BleedGopher
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Per UW Dawg Pound:
Reserves- Drake Lindsey (37), Emmett Morehead (28), Dylan Wittke (18)
Last year Minnesota went with an FCS transfer as a stopgap option at quarterback but this year they’re seemingly trusting in development. Three-star redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey only played 20 snaps last year but will take the keys as the expected game one starter. Emmett Morehead is the only QB with any experience as he started 5 games for Boston College before transferring to Old Dominion and now Minnesota. If Lindsey struggles then we may end up seeing four-star true freshman Jackson Kollock at some point.
Reserves- Cam Davis (69), Anthony Turner (54), Trey Berry (35)
It won’t exactly be a surprise if Lindsey or anyone else playing quarterback chooses to simply hand the ball off all the time this year. Taylor is my #4 RB in the conference and similarly is Phil Steele’s preseason 4th team all-conference back. He came up just short of a 1,000 yard rushing season but also chipped in with another 350+ through the air and is an all-around back.
Should Taylor miss time, there are several other quality backs waiting in the wings. Former Husky Cam Davis will play his 7th and final season of college football likely taking on the role as their short yardage back. There’s also Marshall transfer Anthony (AJ) Turner who broke out averaging 8.4 yards per carry last year with 4 runs of 65+ yards. He should be the lightning to Davis’ thunder while backing up Taylor.
Reserves- Lemeke Brockington (61), Bradley Martino (49), Cristian Driver (48), Legend Lyons (40), Kenric Lanier (37), Donielle Hayes (35), Jalen Smith (33)
Minnesota badly needed reinforcements at the WR spot after losing their only receivers to have at least 300 receiving yards and their top three in my rankings system all came in this offseason via the transfer portal.
Logan Loya is a rock solid veteran coming in from UCLA with between 278 and 654 yards each of the last 3 seasons but doesn’t project as a #1 guy despite where my rankings have him. Malachi Coleman is a former top recruit who struggled to find a foothold at Nebraska. Javon Tracy was 1st team all-MAC last season with Miami OH after putting up 818 yards and 7 TDs ( just 6 catches for 80 yards in 3 games vs. power conference teams though).
Phil Steele projects Jalen Smith as their 3rd starter but he played just 1 snap as a redshirt freshman last season so there’s no history of production. Either way, my #4 Lemeke Brockington should play quite a bit as he has 19 career starts over 4 seasons for the Gophers even if he has a low ceiling.
Reserves- Julian Johnson (33), Jacob Simpson (29), Drew Biber (23), Frank Bierman (19)
Minnesota returns their starting tight end option from last year as Jameson Geers had 290 receiving yards and 4 TDs which were 4th and t-2nd on the team respectively. Next up in my rankings are a couple of redshirt freshmen that didn’t play last year which tells you where Minnesota’s depth here is at right now. They did add Purdue transfer Drew Biber who has 3 career starts and return Frank Bierman as a former walk-on who has also started 3 games but there’s not much in the way of quality production here. No one who has seen the field has put up even an average career PFF grade.
Reserves- Kahlee Tafai (45), Mark Handy (37), Aluma Nkele 36), Daniel Shipp (34), Kaveon Lee (31)
(A note that my listed starters here are the 5 highest scorers even if some of them play the same position. If the backup right tackle has a higher rating than the starting left guard, the LG gets bumped to reserves above.)
Minnesota may come in at second-to-last in the conference here but this isn’t an offensive line completely devoid of experience. Five of their top six have started at least four power conference games before with the only exception being four-star redshirt freshman Nathan Roy. Two of those options are along the interior as both LG Greg Johnson and C Ashton Beers return from last year’s squad. Although last year Johnson was the primary center and Beers played across all three interior spots.
The other three among the top options were transfers from Central Florida, Kentucky, and of course Kahlee Tafai from Washington. Right now Phil Steele projects Tafai to be the odd man out from that three-way transfer competition for the two tackle spots as the least experienced member of the bunch.
Where Minnesota is really lacking is in star power. All five of their projected starters have career PFF grades between 56 and 63 where 60 is roughly average. If everyone stays healthy then this should be a roughly average unit but they could drop off quickly if injuries happen.
Reserves- Mariere Omonode (67), Jalen Logan-Redding (66), Jayquan Stubbs (43), Abu Tarawallie (37)
Things are in a better spot on the other side of the line of scrimmage. 6’6, 310 lb nose tackle Deven Eastern doubled his pressure rate in his second year as a starter last season and is projected as 3rd team all-conference by Phil Steele. He will likely start once again alongside Jalen Logan-Redding. The pair have each started 26+ games for Minnesota and are the most experienced DT duo in the conference.
Providing depth are a pair of transfers from the class of 2022. Rushawn Lawrence had 9 sacks last year for Albany as a pass-rushing DT at the FCS level who will need to bulk up now that he’s in the Big Ten. Mariere Omonode was a solid backup DT for Purdue the past 2 seasons and seems poised for a breakthrough.
There’s no experienced depth beyond that foursome but that shouldn’t really matter much. Minnesota has 4 of the top 17 ranked DL in the conference. Next best in terms of the depth at the top is Iowa whose 4th best DL ranks 34th. This is a clear strength.
Reserves- Steven Curtis (51), Enoch Atewogbola (42), Lucas Finnessy (36), Adam Kissayi (32)
The edge rusher spot was one of Minnesota’s strengths last season but both starters are now gone. The Gophers would have an even greater DL rank and a much worse Edge rank if leader Anthony Smith were counted there instead. I default to Phil Steele’s alignment unless the roster clearly says something different but Smith played a jumbo DE role last year at 285 pounds so he gets counted outside for now. The former four-star had a breakout season with 32 pressures and 6 sacks and is on Steele’s 4th team all-conference list.
There are options to start alongside Smith but they aren’t inspired ones. Former high four-star Jaxon Howard transferred from LSU to Minnesota after his true freshman season but didn’t have the breakout season the Gophers were hoping he would. This offseason they brought in Illinois State transfer Steven Curtis who has ideal height/weight measurables but only had 3 sacks last year at the FCS level. This group will be helped by the strength on the interior ensuring they won’t get double teamed but their limitations will keep Minnesota’s front from truly being a force.
Reserves- Emmanuel Karmo (50), Jeff Roberson (42), Ethan Stendel (40), Joey Gerlach (34)
It’s a pretty clear cut one-two for Minnesota as Baranowski and Williams have each started 15+ games for Minnesota and are entering their 4th and 5th years in the program respectively. Baranowski was lower rated out of high school and has played fewer snaps but has been more effective when he’s played. Neither appears to be a likely all-conference candidate but it’s a solid starting group. They brought in former Oklahoma State starter Jeff Roberson as a backup but there are several freshmen led by four-star Emmanuel Karmo who will also factor into the rotation.
Reserves- John Nestor (44), Zachry Harden (37), Naiim Parrish (34), Mike Gerald (30), Samuel Madu (29)
Minnesota finishes last at the CB spot but there’s some pretty tight bunching so it wasn’t by much. Minnesota’s problem at this position is depth since they have 3 pretty close to starter-caliber players at the top. Bryan and Gousby are the returners and were both three-star recruits who have started some games for the Gophers but haven’t spent an entire season in that role yet. Bowden transfers in from FCS North Carolina Central where he had 8 PBUs as a redshirt freshman last year. We’ll see how well it translates moving up to the Big Ten.
The experience generally drops off a cliff after that. None of the corners on the roster, including the 3 projected starters, were a four-star or better recruit coming out of high school. Only one other player besides the starters has played at least 125 defensive snaps in their career and that is former walk-on Jaionte McMillan.
Reserves- Darius Green (50), Zahir Rainier (25), Harrison Brun (13), Garrison Monroe (12)
If it weren’t for Caleb Downs at Ohio State taking up all the attention then Koi Perich would have a good shot at being one of the faces of the conference from the safety position. The high four-star recruit only started 3 games last year but was gradually worked into the rotation and played like a superstar when he was on the field with 5 interceptions. He’s projected as 2nd team all-conference by Phil Steele and is a clear top-15 player in the conference in my rankings.
Kerry Brown is a solid running mate alongside Perich. He has 10 career starts through two seasons with Minnesota with well above-average PFF grades. They make one of the better safety duos in the conference. There’s also a totally reasonable #3 option as Darius Green has plenty of experience with 13 career starts but hasn’t been nearly as effective on the field as Perich and Brown. After that though...there’s nothing. The other 4 safeties on the roster have combined to play 24 career snaps.
Minnesota has some star power on both sides of the ball. Koi Perich is poised to be one of the best free safeties in college football entering his sophomore season. Anthony Smith leads a really tough group of defensive linemen that should allow Minnesota to win both up front and on the back end of the defense.
Meanwhile, Darius Taylor leads one of the better stables of running backs in the conference. There is a serious identity building for your stereotypical “run the ball and play great defense” type of squad. We saw Michigan turn that formula last year into an 8-5 season with an upset of the eventual national champions along the way.
The reason I make a comparison to Michigan is because of the quarterback position. Just like Michigan last year, Minnesota finds themselves last in the conference at that position in my rankings. Maybe Drake Lindsey is the absolute truth and he instantly turns into an above average starter as a redshirt freshman after attempting just 5 passes last year. It has happened before. But if he turns out to be shaky behind an aggressively mediocre offensive line then the defense will really have to be lights out to win a ton of games and I’m not sure they’re quite that good.
In the end it will likely come down to whether or not key players avoid injuries, as it does for most teams. Minnesota’s starters are better than 15th overall in the conference but the depth is questionable at this point which is why expectations for them should maybe be a little lower.
The schedule sets up reasonably favorable for them. We’ll start with the bad though. Minnesota has to play both Oregon and Ohio State on the road. Those are just about auto-losses.
Everything else though is semi-manageable. There are road games at Cal and Iowa. Home games against Wisconsin and Nebraska. Split those and win the games you’re favored in and there’s a pretty clear path to a 7-5 or 8-4 season. But if Minnesota really does wind up with the worst QB situation in the conference then maybe take the under on that.
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Top-10 Players (with position rank and overall conference rank)
www.uwdawgpound.com
Go Gophers!!
TOTAL OFFENSE- 979 (16th)
Quarterback- 98 (18th)
Starter- Jackson Kollock (47)Reserves- Drake Lindsey (37), Emmett Morehead (28), Dylan Wittke (18)
Last year Minnesota went with an FCS transfer as a stopgap option at quarterback but this year they’re seemingly trusting in development. Three-star redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey only played 20 snaps last year but will take the keys as the expected game one starter. Emmett Morehead is the only QB with any experience as he started 5 games for Boston College before transferring to Old Dominion and now Minnesota. If Lindsey struggles then we may end up seeing four-star true freshman Jackson Kollock at some point.
Running Back- 137 (3rd)
Starter- Darius Taylor (89)Reserves- Cam Davis (69), Anthony Turner (54), Trey Berry (35)
It won’t exactly be a surprise if Lindsey or anyone else playing quarterback chooses to simply hand the ball off all the time this year. Taylor is my #4 RB in the conference and similarly is Phil Steele’s preseason 4th team all-conference back. He came up just short of a 1,000 yard rushing season but also chipped in with another 350+ through the air and is an all-around back.
Should Taylor miss time, there are several other quality backs waiting in the wings. Former Husky Cam Davis will play his 7th and final season of college football likely taking on the role as their short yardage back. There’s also Marshall transfer Anthony (AJ) Turner who broke out averaging 8.4 yards per carry last year with 4 runs of 65+ yards. He should be the lightning to Davis’ thunder while backing up Taylor.
Wide Receiver- 303 (10th)
Starters- Logan Loya (83), Malachi Coleman (72), Javon Tracy (69)Reserves- Lemeke Brockington (61), Bradley Martino (49), Cristian Driver (48), Legend Lyons (40), Kenric Lanier (37), Donielle Hayes (35), Jalen Smith (33)
Minnesota badly needed reinforcements at the WR spot after losing their only receivers to have at least 300 receiving yards and their top three in my rankings system all came in this offseason via the transfer portal.
Logan Loya is a rock solid veteran coming in from UCLA with between 278 and 654 yards each of the last 3 seasons but doesn’t project as a #1 guy despite where my rankings have him. Malachi Coleman is a former top recruit who struggled to find a foothold at Nebraska. Javon Tracy was 1st team all-MAC last season with Miami OH after putting up 818 yards and 7 TDs ( just 6 catches for 80 yards in 3 games vs. power conference teams though).
Phil Steele projects Jalen Smith as their 3rd starter but he played just 1 snap as a redshirt freshman last season so there’s no history of production. Either way, my #4 Lemeke Brockington should play quite a bit as he has 19 career starts over 4 seasons for the Gophers even if he has a low ceiling.
Tight End- 77 (16th)
Starter- Jameson Geers (53)Reserves- Julian Johnson (33), Jacob Simpson (29), Drew Biber (23), Frank Bierman (19)
Minnesota returns their starting tight end option from last year as Jameson Geers had 290 receiving yards and 4 TDs which were 4th and t-2nd on the team respectively. Next up in my rankings are a couple of redshirt freshmen that didn’t play last year which tells you where Minnesota’s depth here is at right now. They did add Purdue transfer Drew Biber who has 3 career starts and return Frank Bierman as a former walk-on who has also started 3 games but there’s not much in the way of quality production here. No one who has seen the field has put up even an average career PFF grade.
Offensive Line- 365 (17th)
Starters- LG Greg Johnson (67), C Ashton Beers (58), RG Marcellus Marshall (55), LT Nathan Roy (47), RT Dylan Ray (46)Reserves- Kahlee Tafai (45), Mark Handy (37), Aluma Nkele 36), Daniel Shipp (34), Kaveon Lee (31)
(A note that my listed starters here are the 5 highest scorers even if some of them play the same position. If the backup right tackle has a higher rating than the starting left guard, the LG gets bumped to reserves above.)
Minnesota may come in at second-to-last in the conference here but this isn’t an offensive line completely devoid of experience. Five of their top six have started at least four power conference games before with the only exception being four-star redshirt freshman Nathan Roy. Two of those options are along the interior as both LG Greg Johnson and C Ashton Beers return from last year’s squad. Although last year Johnson was the primary center and Beers played across all three interior spots.
The other three among the top options were transfers from Central Florida, Kentucky, and of course Kahlee Tafai from Washington. Right now Phil Steele projects Tafai to be the odd man out from that three-way transfer competition for the two tackle spots as the least experienced member of the bunch.
Where Minnesota is really lacking is in star power. All five of their projected starters have career PFF grades between 56 and 63 where 60 is roughly average. If everyone stays healthy then this should be a roughly average unit but they could drop off quickly if injuries happen.
TOTAL DEFENSE- 1,066 (11th)
Defensive Line- 232 (4th)
Starters- Deven Eastern (77), Rushawn Lawrence (68)Reserves- Mariere Omonode (67), Jalen Logan-Redding (66), Jayquan Stubbs (43), Abu Tarawallie (37)
Things are in a better spot on the other side of the line of scrimmage. 6’6, 310 lb nose tackle Deven Eastern doubled his pressure rate in his second year as a starter last season and is projected as 3rd team all-conference by Phil Steele. He will likely start once again alongside Jalen Logan-Redding. The pair have each started 26+ games for Minnesota and are the most experienced DT duo in the conference.
Providing depth are a pair of transfers from the class of 2022. Rushawn Lawrence had 9 sacks last year for Albany as a pass-rushing DT at the FCS level who will need to bulk up now that he’s in the Big Ten. Mariere Omonode was a solid backup DT for Purdue the past 2 seasons and seems poised for a breakthrough.
There’s no experienced depth beyond that foursome but that shouldn’t really matter much. Minnesota has 4 of the top 17 ranked DL in the conference. Next best in terms of the depth at the top is Iowa whose 4th best DL ranks 34th. This is a clear strength.
Edge Rushers- 204 (14th)
Starters- Anthony Smith (86), Jaxon Howard (54)Reserves- Steven Curtis (51), Enoch Atewogbola (42), Lucas Finnessy (36), Adam Kissayi (32)
The edge rusher spot was one of Minnesota’s strengths last season but both starters are now gone. The Gophers would have an even greater DL rank and a much worse Edge rank if leader Anthony Smith were counted there instead. I default to Phil Steele’s alignment unless the roster clearly says something different but Smith played a jumbo DE role last year at 285 pounds so he gets counted outside for now. The former four-star had a breakout season with 32 pressures and 6 sacks and is on Steele’s 4th team all-conference list.
There are options to start alongside Smith but they aren’t inspired ones. Former high four-star Jaxon Howard transferred from LSU to Minnesota after his true freshman season but didn’t have the breakout season the Gophers were hoping he would. This offseason they brought in Illinois State transfer Steven Curtis who has ideal height/weight measurables but only had 3 sacks last year at the FCS level. This group will be helped by the strength on the interior ensuring they won’t get double teamed but their limitations will keep Minnesota’s front from truly being a force.
Linebackers- 169 (14th)
Starters- Maverick Baranowski (63), Devon Williams (60)Reserves- Emmanuel Karmo (50), Jeff Roberson (42), Ethan Stendel (40), Joey Gerlach (34)
It’s a pretty clear cut one-two for Minnesota as Baranowski and Williams have each started 15+ games for Minnesota and are entering their 4th and 5th years in the program respectively. Baranowski was lower rated out of high school and has played fewer snaps but has been more effective when he’s played. Neither appears to be a likely all-conference candidate but it’s a solid starting group. They brought in former Oklahoma State starter Jeff Roberson as a backup but there are several freshmen led by four-star Emmanuel Karmo who will also factor into the rotation.
Cornerbacks- 256 (18th)
Starters- Zaquan Bryan (72), Jaylen Bowden (65), Aidan Gousby (63)Reserves- John Nestor (44), Zachry Harden (37), Naiim Parrish (34), Mike Gerald (30), Samuel Madu (29)
Minnesota finishes last at the CB spot but there’s some pretty tight bunching so it wasn’t by much. Minnesota’s problem at this position is depth since they have 3 pretty close to starter-caliber players at the top. Bryan and Gousby are the returners and were both three-star recruits who have started some games for the Gophers but haven’t spent an entire season in that role yet. Bowden transfers in from FCS North Carolina Central where he had 8 PBUs as a redshirt freshman last year. We’ll see how well it translates moving up to the Big Ten.
The experience generally drops off a cliff after that. None of the corners on the roster, including the 3 projected starters, were a four-star or better recruit coming out of high school. Only one other player besides the starters has played at least 125 defensive snaps in their career and that is former walk-on Jaionte McMillan.
Safeties- 206 (6th)
Starters- Koi Perich (94), Kerry Brown (74)Reserves- Darius Green (50), Zahir Rainier (25), Harrison Brun (13), Garrison Monroe (12)
If it weren’t for Caleb Downs at Ohio State taking up all the attention then Koi Perich would have a good shot at being one of the faces of the conference from the safety position. The high four-star recruit only started 3 games last year but was gradually worked into the rotation and played like a superstar when he was on the field with 5 interceptions. He’s projected as 2nd team all-conference by Phil Steele and is a clear top-15 player in the conference in my rankings.
Kerry Brown is a solid running mate alongside Perich. He has 10 career starts through two seasons with Minnesota with well above-average PFF grades. They make one of the better safety duos in the conference. There’s also a totally reasonable #3 option as Darius Green has plenty of experience with 13 career starts but hasn’t been nearly as effective on the field as Perich and Brown. After that though...there’s nothing. The other 4 safeties on the roster have combined to play 24 career snaps.
OVERALL TEAM- 2,046 (15th)
Minnesota has been a team recently that has just set up a comfy home in the middle of the Big Ten standings. They’ve gone between 6-7 and 9-4 each of the past 4 seasons since the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and it’s reasonable to think they’re poised to do it again.Minnesota has some star power on both sides of the ball. Koi Perich is poised to be one of the best free safeties in college football entering his sophomore season. Anthony Smith leads a really tough group of defensive linemen that should allow Minnesota to win both up front and on the back end of the defense.
Meanwhile, Darius Taylor leads one of the better stables of running backs in the conference. There is a serious identity building for your stereotypical “run the ball and play great defense” type of squad. We saw Michigan turn that formula last year into an 8-5 season with an upset of the eventual national champions along the way.
The reason I make a comparison to Michigan is because of the quarterback position. Just like Michigan last year, Minnesota finds themselves last in the conference at that position in my rankings. Maybe Drake Lindsey is the absolute truth and he instantly turns into an above average starter as a redshirt freshman after attempting just 5 passes last year. It has happened before. But if he turns out to be shaky behind an aggressively mediocre offensive line then the defense will really have to be lights out to win a ton of games and I’m not sure they’re quite that good.
In the end it will likely come down to whether or not key players avoid injuries, as it does for most teams. Minnesota’s starters are better than 15th overall in the conference but the depth is questionable at this point which is why expectations for them should maybe be a little lower.
The schedule sets up reasonably favorable for them. We’ll start with the bad though. Minnesota has to play both Oregon and Ohio State on the road. Those are just about auto-losses.
Everything else though is semi-manageable. There are road games at Cal and Iowa. Home games against Wisconsin and Nebraska. Split those and win the games you’re favored in and there’s a pretty clear path to a 7-5 or 8-4 season. But if Minnesota really does wind up with the worst QB situation in the conference then maybe take the under on that.
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Top-10 Players (with position rank and overall conference rank)
- S Koi Perich, 94 (4th, 13th)
- RB Darius Taylor, 89 (4th, 32nd)
- ED Anthony Smith, 86 (9th, 54th)
- WR Logan Loya*, 83 (9th, 73rd)
- DL Deven Eastern, 77 (6th, 112th)
- S Kerry Brown, 74 (19th, 135th)
- WR Malachi Coleman*, 72 (30th, 162nd)
- CB Zaquan Bryan*, 72 (25th, 176th)
- RB Cam Davis*, 69 (17th, 212th)
- WR Javon Tracy*, (41st, 225th)

2025 Big Ten Team Talent Preview: Minnesota Golden Gophers
Can Minnesota take a "run and play defense" approach to get to the next level?

Go Gophers!!