PEORIA, Ariz. — Members of the Gophers coaching staff have been punching in GPS directions to an address on West Speckled Gecko Drive during recent recruiting trips to Arizona.
The destination is Liberty High School, the open division state champions in 2023 and 2024. The Lions’ suburban stadium is the same size as big schools in Minnesota, roughly 5,000 bleacher seats, but unlike up North, its natural-grass field is surrounded by rock, sand and desert flora. Maybe even a gecko from time to time.
The Gophers are staking a recruiting claim here in the Valley of the Sun — a “chilly” 50 degrees on Wednesday morning — optimistic that recruits can develop into valuable collegiate while incubating in actually cold Minneapolis.
Two Liberty players already are on board with the Gophers: offensive lineman Nick Spence is redshirting this year, and linebacker Hudson Dunn will be a true freshman next season.
Dunn also is one of three players from Arizona to sign with the Gophers’ 2026 class, along with offensive lineman Aaron Thomas of Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix and receiver Rico Blassingame from Tolleson Union High School in the smaller town west of the metro area.
Three recruits from Arizona is equal to the number of Minnesotans in the Gophers’ class for next year, and is second-most compared to four a piece from Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
The Gophers’ recruiting footprint has expanded westward in recent years, primarily into California. But even going back to 2018, Minnesota hit big in the Southwest. Las Vegas safety Jordan Howden is the best success story; the fifth-round NFL draft pick is finishing his third season with the New Orleans Saints.
Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck doesn’t assign recruiting areas to assistants, but leans into each coach’s connections.
“It’s not, ‘We have this guy coaching this position and he recruits that area,’ ” Fleck told the Pioneer Press this week. “There are so many coaches that have so many connections around the entire country. So, we are using those resources to bring in the best student-athletes that fit our program.”
Assistant offensive line coach James Bain, who played at Northern Arizona and Texas-El Paso, has been helping out in Arizona.
The Gophers have had mixed results here in previous years. Current sophomore long snapper Alan Soukup from Phoenix has been ultra-reliable over two seasons, but in the 2021 class, four-star nickel back Steven Ortiz, from Desert Edge High in Goodyear, didn’t pan out and transferred. In that same class was offensive lineman Saia Mapakaitolo from Red Mountain in Mesa, who wound up being a short-timer.
Tolleson head coach Richard Wellbrock has been coaching in Arizona for 30 years and has been impressed with the Gophers’ approach in the state.
“They’ve just done a phenomenal job of, again, in today’s day and age with the transfer portal and everything,” Wellbrock said. “It’s about relationships, and they really did a good job. Coach Fleck was on campus a couple times, and and you feel the energy and you feel that they’re going to develop (Blassingame) into being what him and his family want in him.”
The Gophers have some stiff competition here, with this year’s crop of players off to places such as Texas A&M, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Clemson, Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Stanford and Nebraska. That’s on top of players headed to in-state Arizona and Arizona State.
Liberty head coach Colin Thomas said the level of talent has “grown a lot” in his 11 years at the school.
“I think with the weather and stuff, the skill positions especially, and there’s a lot of quarterbacks, receiver-type players coming from the state in the last five, six years, more so than lineman,” Thomas said. “… I think it’s certainly on the uptick.”
The Gophers’ appearance in the Rate Bowl at Chase Field in Phoenix on Friday is a cherry on top and gives the new Arizona additions the ability to be around their new program this week.
“I was seeing the (bowl) predictions for the previous weeks, and it was looking like we’re there going,” Blassingame said. “So, I was I was super excited when it was official.”
Dunn and Spence
Liberty has worked to build a “true brotherhood” inside its program. That goal helped them reached a pinnacle with a pair of state championships for both Dunn and Spence. The Lions were state semifinalists in 2022 and 2025.
“We try to have a really good team culture here, and I think seeing a place like Minnesota kind of felt similar,” head coach Colin Thomas said. “A staff that is still going to care about you. It’s just now all about some of the glitz and glam in today’s college football. … I just think finding a place that seems similar to maybe some things that we do here is important for both those kids.”
Dunn was a nightmare pass rusher at Liberty, setting a school record with 36½ sacks, and that production came after the slighter, 6-foot-1, 210-pound player was high on other team’s scouting reports.
“One of, I think, the better linebackers we’ve ever signed,” Fleck said on Dec. 3. “Lot of blue-blood offers.”
Those schools reportedly included Michigan, Miami (Fla.), Oregon and Penn State among others, per 247Sports.
Spence, who is listed at 6-6 and 300 pounds, didn’t have as big a recruiting process as Dunn.
“Nick was a dominant player for us,” Colin Thomas said. “He’s really athletic for kid that size. He’s good in the pass game. I mean, obviously (in 2024) we ran the ball really well and ran behind him every chance we possibly could. Long arms, everything you’d want at that position.”
Offensive lineman Nick Spence of Liberty High School in Peoria, Ariz., jogs off the field in an undated courtesy photo. Spence joined the Minnesota Gophers football team in the 2025 recruiting class, which led to high school teammate, Hudson Dunn, joining in 2026. (Christine Andert / Picture Lady Photography)
Fleck sat down with Spence before traveling to Arizona for the bowl. “He’s coming along,” Fleck shared. “He’s going to be a really good player.”
Gophers linebacker coach Mariano Sori-Marin was a key recruiter of Dunn, as were offensive line coach Brian Callahan with Spence.
“They’re very professional about how they go about their business,” Collin Thomas said of the Gophers. “They stay in contact with the kid regularly and do it in a very good manner that you feel very good about sending kids from (that) program to play for a coach like Coach Fleck and their staff.”
Thomas
Thomas was committed to Ohio State from June until November, when the 6-7, 300-pound offensive tackle flipped to the Gophers.
“I just feel like Minnesota was really the place for me,” he told the Pioneer Press.
Minnesota also beat out Florida State, where Thomas’ father, Eric, played O-line and won a national championship in 1999 before stints in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“Gifted athlete,” Fleck said of Aaron, who also plays basketball. “… He’s got that winning blood running through his veins.”
Eric Thomas has worked to help his son, but tried to not sway his college decision.
“I’ve taken away a lot of knowledge from my dad, just from his experience playing offensive line,” Aaron said. “So, he’s giving tips and tricks on what to do. We work on footwork together, and we watched film together.
Offensive lineman Aaron Thomas of Phoenix poses for a photo with Minnesota Gophers offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh, left, and offensive line coach Brian Callahan in an undated photo. Thomas is one of three prospects from Arizona in the Gophers 2026 football recruiting class. (Courtesy of Aaron Thomas)
“He’s just really big on making your own path in life, and really, he’s really big on hard work.”
There is a comfort for Thomas knowing there are other Arizonans joining him at Minnesota.
“It’s cool to have some people that are from the same place that you’re from, and there’s some people there right now, like Nick Spence,” Thomas said.
Blassingame
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound receiver moved from Auburn, Wash., to Tolleson and stayed true to a once-underwhelming program.
“Everyone here in Arizona that has reached out to him, and as well as Bishop Gorman (a powerhouse program in Las Vegas) and the Trinity League over in California have tried to take him,” Wellbrock said.
Blassingame wanted to “not let my teammates down” and they put together a winning season last fall. The four-star prospect caught 178 passes for 2,284 yards and 20 touchdowns in his career.
“The commitment and loyalty is what we are looking at right now,” Fleck said. “Not to say people aren’t looking for great opportunities, but who is staying at a school for a long time? That matters to us.”
Receiver Rico Blassinggame of Tolleson, Ariz., poses for a photo with Minnesota Gophers head football coach P.J. Fleck in an undated photo. Blassingame is one of three prospects from Arizona in the Gophers 2026 football recruiting class. (Courtesy of Rico Blassingame)
Blassingame built a connection with U receivers coach Matt Simon and he committed to Minnesota over other finalists Arizona and California. He also helped bring players into the UMN class.
“With Hudson, we kind of built our relationship after we committed. We both (have) been some early commits for a long time,” Blassingame said. “Our parents as well have talked a lot and met up here in Arizona, so it’s good to have that connection.
“And then with Aaron Thomas, I’ve been trying to get him to commit (to Minnesota) since before he committed to Ohio State. I was on him early.”
Bowl games: Schedules, matchups, where to watch
Gophers football: Which young players are stepping up?
Gophers basking in warm sun before Rate Bowl in Phoenix
Gophers expected to promote C.J. Robbins to defensive line coach
College Football Playoff begins this weekend with first-round games
