Super Preps 2012: The 14th Super Preps class

The 2012 Star Tribune Super Preps are a select group of 11 Minnesota high school Division I college football prospects. They represent the 14th class of Super Preps, a group chosen based on college football potential.

On a seemingly constant basis, Escalades driven by big-time college coaches showed up in the main parking lot of Blue Earth Area High School. The 6-9, 290-pound Pirsig had offers from schools across the nation. Pirsig said he woke up July 1 and made his final choice. "I'm looking forward to being able to beat Wisconsin and Iowa, Nebraska," he said. "I've seen some of those stadiums, and hopefully by the time I'm back at them we have a lot more Gophers fans traveling to games."

Hayes left an impression on St. Thomas Academy coaches with his omnipresent smile. Opponents got a much different look. Hayes, an athletic 6-3, 280-pound guard, plowed the road for the Cadets through the echo of the whistle. "I like to get after it," said Hayes, who expects to move to center for the Gophers. Hayes last snapped the ball in seventh grade. Chad Abbott, offensive line coach at St. Thomas Academy, said his nimble feet and fast hands will translate.

College choice Gophers

In nearly two years of recruitment by the Gophers, the 6-4, 225-pound Anyanwu has been pegged as a receiver, then quarterback, then receiver again, and finally just athlete. Anyanwu, who moved to Minnesota from California when he was in the fourth grade to be closer to his mother's family, is just happy to be a Gopher. "It's where I always wanted to be," he said. "When Coach [Tim] Brewster left, it cemented it in my mind. I want to be a part of a program that was turning things around."

College choice Stanford

The 6-7, 275-pound tackle played just one year in Minnesota, moving from North Carolina when his father, Jeff, took the offensive line coaching job with the Vikings. He was contacted by nearly every top program in the nation, though Stanford had been his top choice since his sophomore year. Davidson, who injured an ankle and missed the last two games of the Eagles' state championship run, said, "I don't like sitting out, but it was a pretty good feeling this year."

Despite deciding to leave Minnesota, "The response I've gotten is that most people are happy for me to get the chance to do what I feel is right for me," said the 6-7, 245-pound Johnson. A big factor was the assurance he received from Mountaineers coaches that he will get the opportunity to play tight end. But most of all, it was the way he felt when he stepped on the West Virginia campus. "The team is really together and had great camaraderie," he said. "It just felt right."

College choice Gophers

The 6-6, 280-pound tackle stopped hearing from colleges when he missed much of his junior season because of a knee injury. "There wasn't much film of me from my junior year," Lauer said. "I had to wait until this year for them to see what they wanted to see." Recruiters liked Lauer's nimbleness, the result of spending each and every practice battling Wayzata's defensive line. "It taught me how to play against speed," he said.

College choice Gophers

The 6-4, 220-pound quarterback had high expectations for his high school team, regarded among the best in Class 5A. "Things went downhill when we lost to Lakeville North. And then [in the playoffs], we lost to them again. I think there was a lot of pressure on us to do well." Leidner graduated early and has spent most of January as a university student. "Everything is a lot tougher here, with classes and working out and everything, but I know it will all be worth it," he said.

Few dispute that McDonald is the most talented wide receiver prospect to come out of Minnesota since Michael Floyd of Cretin-Derham Hall five years ago. At 6-3 and 200 pounds, with long arms, soft hands and game-breaking ability, McDonald has shown a flair for the dramatic. He committed to Minnesota after his junior season, then changed his mind and committed to Vanderbilt in September. He re-opened the recruiting process in December due to a coaching change at Vanderbilt. On Thursday he committed once again to the Gophers.

College choice Gophers

Nelson passed for 2,784 yards and 35 touchdowns and used his 6-3, 216-pound frame and 4.48 40-yard dash speed to rush for another 20 touchdowns. He had the second-most passing yards in state history (7,561 yards) and was third in career touchdown passes (94). He picked up nearly every postseason award possible and is regarded as the prize catch in Jerry Kill's 2012 recruiting class. He graduated early and is enrolled at Minnesota so he can participate in spring practice.

College choice Gophers

A separated left shoulder and torn labrum that ended Rallis' senior season "was a freak accident," he said. Recuperating from the injury, which is almost healed, has "motivated me to work even harder to prove myself," he said. Currently taking classes at Normandale Community College, he can't wait to join his older brother, Mike, with the Gophers. Mike is a linebacker who will be a senior in 2012. "I've never played on a football team with him before," Rallis said. "It's a dream come true."

The 6-4, 225-pound Williams combines hand-eye coordination with aggressiveness. The son of former Gophers athletes Brian Williams (football) and Rochelle Goetz (volleyball) always wanted to play college football. But he never felt pressure to follow in their footsteps to Minnesota. "They made me a promise," he said. "They said they wouldn't pressure me." Their pride in his choice isn't hard to detect. "My dad said 'Thank God, I don't have to wear Wisconsin red or Iowa colors.'"