One Gophers football recruit who'd given Minnesota a verbal commitment re-opened his recruitment Wednesday, one day after coach Tracy Claeys and most of his staff were fired.

But the Gophers' highest-ranked recruit in this class — Marshall offensive lineman Blaise Andries — announced he's staying.

Jakyle Holmes, a running back from Ponchatoula, La., announced on Twitter he is keeping his options open:

"Because of the recent developments at Minnesota, I am reopening my recruiting and plan to visit other schools."

Andries tweeted: "It certainly saddens me to hear of the release of Coach Claeys and his staff. I want to thank them for the relationships and the offer. … Hopefully some will be considered for the current [Gophers] openings. That would be awesome.

"Nevertheless, I am still committed to the University of Minnesota. Thank you, Go Gophers!"

Claeys gives his side

Claeys told WCCO (830-AM) that he understood his firing because "every AD wants to hire his own guy; that's just the bottom line."

"My problem is why bring up and try to justify all this stuff," Claeys added. "Right before the Northwestern game [in Week 11], I was told I had another year and that I handled the [initial player] suspensions up to that point professionally. So obviously here at the very end, it changed their mind."

JOE CHRISTENSEN