Handy-Holly is golden

Kendarian Handy-Holly committed this evening, making him Minnesota's 25th commitment of the 2017 class. The three-star had long been a Minnesota lean. He received offers from a handful of Power 5 schools throughout the course of his recruitment -- Auburn, Florida, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Kentucky, and Vanderbilt -- but decided to be a Gopher. TGR believes that UAB was the other finalist.

The Handy-Holly family takes academics very seriously and are attracted to the education that the University of Minnesota can offer and the post-graduate opportunities in the Twin Cities. He plans to study construction management at Minnesota.

"The amount of Fortune 500 businesses in the area show that part of the country is so much more than just football...Getting a degree from Minnesota would be an amazing thing," Kendarian told The Gopher Report.

"There’s a lot of opportunity after graduation. I think Minnesota has 17 Fortune 500 companies, that was really big for him. There’s a lot of opportunity for growth," his father, Lev, told TGR.

Jay Sawvel targeted Handy-Holly longer than maybe any other recruit. After a short waiting period, Handy-Holly heard from PJ Fleck. His interest in Minnesota didn't waiver during the coaching change.

"I can tell just how energetic he is. I think he's going to do great things at Minnesota," the three-star said.

At Minnesota, Handy-Holly will also reunite with best friend and high school teammate Mark Williams, a freshman quarterback and wide receiver.

With many transfers likely at defensive back, there's a great chance Handy-Holly sees the field as a freshman.