The Gophers were once a proud program, with 6 national championships under their belt. But they have been a shell of their former selves recently, and last season, the Gophers made a change to improve their program with a new coach. Tim Brewster was brought to the U to build a winner, and in his first year, the results were… well brutal to say the least. But in his defense, he was given a roster ill-suited to play his Spread offense, and was slammed with a rape scandal to several of his best carryovers from the Mason-era.
Tim Brewster came into the U, claiming he would secure the borders, and stop losing in-state recruits. While he failed to make good on that promise with Michael Floyd, he did bring in the first top 25 recruiting class for the Gophers in a very long time. He highlighted his class by signing the duel-threat QB Marqueis Grey. He should compete immediately with current starter Adam Webber, and could potentially be a starter as a true freshman. He brought in a total of seven, “Four Star” recruits, MarQueis Gray, Keanon Kooper (DB), Brandon Green (WR) Vincent Hill (WR) Sam Maresh (LB) David Pittman (ATH) and Traye Simmons (DB). This crop of talented players look to make immediate impacts when they reach the Gophers roster, and many of them could see a lot of playing time as freshman. The biggest knock on a few of these players, is they are academic risks. But Brewster decided to take the risk, and we will have to see if it’s worth it. Despite the Gophers 1 win season, they look poised to climb the big 10 standings, and will likely be a middle of the road big 10 team next year, and with a strong 09 class, the gophers could continue to climb the big 10 standings.
The Gophers already have an early verbal commitment from 59th ranked QB Moses Alipate. This type of commitment brings credibility to the entire class of 09, which will be a great recruiting pitch for the rest of Brewster’s stump speeches. I believe that if Moses stays true to his verbal commitment, Brewster will be able to bring in more highly ranked recruits. One of the most important factors in the early commitment of Moses Alipate is the fact that Moses is a Bloomington Minnesota native. It is very important for the Gophers to convince the kids in Minnesota to play in front of their home fans. If Brewster can stop the flow of Minnesota area recruits to Big 10 Rivals, the strength of this program will continue to grow.
I give Brewster’s first year at the University of Minnesota a B. The reason his grade is so low, is I cannot give a higher grade to a coach that could not manage to beat North Dakota State, and could not muster one big 10 win. I am convinced that Brewster was a good signing, and that despite his relative obscurity before coming to the U, he is a good coach due to the talent he is able to bring in. If he can continue to do this, Brewster will be a fan favorite in no time here in Minnesota.
