The Gophers’ defensive line room is in flux.
Head coach P.J. Fleck fired D-line coach Dennis Dottin-Carter on Friday after one year in the role; incoming transfer players at the position disappointed overall in 2025; and the depth chart for 2026 is on the verge of an overhaul.
“Coach Dott is a tremendous football coach and is a really good person,” Fleck said in a conference call for Minnesota playing in the Rate Bowl against New Mexico on Dec. 26. “Just felt like we needed to make change at that position right now in leadership. Those are really difficult decisions to make.
“He has done a tremendous job with our guys in life lessons, but I just felt like it was time to move in a different direction there. … As we continue to move in the future, we are going to look for the best leader of that room.”
While that answer lacked specifics, Fleck is again looking of another D-line coach. The Gophers’ next D-line coach will be Fleck’s eighth across his 10 years at Minnesota. While circumstances vary, that is a lot of turnover at one position.
For bowl prep, the Gophers will turn to rush ends coach C.J. Robbins and nickels/outside linebackers coach Kevin Kane to contribute coaching to the D-Line.
As for the roster, the Gophers starting defensive tackles Devin Eastern and Jalen Logan-Redding will run out of eligibility after the Rate Bowl. And star end Anthony Smith, who was named all-Big Ten first team last week, has not yet made a decision on whether he will return to college for his redshirt senior season or head to the NFL draft.
Last winter, the Gophers brought in three D-Line transfers transfers, but only backup interior linemen Rushawn Lawrence from Stony Brook played significant snaps. Tackle Mo Omonode (Purdue) suffered a season-ending injury in preseason and edge Stephen Curtis (Illinois State) did not see the field.
The Gophers tried to bring in Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College interior D-lineman KJ Henson during the early signing period last week, but he backed out of his commitment and signed with West Virginia.
On top of a new position coach, the Gophers will need to register a higher success rate with its next batch of incoming players via the portal.
Opt-outs?
Fleck did not disclose how many players might sit out the bowl game. “You expect it to be a little unpredictable,” he said. “But we’ll have a really good team ready to go come December 26th, that’s for sure.”
Eastern and Smith are two key players who might decline to play.
New Mexico coach Jason Eck shared Sunday that three back-up players were opting out of the bowl game.
That’s Mr. Football
Gophers signee Roman Voss of Jackson County Central was named Minnesota’s Mr. Football on Sunday.
Voss, a four-star recruit who will play tight end at the U next year, put up more than 10,000 yards of offense, primarily at quarterback, for the Class 2A school in the southwest corner of the state.
The other finalists were Gophers signee Howie Johnson (Forest Lake); Izaak Johnson (Cretin-Derham Hall); Caleb Francois (Minnetonka); Owen Linder (Chanhassen); James Engle (Maple Grove); Micah Bush (Hills-Beaver Creek); Carson Heimer (Byron); Logan Lachermeier (Minneapolis North) and Deron Russell (Waseca).
The Gophers have had four other Mr. Football winners in the last 15 years: 2011, quarterback Philip Nelson (Mankato West); 2013, running back Jeff Jones (Minneapolis Washburn); 2018, running back Jason Williamson (Owatonna); and 2022, defensive back Cade Osterman (Elk River).
Related Articles
Gophers football: New Mexico will be a challenge in the Rate Bowl
Gophers volleyball sweeps Iowa State in NCAAs to move into Sweet 16
River Falls rolls past St. John’s into Division III football quarterfinals
Gophers volleyball: Minnesota sprints to second round of NCAA Tournament
St. Thomas volleyball: Tommies fall in a first-round thriller
Leave a Reply