U Maybe Okay in
Pursuit of No. 1 Recruit
If reports are accurate that
Seantrel
Henderson has eliminated Notre Dame from his list of possible
college choices, where does that leave the Gophers? Maybe in better
position than you think.
Henderson, the Cretin-Derham Hall offensive tackle, is rated by
Rivals.com as the nation’s best schoolboy prospect in the football class
of 2009. July postings on the Internet report he’s eliminated tradition rich
Notre Dame from his list of prospective schools. A former Minnesota
prep coach, who has been close to college recruiting for years and
requested anonymity, told Sports Headliners he believes the Irish
were dumped when Henderson shortened his list of schools.
Notre Dame is a Catholic school like
Cretin-Derham Hall and the Irish roster includes Henderson’s former high
school teammate, Michael Floyd. Even more than a year ago Floyd
told Sports Headliners he would be talking to Henderson about
joining the Fighting Irish. Then, too, the Irish have one of college
football’s better recruiters in Rob Ianello.
But perhaps working against the legendary
football program in South Bend is the losing trend. The records of the
last two seasons were 3-9 and 7-6. Speculation is ongoing that this
could be coach Charlie Weis’ last season at Notre Dame.
In an interview with Sports Headliners
last winter Henderson talked about the importance of winning. “I won’t
really want to go anywhere where the team is not that good,” he said.
“As long as the team is up and coming then I am fine. …”
USC, Florida, Ohio State and others that
frequently are annual candidates for the national championship are in
hot pursuit of Henderson but the Gophers are still believed to be a
possibility, according to sources. The Gophers haven’t won a Big
Ten title since 1967, and 1962 was the school’s last stop in a New Year’s
Day bowl game.
That stuff doesn’t look so hot in a power
point presentation when compared with schools like the big three
mentioned above who have combined for four of nine national
titles this decade. Consider the following, though:
In two years as Minnesota’s head coach,
Tim Brewster’s recruiting classes have drawn national attention.
The record of 1-11 in 2007 improved to 7-6 last season. A better year
in 2009 could make an impression with Henderson.
Brewster is a tireless recruiter and hard
work won’t stop the Gophers from going all out for Henderson who would
be a signature recruit for his young program. New offensive line coach
Tim Davis has an outstanding reputation as a teacher and
recruiter. He and Brewster make a formidable recruiting combo.
The Gophers are recruiting J.D. Pride,
a former Cretin Derham-Hall quarterback now at Totino Grace. Pride and
Henderson are friends. Also, Pride’s father is a former Gopher football
player.
The Gophers’ roster has several former
Cretin-Derham Hall players including running back Shady Salamon
who played with Henderson. Other former Raiders include offensive
linemen Matt Carufel and Ned Tavale, and safety Kim
Royston.
The lure of staying home in more familiar
surroundings could factor in, too. In the interview last winter
Henderson said that was a consideration but quickly added he was
interested in exploring other places, too.
Floyd was a USA Today
All-American. He didn’t choose the Gophers and neither have a long list
of the state’s best including three-time All-American linebacker
James Laurinaitis from Ohio State by way of Wayzata.
Will Henderson stay or go? If Brewster
had already won a Big Ten title it would be easier to say amen. You can
bet that a lot of Gophers fans are praying Henderson will say yes.
