Luke Dehnicke has lost count.
Coming out of Andover High School in the 2024 recruiting class, the then-6-foot-3, 205-pound receiver/cornerback knew the number, and it was “only four,” meaning his total offer list to play college football: Minnesota Duluth, Sioux Falls, Colorado School of Mines and St. Thomas.
Dehnicke picked UMD, grew to 6-5 and built himself up to 240 pounds. He switched to tight end and as a redshirt freshman last fall became a dangerous downfield threat for the Division II Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) champions.
Wanting to fulfill a dream of playing Division I football, he announced he was entering the NCAA transfer portal last week. That’s when a gaggle of interested schools quickly added up.
“I’m not totally sure the exact number I have,” Dehnicke told the Pioneer Press on Monday. “I’ve been talking to the Gophers a great amount, Vanderbilt, Houston a lot, the Badgers. Duke just offered, and Kansas. Those are some cool schools. It’s just been a big jumble.”
That group also includes Northwestern, Arizona and Wake Forest.
“It’s been a crazy past week, just a lot of time on the phone,” said Dehnicke, who is juggling finals week with recruiting calls. “I didn’t really expect all this, but it’s been really cool so far.”
After zero catches in three games as a true freshman in 2024, Dehnicke had 61 receptions for 1,119 yards (18.3 yards per grab) and 14 touchdowns in 12 games last fall.
“Absolutely blew up,” UMD coach Curt Wiese told the Pioneer Press.
The Bulldogs have had two tight ends (and two offensive linemen) achieve undrafted free agent stints in the NFL over the last few years: Sam Pitz of Appleton, Wis., with the Ravens earlier this year, and Zach Ojile with the Vikings in 2023.
“(Dehnicke is) super talented after the catch, maybe the best catch radius of any guy we’ve had here,” Wiese said. “And I’ve been here 18 seasons. He just has a natural ability to get himself open and go get the football. Then he has the athleticism and strength after the catch to gain lot of yards.”
Dehnicke, a projected DII All-American, is more natural as an off-ball tight end (in the slot, split out or on the wing) and must improve his run blocking to make a successful transition to the DI level.
UMD’s recruitment of Dehnicke had fallen off during his senior season at Andover two years ago because Wiese thought Dehnicke was going to be a Gopher.
Dehnicke’s father, Drew, played linebacker at Coon Rapids High School and was part of Gophers head coach Glen Mason’s first recruiting class in 1997. Drew moved to defensive line at Minnesota and didn’t play much, but he enjoyed his four-year experience, which included two bowl trips.
The Gophers showed some recruiting interest in Luke coming out of high school, inviting the family to the Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe home game against Wisconsin to close out the 2023 season.
“There was possible talk of (him becoming) a preferred walk-on,” Drew Dehnicke said. “Luke would have definitely gone as a preferred walk-on, but it just didn’t pan out. So, he ended up choosing Duluth.”
Luke grew up a Gophers fan, so “obviously you’re just a little disappointed,” he said. “But at the end of the day, there’s always a place that you’re going to fit in at.”
Luke now calls himself a “late bloomer” who benefitted from the UMD strength-and-conditioning program, the coaching of Wiese and offensive coordinator Chase Vogler and becoming standout quarterback Kyle Walljasper’s top target.
“We wish him the best of luck,” Wiese said. “He handled everything the right way. There’s a couple different ways to go on the transfer portal. As a kid, Luke didn’t want to leave UMD. He knew it was probably in his best interest to do so at this point in his career. And we wish him the best of luck, and so do his teammates.”
Drew said Luke’s timeline to play DI progressed sooner at UMD than originally anticipated. During his breakout season last fall, people would ask about whether Luke was going in the portal “all the time,” Drew said.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, Luke decided to take the plunge into the portal, but didn’t know what level of interest there would be. The response from programs in the Power Four conferences was “reassuring for him,” Drew said.
Few small-school players in Minnesota make the jump from DIII or DII up to DI. Two of the best recent examples are Bethel safety Matt Jung of Neenah, Wis., going to Wisconsin last year and Sioux Falls defensive end Zach Durfee of Dawson, Minn., transferring to Washington in 2023.
“We haven’t had a lot of guys try to transfer up, and part of that is the market for the transfer portal is absolutely flooded,” Wiese said. “Unless you’re a guy like Luke, (who) garners a lot of attention before getting into the portal, odds are when you get in, you’re not going anywhere. Time and time again. There’s a lot of cases to prove that.”
Drew Dehnicke, who runs a financial management company in St. Paul, believes this is an ideal example of how the transfer portal should work.
“A kid that’s such a late, late bloomer — he just physically wasn’t ready or wasn’t good enough for that level,’ Drew said. “But this does give players an opportunity, if you continue to grow and mature … In the past, he wouldn’t have had that opportunity without having to sit out a year or two. I think this is where the portal works and not, ‘I’m going to the highest bidder’ — (which is what) it sounds like or seems like what’s going on with it.”
The transfer portal officially opens Jan. 2 and closes Jan. 16, and the Dehnickes plan to visit a few schools in that window before making a commitment. Luke will enroll at his next school by the end of January and have three years of eligibility remaining.
A high school honors student and chemical engineering major at UMD, Dehnicke is looking for a few attributes in his next school.
“Mostly just a close-knit group, a brotherhood within the team and the position group,” Luke said. “Also, a good academic school. Then lastly, just a team that utilizes tight ends and I’ll be able to get on the field and play.”
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