Football recruits could be the best ever for Gophers

Coach Tim Brewster says his 2008 Gophers football recruiting class is so talented that several of them will have a good opportunity to start.

"We aren't going to consider redshirting [holding players out for a year] any of these guys because we believe a lot of them can play right away, and they will," he said.

Brewster said he personally studied film of every player who committed to the Gophers, and said he had a lot of confidence in his ability to evaluate athletes.

There have been times when a Gophers coach has recruited a good player and couldn't get him into school because of academic problems, but Brewster said all 31 recruits will qualify for admission.

Although the Gophers signed 31 players, they will be allowed to enroll only 28 this fall, according to NCAA rules. The NCAA allows teams to recruit more than 28 to account for attrition and non-qualifiers.

If you believe all of the recruiting rankings, this is probably the best group ever recruited by a Gophers football coach.

The only class that could compare with this group was the one Lou Holtz recruited for Minnesota before he left for Notre Dame. A number of those players followed him to South Bend, Ind., including stars such as quarterback Tony Rice, who helped the Irish win the 1988 national championship.

This class is ranked third in the Big Ten behind only Michigan and Ohio State. It is rated 17th nationally by Rivals.com and 20th by CSTV.com.

Brewster recalled being told not to bring in any recruits to watch the Ohio State game because the Buckeyes would dominate the Gophers, and they did. But Brewster said all nine players who visited that day committed to Minnesota.

Outstanding safety Nolan Brewster, the son of the coach, signed with Texas.

"Nolan told me that if I wanted him to sign with the Gophers, he would," Brewster said. "But I told Nolan to do what he wanted to do.

"I coached under [former North Carolina and] Texas coach Mack Brown for 13 years, so it's understandable that Nolan would know and want to play for Brown," Brewster said. "Mack Brown is his godfather."

Knight not retired yet Even though he resigned in midseason to allow his son, Pat, to get started as a head coach, former Texas Tech men's basketball coach Bobby Knight said: "I will definitely not say that I will never coach again. If the right job came along where I would have a chance to win for two or three years, I would give it some thought."

There is no doubt Knight would love to coach in the Big Ten again. Knight has found it difficult to recruit at Texas Tech, where the basketball interest is such that the women outdraw the men.

Knight was definitely going to retire at the end of the season. But the more he thought about it, he just felt it was time to give Pat a chance to coach, and that the more tolerant Pat might help the team.

"We've got 10 games left, five on the road and five here at home, and I think it will be a great course for Pat to take leading into being a head coach," Bobby Knight said.

In the past he has turned down television network offers to work as a color man on college basketball. But any day I believe he will accept an offer to be a commentator, and believe me, he will be a good one.

No expansion At the Super Bowl, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell made it very clear there aren't any plans to discuss expansion, which means a team would have to relocate for Los Angeles to get a team.

The NFL has given Buffalo permission to play one regular-season game in Toronto, beginning this year and running through 2012, to help the Bills' financial situation. The Bills also will play three preseason games in Toronto, one every other year, starting this year.

Meanwhile, Neil Glatt, senior vice president of development for the NFL, traveled to Minnesota for the second time last week and talked to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's staff about reasons why the Vikings, 32nd in the league in revenue, need a new stadium to compete. Gatt previously spoke directly to Pawlenty in his first Minnesota visit. The Vikings' lease expires after the 2011 season.

The Vikings' 2008 schedule will now include the two most recent Super Bowl champions -- the Colts and the Giants.

Jottings In the past five games, the Timberwolves' Al Jefferson is averaging 28.8 points, 15.6 rebounds and is shooting 54.7 percent from the field and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said how much he appreciates the great season Randy Moss had, but questioned whether he could afford to pay the former Viking, who will be a free agent. Moss, who took a big cut to play with the Patriots this year, said money won't be a factor in his decision to play with the Patriots again next season.

Steve Spagnuolo, the Giants defensive coordinator who devised the great scheme used to defeat the Patriots, was a candidate to become the Vikings defensive coordinator when Brad Childress became the Vikings coach. They had been on the Eagles' staff together.

Gophers associate athletic director Marc Ryan and a group of local officials visited with NCAA officials in Indianapolis last week and put in a bid for a Final Four basketball tournament between 2012 and 2016 even though there is no assurance the Metrodome will be available at that time or there will be another domed stadium in the Twin Cities.

The Big Ten's football agreement with the Mid-American Conference ends this year, when the Gophers will play Northern Illinois and Bowling Green. The Gophers, however, will play Miami of Ohio here in 2011 and in Oxford, Ohio, in 2014.

Jerry Rosburg, the former resident of Fairmont, has joined the staff of the Baltimore Ravens. ... The Gophers baseball team has been working out on a regular basis at the Metrodome, and coach John Anderson gives the availability of the dome a lot of credit for his team's success. "I don't think our program would be nearly as successful without the dome. And the same goes for a number of colleges. The place is so busy that there are games being played starting at 2:30 in the morning."

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. and on his Podcast twice a week at www.startribune.com/sidcast. shartman@startribune.com