Sunday Morning Quick Hits

Mahtomedi (MN) fullback / weakside defensive end Jerod Arlich is taking advantage of the recruiting dead period to relax and act like a kid again. “I am really enjoying the dead period right now and all of the relaxation,” he said. “It is also allowing me to sit down and analyze things without any interruptions.” Arlich will visit Stanford on January 9th to finish out his five official visits. He would like to make his decision shortly after his visit to California.

Martin County (FL) linebacker Jamie Goleski is starting to receive interest from a couple of Big Ten schools. Minnesota and Michigan State have joined Central Florida, South Florida and Florida Atlantic in pursuit of Goleski. “I have a lot of interest in Minnesota because they have shown interest in me. I am high on them because they appear to be the most interested at this point.” Coach Greg Hudson and Coach Tony Petersen made a visit to Goleski’s house recently. “They stopped by my house for a visit and they are suppose to get a hold of me soon. I just got back from a family vacation and they were going to contact me when I got home.”

Converse (TX) Judson athlete / all-purpose back Chancy Campbell appears to be off the Minnesota recruiting radar. “I think I have had one call from Minnesota during the entire recruiting process,” he said. “I am focusing right now on Utah, but would have an open mind if Minnesota would start to recruit me again.” Campbell will be in action along with Gopher commit Lydon Murtha in San Antionio on January 3rd fro the U.S. Army All-Star game.

The Gophers may be getting the nation’s best punter in Justin Kucek, according to Strength and Conditioning and kicking guru Dick Hartzel. “I have been coaching kickers and punters since 1964 and have been working with Justin since he was a freshman in high school. I feel that Justin has the type of leg whip that will allow him to play on Sundays,” said Hartzel, who is a kicking consultant for Youngstown State. “Minnesota may have the No. 1 punter in the country. Ohio State has definitely missed the boat on this kid, and that is a credit to the coaching staff at Minnesota and Glen Mason.” Hartzel owns a gym in Youngstown and works with many talented college football players. “I created Stretchman and I do a lot of training with all of the top players in the area, as well as Missouri’s Brad Smith, Louisiana Tech’s Matt Kubek and Washington State’s Josh Swogger.”