The Minnesota Gophers added their fifth four-star recruit to their 2021 recruiting class on Saturday, landing Illinois running back Mar’Keise Irving to add another elusive option to their backfield.
Respect my decision…
Ski-U-Mah 〽️ #RTB pic.twitter.com/IR1RMynqpk— Mar’keise Irving (@BuckyIrving) May 9, 2020
Irving is a 5-foot-10, 175-pound running back that excels in creating explosive plays for an offense. According to 247Sports analyst Allen Trieu, Irving’s speed isn’t at the elite level, but good enough to turn shorter runs into huge gains and is still developing as a pass-catcher.
“[Irving] can play in any scheme and has a skill set that projects well to college,” Trieu said. “[He’s] likely to be a lead back at the Power 5 level and has the tools to end up having his name called in the middle part of the NFL Draft.”
GopherHole.com’s Daniel House also believes that Irving will be a great fit for P.J. Fleck’s zone-based scheme.
The #Gophers have received a commitment from four-star Illinois RB Mar’Keise Irving. He is an elusive RB who has excellent balance and agility. Irving will fit nicely in Minnesota’s zone-blocking scheme. That's now five four-star commitments for '21.
đź“°: https://t.co/4accHxjeoy pic.twitter.com/XBPOZBY4jD
— Daniel House (@DanielHouseMN) May 9, 2020
The Gophers’ 2021 recruiting class remains at sixth in the nation after Irving’s commitment and joins cornerbacks Avantae Dickerson and Steven Ortiz, quarterback Athan Kalikamanis and athlete Sam Jackson as four-star commits.
