Tim Brewster added two more members to his 2008 class Wednesday by getting verbal commitments from running back Kevin Whaley of Virgina and juco defensive end Cedric McKinley.

Their additions brings the total to 32. It will be interesting to see if they add any more between now and Wednesday’s signing day.

My recruiting friends think I’mwrong, but I still think Brewster’s son, Nolan,could end up changing his commitment from Texas. That is not based on any inside information, just a gut feeling. Who knows though?

Either way, the Gophers can only have 28 enroll in the fall so it will be interesting to see how this thing shakes out.

The Gophers coaching staff definitely addressed areas of needs, specifically at wide receiver and in the secondary. Thosewere two critical areas of needthis offseason.

They also added speed toboth sides of the balland some size along the defensive line.

We’ll examine the class in more detail next week and get Brewster’s thoughts on individual players at his signing day press conference.

Which recruits are you most excited about?

I got the release about the signing day event Feb. 6 and thought I would post it.

The ‘Sota Social will be held at the Gibson-Nagurski foootball facility starting at 5 p.m. There will be tours of the facility and a silent auction hosted by the Goal Line Club.

Coach Tim Brewster will talk about the 2008 class at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 and include food and beverage. Fans must register at www.goallineclub.com by Feb. 5

The Gophers added much-needed help at running back Tuesday when three-star tailback Deleon Eskridge of San Mateo (Calif.) solidified his verbal commitment, according to Rivals-based Gopherillustrated.

Eskridge gave Gophers coaches a silent verbal earlier but then visited Nebraska and Minnesota last week. He stuck with his original decision.

The Gophers definitely were looking for help at that position and are still hoping to add another running back before signing day.

In other team news:

– TheGophers startedtheir winter conditioning program today with the start of classes.

– Juco cornerback Traye Simmons sent me a text tonight saying he had not heard fromMinnesota today regarding his academic situation. As of Sunday Simmons not been admitted to school. A school officialreminded me yesterdaythat sometimes it takes several weeks before a final answer comes down. (See: Gary Russell) We’ll see what happens. The other three mid-year juco transfers are in school.

– I talked to center Bubba Brinkhaus and he is done with football. I thought Bubba mighttry to play professionally, but he is close to his degree and looking forward to finding a job, maybe in sports marketing. On an aside, Bubba is easily one of the nicest guys I have covered on this beat. He changed positions — he had never played center — after Greg Eslinger left and never complained.

– It sounds like linebacker Deon Hightower is making progress after having offseason shoulder surgery. It seems doubtful that he will take part in spring ball, though. It will be interesting to see if Deon, whoplayed well in the middle the second half of the season, moves back to Will linebacker next season, if incoming freshman Sam Maresh is ready to play in the middle.

– Tight end Jack Simmons is recovering from foot surgery. Not sure what his status for the spring is, but Simmons showed a lot of toughness by playing with a pretty severe foot injury down the stretch. He can be a valuable part of this offense if he’s healthy.

I talked with junior college transfer Traye Simmons on Friday and exchanged text messages with him on Sunday evening, and he said he still doesn’t knowwhether he will get admitted to school for the winter semester.

Simmons, a four-star cornerback who would likely be a starter next season, said he still has some “paperwork” issues that need to be resolved before he is allowed to enroll.

Simmons said in his text tonight that he is still at his home in Marietta, Ga. The Gophers were scheduled to have a team meeting Sunday night in preparation for the start of classes on Tuesday.

Simmons signed a letter of intent in December and had hoped to enroll this semester so he could participate in spring football. He said if he doesn’t get admitted this semester, he will probably take classes online or at a community college inAtlanta with the hope that he will be allowed to enrollin the summer.

Simmons said his coaches and counselors at College of Sequoias are working on his behalf and he said he’s not sure where the process stands. A school official also said he’s not sure what Simmons’ status is.

Also, GI.com reported tonight that the Gophers received a verbal commitment from juco defensive tackle Tim McGee, who visited this weekend.

Iwanted to updatesomething I wrote a while back about the virtual tour of the new TCF Bank Stadium.

The school is going tounveil the virtual tour of the stadium at the Feb. 6 national signing day event.It will also be put on the school’s website after that and given to media outlets.

Associate athletic director Phil Esten was nice enough to show me part of the tour then and itwasvery impressive and well done. Gophers fans will definitely love it.

The entire thing should take about 5 minutes toplay and will show all facets and details of the stadiumset to some music and voice-overs.

Also, I stopped by to watch Cretin-Derham Hallplay basketball last night. Sophomore forward/offensive tackle Seantrel Henderson is huge (6-7, 305 pounds) and definitely can move. I was impressed with his footwork in the post.

It’s easy to see why he will be one of the most coveted football recruitsnationally in 2010. You just don’t see recruits with that combination of size and athleticism too often.

There has been a lot of internet speculation and rumors about Eden Prairie star defensive tackle Willie Mobley today. Mobley is committed to Ohio State but there have been rumors that he is considering de-committing in favor of Minnesota.

I talked to Willie twice today and he denied those rumors both times. I heard these rumors last week and he denied them then and we chatted again Sunday and he said he was 100 percent committed to Ohio State.

Eden Prairie coach Mike Grant also said today that he knows nothing of the rumors.

Mobley still talks toGophers coach Tim Brewster and defensive line coach Tim Cross quite often, but he said that does not meanhe isconsidering changing his commitment.

Here is whatMobley told me tonight:

“I’m a Buckeye. Me and coachCross and coach Brewster have a good relationship but I’m a Buckeye. I’m happy with my decision. I wouldn’t have committed if I wasn’t. You can take the Tennessee rumors out too.

Asked if there is a chance he could change his mind, Mobley said “No, not at all.”

Signing day is Feb. 6 so a lot can change, but who knows? Ohio State coach Jim Tressel made an in-home visit with Mobley tonight.

That seems to be the most popular question now that four-star QB MarQueis Gray has made his verbal commitment official.

Gray is obviously a superb athlete who appears to have a strong arm and definitely can run, as he showed in the all-star game Saturday. But like his high school coach said, Gray, like every quarterback coming into college, really has to learn the position. He has to learn Mike Dunbar’s complicated offense and learn how to read defenses and get adjusted to all the demands of that position.

Given all that, one has to assume the Gophers would redshirt Gray because how many true freshmen QBs are truly ready to play right away? You also have to assume that Adam Weber will show improvement from his first to second year as the starter (which I believe he will).

Under that scenario, I don’t see how the coaching staff in 2009 would replace a guy who has started two full years at quarterback, knows the offenseand has shown he has talenttoo.

Granted, that would be a nice problem forTim Brewster and his staff to have. What do you think?

Also, I picked LSU to beat Ohio State 31-24 in the title game tonight, but I think the game could be closer than some people are predicting. Ohio State is motivated by all the talk that they shouldn’t be in the game and also the memory of gettinghammered by Florida last season.

How do you see it playing out?

Hope everyone had a great and safe holidays. I wrote a piece for Tuesday about the BCS and the calls for a playoff in college football, and the games yesterday made an eight-team playoff seem even more compelling.

USC looked awfully impressive in dismantling Illinois, and Georgia’s team speed was way too much for Hawaii. Wouldn’t you love to see those two teams keep playing?

The Gophers can sympathize with Virginia, which blew a 14-point lead toTexas Techin the fourth quarter. Youjust knew that comeback was coming. The Insight Bowl last year is still the craziestgame or eventI’ve ever covered.

Great day for me as both mycolleges (Tennessee and Missouri) won their games.And how about Michigan? I thought Florida would win that game convincingly, but the Wolverines were clearly the better team in Lloyd Carr’s final game.

The Gophers made some news over the weekend with the arrest of DE Willie VanDeSteeg. School officials said Coach Tim Brewster will deal the matter when he returns from San Antonio next week.

Brewster is watching his youngest son, Nolan, play in the Army All-American game on Saturday. The Gophers are expected to get an official commitment from four-star QB MarQueis Gray that day.I still have a gut feeling that Nolan will switch his commitment from Texas before signing day.

I sometimes scratch my head over the ebb-and-flow of recruiting season. The Gophers lose a defensive tackle one day and get another defensive tackle the next.

Rivals reports that Eden Prairie defensive lineman Willie Mobley, who is committed to Ohio State, is planning a visit to Tennessee.

The site also reports that juco defensive back Tramaine Brock, who committed to the Gophers, is visiting Memphis this weekend.

It’s more examples of why I never believe anything in recruiting until the letters of intent are faxed on signing day.

The Gophers latest commitment, defensive tackle Jewhan Edwards of Philadelphia, looks like an intriguing prospect. He is listed at 6-1, 338 pounds and is a three-star rectruit. The Gophers certainly need help along the defensive line. It could be a good pickup.

This is not meant to be a negative shot at the kid but I wonder why only Syracuse and West Virginia offered him, according to Rivals. It seems odd that schools like Pitt, Penn State, Rutgers, Temple, Connecticut, Va. Tech, Virginia haven’t offered yet. Who knows? Again, it’s hard to know about any recruit until he gets on campus and starts practicing.

Former Gophers offensive line coach Gordy Shaw’s name is being mentioned in the rumor mill. Shaw, who already appears to be in the mix for the St. Thomas job, is very close friends with former Gophers assistant Kevin Sumlin, who just got hired as head coach at Houston.

Former Gophers OC Mitch Browning would probably love to reunite with Shaw at Syracuse. Browning took over as OC at Syracuse last week. Shaw’s name also has been mentioned at Colorado State, which just hired a new coach, Steve Fairchild.

I was able to confirm a report in the Cleveland Plain Dealer that the Big Ten will add a permanent bye to the football season starting in 2009, thus allowing teams to play after Thanksgiving.

This has become a hot-button issue with coaches after the NCAA moved to a 12-game schedule. The Big Tenends its season before Thanksgiving, meaning teams don’t get a bye. (They will get one next year because there are 13 weeks in the fooball season.)

I support this move 100 percent. I think 12 straight games without a break is too much. The players need a mental and physical break.

The university presidents finally stepped forward and supported this decision.