New Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck picked up four more verbal commitments ahead of national signing day this week. New Jersey athlete Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Georgia cornerback Justus Harris and Iowa defensive linemen Royal Silver and Austin Schirck announced their commitments to the Gophers on Sunday. Smith-Marsette, from Newark, N.J., had committed to Rutgers before withdrawing last week. The 6-1, 155-pound cornerback is a three-star prospect by the recruiting site Scout and had offers from Iowa and Boston College. Harris flipped his commitment from Cincinnati to Minnesota on Sunday night. The 5-10, 170-pound corner from Roswell, Ga., also had offers from Vanderbilt and Rutgers. Silver is a junior college addition out of Iowa Western. He's listed at 6-4 and 290 pounds and received offers from Syracuse and Memphis. Schirck, a 6-5, 265-pound defensive tackle from Carroll, Iowa, rescinded his commitment to Northern Iowa after receiving an offer from the Gophers on Sunday. Minnesota has 27 verbal commitments in the 2017 class, which doesn't become official until Wednesday. ANDREW KRAMMER
about the writer
The Gophers played with more urgency, but it wasn’t enough to keep them from a second consecutive home loss to the Buckeyes.
