The Gophers continue to find ways to stay competitive in the NCAA transfer portal.
For a second straight postseason, the U has been able to retain the majority of its non-senior starters and future key contributors. So far, they have met Step One.
Then Minnesota has identified roster needs and areas for improvements — either departing seniors or underperforming positions — and addressed those areas with reinforcements in the portal. On paper, they have fulfilled Step Two.
The overall current transfer class is pegged at 13th in the nation and third in the Big Ten, according to 247Sports rankings. That loftier ranking comes, in part, to Minnesota’s higher volume of incoming players (15 total) compared to other programs. The U average rank of incoming players (86.93), pushes the class down a bit to 26th in the country and ninth in the 18-team conference.
Another recruiting site, On3, which factors in outgoing players into its overall grades puts Minnesota — which has nine outgoing players — at 14th in the nation.
Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said he “really likes” the transfer class thus far and repeated one of his favorite (almost NFL) philosophies: His job as a coach is to replace current players with better, younger versions, while it’s the players’ jobs is to keep their spots.
Fleck said he appreciates how his players don’t shirk from that ethos.
“I know that is not that way all over the country,” he said. “(Others) bring in somebody and somebody (else) takes that personal and they leave.”
The only significant defection going into Friday’s Duke’s Mayo Bowl has been offensive tackle Phillip Daniels — who played 300 offensive snaps as a redshirt freshman this season. The Cincinnati native has signed with Ohio State. As a potential multi-year cornerstone, Daniels’ exit stings and added to the the preexisting need to replace three outgoing senior offensive linemen starters.
But after Daniels left Dec. 16, the U has brought in three replacements. With the exits of the U’s top two receivers, they added three new ones, including former four-star recruit Malachi Coleman from Nebraska and Javon Tracy, an all-Mid American Conference player at Miami (Ohio).
While Darius Taylor returns at tailback, Marcus Major and others are gone and the U bought in three newcomers, headlined by A.J. Turner, who was No. 2 in the nation with 8.3 yards per carry at Marshall a season ago.
With QB Max Brosmer leaving, the U added Georgia Tech’s Zach Pyron to be competition for Drake Lindsey, a to-be redshirt freshman who coaches are high on for next fall.
“I think we do a really good job of evaluating what we need and using it as adding pieces to our offense,” offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh added on Saturday.
The U signed 11 offensive players so far, but has brought in only three defenders — two defensive linemen and a cornerback.
While the Gophers have offered a few linebackers in the portal, they have yet to add one. With the departure of Cody Lindenberg, an all-Big ten performer and the U’s leading tackler, the position appears to be the biggest remaining roster need.
“I’m very happy with the room that we have,” said Corey Hetherman, the U’s defensive coordinator and linebacker coach. “I think we have some really good players that contributed a lot this year. Some as starters (Maverick Baranowski and Devon Williams) and some as role players. … (But) we are always going to try to find a guy that is a good fit to get competition within every room on defense.”
The NCAA transfer portal technically closes Saturday, but that’s only for players to file paperwork. Players already in the portal can commit to schools after this weekend and players who are still participating in postseason play have five more days once their seasons end to enter the portal. Other shoes might still drop.
While another transfer portal window comes in April, and Fleck cautions to not fully assess the roster until June, the Gophers appear to have restocked in many key spots going into 2025.
Comings and goings
Position — Incoming player (previous school)
WR — Malachi Coleman (Nebraska)
RB — A.J. Turner (Marshall)
OL — Marcellus Marshall (Central Florida)
OL — Dylan Ray (Kentucky)
OL — Kahle Tafai (Washington)
DL — Steven Curtis (Illinois State)
WR — Javon Tracy (Miami of Ohio)
TE — Drew Biber (Purdue)
WR — Logan Loya (UCLA)
QB — Zach Pyron (Georgia Tech)
RB — Cole Cabana (Michigan)
CB — Jaylen Bowden (North Carolina Central)
DL — Rushawn Lawrence (Stony Brook)
RB — Cameron Davis (Washington)
K — Brady Denaburg (Syracuse)
Position — Outgoing player (new school)
OL — Phillip Daniels (Ohio State)
WR — Kristen Hoskins
LB — Tyler Stolsky (Florida Atlantic)
RB — Jordan Nubin (Kent State)
S — Craig McDonald
RB — Sieah Bangura
DL — Hayden Schwartz
DL — Luther McCoy
RB — Zander Rockow (St. Thomas)
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