Gophers Land 2021 4-Star DT; Class Climbs to Top-25 Nationally

The Minnesota Gophers open their 2020 football season tonight vs the Michigan Wolverines, in what stands to be one of the biggest season-openers in school history. But first, they got some big recruiting news this morning. 4-star Washington state defensive tackle, Jacob Schuster, has committed for the class of 2021.

Schuster is already a big dude, standing 6’2”, 300 lbs, and he was heavily coveted in the state of Washington and out on the West Coast, in general. Jacob adds to a heavyweight 2021 class that currently stands in the top-25 nationally, and looks to be the best one PJ Fleck has put together since arriving in 2017.

Turning Dreams into Reality ? pic.twitter.com/hRVrsur1vy

— Jacob Schuster? (@Jsxchu) October 24, 2020

West Coast Kid Heading to Midwest

Jacob Schuster had offers flying in from across the country. He had plenty that were from his neck of the woods, including Stanford, Cal, Washington and Washington State (among others). From the Midwest, both Minnesota and Michigan offered him. Duke stretched one out from the East Coast and he also had offers from Army and Air Force.

Minnesota now has 17 commitments for the 2021 recruiting class. That includes a stack of defensive linemen, two of which are 247Sports 4-stars (Eastern, Schuster) and one high 3-star (Booker).

After visiting Minneapolis a couple of weeks ago, Schuster told 247Sports.com that distance from home wasn’t an issue for him, and also mentioned how nice people in Minnesota were during his visit (duh). This kid knows just what to say…

What the Recruiting Experts Say

Here’s 247Sports.com’s evaluation of the Washington state youngster, who they project as a possible day-3 pick in an upcoming NFL draft somewhere in the distant future. His highlight video is embedded below.

“Schuster plays with a high motor, with good leverage and a quick first step off the line. Excels in run defense especially against single blocks and can both clog the lanes against doubles to make space for linebackers to get to the quarterback while also generating a good push and burst to get to the passer on his own. Good strength and push. Decently athletic with ability to change direction and pursue on the backside. Does a good job of shedding his blockers and using a variety of moves. Projects as a multi-year Power 5 starter and a potential third day NFL Draft Pick.”

“This is a guy that had offers from both in-state programs which is obviously significant and he had the academic chops for Stanford, going into Washington and getting a player that Jimmy Lake who is a really good recruiter wants I think is a significant win and obviously it’s big for Minnesota,” Huffman explained. “This is one of the first players I can remember them getting out of the Northwest.”

247Sports – Brandon Huffman (National Recruiting Editor)

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan