On Friday, the Minnesota Golden Gophers looked to make a statement in the recruitment of Triton (MN) standout athlete Pierce Petersohn by sending eight staff members to the high school to check in on the versatile, 6-foot-4 jumbo athlete.

Petersohn is entering what will likely be the home stretch of his recruitment with official visits lined up to Minnesota (May 30), Iowa State (June 13), and Penn State (June 20). While Iowa State remains in the mix for Petersohn, the recruitment in the eyes of most pundits is shaping up to be a head-to-head battle between the two Big Ten foes in Minnesota and Penn State.

Minnesota which routinely makes it difficult for top in-state talents to leave the state, is turning up the pressure on Petersohn as the official visit season quickly approaches. Friday's visit to Triton was a large part of that effort.

"It’s pretty cool that they all took time out of their day to do that," Petersohn told Gophers Nation.