Koi Perich Transfer Portal

[Ope3]

If he really wants to play both ways, he should stay. He's not going to getting any snaps at WR at OSU or any other "helmet" school......

There's several non-"helmet" schools with a lot of dough to spend.

 

[Ope3]

Ironically came across our souvenir TCF stadium cup for the large Coke we purchase every game for last year (2024) that features a photo of Perich.

It is now on the shelf with all the others that have been collected annually since 2001 going back to the Dome days.

My Coke cup collection seems end at the same time they started selling this stuff called "beer" in very convenient but disposable/recyclable aluminum containers.

Probably just a coincidence.

 

[SeaBee_Gopher]

I posted some stats in an earlier post. But here we go:

Opponent (2024)	PFF Grade	Passer Rating Allowed	Missed Tackles
N. Carolina	68.4	79.2	0
Rhode Island	74.5	39.6 (1 INT)	0
Nevada	70.1	56.1	0
Iowa	64.2	84.5	1
at Michigan	61.3	77.4	1
USC	91.3	12.4 (1 INT)	0
at UCLA	89.5	15.8 (1 INT)	0
Maryland	80.2	22.1 (1 INT)	0
at Illinois	75.4	88.2	1
at Rutgers	77.8	64.1	1
Penn State	71.2	92.4	1
at Wisconsin	82.1	44.5	0
VA Tech (Bowl)	84.4	32.1 (1 INT)	1
SEASON TOTAL	88.9	25.6	6

Opponent (2025)	PFF Grade	Passer Rating Allowed	Missed Tackles
Buffalo	71.2	56.3	1
NW State	82.4	39.6	0
at California	49.7	118.9	3
Rutgers	61.7	84.2	2
at Ohio State	53.2	132.4	4
Purdue	76.5	42.1	1
Nebraska	58.4	92.8	2
at Iowa	51.4	110.2	3
Michigan St	56.1	95.7	2
at Oregon	48.2	148.8	2
at NW	78.9	62.4	1
Wisconsin	59.8	98.2	1
Rate Bowl	69.7	78.4	1
SEASON TOTAL	62.4	126.3	23

A PFF of 62.4 at the P4 level is average to backup level. Below 60 is replaceable. A PFF of 88.9 is almost elite, so we'll call it elite for ease of comparison. Take out Buffalo, NW State - before the Cal calamity, and the Rate Bowl, where it looked like the coaching staff tossed him the 2 way bone again, his PFF was 59.4. Benchable on many other teams. For a Travis Hunter V2, these are catastrophic numbers. For NFL scouts, these are massive red flags.

PFF isn't a perfect metric by any means, but it is the closest thing to "blue book" value that is universally used and understood. When combined with the passer rating and "eye test" @Tucker32 referenced, yeah, I'm not making a 7 figure investment unless it is loaded with performance incentives, which he probably doesn't want.

This is very interesting! PFF of 59.4 is shocking. I did not realize it. SJUgopher's post #527 is also interesting, "I honestly think if he wasn’t who he was, he would’ve lost his starting spot." He might have even had some heat on him from younger guys coming up. On GGR, Burns mentioned really liking Zack Harden, a freshman safety from Georgia, 6-1/200.

Most of us were thinking he's moving on to bigger and better things, but maybe that is not true. Maybe he's just trying to hold on to what he's got? Where he ends up will be fascinating! He has A LOT of potential, but regressed this year. Following his great freshman year, they had to pay him like he'd be a top tier safety, offensive weapon and special teams standout. None of that really happened so they likely had some very hard conversations about drastically reducing his NIL. You can't pay an average safety that much especially if that's one of our deepest positions! PJ feels the heat. He's firing a lot of coaches. I doubt he fears having a tough conversation with a player.

Koi's reputation in the media is still outstanding (again 7th ranked portal prospect on ESPN), but football teams aren't the media. They are not dumb! He likely gets paid more than he would have from us by some big money team gambling that they can turn him around, but I still bet he takes a pay cut.

Just about all our key guys are happy enough to come back. He's the outlier. This feels like someone that might be worried about their future. I really do wish him the best!

 

[gopherbadgerman]

This is very interesting! PFF of 59.4 is shocking. I did not realize it. SJUgopher's post #527 is also interesting, "I honestly think if he wasn’t who he was, he would’ve lost his starting spot." He might have even had some heat on him from younger guys coming up. On GGR, Burns mentioned really liking Zack Harden, a freshman safety from Georgia, 6-1/200.

Most of us were thinking he's moving on to bigger and better things, but maybe that is not true. Maybe he's just trying to hold on to what he's got? Where he ends up will be fascinating! He has A LOT of potential, but regressed this year. Following his great freshman year, they had to pay him like he'd be a top tier safety, offensive weapon and special teams standout. None of that really happened so they likely had some very hard conversations about drastically reducing his NIL. You can't pay an average safety that much especially if that's one of our deepest positions! PJ feels the heat. He's firing a lot of coaches. I doubt he fears having a tough conversation with a player.

Koi's reputation in the media is still outstanding (again 7th ranked portal prospect on ESPN), but football teams aren't the media. They are not dumb! He likely gets paid more than he would have from us by some big money team gambling that they can turn him around, but I still bet he takes a pay cut.

Just about all our key guys are happy enough to come back. He's the outlier. This feels like someone that might be worried about their future. I really do wish him the best!

He will be at a big time school. Bank on it.

 

[MNfootballfan]

I am 100% behind Perich and his family. His talent, his life.

He has a rare opportunity. It would be a crime to not play his hand to his best advantage.

I’m not sure what his best hand is and it is different for everyone.

I’m not sure what his official NIL is, but I don’t think he is struggling to get by at the U. With that being said, there is always somewhere that will pay you more.

There are priceless things that can occur at the U or another school. Guaranteed Maroney and Barber wouldn’t have the same cult-like following from a generation of Gopher fans. Koi has that cult-like following for today’s gopher fans. Zero chance he gets that anywhere else.

He can transfer to another school with much higher CFP chances, that also is priceless. All depends what you value. One is staying loyal to your original commitment and building a personal legacy. The second is making an unfathomable amount of money and competing with the best teams in the country. Both options have proved to be successful in getting you to the NFL.

 

[Yah-E]

PJ hasn’t peeped a word about this yet in the media. Love to hear his take on the situation. Always says “it’s transformational WITH transactional piece here” or “we don’t want transactional kids here”…

Surprised Koi or his agent hasn’t posted any offers or committed visits yet either. Most of the top 10 transfer portal players is courted immediately.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

That Thor guy is a moron.

Agreed

 

[GopherGrit]

I posted some stats in an earlier post. But here we go:

Opponent (2024)	PFF Grade	Passer Rating Allowed	Missed Tackles
N. Carolina	68.4	79.2	0
Rhode Island	74.5	39.6 (1 INT)	0
Nevada	70.1	56.1	0
Iowa	64.2	84.5	1
at Michigan	61.3	77.4	1
USC	91.3	12.4 (1 INT)	0
at UCLA	89.5	15.8 (1 INT)	0
Maryland	80.2	22.1 (1 INT)	0
at Illinois	75.4	88.2	1
at Rutgers	77.8	64.1	1
Penn State	71.2	92.4	1
at Wisconsin	82.1	44.5	0
VA Tech (Bowl)	84.4	32.1 (1 INT)	1
SEASON TOTAL	88.9	25.6	6

Opponent (2025)	PFF Grade	Passer Rating Allowed	Missed Tackles
Buffalo	71.2	56.3	1
NW State	82.4	39.6	0
at California	49.7	118.9	3
Rutgers	61.7	84.2	2
at Ohio State	53.2	132.4	4
Purdue	76.5	42.1	1
Nebraska	58.4	92.8	2
at Iowa	51.4	110.2	3
Michigan St	56.1	95.7	2
at Oregon	48.2	148.8	2
at NW	78.9	62.4	1
Wisconsin	59.8	98.2	1
Rate Bowl	69.7	78.4	1
SEASON TOTAL	62.4	126.3	23

A PFF of 62.4 at the P4 level is average to backup level. Below 60 is replaceable. A PFF of 88.9 is almost elite, so we'll call it elite for ease of comparison. Take out Buffalo, NW State - before the Cal calamity, and the Rate Bowl, where it looked like the coaching staff tossed him the 2 way bone again, his PFF was 59.4. Benchable on many other teams. For a Travis Hunter V2, these are catastrophic numbers. For NFL scouts, these are massive red flags.

PFF isn't a perfect metric by any means, but it is the closest thing to "blue book" value that is universally used and understood. When combined with the passer rating and "eye test" @Tucker32 referenced, yeah, I'm not making a 7 figure investment unless it is loaded with performance incentives, which he probably doesn't want.

Well no matter what, you did step up with some stats. Kudos there!

If it's that simple and cut n dried, then he should have no P4 schools offer him in the transfer portal.

Be curious to see what ends up happening with him!

 

[dbrad29]

This is very interesting! PFF of 59.4 is shocking. I did not realize it. SJUgopher's post #527 is also interesting, "I honestly think if he wasn’t who he was, he would’ve lost his starting spot." He might have even had some heat on him from younger guys coming up. On GGR, Burns mentioned really liking Zack Harden, a freshman safety from Georgia, 6-1/200.

Most of us were thinking he's moving on to bigger and better things, but maybe that is not true. Maybe he's just trying to hold on to what he's got? Where he ends up will be fascinating! He has A LOT of potential, but regressed this year. Following his great freshman year, they had to pay him like he'd be a top tier safety, offensive weapon and special teams standout. None of that really happened so they likely had some very hard conversations about drastically reducing his NIL. You can't pay an average safety that much especially if that's one of our deepest positions! PJ feels the heat. He's firing a lot of coaches. I doubt he fears having a tough conversation with a player.

Koi's reputation in the media is still outstanding (again 7th ranked portal prospect on ESPN), but football teams aren't the media. They are not dumb! He likely gets paid more than he would have from us by some big money team gambling that they can turn him around, but I still bet he takes a pay cut.

Just about all our key guys are happy enough to come back. He's the outlier. This feels like someone that might be worried about their future. I really do wish him the best!

He was going to get a raise regardless. Money wasn't the issue, although he will be getting more were ever he lands. Looking at his offers, my guess would be Oregon

 

[swede2]

I would tell him to stay at UMN. His long term prospects are greater here. He has the opportunity to be Gopher legend.

I think the bit of being a "gopher legend" is attractive only to some middle aged and older gopherholers. Have we ever had a kid here say he wanted to be a gopher legend?

 

[swede2]

I’m not sure what his best hand is and it is different for everyone.

I’m not sure what his official NIL is, but I don’t think he is struggling to get by at the U. With that being said, there is always somewhere that will pay you more.

There are priceless things that can occur at the U or another school. Guaranteed Maroney and Barber wouldn’t have the same cult-like following from a generation of Gopher fans. Koi has that cult-like following for today’s gopher fans. Zero chance he gets that anywhere else.

He can transfer to another school with much higher CFP chances, that also is priceless. All depends what you value. One is staying loyal to your original commitment and building a personal legacy. The second is making an unfathomable amount of money and competing with the best teams in the country. Both options have proved to be successful in getting you to the NFL.

So was has the cult like following some for Maroney and Barber?

 

[Gopherchase]

I think the bit of being a "gopher legend" is attractive only to some middle aged and older gopherholers. Have we ever had a kid here say he wanted to be a gopher legend?

Carter Coughlin maybe not in those exact words but generally so.

 

[60's Guy]

Carter Coughlin maybe not in those exact words but generally so.

Carter Coughlin was/is a Gopher legend in recruiting players to be Gopher teammates. He organized retreats and gatherings and his ability was unique for a high school senior in his organizational, networking skills. Guessing he will be an elite businessman.
He suffered a very bad pectoral injury to start 2024 and I don't think has played since.

 

[PMWinSTP]

Well no matter what, you did step up with some stats. Kudos there!

If it's that simple and cut n dried, then he should have no P4 schools offer him in the transfer portal.

Be curious to see what ends up happening with him!

Good grief.

 

[GoldRush]

Carter Coughlin was/is a Gopher legend in recruiting players to be Gopher teammates. He organized retreats and gatherings and his ability was unique for a high school senior in his organizational, networking skills. Guessing he will be an elite businessman.
He suffered a very bad pectoral injury to start 2024 and I don't think has played since.

That was the name that popped into my head too.

 

[MNfootballfan]

So was has the cult like following some for Maroney and Barber?

I honestly don’t know anyone that hasn’t talked about one without talking about the other. They were like Peanut Butter and Jelly…. I feel like Maroney and Barber defined my generation of Gopher Fans, much like Darrell Thompson defined a generation of Gopher Fans.

I can ask my son and all his friends who their favorite Gopher, they all say Koi and ____ but Koi is always mentioned.

 

[MNVCGUY]

PJ hasn’t peeped a word about this yet in the media. Love to hear his take on the situation. Always says “it’s transformational WITH transactional piece here” or “we don’t want transactional kids here”…

Surprised Koi or his agent hasn’t posted any offers or committed visits yet either. Most of the top 10 transfer portal players is courted immediately.

Fleck doesn't comment much on guys that leave, has been that way since the portal became the thing it is now.

If Koi ultimately leaves and Fleck gets asked about it I'm sure he will give a quick generic comment about it because that is how he handles those situations. He chooses to focus on the guys that want to be here and not the guys that don't.

 

[GoldRush]

I can ask my son and all his friends who their favorite Gopher, they all say Koi and ____ but Koi is always mentioned.

Bateman, Johnson, Mo, Brosmer, Cashman, Winfield are all favorites of kids my son's age.

 

[FriendlyWolverine]

I watched some video on Fleck's philosophy and charted his recruiting classes against outcomes- it projects high upside in 2026 given your jump in recruiting class rank.

 

[FriendlyWolverine]

PJ hasn’t peeped a word about this yet in the media. Love to hear his take on the situation. Always says “it’s transformational WITH transactional piece here” or “we don’t want transactional kids here”…

Surprised Koi or his agent hasn’t posted any offers or committed visits yet either. Most of the top 10 transfer portal players is courted immediately.

From outside looking in, we have a few Wolverines in this status- they want to renegotiate NIL before recommiting.

In this new era- you have to recruit 24/7

 

[GopherGrit]

View attachment 41289I watched some video on Fleck's philosophy and charted his recruiting classes against outcomes- it projects high upside in 2026 given your jump in recruiting class rank.

Nice plot!

Keep in mind, 2021-2023 was the weak West.

Would also be interesting to have some kind of line that tries to capture something like "how much of the class signed that year actually contributed to that year's team".

Otherwise, you'd think it would be at least one year of lag between signing and contributing?

 

[FriendlyWolverine]

Nice plot!

Keep in mind, 2021-2023 was the weak West.

Would also be interesting to have some kind of line that tries to capture something like "how much of the class signed that year actually contributed to that year's team".

Otherwise, you'd think it would be at least one year of lag between signing and contributing?

great points. one issue that's a wrench in things is that in this new era, the old "1.5 years to develop" isn't a good rule of thumb anymore. you can portal in instant production.

 

[GopherGrit]

great points. one issue that's a wrench in things is that in this new era, the old "1.5 years to develop" isn't a good rule of thumb anymore. you can portal in instant production.

Agreed.

Separate lines for transfer class ranking vs high school class ranking might be interesting.

But I'm not here to make you do more work or clutter up your nice plot. Thanks!

PS: plt.grid(True)

 

[BilldGopher]

My Coke cup collection seems end at the same time they started selling this stuff called "beer" in very convenient but disposable/recyclable aluminum containers.

Probably just a coincidence.

You and a lot of others ended their collections around then too. Our collection however is pretty extensive. PJ got a lot of covers in the early years of his tenure. I even think we've got some with Brew on them too.

Anywho, we always juice up before the game so that base is covered. Slightly cheaper yes but the main reason we make the cola purchase is to maintain the vocal cords for our own in-game noise and yelling contributions. Alcohol tends to dry our throats while Coke keeps us well moistened to sometimes bitter ends.

Drinking the Coke (versus something with some measure of ABV) also lessens the chances Mrs. Billd whacks whoever is sitting next to her in the eye with her elbow...but that's another story...

 

[FriendlyWolverine]

Agreed.

Separate lines for transfer class ranking vs high school class ranking might be interesting.

But I'm not here to make you do more work or clutter up your nice plot. Thanks!

PS: plt.grid(True)

 

[Maverick]

I think he goes to Miami

I agree. It’s either that or he returns to MN. Sounds like that door is open

 

[Yah-E]

Do we believe PJ and Collins are still trying to keep Koi at this point since Koi’s camp said he’s “open to return”. Meaning, is PJ crowd funding like crazy behind the scenes, if it’s a money situation AND staying in touch with Koi sweet talking in his ears?

Or do we think PJ and more of a “FU now that you want to explore other options”, “take it or leave it - here’s our best offer”, and giving Koi space and cold shoulders for him and his agent to sort it out?

 

[Panthadad2]

Do we believe PJ and Collins are still trying to keep Koi at this point since Koi’s camp said he’s “open to return”. Meaning, is PJ crowd funding like crazy behind the scenes, if it’s a money situation AND staying in touch with Koi sweet talking in his ears?

Or do we think PJ and more of a “FU now that you want to explore other options”, “take it or leave it - here’s our best offer”, and giving Koi space and cold shoulders for him and his agent to sort it out?

My gut says MN is being cordial and taking any new donation considerations for Perich (doubtful) but more heavily eyeing what kind of high impact replacements are availability with those big dollars.

 

[MonikerSchmoniker45]

Do we believe PJ and Collins are still trying to keep Koi at this point since Koi’s camp said he’s “open to return”. Meaning, is PJ crowd funding like crazy behind the scenes, if it’s a money situation AND staying in touch with Koi sweet talking in his ears?

Or do we think PJ and more of a “FU now that you want to explore other options”, “take it or leave it - here’s our best offer”, and giving Koi space and cold shoulders for him and his agent to sort it out?

I think PJ knows how important and expensive good D-tackles are.

 

[GreasyGopher]

PerDo we believe PJ and Collins are still trying to keep Koi at this point since Koi’s camp said he’s “open to return”. Meaning, is PJ crowd funding like crazy behind the scenes, if it’s a money situation AND staying in touch with Koi sweet talking in his ears?

Or do we think PJ and more of a “FU now that you want to explore other options”, “take it or leave it - here’s our best offer”, and giving Koi space and cold shoulders for him and his agent to sort it out?

Personally, I am NOT a fan of the first option. Koi is not bigger than the team and the money can be used places that have bigger impact.

While I don’t necessarily like Koi leaving it can be a win-win situation. Koi gets what he thinks he wants and MN gets to re-allocate the money to improve positions that better suit their style of play.