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Minnesota Football: 3 Way-too-early 2022 Breakout Candidates
Now that we're passed the midway point of Minnesota football spring practice, it's officially time to predict which Golden Gophers will break out in 2022?
Now that we’re past the midway point of Minnesota football spring practice, it’s officially time to predict which Golden Gophers will break out in 2022?
The Minnesota football program is coming off yet another successful season under fifth-year head coach, P.J. Fleck. Outside of their impressive 9-4 record, it was also the program’s fourth nine-win season since 1904, and just the seventh time in history the team finished with six or more wins against Big Ten opponents (6-3).
They also took home their first Guaranteed Rate Bowl win in school history after knocking off the West Virginia Mountaineers 18-6.
Most importantly, even though the Golden Gophers finished just outside of the AP Top 25 last year, they’ve still managed to improve each season under Fleck’s reign. With all signs pointing to Minnesota continuing to ‘Row the Boat’ into 2022.
In fact, since Fleck first arrived in Minneapolis, the team has put together an impressive winning percentage of .603 (35-23), which is the highest of any Minnesota head coach since Bernie Bierman in the 1940s.
Minnesota football will be without notable starters on both sides of the ball in 2022, including offensive tackle Daniel Faalele, as well as starting edge rushers Boye Mafe, and Esezi Otomewo.
Although, the Gophers still have loads of talent left on the roster, and even more than coach Fleck was able to reel in through the transfer portal.
With so much fluctuation across the board, you can expect there to be some breakout players emerging for the Minnesota Golden Gophers in 2022. Three of which are beginning to take form already.
No. 3 – Jah Joyner, EDGE
It’s no secret that Minnesota football had one of the best defenses in the country last season. The Gophers ranked in the top five nationally in terms of total defense, allowing just 279 yards per game (3rd in CFB), and 17.3 points per game (7th in CFB).Although two of the team’s most reliable starters, Boye Mafe and Esezi Otemowo, have moved on to the NFL, they were responsible for 10 of the team’s 25 sacks on the year, and are expected to be taken early on in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Not only are two of the Golden Gophers’ Senior Bowl invitees departing from the program but they’re also leaving behind almost 1,000 open snaps. Meaning that there are now two glaring holes on both sides of the defensive line, and a massive opportunity for one of these young guys to step up.
While there is sure to be a ton of competition for playing time before the start of the regular season, there’s a very good chance that we see a brand new face enter into the fold.
NEXT: No. 3 - Vicious Edge Rusher
In comes Jah Joyner.
Thomas Rush finished last season second on the team in sacks with 5.5 and is likely to become the program’s leading pass rusher in 2022. Outside of that, it’s about as open as it gets, and even though Minnesota football did add Vanderbilt transfer Lorenza Surgers, and Clemson transfer Darnell Jefferies. Jah Joyner is the young up-and-comer who’s received the most praise and easily has the most potential to break out in 2022.
Despite playing in just four games as a true freshman in 2021, on a limited snap count nonetheless, Joyner proved to be one of the more athletic players on the field in Minnesota’s win over West Virginia in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl and even came away with his first career sack by the end of the game.
And from just watching his tape in high school, he clearly has no difficulty getting after the quarterback.
Joyner has serious potential to become a dangerous pass rusher in the Big Ten, and at 6’5″, 250-pounds, he easily has the size, length, and athleticism to take the game over at defensive end. He’s also the only Golden Gopher with a physical profile most similar to that of Mafe and Otemowo. Additionally, he won Spring Game MVP in 2021 and has garnered a ton of praise from coach Fleck since his arrival in 2020.
Coming out of high school, Joyner was a three-star recruit and the seventh-rated player in the state of Connecticut. While he may not have as much experience as others at the position, he’s certainly going to have the opportunity to prove himself in 2022, and he might just carry all the necessary intangibles to emerge as a day one starter.
NEXT: No. 2 - Deep Threat Receiver
No. 2 – Dylan Wright, WR
After playing in just five games in 2020 with Texas A&M, and three games the year before as a true freshman, Dylan Wright officially transferred over to P.J. Fleck’s squad in 2021, where he saw far more action straight out of the gate.Playing in 12 games, Wright finished with 365 receiving yards on just 18 catches along with two touchdowns and a team-high 20.3 yards per reception. Solidifying himself as one of the top deep threats in the Big Ten, and one of the most explosive young receivers in college football.
Before committing to Texas A&M in 2018, Wright was a top-100, four-star recruit, and an Under Armour All-American at West Mesquite High School in Texas. Ranking as the 12th wide receiver in his class, and the 11th overall prospect in the state of Texas, per 247Sports.
While his numbers from last year might not jump off the page compared to other elite Big Ten wide receivers, it was also his first full season experiencing legitimate playing time, with an entirely new program and offensive scheme, nevertheless.
So, with three more years of eligibility awaiting him in Minnesota, and a team in desperate need of more production at the receiver position, I expect his numbers to skyrocket in 2022.
Especially since he’s the only Golden Gopher on the roster that has the size, physicality, and elite jumping ability to dominate contested-catch scenarios and 50/50 balls. Just take a look at how he moss’d Ohio State defensive back, Lejond Cavazos, in Minnesota’s season opener last year.
With Minnesota football’s two leading ball carriers from 2021 now departing from the program, and the rest coming off major injuries, it feels rather safe to assume that the Golden Gophers will lean a little more on the passing game next season, especially if they want to improve on their abysmal 162.0 passing yards and 0.9 receiving touchdowns per game in 2021. Both of which rank outside of the top 100.
So, there’s a very realistic chance that Dylan Wright will see more targets in 2022 and could very well emerge as one of the best deep threats in CFB.
NEXT: No. 1 - Lockdown Corner
No. 1 – Justin Walley, CB
Outside of studs like Mafe, Otemowo, and Gibbens, Minnesota football is also losing their top defensive back from a year ago in Coney Durr. With the Baton Rouge native ending his final season in maroon and gold with 40 tackles, 5 pass breakups, 1.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery.However, slotting in directly behind Durr in terms of production last year was cornerback Justin Walley, who played in all 13 games, and started in the final six, finishing with 29 tackles, 7 pass breakups, one interception, 1 forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries. That was good enough to earn him the highest true freshman grade in college football with 76.7, per Pro Football Focus, and a True Freshman All-American via 247Sports.
Walley was also named the Big Ten Freshman Player of the Week following Minnesota football’s clutch performance against the Wisconsin Badgers to cap off the season.
So, Justin Walley feels like the player most poised for a breakout campaign in 2022 as he takes over Durr’s role as Minnesota football’s lockdown corner for the foreseeable future.
In high school, Walley was an SI All-American candidate, and Mr. Football in the state of Mississippi. Scouts described him as a lean and fluid player with incredible quickness, coordination, body control, and ball-tracking ability, all of which was on full display in 2021.
The Gophers still have one of the best safety duos in the Big Ten with Tyler Nubin and Jordan Howden. But they will need somebody to step up at cornerback if they hope to build off their 9-4 record from a season ago, and Justin Walley feels primed to take on this role coming off his sensational freshman season with Minnesota football.
Despite being just a three-star recruit in 2020, and the 13th-ranked prospect out of Mississippi, he’s easily become one of the best young defensive backs in the Big Ten, if not all of college football. Expect him to demolish the already high expectations those have set out for him in 2022.
