JOTTINGS
• Aaron Schatz of Football Outsiders wrote on ESPN:"Fifth-round pick [Gophers and Minneapolis North product] Tyler Johnson will become Tom Brady's new favorite slot receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He won't put up the numbers of Julian Edelman and Wes Welker, not with all the competition for targets in Tampa Bay, but he'll gain Brady's trust. Johnson is a former high school quarterback who runs crisp routes with vision and toughness."
• Avante Dickerson is one of the highest-rated high school football recruits to ever choose playing for the Gophers. The cornerback from Omaha told the Lincoln Star Journal why he picked coach P.J. Fleck's program over schools such as Ohio State, LSU, Penn State, Texas, Oregon and USC. "Some schools just offered and then didn't talk to me," Dickerson said. "[The Gophers] were my third offer and the fact they stayed in contact ever since showed how much they cared. They didn't just treat me like another athlete, they treated me like I was a big priority for them."
• Not only did the Vikings select a record 15 draft picks this year, but they also have three additional draft picks in 2021 — a fourth-round pick from Buffalo, a fourth-round pick from Chicago and a fifth-round pick from Baltimore.
• North Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams talked to the Raleigh News & Observer about signing Hopkins standout Kerwin Walton: "I think we're getting a very good basketball player from a great high school program. A majestic kind of high school program. They've won so many state championships. A young man who knows how to win, knows how to make sacrifices for what's best for the team."
• If the Twins have a bad 2020 season financially, which seems quite possible given the pandemic, it's worth noting that they have only $60.4 million in committed payroll in 2021 compared to $132.9 million in 2020.
