RECRUIT REACTIONS: Minnesota Junior Day (4/2)

It was a big weekend for Minnesota and the Golden Gophers coaching staff as on Saturday, the program held their first Junior Day of the spring. Below you'll find notable recruit reactions to their Junior Day visits whether it's via Twitter or a direct quote to us here at The Gopher Report.

As more reactions and quotes come in, we'll be sure to provide updates both here as well as on our forums.

GET THE INSIDE SCOOP EVERY DAY WITH YOUR PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION!

One of the bigger recruits to make it to campus this weekend was four-star defensive end Williams Nwaneri. The four-star prospect owns 10 offers currently including Arkansas, Iowa, Iowa State, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oregon. Making any ground with Nwaneri would be absolutely huge for PJ Fleck and his staff. We'll see if they can build any momentum off the visit.

West Fargo (ND) LB Karter Menz not only made the trip to Minneapolis for the Gophers' Junior Day but also left with an offer from the program. He now holds eight reported offers with Army, Eastern Michigan, Miami (OH), Nebraska, North Dakota State, Ohio, and South Dakota all offering the three-star prospect.

One of the top talents on campus this weekend, Same is an intriguing name to watch on the recruiting trail as there is a ton of potential in the 6-foot-5 defensive end.

"What stood out personally to me was initially the beautiful campus, football wise the structure of the practice was unique there’s a lot of moving components and it’s very dynamic and high energy, the coaches even referred to it as 'controlled chaos' and I enjoyed it."

Minnesota got in early on Rainer, who appears to be one of the top priority targets for the Gophers in the 2024 class. Here is what the three-star had to say about his weekend trip to the Twin Cities.

"Coach (Paul) Haynes and Coach (Danny) Collins treating me like family. Showing me how and where I fit in their system. And them taking the time to constantly teaching me new things during the trip to improve my skills. They treating me like a top recruit, we also talked about one of my hero’s Winfield Jr. and after talking to Coach Fleck he sees a lot of him in me and I really value how he sees me in that like."

Peters hasn't received an offer yet from Minnesota but he did tell The Gopher Report;

"The visit went great, we got to watch a practice, get a facility tour, and hear P.J talk. We also got to talk with our position coach, and it was really great to hear what Coach Harbaugh had to say!"

The Gophers would like to see Peters and how he performs at 220-pounds after recently gaining about 30-pounds.

Minnesota already holds two offensive line commitments in their 2023 recruiting class and while he doesn't own an offer from the Gophers yet he could be a name to watch over the next several months.

This will be a name to watch over the next few years as the 2025 prospect could turn into quite the notable prospect. Getting in early on his recruitment and establishing a strong relationship could pay off big time down the road.

The Gopher Report caught up with Kaelin on Sunday to discuss his Junior Day visit to the program. Overall, Kaelin said his visit "went very, very well". We'll have our full interview with the Nebraska native up on Tuesday.

Minnesota has yet to offer Powers but the Maple Grove (MN) native will be a name to watch going forward on the DB board whether it's as a scholarship player or potential preferred walk-on.

McWilliams recruitment is still young as he holds two reported scholarship offers in Eastern Michigan and West Virginia.

============================

- Talk about it INSIDE GOPHER NATION.

- SUBSCRIBE TO OUR PODCAST

- Follow us on Twitter: @MinnesotaRivals, @AlexCarlsonTGR, @SeanW_Rivals, @DylanCC_FB, @FreshCoastHoops

- SUBSCRIBE to The Gopher Report.