Tracy Claeys puts his stamp on Minnesota's recruiting class

Tracy Claeys took a different approach than his predecessor when it came to recruiting on the offensive side.Tracy Claeys has been a college football coach for more than 20 years, so recruiting is hardly new to him. But Claeys found himself in a different position last fall, suddenly elevated to head coach at Minnesota after Jerry Kill retired for health reasons.

Claeys, who had been the Gophers' defensive coordinator, was used to going out on the road at various times to visit defensive prospects. Now, he had to travel for home visits with as many players as possible in the condensed time that head coaches are allowed to recruit off campus.

"It was a different airport each day and somebody's…