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.
One Gophers football recruit reconsiders, but Marshall's Blaise Andries is sticking with U
Jakyle Holmes, a running back from Ponchatoula, La., announced on Twitter he is keeping his options open.
January 5, 2017 at 2:09PM
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
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Johnson’s record was 56-71 overall and 22-57 in Big Ten play, which included finishing 13th or lower in the conference three times.
