it would seem Tubby made the right call ... that is if he can convince more talented kids to come to Minnesota.

** Gopher Nation unveiled earlier this week it's Top 16 recruits they'd like to see Tim Brewster land. I pretty much agree with what Tom at GN argues. I will add though, that it will be highly disappointing if Brewster fails to land Cretin Derham Hall wideout Michael Floyd and/or Eden Prairie standout Willie Mobley.

** In other Michael Floyd news, the Cretin wideout reportedly phoned the Star Tribune Friday to tell the newspaper the Gophers are in his final five. He also told the newspaper he would not be doing anymore interviews until after his senior season. Tim Brewster has his work cut out for him. Minnesota joins Florida, Notre Dame, Michigan and Ohio State in the wideout's final five.

** Mike Lucas of The Capital Times in Madison penned a thorough Minnesota football preview this week. He touches Brewster's energy (who knew?), the changes we'll see on offense and he mentions in passing that Glen Mason was always "patronizing" to Joe Paterno.

** Earlier this week the Star Tribune had a nice article about the start to college football practice. Chip Scoggins tells us a few things of interest: the Gophers are installing a new option play that Adam Weber at least thinks is "cool," the quarterback competition is on and no cell phones or computers are allowed as preseason practice continues.

** The St. Cloud Times has a good profile of defensive end Willie VanDeSteeg, who apparently has taken after Tim Brewster.

** The Dayton Daily News previews Brewster's squad here.

** Women's hockey coach Laura Halldorson reportedly resigned after 11 years and three national titles with the Gophers. She was 278-67-22 during her stint here.

Reusse Weighs In On Brommer

Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse has weighed in on former Gopher commit Andrew Brommer. Reusee seems to echo what many in Gopher forums have perviously suggested, that the Rosemount forward/center might not be Big Ten material.

Here's Reusse:

As last season unfolded, there was a growing sentiment among Minnesota's prep hoops crowd that Brommer did not project as a Big Ten player.

It wasn't a surprise that Brommer had conversations with the new coaching staff and then announced that he was reopening the recruitment process.

There's also doubt about the Gophers' future of Minneapolis Henry senior Al Nolen Jr., a Monson signee. Nolen is waiting for college board scores to see if he's eligible this fall.

Even if he makes it, there's a chance Nolen could be let out of his Minnesota commitment and wind up at a school where his potential for playing time would be greater.

This serves to confirm what many of us already suspected, that Tubby's plans likely didn't include Brommer. In the same article, Reusee takes a shot at Gophers assistant coach Ron Jirsa, criticizing Tubby's #1 assistant for academic woes at Georgia.

The link to Reusee's entire "Between the Quotes" article is here.

Andrew Brommer Revisited

With very little reported by our perodicals about Andrew Brommer's decision to cut ties, at least for now, with the Gophers, I decided to see what else has been written on the Internets/band of tubes about the Rosemount center.

The most telling information, though ir comes from a chat room, indicates that Tubby Smith might think that Brommer isn't Big Ten material. Commenters on KFAN's Rube Chat suggest that Brommer is a project-type big man. Two commenters who claim to have watched the same game when Brommer faced Owatonna had similar reactions. Here's what one said:

Fairly good athletic skills for 6' 8". Won't be an impact player. He's a project and will take 2 or 3 years to see many minutes. Very thin, needs to add 25 lbs. Not sure why we offered; oh yeah-Monson. Saw him play one game this year: 6 pts. 6 rbs. and fouled out with 8 minutes to play. Not B10 caliber.

That's not exactly true. According to Scout.com, which provides a breakdown of Brommer's performance throughout the high school season here Brommer averaged 16.3 points per game, and his two lowest scoring outputs last year were nine. Scout.com ranks Brommer as a 3-star, 6-8 center.

That said, according to various recruiting services, Brommer has been courted by other big schools: Illinois, Wisconsin, Virginia and Xavier.

Coaches aren't allowed to comment on recruits until they sign a letter of intent, so we're left to draw our own conclusions about Brommer. Tubby won't have much to work with other than Monson's talent this year, but for the Class of 2008, Tubby has plenty of scholarships to throw around. Hopefully, the scuttlebutt on KFAN is correct, and Tubby let Brommer know that he isn't the type of recruit that will play at Minnesota in the future. If Tubby can land some of the bigger talents he is after--Festus Ezeli, Ralph Sampson III, Stan Simpson, Royce White, Draymond Green etc..--then the program can let the Brommer's of the world go elsewhere.

UPDATE: Charley Walters reports on June 3rd that Brommer is now being pursued span by Dayton, Colorado State, Xavier and Northern Iowa. It would seem that Brommer's stock has dipped at lesat a little bit since he verbally committed to Monson.

UPDATE II: According to this North Dakota State forum, Tubby made it clear to Brommer that he will not play for the Gophers. It would seem Tubby has his sights set on higher caliber players. If true, this is good news for Minnesota fans hoping Tubby lands a fab five in 2008.

Disgusted With Gopher Hoops Coverage

There were two reports today in Minnesota's perodicals indicating that former Dan Monson recruit Andrew Brommer has decided to re-open his recruitment. Brommer, a junior from Rosemount, Minn., had committed to Monson but now, according to a bare-bones report from Jeff Shelman of the Star Tribune, Brommer is reconsidering. More on Shelman's weak reporting in a second, but here is a pullout from the article, including a quote from Brommer's father.

Much has changed since Brommer gave the Gophers a commitment last fall. Dan Monson was still the Gophers coach and the idea that Smith would trade Kentucky for Minnesota seemed far-fetched. "It's important for both Andrew and the University of Minnesota to look at the situation and see if it works for both sides," Rob Brommer said.

A few things about the article by Shelman bothered me, but by comparison, all the PiPress gave Gopher fans was a blurb in Shooter Walters' column.

Shelman fails to tell us, for instance, how tall Brommer is or what position he plays. For the record, Brommer is a 6-9, 215 pound center. I don't consider myself a casual Gopher fan, but little information like that, and a description of what kind of player Brommer is, would help the general public understand what is going on. Is Brommer a can't-miss prospect? What are his strengths and weaknesses? You wouldn't find that in Shelman and Walters' offerings today.

Shelman and Walters also fail to shed any light on whether the new Gophers coaching staff is upset about this. It's true, Tubby and the coaching staff aren't allowed to comment on recruits until they sign a letter of intent. But, Shelman and Walters have other sources--like high school and AAU coaches, recruiting analysts, among others--who could help Gopher fans understand why Brommer is taking a step away from the University. Tubby has four scholarships available, now that Nate Garth has declared his intent to enroll in Minnesota, so it's plausible that Tubby is shooting for higher-rated players than Brommer.

It may very well be that Tubby doesn't want/need Brommer. Or, Brommer might have wanted to play for Monson. With the reporting Minnesota Gopher fans received, we're left only to wonder and draw our own conclusions. It would seem there is a difference between 'We report, You decide,' and the clearly poor effort demonstrated by our local sports reporters.