All things Gophers Football, Big Ten and more. Kent Youngblood is no stranger to football. His first full-time beat was covering the Green Bay Packers for the Wisconsin State Journal for six seasons starting in 1992. In 1998 he came to the Star Tribune, where he covered the Vikings for five seasons. Having grown up in Minnesota, Kent is also old enough to remember raking the leaves in his yard while listening to Ray Christensen describe the Gophers' 16-0 victory over No. 1-ranked Michigan back in 1977.
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Greetings:
Just a quick note to let you know that Richard Hightower, who resigned his position as wide receivers coach with the Gophers last week, was hired by the Washington Redskins as assistant special teams coach.
No word on Hightower's replacement on the Gophers staff.
Have a good afternoon
Greetings.
Just a quick note here. Four-star wide receiver James Louis, a 5-11, 178-pounder from Delray Beach, Florida, has indicated on his Facebook page that he may be headed to the Gophers instead of Ohio State on Wednesday.
The nuances of today's electronic social networking never ceases to amaze me.
Louis, who got offers from a ton of BCS schools, including Florida and Alabama, was a high school teammate of running back Donnell Kirkwood. Indeed, on his Facebook entry, Louis indicates he wants to come north with Kirkwood.
Of course, we'll all have to wait until Wednesday's signing day to see if it is true. But remember, Gophers coach Tim Brewster and his staff have pulled off late surprises before. Last year cornerback Michael Carter was a late switch to the Gophers.
Stay tuned and have a good afternoon.
Greetings
I covered the Gophers women's basketball game last night. As I was leaving the campus I drove past TCF Bank Stadium, where the Gophers were hosting Seantrel Henderson one last time before signing day. It was interesting. In the dead of winter all the lights were on. Looking up, you could see one of the suites filled with people.
Where will Henderson end up? I know as much as you do. I was just talking with Allen Wallace,national recruiting editor for Scout.com and SuperPrep Magazine. We were commenting on how good a job Henderson and his family have been at keeping a lid on the decision.
Well, we'll know on Wednesday. I'd be curious to know two things from you folks: First, do you think Henderson will wind up here? And, if he did sign with the Gophers, what kind of impact do you think that would have on the program going forward in terms of national image and recruiting?
I know coach Tim Brewster and his staff are working hard and might have a surprise addition or two on signing day. Remember last year? Michael Carter changed his mind and signed with the Gophers on signing day.
That's about it. Have a good day.
Greetings
Just a quick note. Showing remarkable speed, the Gophers have made the hiring of Jeff Horton official. I'll be talking to coach in a bit and will be writing the story for tomorrow's paper.
Here's what coach Tim Brewster had to say in the official release: I'm thrilled to have Jeff Horton join our staff," he said. "He brings tremendous leadership and experience running offenses and coaching quarterbacks. I think he's a tremendous teacher in all aspects of quarterback play and offensive football. His overall knowledge will help make this a seamless transition for our players."
Here's what Horton had to say in the release:
"I'm really excited about the opportunity coach Brewster is giving me here at Minnesota," Horton said. "I started my college coaching career here 26 years ago. I'm coming back to a great city, a great university and a program that is really starting to take off. I'm proud to be a part of it."
Just in time for me, by the way; with the Vikings in the NFC title game, it's become something of a all-hands-on-deck situation around here. I'll be heading to Indianapolis tomorrow to cover the AFC title game.
That's it. Just wanted to make
Greetings
Numerous outlets, including Rivals.com and GopherIllustrated.com, are reporting on their sites that Jeff Horton, who spent the 2009 season coaching quarterbacks in Detroit under offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, will be Gophers coach Tim Brewster's new offensive coordinator.
I am still working to get official confirmation.
Horton was interviewed for the job last season, when he was coming off a stint as an assistant coach under Linehan with the St. Louis Rams.
Horton would appear to be a candidate with a lot of experience and the good possibility that he could provide the continuity Brewster has been looking for in his coordinators.
A 1981 graduate from Nevada, Horton's first coaching job was as a graduate assistant with the Gophers in 1984. His long resume includes head coaching stints at both Nevada and UNLV. He has mixed success as a college head coach, but he did oversee some pretty productive offenses in that time.
Horton then moved on to become quarterbacks coach at Wisconsin from 1999-2005, where he mentored the likes of Jim Sorgi, Brooks Bollinger and John Stocco. His time at Wisconsin overlapped with several coaches who are now Gophers assistants, including defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove, co-defensive coordinator Ronnie Lee, offensive line coach/running game coordinator Tim Davis and running backs coach Thomas Hammock.
Clearly, Horton has plenty of experience in offenses that both open things up and also in offenses, like Wisconsin's, that like to feature more of a power running game.
That's about it for now.
Greetings.
Not a lot of new stuff in the search for an offensive coordinator. It would appear many of the names that were being thrown out yesterday in the wake of Jedd Fisch leaving for Seattle were names of folks who were interested in the opening, not necessarily folks who were on head coach Tim Brewster's short list.
I agree with reported speculation that Brewster has a very, very short list -- perhaps two or three names -- of folks he's interested in.
So is Chris Meidt one of those names? The former Minneota High School star who led his team to state titles in 1986 and 1987. He coached a bit at the high school level, served as offensive coordinator at Bethel, then was head coach at St. Olaf for six seasons. From there he left to work with Jim Zorn with the Washington Redskins as an offensive assistant, which he did for two seasons before Zorn was fired. Much of Meidt's work was with Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell.
Footballscoop.com reported that Brewster was interested in Meidt. We'll see if that turns out to be true.
One thing appears certain: Brewster, who wants to stick with his current offensive scheme, is looking at guys who have experience with the pro-style offense.
That's about it. Have a good night.
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Brita Hanchek 2/7/2010
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