P.J. Fleck and Minnesota gain 4 more commits, but lose starting offensive lineman

While P.J. Fleck has already made huge strides on the recruiting trail during his short time at Minnesota, he did lose one of the program’s best offensive linemen.

Tyler Moore, the Gophers’ starting center the past two seasons, announced Monday morning that he would be leaving the program. Moore, a native of Galena Park, Texas, just finished his second season with the Gophers.

Moore started the final eight games of the 2015 season as a true freshman before returning to the top offensive unit this season. Moore started 12 games, but missed the Gophers win over Washington State in the Holiday Bowl due to a back injury.

Moore is the only player on the current roster to cut ties with the program since Fleck was hired from Western Michigan. However, three players who made verbal commitments to Tracy Claeys and the former Gophers staff — defensive back Claudin Cherelus, wide receiver Javan Hawes and running back Jakyle Holmes — decommitted from the program on Monday. Those three, all three-star recruits, joined junior college offensive lineman Jimmie Terry in decommitting from the program.

That turnover is coupled with the whopping 10 verbal commitments the Gophers have received since Fleck was introduced at Minnesota on Friday. Fleck flipped six Western Michigan commitments in his first 24 hours in the Twin Cities. Since then, four more 2017 prospects have pledged to the Gophers, including three more former WMU commits — three-star tight end Nate Umlor, three-star defensive tackle Tyrone Chambers and two-star offensive lineman Kyle Sassack.

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On top of that, three-star running back Mohamed Ibrahim also committed to Minnesota on Sunday. Ibrahim, a native of Olney, Maryland, told TheGopherReport.com that he had been in touch with Fleck when he was still with WMU, but Fleck landing a job with a Power Five program “changed the game” for his recruitment.

“Just having a relationship with him at Western Michigan, when he went to a Power 5 school, I just decided I was going to go with him no matter what,” Ibrahim said.

When Minnesota made the decision to move on from Claeys last week, one of the things (among many) athletic director Mark Coyle pointed to was recruiting. Minnesota has ranked toward the bottom among the Big Ten in recruiting in recent years.

With national signing day fast approaching on February 1, Minnesota now has 21 verbal commitments in its 2017 class and is ranked No. 11 of 14 Big Ten teams by Rivals.com. The Gophers’ 2017 class is currently ranked No. 46 nationally.

For more Minnesota news, TheGopherReport.com.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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