The Gophers are turning Koi Perich into a two-way — heck, a three-way — player, and they are stitching it all together this spring.

Let’s start with the true sophomore’s practice jersey, which is half maroon (like all defensive players wear) and half white (like the offensive guys). The Esko native’s No. 3 is split vertically down the middle.

Next have been the brief glimpses of the U safety taking an offensive snap here and there during two open-to-media practices over the last two weeks; the Gophers don’t dig deep into its playbook during these sessions, but they have been cool with showing that.

“He’s too good of a football player not to be on the field somehow, someway, throughout the entire game, not just on one side,” head coach P.J. Fleck said Tuesday. “I think (offensive coordinator Greg) Harbaugh has done a really good job of giving him what he can handle, but whatever we give him, we want him to be really good at.”

As a true freshman, Perich primarily played safety, returned punts and kickoffs and cameo’d on offense, but didn’t record a carry or a catch. That will change in 2025.

“This isn’t just a gadget thing,” Fleck clarified. “We’re not looking at him to be a gadget. He’s going to be an athlete on this football team and make plays on every side of the ball, plus the return game. He’s done a really good job of handling all of it.”

The practice jersey is an indication of their commitment. It spawned from quarterback Drake Lindsey saying it was hard to see Perich when he was running routes over the middle of the field. P.J. Fleck came up with the idea, Perich said, and equipment manager Brady Gagnon made it happen.

Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy playing both cornerback and wide receiver at Colorado last season. At this point, it’s way too much to compare Perich to Hunter, a projected top NFL draft pick later this month, but the game-changing ability resides in Perich.

Perich’s five interceptions last season was tied for fourth in the nation; two of them sealed wins against Southern California and UCLA. It led to him being named all-Big Ten first team. On special teams, he averaged 9.4 yards per punt return, including a 60-yarder in the comeback attempt at Michigan, and put up 19.6 yards per kickoff return.

“It means a lot,” Perich said about also playing on offense. “But that obviously comes with more work. Every opportunity is not given, it’s earned. So with that, you just gotta keep putting in more work and more work. That’s what comes with it.”

Perich’s offensive role this spring has been catching a periodic pass in the two open practices; one spotted in each session. How much and where offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh will use Perich will start to be reveled in season opener against Buffalo on Aug. 28 — or more likely at California on Sept. 13 and the Big Ten opener versus Rutgers on Sept. 27.

Harbaugh, of course, wasn’t willing to detail what Perich’s offensive role will be. “He’s a pretty good player, so I will work with him,” he deadpanned.

For Perich in 2025, it isn’t just the grandiose idea of playing everywhere, it’s the granular details in being a safety. Fleck said a point of emphasis for Perich will be a higher attention within fundamentals.

“I think when you play as a true freshman, you’re kind of thrown in the fire and you’re just making plays and you’re running around,” Fleck said in March at the start of spring practices. “Yes, you’re within the scheme. Yes, you’re doing your assignment. You’re doing it right, but are you doing it as efficiently as you possibly can?”

Perich, who is listed at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, has his own list of things he wants to improve: his man-to-man coverage skills and working on his releases from the line of scrimmage as a wide receiver.

On Tuesday, Fleck noticed how Perich could improve his positioning and hand placement when taking on blocks and popped over to tell him how he should improve it. These finer points can be more easily addressed in spring practices, something Perich didn’t do as he finished up his senior year in northeastern Minnesota a year ago.

“Isn’t that hard to believe: the kid got here in June?” Fleck said.

On top of defense and special teams at Esko, Perich played running back and reciever. “You just develop those ball skills,” he said. “And I think those carry over for anything you’re doing.”

And his role also appears to be growing on defense, with new defensive coordinator Danny Collins putting Perich in at nickel back.

“I just try to come in and put in more work each day and hopefully everybody can see that,” Perich said about becoming a team leader. “And they can build off what I’m doing, either if it’s in the weight room or on the field, and just work off my energy. That’s what I try to do each and every day.”

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By ELAINE KURTENBACH, Associated Press Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — World shares slumped on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff hikes took effect and he threatened to add still more.

Uncertainty is running high about what Trump will do next in his trade war. In a speech Tuesday night he said plans tariffs on pharmaceuticals so that more medications would be made in the U.S.

European markets extended their losses. Germany’s DAX slipped 2.5% to 19,762.13. In Paris, the CAC 40 declined 2.6% to 6,917.13. Britain’s FTSE 100 gave up 2.6% to 7,704.82.

 

Although Trump’s latest tariffs include a massive 104% levy on U.S. imports of Chinese products, markets in China reversed early losses, gaining ground on Wednesday.

Massive share buybacks by big state-run investment funds and other state companies that often are instructed to support the market in times of crisis helped boost stock prices. Investors also are expecting the government to step up spending and other measures to help counter the impact of the tariffs, which will hit hardest the small manufacturers and traders that create the most jobs.

Beijing issued a policy paper Wednesday reiterating China’s right to protect its businesses with unspecified countermeasures, while it emphasized it preferred to resolve trade issues through dialogue.

The paper also argued that taking into account trade in services and U.S. companies’ operations in China, economic exchange between the two countries is “roughly in balance.”

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.7%, while the Shanghai Composite index closed 1.3% higher.

Thailand’s benchmark also rose, apparently due to speculation that Beijing might be preparing to hold talks with the Trump administration. The unconfirmed rumors helped push the future for the S&P 500 up 0.3%, while that for the Dow was unchanged.

Elsewhere, markets remained gloomy. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 3.9% lower, at 31,714.03 and Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba convened a meeting of top financial ministers to reiterate his call for them to do what they can to mitigate the damage from tariffs to Japanese automakers and other manufacturers.

Taiwan led the losses in Asia, as its Taiex plunged 5.8%. Big tech industries were among the biggest decliners. Computer chip giant TSMC Corp. dropped 3.8% while iPhone maker Hon Hai Precision Industry plunged 10%.

In India, the Sensex declined 0.5% as the central bank cut its benchmark interest rate, while Bangkok’s SET shed 0.8%.

South Korea’s Kospi lost 1.7% to 2,293.70, and the government said it would provide help for its beleaguered automakers. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia declined 1.8% to 7,375.00. Shares in New Zealand also fell.

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On Tuesday, the S&P 500 dropped 1.6% after wiping out an early gain of 4.1%. That took it nearly 19% below its record set in February. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8%, while the Nasdaq composite lost 2.1%.

Stocks had rallied globally on Tuesday, with indexes up 6% in Tokyo, 2.5% in Paris and 1.6% in Shanghai. Any optimism or buying enthusiasm appeared to have dissipated by the time the sharply higher tariffs became reality.

Analysts say the markets will have more swings up and down given uncertainty over how long Trump will keep the stiff tariffs on imports, which will raise prices for U.S. shoppers and slow the economy. If they persist, economists and investors expect them to cause a recession. If Trump lowers them through negotiations relatively quickly, the worst-case scenario might be avoided.

Hope still remains on Wall Street that negotiations may be possible, which helped drive the morning’s rally. Trump said Tuesday that a conversation with South Korea’s acting president helped them reach the “confines and probability of a great DEAL for both countries.”

Trump’s trade war is an attack on the globalization that’s shaped the world’s economy and helped bring down prices for products on store shelves but also caused manufacturing jobs to leave for other countries. Trump has said he wants to narrow trade deficits, which measure how much more the United States imports from other countries than it sends to them as exports.

In other dealings early Wednesday, U.S. benchmark crude oil fell $2.43 to $57.15 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, shed $2.47 to $60.35 per barrel.

The U.S. dollar fell to 145.22 Japanese yen from 146.29 yen. The euro rose to $1.1036 from $1.0995.

The price of gold rose $72 to $3,062 an ounce.

By HUIZHONG WU, Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP) — China again vowed to “fight to the end” Wednesday in an escalating trade war with the U.S. as it announced it would raise tariffs on American goods to 84% from Thursday.

Beijing also added an array of countermeasures after U.S. President Donald Trump raised the total tariff on imports from China to 104%. Beijing said it was launching an additional suit against the U.S. at the World Trade Organization and placed further restrictions on American companies’ trade with Chinese companies.

“If the U.S. insists on further escalating its economic and trade restrictions, China has the firm will and abundant means to take necessary countermeasures and fight to the end,” the Ministry of Commerce wrote in a statement introducing its white paper on trade with the U.S.

The government declined to say whether it would negotiate with the White House, as many other countries have started doing.

On Friday, China announced a 34% tariff on all goods imported from the U.S, export controls on rare earths minerals, and a slew of other measures in response to Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs. Trump then added an additional 50% tariff on goods from China, saying negotiations with them were terminated.

Wednesday’s newest measures include adding 11 American companies to a so-called “unreliable entities” list that would bar Chinese companies from selling them dual-use goods. Among the companies are American Photonics, and SYNEXXUS, both of whom work with the American military.

So far, China has not appeared interested in bargaining. “If the U.S. truly wants to resolve issues through dialogue and negotiation, it should adopt an attitude of equality, respect and mutual benefit,” said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian Wednesday.

The paper says that the U.S. has not honored the promises it made in the phase 1 trade deal concluded during Trump’s first term. As an example, it said that a U.S. law that would ban TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company violates a promise that neither would “pressure the other party to transfer technology to its own individuals.”

Trump signed an order to keep TikTok running for another 75 days last week after a potential deal to sell the app to American owners was put on ice. ByteDance representatives called the White House to indicate that China would no longer approve the deal until there could be negotiations about trade and tariffs.

The paper also argued that taking into account trade in services and U.S. companies’ domestic Chinese branches, economic exchange between the two countries is “roughly in balance.”

It says that China had a trade in services deficit with the U.S. of $26.57 billion in 2023, which is composed of industries like insurance, banking and accounting. Trump’s tariffs were designed to close trade deficits with foreign countries, but those were calculated only based on trades in physical, tangible goods.

“History and facts have proven that the United States’ increase in tariffs will not solve its own problems,” said the statement from the Chinese commerce ministry. “Instead, it will trigger sharp fluctuations in financial markets, push up U.S. inflation pressure, weaken the U.S. industrial base and increase the risk of a U.S. economic recession, which will ultimately only backfire on itself.

AP researcher Yu Bing and producer Liu Zheng contributed to this report from Beijing.

Today is Wednesday, April 9, the 99th day of 2025. There are 266 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On April 9, 1865, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia after four years of Civil War in the United States.

Also on this date:

In 1939, Marian Anderson performed a concert at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., after the Black singer was denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

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In 1940, during World War II, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway.

In 1942, during World War II, some 75,000 Philippine and American soldiers surrendered to Japanese troops, ending the Battle of Bataan in the Philippines. The prisoners of war were subsequently forced to march 65 miles (105 kilometers) to POW camps in what is now known as the Bataan Death March; thousands died or were killed en route.

In 1959, NASA introduced the “Mercury Seven,” its first seven astronauts: Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald “Deke” Slayton.

In 1968, funerals, private and public, were held for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Ebenezer Baptist Church and Morehouse College in Atlanta, five days after the civil rights leader was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 2003, Baghdad fell to American troops during the Iraq War after six days of fighting.

In 2005, Britain’s Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, who took the title Duchess of Cornwall.

In 2018, federal agents raided the office of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, seizing records on matters including a $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Today’s Birthdays:

Satirist-musician Tom Lehrer is 97.
Actor Michael Learned is 86.
Drummer Steve Gadd is 80.
Actor Dennis Quaid is 71.
Fashion designer Marc Jacobs is 62.
Model-actor Paulina Porizkova is 60.
Actor Cynthia Nixon is 59.
Actor Keshia Knight Pulliam is 46.
Actor Jay Baruchel is 43.
Actor Leighton Meester is 39.
Singer-songwriter Jazmine Sullivan is 38.
Actor Kristen Stewart is 35.
Actor Elle Fanning is 27.
Rapper Lil Nas X is 26.
Actor Isaac Hempstead Wright is 26.
Singer Jackie Evancho (ee-VAYN’-koh) is 24.