It’s been less than a month since the Gophers completed an 11-win season and finished No. 10 in the final AP Top-25 Poll, and already the recruiting classes of the future are getting stronger.
Sunday night, Annandale offensive lineman Logan Purcell announced that he’s staying home to play for the Gophers. Purcell tweeted that he’s “excited to accept an ELITE offer to play football” at the University of Minnesota.
— Logan Purcell (@LoganPurcell5) January 27, 2020
At 6-foot-7, 240 pounds, Purcell is a 3-star offensive tackle who is rated the 100th-best tackle in the country in the Class of 2021, according to 247Sports.
Purcell is ranked as the seventh-best recruit in Minnesota in the Class of 2021, and he’s the second in-state recruit to verbally commit to the Gophers. The first was 3-star defensive end Deven Eastern, of Shakopee, who is rated the third-best recruit in the state.
The top two recruits, per 247Sports, are both headed elsewhere: Lakeville South tackle Riley Mahlman is committed to Wisconsin and Eden Prairie athlete Justin Sullivan is committed to Iowa. Both Mahlman and Sullivan are rated as 4-star recruits.
The Gophers’ 2020 recruiting class ranks 35th in the nation and ninth in the Big Ten, according to 247Sports. The 2021 recruiting class is No. 11 nationally in the early rankings.
