LAS VEGAS — New Gophers starting quarterback Drake Lindsey has big shoes to fill this fall, and the 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman took some initial paces in a large pair of white and brown Louis Vuitton sneakers at Big Ten Media Days on Wednesday.
In a matching off-white summery suit, Lindsey looked comfortable, and the U will need him to mirror that confident ease on the field when the season starts against Buffalo on Aug. 28.
“A clean look … with a little flair to it,” a smiling Lindsey told the Pioneer Press about his fit inside the Mandalay Bay Resort.
Photographers and videographers film Minnesota Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey (5) during the team media day held at the Gibson/Nagurski complex in Minneapolis on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
Last fall, Lindsey’s jersey didn’t get dirty very much as he made short cameos in sixth-year senior Max Brosmer’s stead. He completed four of five passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, with a special package for Lindsey in the 24-10 win over Virginia Tech in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
Now Lindsey, who played in only five games, is finding his footing as a team leader.
In March, Lindsey invited a small group of teammates to work out in Atlanta, with noted quarterback trainer Quincy Avery (the same guy who has helped Brosmer). In May, Lindsey brought more than a dozen teammates to workout at Exos Sports Performance Training in coastal Pensacola, Fla.
“I think it’s huge getting in a different environment because you’re also together all day doing fun activities as well as training,” Lindsey said. “So you get to learn new things about each other, talk about different things. … New stories come up, talking about your beach times with your family, or beach times with your friends. You just learn a lot of things about your teammates.”
Lindsey has done other small-group outings, with star safety Koi Perich coming to Lindsey’s hometown in Fayetteville, Ark. in May. Then in June, Lindsey, top defensive end Anthony Smith and new backup QB Emmit Morehead flew to Southern California to watch Jake Paul beat Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., in a boxing match.
“It’s contagious to be around him,” Smith said Wednesday. “You are never not smiling around Drake. … That just goes along with how connected the team is: a defensive linemen with two quarterbacks? I don’t know if that makes sense if you say that out loud.”
Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck pointed to Lindsey’s biggest growth being in the leadership area.
“He has always been talented,” Fleck said. “He’s always had a big arm. He has always been able to shape the football really well. He’s a good processor. He’s really smart.
“Max was the alpha dominate leader on our football team last year,” Fleck continued. “I don’t think that is any question. When you lose that, sometimes that can get filled with trying to be the leader, acting like the leader. Drake was very meticulous in how he watched Max create that.”
But in the end, Lindsey must be himself. Otherwise, his leadership would be inauthentic.
“After the bowl game, it was my show to take over,” Lindsey said of Brosmer’s final game in Charlotte. “At first, you try to attempt to talk like Max, kind of act like Max because that’s what I saw, and that’s what I looked up to for a year. And then as I go about spring ball and go about different things, you start earning your own respect.”
While Brosmer is more introverted, Lindsey has let his extroverted ways come to the surface. Leading by example is a shared trait between the two QBs.
“(Lindsey) is the first one in the building most of the time,” transfer offensive lineman Marcellus Marshall said July 16. “When most guys are at home relaxing, he is watching film. He is taking the little steps necessary to be able to be successful in that role.”
So much of a team’s success rides on the ups and downs of the QB, but Fleck is trying to take some of that load of Lindsey’s shoulders. Fleck pointed to this year’s perceived depth of playmakers at receiver, running back and tight end, along with an athletic offensive line.
“This year has to be the surrounding cast,” Fleck said. “Drake is part of it, but we are talking about the surrounding cast this year of really elevating the game. Where I felt last year was about Max Brosmer.”
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