Assessing the Gophers’ 2026 football roster, post-portal

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The whirlwind transfer portal season of 2026 has all but wrapped up, and the Minnesota Golden Gophers brought in quite the haul, signing 19 new student-athletes. Now that the dust has settled a bit, let’s see how each position group looks as we prepare to enter another long offseason.

Quarterback

Leaving: Emmett Morehead (Graduation) and Jackson Kollock (Transfer)
Returning: Drake Lindsey, Max Shikenjanski, and Dylan Wittke
Transfers: Michael Merdinger (Liberty)
Incoming Freshmen: Owen Lansu and Brady Palmer

The most secure starting spot on the roster belongs to Drake Lindsey. He is firmly entrenched as the starting signal quarterback coming off a solid redshirt freshman season. The Gophers are bringing in Liberty transfer Michael Merdinger to push Max Shikenjanski for the second-string spot.

Running Back

Leaving: Fame Ijeboi (Transfer)
Returning: Darius Taylor, A.J. Turner, Grant Washington, and Xavier Ford
Arriving: T.J. Thomas (Elon) and Jaron Thomas (Purdue)
Incoming Freshmen: Ezekiel Bates, Nike Castillo, and Ryan Estrada

Darius Taylor will be back and looking for a healthy senior season after leading Minnesota in rushing each of the last three years. With Fame Ijeboi transferring to Purdue, there will be a competition to see who can help Taylor carry the load. A.J. Turner is recovering from a serious leg injury that ended his season in Week 3, so it’s tough to pencil him in at the No. 2 spot at this point. Two players I have my eye on are Elon transfer T.J. Thomas and incoming freshman Ryan Estrada, both of whom have skillsets that could give them an edge in the competition.

Wide Receiver

Leaving: Le’Meke Brockington (Graduation), Logan Loya (Graduation), Kenric Lanier (Transfer), Malachi Coleman (Transfer), Quentin Redding (Transfer), Cristian Driver (Transfer), and Legend Lyons (Transfer)
Returning: Javon Tracy, Jalen Smith, Donielle Hayes, and Bradley Martino
Arriving: Perry Thompson (Auburn), Noah Jennings (Cincinnati), and Zion Steptoe (Tulsa)
Incoming Freshmen: Rico Blassingame, Josiah Dozier, Quayd Hendryx, Hayden Moore, and Braiden Stevens

The Gophers’ wide receiver room will look a lot different this year, especially with longtime wide receiver coach Matt Simons being replaced by Isaac Fruechte. Javon Tracy and Jalen Smith are Lindsey’s clear top targets in the passing game heading into the spring, but all eyes will be on Auburn transfer Perry Thompson in the hope that he can become the physical pass catcher this offense sorely needs. I don’t have as high expectations for Cincinnati transfer Noah Jennings and Tulsa transfer Zion Steptoe, but with the lack of proven receivers on the roster, I would expect both of them to at least crack the rotation in the fall.

Tight End

Leaving: Jameson Geers (Graduation), Drew Biber (Graduation), and Frank Bierman (Graduation)
Returning: Pierce Walsh, Sam Peters, Julian Johnson, and Jacob Simpson
Arriving: Kaden Helms (Oklahoma)
Incoming Freshmen: George Rohl, Roman Voss, and Gabe Weaver

It will be a changing of the guard at tight end, where multi-year contributors Jameson Geers and Frank Bierman have played their last snaps. Minnesota is bringing in Oklahoma transfer Kaden Helms to add experience to a position group that is light on meaningful playing time. You’ll see Helms along with some combination of Pierce Walsh, Sam Peters, Julian Johnson, and Jacob Simpson in the fall. I know a lot of people are excited for Roman Voss to arrive on campus, but we’ll have to wait and see how long it takes for him to get acclimated.

Offensive Line

Leaving: Marcellus Marshall (Graduation), Dylan Ray (Graduation), Aluma Nkele (Graduation), Spencer Alvarez (Graduation), Kahlee Tafai (Transfer), Reese Tripp (Transfer)
Returning: Ashton Beers, Greg Johnson, Nathan Roy, Tony Nelson, Brett Carroll, Jaden Ball, Jerome Williams, Daniel Shipp, Kaveon Lee, Mark Handy, and Nick Spence
Arriving: Bennett Warren (Tennessee)
Incoming Freshmen: Gavin Meier, Lucas Tielsch, and Andrew Trout

Minnesota needs to be better up front on offense, plain and simple. Marcellus Marshall and Dylan Ray did not cut on the right side of the offensive line last season, and the Gophers grabbed Tennessee transfer Bennett Warren out of the portal to take over at right tackle. I know there are many fans who expected Minnesota to take more than one transfer offensive lineman, but offensive line coach Brian Callahan seems content with the options they have internally. If I had to guess, your starting five to open spring camp will be Nathan Roy (left tackle), Greg Johnson (left guard), Ashton Beers (center), Tony Nelson (right guard), and Warren. But the coaching staff also seems high on Brett Carroll, Jaden Ball, and Daniel Shipp, so there will be competition.

Defensive End

Leaving: Lucas Finnessy (Graduation) and Steven Curtis (Transfer)
Returning: Anthony Smith, Karter Menz, Jaxon Howard, Adam Kissayi, Sam Macy, Enoch Atewogbola, Jay’Quan Stubbs, Rhett Hlavacka, and Colin Hansen
Arriving: T.J. Bush (Cal)
Incoming Freshmen: Josiah Anyansi, Aaden Aytch, and Anthony Charles

The Gophers got a huge boost when All-Big Ten defensive end Anthony Smith announced he would be returning for his senior season. He is one of the best pass rushers in the Big Ten, if not the country. But he needs help, and Minnesota was able to sign Cal defensive end T.J. Bush to give them another option on the edge. At rush end, both Karter Menz and Jaxon Howard return. Menz had a breakout redshirt sophomore season with nine tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. If Menz and Howard can both take a step forward and Bush plays to his potential, the edges of this defensive line could be a real problem for opposing offenses.

Defensive Tackle

Leaving: Deven Eastern (Graduation), Jalen Logan-Redding (Graduation), Nate Becker (Graduation), Rushawn Lawrence (Graduation), and Mo Omonode (Graduation)
Returning: Theo Randle, Jaylin Hicks, Riley Sunram, Mo Saine, and Abu Tarawallie
Arriving: Naquan Crowder (Marshall), Sid Kaba (Marshall), and Xion Chapman (FIU)
Incoming Freshmen: Jeremiah Benson and Howie Johnson

The defensive tackle position was a gaping hole for the Gophers going into this season, with their entire four-man rotation from last year walking out the door. They brought in three transfer defensive tackles to fill the gap. Marshall transfer Naquan Crowder will compete with Theo Randle and Riley Sunram at the one-technique position, and (another) Marshall transfer Sid Kaba and FIU transfer Xion Chapman will add to the mix at the three-technique spot with Jaylin Hicks. You just have to hope the transfers can raise the floor.

Linebacker

Leaving: Devon Williams (Graduation)
Returning: Maverick Baranowski, Matt Kingsbury, Emmanuel Karmo, Joey Gerlach, Mason Carrier, Ethan Stendel, and Nate Cleveland
Arriving: Andrew Marshall (Eastern Michigan)
Incoming Freshmen: Hudson Dunn and Angel Luciano

The Gophers are in a good spot at linebacker, even with Devon Williams out of eligibility. Maverick Baranowski returns, and Matt Kingsbury and Emmanuel Karmo both saw meaningful snaps last year. Expect them to be your top three linebackers next year, with Eastern Michigan transfer Andrew Marshall adding depth.

Cornerback

Leaving: Za’Quan Bryan (Transfer), Ja’Onte McMillan (Graduation), and Jaylen Bowden (Transfer)
Returning: John Nestor, Mike Gerald, Rhyland Kelly, Samuel Madu, Simon Seidl, and Naiim Parrish
Arriving: Aydan West (Michigan State) and Elisha West (Michigan State)
Incoming Freshmen: Justin Hopkins and Chance Payne

Cornerback play was not up to par in 2025, which is likely why Za’Quan Bryan sought a change of scenery and Minnesota brought in Michigan State transfer Aydan West. He forced his way onto the field as a true freshman last season, earning the trust of former Minnesota defensive coordinator Joe Rossi. West will likely compete with Mike Gerald and others for the starting cornerback spot opposite returning starter John Nestor. One wrinkle could be safety Aidan Gousby, who played cornerback for the final two games of the season and acquitted himself well. Could he end up staying at cornerback for his senior season? We’ll see.

Safety

Leaving: Koi Perich (Transfer) and Darius Green (Graduation)
Returning: Kerry Brown, Aidan Gousby, Garrison Monroe, Zahir Rainer, and Zack Harden
Arriving: Parker Knutson (Southwest Minnesota State) and Mekhai Smith (Lehigh)
Incoming Freshmen: Lamont Hamilton, Jordan Lampkins, Trason Richardson, and Tavian White

Koi Perich is gone, seeking greener pastures in Oregon, where he hopes to compete for a national championship with the Ducks. Fortunately, the Gophers have never had a problem recruiting safeties with NFL futures. Kerry Brown returns, as does Gousby. Garrison Monroe was seeing the field last season before he got banged up, and the coaching staff is high on Zack Harden. I will be very curious to see where Southwest Minnesota State transfer Parker Knutson and Lehigh transfer Mekahi Smith slot in. Minnesota does have an opening at the nickel position, with both Darius Green and Jai’Onte McMillan out of eligibility.

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