RedCountry
New member
again I pasted the whole thing here b/c it requires you to sign up so this will save everyone some time:
Murtha waffling over decision to attend U
Chip Scoggins, Star Tribune
Published January 25, 2004 MURT25
HUTCHINSON -- It was too good to be true. All of it, the whole story. Recruiting is never that routine.
Fourteen months ago, Hutchinson's All-America offensive lineman Lydon Murtha gave a verbal commitment to the Gophers football team after an unofficial visit to campus and a few weeks of contemplation.
He took one look around and decided he had found his future home. It was a decision he stood by as a steady stream of recruiters came calling. Even as recently as last week, Murtha, a consensus top 50 prospect nationally, said he had no regrets about his decision to skirt the recruiting process.
"I really wanted to play for the Gophers," he said. "A lot of people say, 'Why not Miami? Why not Florida? Why not Oklahoma or Ohio State?' Well, why not Minnesota? Minnesota is a great program, and I get to stay home."
If only it were that simple. Whether it was a case of cold feet or a serious bout of second thoughts, Murtha decided to take an official visit to Nebraska this weekend, less than two weeks before the Feb. 4 national signing day.
At least 16 state players are expected to sign with Division I teams this year. And, for the sixth consecutive year, the Star Tribune takes a look at the top college prospects, including Murtha, in its Super Preps package.
Murtha traveled to Lincoln still committed to the Gophers, but his status is tenuous at best. And it would not be shocking if the Gophers ultimately lose their blue-chip recruit and their most decorated prospect since running back Thomas Tapeh signed out of St. Paul Johnson five years ago.
After making an official visit to Minnesota in December, Murtha decided to visit Nebraska with Hutchinson teammate Nathan Swift. It is his only other scheduled visit.
"We'll see what happens," Murtha said Thursday.
It's clear why Murtha was coveted by so many high-profile programs. At 6-8, 305 pounds, he has a unique blend of size, speed and athleticism. He can bench press 350 pounds and squat 590. He has a 29-inch vertical leap and runs a 4.9-second 40-yard dash.
Murtha is so nimble, in fact, that he wants to run the 100-yard dash for Hutchinson's track team this spring. Honest. (Imagine the reaction at the starting blocks.)
"I'm faster than you think," he said.
Murtha's physical gifts made him attractive to college coaches and recruiting experts. ESPN's Tom Lemming and Superprep's Allen Wallace both ranked him in their top 50. Murtha, who will play tackle in college, also was selected to various All-America teams and participated in the U.S. Army All-American Game in San Antonio earlier this month.
Curiously, he was not named first-team All-Metro by a panel of coaches, an omission that raised some eyebrows. Hutchinson coach Andy Rostberg had no problem with the decision, saying he felt Murtha had a good senior season but not an exceptional one.
"It's sometimes hard when a kid has expectations that are so high," Rostberg said. "Every single game you're under that microscope."
Lemming, who ranks Murtha as the 27th-best prospect overall, found the All-Metro snub misguided, if not comical.
"It's funny how he made All-American," he said. "I talk to all the college coaches who have seen him, and he ranks without a doubt as one of the top 10 offensive linemen in the nation. If he had not committed early, every school in the country would have offered him [a scholarship]. He is the legit real deal."
Which makes his recruitment all the more unusual. Most elite players take a handful of official visits before settling on a school. The process often becomes a full-blown circus, one that seemingly changes by the day and, at times, is rife with excess. A Florida recruit's recent visit to Florida State reportedly included a ride on a private jet and dinner consisting of four lobster tails and two steaks.
No doubt Murtha's experience also would have included all the trappings. Except, he wanted no part of it. Even though he changed his mind and visited Nebraska, Murtha said he was content to avoid the hoopla.
"There are a lot of benefits to committing early," he said. "You don't have to go through that process."
Murtha was drawn to Minnesota after attending a game last season with his uncle, Greg Murtha, who played for the Gophers in the late 1970s and served as a campus tour guide. Gophers coach Glen Mason, who cannot comment on recruits until they're signed, offered a scholarship shortly thereafter, and Murtha gave his verbal commitment in the middle of his junior year.
"I knew his senior year everybody in America would want him to go visit their school," Greg Murtha said. "I think the recruiting process is a distraction, and it's easy for a kid to get caught up in that whirlwind. Lydon made the right decision."
If he stays with the Gophers, Murtha is aware of the inherent pressure of a high-profile recruit signing with the home-state school. Fair or not, he would find an inflated set of expectations awaiting his arrival. Tapeh experienced it. So has current Gophers linebacker Dominique Sims.
"Nothing is guaranteed," Murtha said. "Just because you're a good athlete in high school doesn't mean you're going to be good in college."
At the very least, Murtha has a solid foundation and physical tools that cannot be handed out. Most coaches agree that it's Murtha's footwork and agility, not his size, that separates him from his peers.
"When I first saw him, he was out catching passes with the receivers [in warmups]," Holy Angels coach Mike Pendino said. "That's the kind of athlete he is."
Murtha attributes his athleticism to his days as a blue-line banger in hockey. ("Can you imagine me on skates?" he asked, laughing.) He ultimately gave up hockey, baseball and basketball to focus on football as his body radically changed over an 18-month span early in high school.
By the end of his growth spurt, Murtha weighed 320 pounds. Since then he has shed 15 pounds to maximize his quickness.
"I like being light," he said.
Relatively speaking, of course. He expects to add more weight in muscle once he begins working out in earnest this summer. He also wouldn't oppose being redshirted to learn the system and adjust to his new surroundings.
Either way, he knows his future won't hinge on his past.
"You have to worry about what you need to do for yourself and your team and not what you did in high school," he said. "If you're an All-American, that's great. It's an honor. But you have to take that and use it. That's what I intend to do."
http://www.startribune.com/stories/503/4336184.html
Murtha waffling over decision to attend U
Chip Scoggins, Star Tribune
Published January 25, 2004 MURT25
HUTCHINSON -- It was too good to be true. All of it, the whole story. Recruiting is never that routine.
Fourteen months ago, Hutchinson's All-America offensive lineman Lydon Murtha gave a verbal commitment to the Gophers football team after an unofficial visit to campus and a few weeks of contemplation.
He took one look around and decided he had found his future home. It was a decision he stood by as a steady stream of recruiters came calling. Even as recently as last week, Murtha, a consensus top 50 prospect nationally, said he had no regrets about his decision to skirt the recruiting process.
"I really wanted to play for the Gophers," he said. "A lot of people say, 'Why not Miami? Why not Florida? Why not Oklahoma or Ohio State?' Well, why not Minnesota? Minnesota is a great program, and I get to stay home."
If only it were that simple. Whether it was a case of cold feet or a serious bout of second thoughts, Murtha decided to take an official visit to Nebraska this weekend, less than two weeks before the Feb. 4 national signing day.
At least 16 state players are expected to sign with Division I teams this year. And, for the sixth consecutive year, the Star Tribune takes a look at the top college prospects, including Murtha, in its Super Preps package.
Murtha traveled to Lincoln still committed to the Gophers, but his status is tenuous at best. And it would not be shocking if the Gophers ultimately lose their blue-chip recruit and their most decorated prospect since running back Thomas Tapeh signed out of St. Paul Johnson five years ago.
After making an official visit to Minnesota in December, Murtha decided to visit Nebraska with Hutchinson teammate Nathan Swift. It is his only other scheduled visit.
"We'll see what happens," Murtha said Thursday.
It's clear why Murtha was coveted by so many high-profile programs. At 6-8, 305 pounds, he has a unique blend of size, speed and athleticism. He can bench press 350 pounds and squat 590. He has a 29-inch vertical leap and runs a 4.9-second 40-yard dash.
Murtha is so nimble, in fact, that he wants to run the 100-yard dash for Hutchinson's track team this spring. Honest. (Imagine the reaction at the starting blocks.)
"I'm faster than you think," he said.
Murtha's physical gifts made him attractive to college coaches and recruiting experts. ESPN's Tom Lemming and Superprep's Allen Wallace both ranked him in their top 50. Murtha, who will play tackle in college, also was selected to various All-America teams and participated in the U.S. Army All-American Game in San Antonio earlier this month.
Curiously, he was not named first-team All-Metro by a panel of coaches, an omission that raised some eyebrows. Hutchinson coach Andy Rostberg had no problem with the decision, saying he felt Murtha had a good senior season but not an exceptional one.
"It's sometimes hard when a kid has expectations that are so high," Rostberg said. "Every single game you're under that microscope."
Lemming, who ranks Murtha as the 27th-best prospect overall, found the All-Metro snub misguided, if not comical.
"It's funny how he made All-American," he said. "I talk to all the college coaches who have seen him, and he ranks without a doubt as one of the top 10 offensive linemen in the nation. If he had not committed early, every school in the country would have offered him [a scholarship]. He is the legit real deal."
Which makes his recruitment all the more unusual. Most elite players take a handful of official visits before settling on a school. The process often becomes a full-blown circus, one that seemingly changes by the day and, at times, is rife with excess. A Florida recruit's recent visit to Florida State reportedly included a ride on a private jet and dinner consisting of four lobster tails and two steaks.
No doubt Murtha's experience also would have included all the trappings. Except, he wanted no part of it. Even though he changed his mind and visited Nebraska, Murtha said he was content to avoid the hoopla.
"There are a lot of benefits to committing early," he said. "You don't have to go through that process."
Murtha was drawn to Minnesota after attending a game last season with his uncle, Greg Murtha, who played for the Gophers in the late 1970s and served as a campus tour guide. Gophers coach Glen Mason, who cannot comment on recruits until they're signed, offered a scholarship shortly thereafter, and Murtha gave his verbal commitment in the middle of his junior year.
"I knew his senior year everybody in America would want him to go visit their school," Greg Murtha said. "I think the recruiting process is a distraction, and it's easy for a kid to get caught up in that whirlwind. Lydon made the right decision."
If he stays with the Gophers, Murtha is aware of the inherent pressure of a high-profile recruit signing with the home-state school. Fair or not, he would find an inflated set of expectations awaiting his arrival. Tapeh experienced it. So has current Gophers linebacker Dominique Sims.
"Nothing is guaranteed," Murtha said. "Just because you're a good athlete in high school doesn't mean you're going to be good in college."
At the very least, Murtha has a solid foundation and physical tools that cannot be handed out. Most coaches agree that it's Murtha's footwork and agility, not his size, that separates him from his peers.
"When I first saw him, he was out catching passes with the receivers [in warmups]," Holy Angels coach Mike Pendino said. "That's the kind of athlete he is."
Murtha attributes his athleticism to his days as a blue-line banger in hockey. ("Can you imagine me on skates?" he asked, laughing.) He ultimately gave up hockey, baseball and basketball to focus on football as his body radically changed over an 18-month span early in high school.
By the end of his growth spurt, Murtha weighed 320 pounds. Since then he has shed 15 pounds to maximize his quickness.
"I like being light," he said.
Relatively speaking, of course. He expects to add more weight in muscle once he begins working out in earnest this summer. He also wouldn't oppose being redshirted to learn the system and adjust to his new surroundings.
Either way, he knows his future won't hinge on his past.
"You have to worry about what you need to do for yourself and your team and not what you did in high school," he said. "If you're an All-American, that's great. It's an honor. But you have to take that and use it. That's what I intend to do."
http://www.startribune.com/stories/503/4336184.html
Last edited by a moderator: