–> After playing two years of Junior College football at Navarro College, EDGE defender Eddy Toussom committed to the Gophers Sunday.
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The Gophers added three transfers from D1 schools on Sunday, Navarro College EDGE defender Eddy Toussom was the lone player from the JUCO ranks to join Minnesota’s roster. After playing two seasons, Toussom picked up nearly 20 D1 offers, highlighted by Jerry Kill’s New Mexico State squad, Coastal Carolina and UAB. Minnesota was his only P5 offer before he committed to the program Sunday.
Minnesota let’s do it!🤞🏾〽️#committed pic.twitter.com/Fxrww8z27Y
— Eddy🇨🇲 (@EToussom) December 10, 2023
Who is Eddy Toussom?:
Like any JUCO player, Eddy Toussom has had quite to journey to get to Minnesota. He played high school football at Waller High School in Waller, Texas, a small suburb of less than 30,000 people outside of Houston. He was listed at 6-foot, 200 pounds and he played safety. He received little to no interest out of high school, so he went the JUCO route to Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas. He quickly grew to 6-foot-4, 240 pounds and played OLB for two seasons. In 2023, led his team with 15 TFLs and eight sacks, along with 57 total tackles, en route to second-team all-conference honors.
- Scouting Report:
Listed at 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, Eddy Toussom is an incredibly raw pass rusher, with elite traits and athleticism. He has an incredibly high ceiling, but there is still a lot of refinement when it comes to his skills as a true pass rusher. He has the ability to do some things that other athletes simply cannot and for that reason, he is a very interesting prospect from Gophers DLine coach Winston Winston DeLattiboudere III.
**Highlights**
Instant Reaction:
With Jah Joyner, Danny Striggow, Jalen Logan-Redding and Anthony Smith all expected to return in 2024, edge defender was not a position of serious need for the Gophers this offseason. But when you look at the successful teams at any level of football, you can never have enough defensive linemen. JUCO players are different than other D1 transfers of high school players. There is a reason why they all had to go that route, while that can be a lot of different reasons, they play at a different level of football. Eddy Toussom needed a serious level of discipline to work himself into getting a scholarship at the Big Ten level and for that reason, it will be fascinating to watch him develop in the Gophers system. He will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Since PJ Fleck took over in 2017, the #Gophers have added five (5) players from the JUCO ranks (snaps @ UMN/PFF Grade):
Keonte Schad, DT Ellsworth C.C. (338/58.2)
Kelvin Clemmons, CB Hutchinson C.C. (DNP)
Vic Viramontes, QB Riverside C.C. (DNP)
Jason Dickson, OT Diablo Valley… pic.twitter.com/iT3XVXBowz— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) December 11, 2023
What is next?:
Now after adding Toussom and Jordan Guerad to the defensive line, I would imagine that position is no longer a serious need for the Gophers. Toussom will have two seasons of eligibility remaining, but he will have at least four players that he will have to jump when it comes to earning serious playing time in 2024. Minnesota has now added three new players to a defense that struggled to find consistency last season.
Portal Additions:
- New Hampshire, QB Max Brosmer
- FIU, DT Jordan Guerad
- Bucknell, CB Ethan Robinson
- *Navarro College (JUCO), EDGE, Eddy Toussom