Drake was a RS Freshman QB on a team that had the least rushing yards per game of any team in the B1G; a team that had a mixed-quality OL; a team whose top WRs had real trouble finding separation. Yet the team won 8 games, should have won 9 but for a DC debacle and unreliable K (NWern), and might have won 10 if the OC had given Drake a free hand earlier in the game ... and Koi had been out with the flu or something (Cal). The 2025 Gophers had a lot of one score wins, and could easily have lost 8 games, but it flipped the script and won so many because of the team's resilience, fighting to the very end. And Drake was a big part of that resilience on offense.
In a league in which most teams are playing seasoned veteran QBs, often SR transfers--in a league in which one pundit had Drake pegged as the 18th QB--I think Drake had a really good season. Can he improve next year, having now played the course once? Will our OL be better? Will the WR room be better? Most importantly, will we have a plausible running game to set up the passing game? Will our D be a little better in handing over decent field position? I suspect Drake will improve noticeably next season, even if the Gophs fail to effectively address most the deficiencies that plagued this year's team. Of course, if the Gophs regain a half-decent running game and our OL returns to the level of recent years, I think our WRs will almost automatically get "better." And then Drake might become one of the better QBs in the B1G. If, among all the change, next year's roster (a bit more talented?) manages to keep that same resilient spirit that animated it this season, 2026 could be fun.