The Gopher football program’s recruit in the Oklahoma Sooners’ backyard has left the U’s 2026 recruiting class.

Offensive tackle Daniel McMorris of Norman, Okla., backed off his pledge to Minnesota on Monday, he said on X.

“After long talks with my family and God, I’m ready to announce that I will be de-committing from The University of Minnesota,” McMorris wrote. “I would like to personally thank Coach (Brian) Callahan and Coach (P.J.) Fleck for giving me the opportunity to be a Gopher and thank the whole Minnesota staff who recruited me through this process. I’m excited for what’s next. Let everything fall into God’s hands.”

The 3-star prospect will visit the Sooners campus this weekend and then Texas Tech in mid-September, per 247Sports.

Listed at 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, McMorris pledged to Minnesota on June 1, but then reportedly went on visits to Tulsa, Iowa State and Kansas State. He has offers from more than 20 programs.

The Gophers now have 23 commits for next year’s class.

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Koi Perich’s offensive role against Buffalo was a soft opening.

The Gophers standout played only seven snaps in the season-opening 23-10 win Thursday at Huntington Bank Stadium. On the second offensive play of the game, he caught a 12-yard out route along the sideline. That was the peak.

It was his only target of the game. On the second series, he lined up in a wildcat formation alongside tailback Darius Taylor, who kept the snap for a short gain.

“Offensively, we had a plan to play him more if we needed to,” head coach P.J. Fleck told the Pioneer Press on Monday.

The 17-point favorite Gophers led the Mid-American Conference opponent all game and pulled away with a one-sided, 10-point fourth quarter.

On defense, Perich played all 44 snaps, contributing two tackles.

KFAN sideline reporter Justin Gaard observed during the game that Perich “was itching” to contribute more, especially in the return game.

Buffalo had seven punts, but Perich was able to return only one, which he took back 18 yards.

Fleck previously said Perich’s contributions on offense will not be a gimmick this season, so fans can expect more snaps and touches in bigger games later on this season.

Catalyst?

Compared to Buffalo, the Gophers will be an even bigger betting favorite against Northwestern (La.) State at 11 a.m. Saturday in Minneapolis.

The Demons snapped a 20-game losing streak — the longest in FCS — with a 20-10 win over Alcorn State on Thursday. The skid started in November 2022.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team and a campus and a city as in need of a win as this football team, this university and Natchitoches did,” Northwestern State coach Blaine McCorkle said in the Vicksburg Post. “It allows everybody to take a sigh of relief and lets people know that this football program, this city and this campus loves so much is alive and well, and we’re going to be A-OK. A new day’s coming.”

Fleck compared Northwestern State’s win to what the Gophers did in snapping a 14-game losing streak to Wisconsin in 2018. “Those are program-defining wins that can really jumpstart a whole program,” he said.

“Horrible call”

Fleck doesn’t entertain hindsight very often, but was willing to do so Monday over the tush push play call in the first quarter on Thursday.

“That was a horrible call,” Fleck lamented. “That was bad. … When you are sitting there as a head coach saying, ‘I think I should call a timeout here. I really should call a timeout here.’ Ugh. Idiot.”

It was listed as fourth and inches, but it was more than a yard and 1/2, Fleck estimated.

“We call the tush push and we have 15 different ways to do it,” he said. “I’m not out on the tush push because of one play. That particular play, I didn’t like it.”

Instead of quarterback Drake Lindsey, tight end Jameson Geers lined up under center and was tackled for no gain by Bulls outstanding linebacker Red Murdock.

Driver’s status

Receiver Christian Driver remains with the Gophers football team, but he was sidelined during fall camp and the season opener.

“He’s dealing with some personal issues,” Fleck told the Pioneer Press, wanting to keep specifics private. “But we’re supporting him 100% and glad to have him on the team.”

It’s unclear if Driver will return to the field this season. The son of former Packers wide receiver Donald Driver, he had seven receptions for 49 yards and one touchdown in 11 games last season.

Closing statement

Nebraska tailback Emmett Johnson attended Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield and wanted to call attention to the mass shooting in Minneapolis last week. After rushing for a game-high 108 yards in the 20-17 win over Cincinnati on Thursday, Johnson called for prayers for the families affected in the tragedy when he was done with a press conference.

“It was right by my high school back home,” he told reporters in Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. “I had it written on my wrist during the game.”

Briefly

Last year, the Gophers missed 22 tackles in season-opening loss to North Carolina. Fleck credited new defensive coordinator Danny Collins’ practice work on the fundamental for Minnesota not being docked even one missed tackle against Buffalo. Not having to tackle Omarion Hampton makes that easier; the former Tar Heels tailback was a first-round NFL draft pick by the Chargers last April. … The same five offensive lineman played all 80 snaps together on Thursday, with Fleck adding: “hopefully (we’ll) play even more people on the offensive line as we keep moving forward.” … Top in-state true freshman Emmanuel Karmo of Robbinsdale Cooper was on the opening kickoff coverage team Thursday, just like Perich was against the Tar Heels last year.

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There are more concerts than ever at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which means there are more fans than ever. However, the world-famous Morrison venue’s relatively modest capacity of 9,525 means there’s also a fixed amount of people and parking per show, which means predictable logistics despite fickle weather.

Here are some tips for getting the most out of your concert visit to Red Rocks.

Getting there early

On-site parking lots open two hours before show time, and staffers will direct motorists to any open spaces. They’re free and first-come first-served, but once they’re full you’ll have to park along the road. While driving, take care to avoid motorists (not all of them sober) walking along the roads, especially after shows and in the dark.

The Upper South lot is accessible to wheelchairs, with a recently added drop-off circle above the venue and limited accessible parking by the Trading Post outside the venue. The majority of spots are located in four other public lots surrounding the venue, with charging stations below Lower South Lot 2 (four of them so far). See redrocksonline.com for a detailed lot map.

Expect slow-moving lines until you reach the exit, and go to the bathroom beforehand. Carpool or rideshare if you can, since you can skip the post-show gridlock by waiting for a ride at the Jurassic Lot near Entrance 2. And don’t leave your car overnight, as it will get ticketed or towed.

The walk and the weather

Getting into Red Rocks means climbing lots of stairs, regardless of how you enter, so wear comfortable, close-toed walking shoes that can withstand water, mud and dust. It’s also an outdoor venue in the Colorado foothills, which means fast-changing conditions any time of year. Occasionally, a flash weather event will result in injuries, such as 2023’s hail-racked Louis Tomlinson show.

Park employees will warn concertgoers of incoming threats, but the city of Denver (the venue’s owner) has also made it clear that risks are assumed at any outdoor show, so be aware of your closest exits and cover.

However, tree cover and indoor spaces are scant, so bring rain gear depending on the forecast and, if you really want to cover your bases, portable seats or other stiff coverings that can act as protection from damaging hail. The city’s recommendation is that you head for your car and wait it out if it’s really bad. Wind whips both the sound waves and temperatures around, so bring a blanket even if it’s not forecast to rain or hail.

Getting inside

Lines into the venue move slowly, but you can help speed them by remembering a few basics: bags must fit under your seat and have only one pocket. Non-alcoholic drinks up to 32 ounces can be brought in if they’re sealed, and empty water bottles and six packed-sized coolers are allowed.

Food must be pre-cut and in clear plastic bags, and only plastic utensils are allowed. No glass or aluminum, no animals, and for the love of nature, no glitter (which is actually mentioned on the Prohibited Items list). Promoter AEG Presents books most of the concerts there with its AXS ticketing system, so you can use a digital AXS Mobile Delivery service to get in with an AXS Mobile ID.

Steve and Lee Joyce tailgate before a Sheryl Crow concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)

Tailgating, food and drink

Party with care in the foothills and high country because the altitude is thinner than in Denver, and dehydration and sunburn are constant threats — especially for sea-level visitors. That also means pacing yourself if you dive into the famous parking-lot scene in Lower South Lot 1 (a.k.a. Shakedown Street), as you’ll have a long night ahead of you.

Once inside, there are food, drink, beer and other adult-beverage options at the top and bottom of the seating area, as well as concession stands along the stairs on either side. However, they are not cheap. In addition to the Ship Rock Grille and Row 71 Bar (both above the venue), there are local restaurants such as Anthony’s Pizza & Pasta, Machete Tequila + Tacos, Rolling Smoke BBQ and Birdcall scattered throughout the venue. There are also roaming vendors (a la Coors Field baseball games), with beer and other drinks.

Bathrooms are at the top and bottom of the amphitheater. The lines can snake out the door on some nights, so prepare to wait 20-25 minutes or more. That said, the bathrooms at the bottom are always the most crowded, and the hike up to the Visitor’s Center tends to weed out a lot of competition. The Visitor Center bathrooms were also recently upgraded, so they’re your best bet.

As a young Taiwanese girl living in the Inland Empire, former singer and import model-turned-writer Kaila Yu said she often felt “uncomfortable” in her skin, growing up around Eurocentric beauty standards.

“I felt like my features weren’t desirable,” Yu said of her childhood. “I felt very insecure about all of that.”

The now 46-year-old  L.A.-based author explores themes of sexuality and race in her debut memoir, “Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty,” — out everywhere books are sold.

The candid memoir-in-essays format explores Yu’s upbringing in the 1990s and early 2000s, blending “vulnerable stories from her life with incisive cultural critique and history,” according to the synopsis. “Fetishized” explores Yu’s complex, intimate feelings around representation and objectifying stereotypes, while looking at how the media and colonialism have played a part in the “oversexualization of Asian women.”

“Growing up, Asians were so invisible, objectification was better than nothing,” Yu writes in the book, which the New York Times called “raw and lyrical.”

Born to Taiwanese immigrant parents, Yu grew up in Upland, attended Upland High School, and later earned a bachelor’s degree in Asian American studies from UCLA.

With the rise in anti-Asian hate amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the March 2021 spa shootings in Atlanta that killed eight people, including six Asian women, Yu said she was inspired to begin writing her book. What happened at the spa stood out to her as a prime example of how the “fetishization of Asian women leads to real-life violence on Asian women,” she said.

Yu’s new book unpacks her career working as a former import car model and lead singer of the pop rock band Nylon Pink until 2015. She opens up about wearing scantily clad outfits, writing hypersexual lyrics that were “more performance,” she said, than reflective of her true self.

Following a “desire to be seen as beautiful,” Yu felt she played into stereotypes associated with Asian women through different moments in her career — hoping to prove to both herself and others that she’s “worthy of love.” The author said she grappled with impossible beauty standards which led her to alter her body through different procedures — including a double eyelid surgery and plastic surgery — after years of feeling “othered.”

Throughout her memoir, Yu reflects on the trauma of losing her sense of self “in pursuit of the image she thought the world wanted… reckoning with being an object of Asian fetish,” she writes. Battling a drug addiction, feeling misrepresented and “dehumanized” in the acting/modeling industry, and seeking to be desirable to “the White male gaze,” she said she often felt empty.

Yu’s book explores issues of racism and fetishization, unpacking the harmful impact of “yellow fever” — a problematic term describing a typically sexual Asian fetish — which scholar Robin Zheng defines as a primary “preference for Asian women (and men).”

The name, which derives from the mosquito-borne disease, emphasizes the phrase’s derogatory nature, Yu said. It has roots in outdated “orientalist” beliefs that Asian women are also “somehow more docile,” while also seen as “exotic, highly sexual beings.”

“Like mosquitoes, fetishists suck the humanity out of Asian women, turning them into 2D sex objects,” Yu writes.

“Fetishized” also explores problematic Asian female representation in media, which Yu said includes “hypersexualized” models or actress portrayals. She cites examples like pin-up model Sung-Hi Lee, the book-turned-film “Memoirs of a Geisha,” or different music videos or films portraying violence or sex. Providing an honest critique, Yu’s memoir looks at moments in culture that, she said, “reduced (Asian women) to bodies and menu items… as subservient props.”

She said all of this reinforced harmful stereotypes about Asian women and sexuality, which many — herself included — felt they needed to follow in their appearances and careers.

Asian women are often “not celebrated for our strength, humanity, and intelligence,” Yu writes in the book. Because of fetishization, they are instead “reduced to a fantasy fitting a male-dominance narrative.”

Now, Yu finds hope that diverse Asian representation in media has grown tremendously — and with more positive portrayals — from before.

But with Asian lead roles still significantly underrepresented, Yu said more work needs to be done.

As an author, luxury travel and culture journalist, Yu has since written about other harms toward Asian communities, among other things. Her writing on entertainment, travel and lifestyle has been featured in the Los Angeles Times, National Geographic and Rolling Stone.

Yu hopes that “Fetishized” adds to the complex, nuanced conversations about her community.

Yu’s debut memoir, “Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty,” can be found everywhere books are sold. More information and future events are shared on her social media, @kailayu.

Staff writer Allyson Vergara contributed to this report.