2026 Gophers Position Previews: Secondary

Summer days are getting shorter. Football is coming. To make you the fan at your tailgate most informed on the top, middle, and bottom of Minnesota's depth chart, Ski-U-Blog is previewing each position group on the roster. This preseason, the U of M secondary faces both major changes and familiar questions.

Likely Starters

The biggest story in the Minnesota secondary will be who isn't there. As much as bitter fans will want to play the "we didn't need him anyway" card, and however much saving money on one player may have benefitted other areas of the roster, the bottom line is that the Gophers will miss Koi Perich.

Beyond his symbolic importance as the Esko kid who stayed home to be a star, Perich was the best, most dynamic player on the team. The same hubris that got him in trouble, overrunning the ball and adding more responsibilities than he was likely ready to handle, is what made him such a thrill. His key plays won multiple games, including last year's weird and messy game versus Purdue. In a year where the defense took a step back, Perich cleaned up loads of other players' mistakes, flying in from the secondary to stop opposing gains from becoming hemorrhages. The fact that another school will get to reap the rewards of his game-changing talent, and that he will be announced as an Oregon product at the NFL Draft instead of a Minnesota one, will hurt.

There were, however, places on the roster where Perich's departure would hurt more. The defense is well-stocked at safety, a signature strength of the Gophers under P.J. Fleck.

The most obvious example is Kerry Brown, a star in his own right.

Granted, Brown's tackling was not as superlative in his previous season, which was a problem across the board for Minnesota's safeties. He was still around the ball plenty and finished with 48.0 tackles (40 solo). And where Perich's flashy moments fell off, Brown supplied his own, making 10.0 havoc plays. He is the team's best defensive back, and he owns one of the highest ceilings on the whole roster. If he can combine the plays he made on the ball in 2025 with the brilliant tackling of 2024, he will be one of the best safeties in the country.

2026 Gophers Position Previews: Linebackers

Summer days are getting shorter. Football is coming. To make you the fan at your tailgate most informed on the top, middle, and bottom of Minnesota's depth chart, Ski-U-Blog is previewing each position group on the roster. It's now time to discuss the linebacker corps.

Likely Starters

Maverick Baranowski came into his own last season. He made quicker decisions than in past years, combining his aggression with experience to set new personal statistical bests. Playing all 13 games (and playing them all at Mike) for the first time, he almost doubled his career tackle total in a single season, recording a team-leading 77.5 tackles (52 solo), including 9.0 for loss.

It was a strong year for Baranowski, who enters his final year seeking his first all-conference selection.

To get there, he must still polish flaws in his game. While he is athletic and knows his responsibilities, he will never be a fantastic defender in pass coverage so much as a competent one. The linebacker corps as a whole can over-pursue runs and create cutback lanes, and that includes Baranowski. For all the blitzing the Gophers do, he only made 3.0 sacks. Baranowski is the Gophers' best linebacker and one of their most trustworthy defenders, but he has a little more room to grow.

2026 Gophers Position Previews: Defensive Line

Summer days are getting shorter. Football is coming. To make you the fan at your tailgate most informed on the top, middle, and bottom of Minnesota's depth chart, Ski-U-Blog is previewing each position group on the roster. Our discussion of the defense begins with the 24 (!) members of the Gopher defensive line.

The Many Edge Rushers

After leading the Big Ten in regular season sacks last year, Minnesota could well lead the nation in sacks this season. There might not be a deeper collection of proven edge rushers in America, and four or five of them might see the field at once on 3rd downs.

It starts with hulking 5-technique Anthony Smith, one of the biggest personalities and biggest playmakers in the conference. After ranking 3rd nationally with 12.5 sacks, Smith could have gone to the pros. Instead, he returns to chase the program records for sacks (Karon Riley's 29.0) and tackles for loss (Willie VanDeSteeg's 43.5). Both are within reach for a player of his caliber.

Smith may be a 3-4 end at the next level, as his 285-pound frame actually can actually prevent him from chasing down quarterbacks. When Jah Joyner was still in the program, he played a good amount of tackle, and due to massive uncertainty on the interior, Smith may slide inside more than ever before. Wherever he is on a given play, his size and sheer power make him an invaluable every-down defender for the Gophers.

2026 Gophers Position Previews: Special Teams

Summer days are getting shorter. Football is coming. To make you the fan at your tailgate most informed on the top, middle, and bottom of Minnesota's depth chart, Ski-U-Blog is previewing each position group on the roster. We move now to a much-changed special teams unit.

Likely Starters

The departure of Koi Perich leaves a hole in the defensive backfield but also one in Minnesota's return game. Sure, Perich muffed the ball, including to disastrous effect at Cal last season, but he was one of the country's most explosive return men. There is not a player on this roster likely to match him in that regard.

There is, though, one player who has recorded return yards as a Golden Gopher, someone who will have an important part in the offense this season. That's right — it's Pierce Walsh!

Alas, returning kicks and punts will not be among Walsh's jobs. Probably.

The most obvious candidate to take over kick returns is T.J. Thomas. In two years at Elon, Thomas never scored a special teams touchdown — and only once made it past midfield — but was a highly efficient, occasionally dangerous return man.

Click to enlarge.

More than two-thirds of Thomas' kick returns made it to at least the 25-yard line. It is hard to find a benchmark for comparison, but around 8 years ago, national kick return success rates were roughly 45 percent. Perich and Cam Davis, the two Gophers who returned kicks by design last year, gained the 25-yard line just one-third of the time. (One return that made it to the 30 was pulled back for holding, but it does not dramatically change the numbers to count it as a success or as a failure.)

If incoming special teams coordinator Daniel Da Prato can create lanes for his new returner, Thomas promises to provide much more consistent field position than his high-upside predecessor. And every once in a while, he'll use his vision, agility, and quickness to start the offense a bit farther downfield.

2026 Gophers Position Previews: Offensive Line

Summer days are getting shorter. Football is coming. To make you the fan at your tailgate most informed on the top, middle, and bottom of Minnesota's depth chart, Ski-U-Blog is previewing each position group on the roster. Here is the author's favorite post to write each year, a preview of the offensive line.

Likely Starters

After a couple of seasons of unremarkable rushing attacks, offensive line coach Brian Callahan faces some pressure entering the 2026 season. Matt Simon's departure makes Callahan the only position coach remaining from P.J. Fleck's first year at Minnesota. (Ironically, one of the two new offensive line assistants is Matt Limegrover, a longtime Jerry Kill acolyte.) Callahan has been as ever-present a figure as anyone in the program, but he needs a once-effective front five to click again.

At the center of it all — well, adjacent to the center — is Greg Johnson. Johnson came to the U of M with great expectations, and it took a long time for him to catch up with them. By the midpoint of his true freshman season, he was a forgivably imperfect regular. He then had a rather underwhelming sophomore season playing every game at center. He moved back to left guard last year, with experiments at each tackle spot as Callahan tried to fix a unit that wasn't working. His Minnesota career has not lacked for talking points.

Johnson enters his senior season with more expectations: Phil Steele named Johnson a first-team preseason All-American, and Dane Brugler has him as the No. 2 interior lineman in this NFL Draft class. When he gets extended playing time at a single position, it is easy to see why. Johnson has become the people-mover the Gophers need, chugging his feet and outworking defensive tackles to open lanes.

In addition to his power, Johnson's athleticism makes him a solid puller and lead blocker on screens. He is one of the biggest keys to getting Darius Taylor into the open field.

2026 Gophers Position Previews: Quarterbacks

Summer days are getting shorter. Football is coming. To make you the fan at your tailgate most informed on the top, middle, and bottom of Minnesota's depth chart, Ski-U-Blog is previewing each position group on the roster. Today's post covers quarterback, a position the Gophers have reason to believe is settled for a long time.

Likely Starter

Playcaller Greg Harbaugh Jr. did not go easy on his redshirt freshman quarterback. From the outset, Drake Lindsey ran the full Minnesota offense. In three of his first four starts, Lindsey attempted 32 or more passes.

The fourth, a shootout win over Rutgers, was a banner day.

Lindsey threw for 324 yards, the most by a Minnesota quarterback since 2019. He was precise and composed, cutting up the defense in a game where his team needed every one of those yards. It was a class performance, the kind that said with minimal qualification that the Gophers had found their guy.

There were another nine games to play, however, and those were not as superlative. His pedestrian (or worse) outings outnumbered the great ones. He ran in the winning touchdown in overtime versus Michigan State, offering a signature moment in a game where he still averaged just 5.1 yards per pass attempt. He finished the year with 6.1 yards per attempt, ranking 129th out of 145 FBS players who threw 150 or more passes.

Yet Lindsey enters this fall with some hype — hype I'm not really sure is misplaced, at least on a long-term scale. What are fair, measured expectations for his second season?

2026 Gophers Position Previews: Running Backs

Summer days are getting shorter. Football is coming. To make you the fan at your tailgate most informed on the top, middle, and bottom of Minnesota's depth chart, Ski-U-Blog is previewing each position group on the roster. Today, we move to the running back position.

Likely Starter

In a career that's been stop-start because of injuries, Darius Taylor's 2025 was maybe the most frustrating. It took five quarters for Taylor to miss time, pulling up with a hamstring problem on what should have been a touchdown against Northwestern State. He returned a month later, averaging just 2.0 yards per carry against Ohio State and Purdue. Though he bounced back with a big performance against Nebraska, he evidently wasn't right and took just one carry at Iowa the following week. He missed another game, returning after the bye versus Oregon.

This time, the rest helped. Taylor looked much fresher over the last four games of the season, totaling 427 all-purpose yards and averaging an additional half-yard more per carry than in the other six games he played. He had more burst, recording a run of 23 or more yards each week. That included this 47-yard touchdown on the icy surface against Wisconsin:

Last year should have been Taylor's last in college. When his body cooperates, Taylor is one of the best, most versatile tailbacks in the sport. Even if he doesn't possess truly blazing speed, he has such a complete set of tools that all he needs is better luck. If he stays healthy, he can finally receive the accolades that have eluded him and make it to the NFL.

2026 Gophers Position Previews: Receivers and Tight Ends

Summer days are getting shorter. Football is coming. To make you the fan at your tailgate most informed on the top, middle, and bottom of Minnesota's depth chart, Ski-U-Blog is previewing each position group on the roster. As always, the first installment of this series covers the Gophers' pass-catchers.

Likely Starters

Where else to start but where things left off?

That's Jalen Smith, then a redshirt freshman from Mankato, making his second fantastic touchdown catch to defeat New Mexico in overtime of Minnesota's bowl game. Smith led the Gophers with 15.0 yards per reception over the course of the season, becoming a legit deep threat thanks to his speed and ball-tracking ability. He also gained the 4th-most receiving yards ever by a Minnesota freshman.

Excluding Maxx Williams, who only played two seasons before leaving for the NFL, every past player in the above table ranks in the program's top 10 in career yards. Such a strong start tends to be the first chapter in a successful tenure in maroon and gold.