2021 (4-Star) DT Recruit Visits U of M Campus Saturday and He’s Itching to Make a Decision

Photo: @TBirdFootball - Twitter

Saturday could be a big recruiting day for PJ Fleck and the Minnesota Gophers. The University of Minnesota is allowing recruiting visits on campus again and tomorrow’s could have major implications. According to GopherIllustrated.com (247Sports), PJ Fleck is locked in a rare recruiting battle with the University of California for the services of Jacob Schuster, a 300 lb 4-star defensive tackle recruit out of Washington State.



Ignore the 3-star rating you see above. If you check his profile on 247Sports.com, you’ll see that they have him rated as a (.90) 4-star. I trust 247Sports more than the Rivals and ESPN, who help make out the “composite rating” you see above. I always go by the 247Sports rating (unless the composite is higher).

Anyway, this would be a huge commitment for a few reasons. One of the Gophers’ highest-rated 2021 commits earlier in the recruiting season, was a defensive tackle, Albert Regis. He decommitted in May and Minnesota is yet to fill the vacancy he left behind. In fact, the Gophers still don’t have a defensive tackle committed yet for 2021, according to 247Sports.com.

How Serious is Schuster About Minnesota?

He did an interview with GopherIllustrated.com and I don’t want to give the entire thing away, but this weekend seems crucial. Schuster told GI that the University of Minnesota campus is the last one he needs to visit, before making a decision. If not for COVID, he would have already visited and his recruitment would be over.

He has narrowed his list to five (Cal, Washington, Washington State, Stanford, Minnesota) but admits earlier in the piece, that two have pulled ahead of the others. It’s down to Minnesota, the one non-west coast team, and Cal… That’s quite the recruiting matchup. I’m glad the West Coast kid got some good fall MN weather for this weekend’s visit.


“I havenโ€™t visited anywhere since the Bay Area, but Iโ€™m taking a trip to Minnesota this Saturday to get a feel of the campus,” said Schuster.ย  “I want to make sure I see Minneapolis.”

Then, when he’s done with the visit to the Twin Cities, Schuster thinks he’ll be ready for a decision.

“I was hoping to make a decision earlier, but I wanted to make sure I visited all of the schools before committing,”ย said Schuster.

GopherIllustrated.com (247Sports)

It’d be quite the Saturday for a socially distant photo session, to celebrate a huge on-campus commitment. I don’t want to get my hopes up but he must be seriously considering the Gophers if he waited out COVID-19 to see campus.

OK, I’m going to stop convincing myself of things that haven’t happened yet. Here is Schuster’s film from his Junior season at Tumwater HS (where he helped secure a 2019 state title).



Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

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