Identifying Potential Transfer Priorities for the Gophers (2024-25)

Next Monday, the first transfer window opens, at which point Minnesota and everyone else in college football can start adding college-experienced players to their rosters for next fall. While the system is a mess, the truth is that every team needs to take advantage of the transfer market to fill out its roster. Not every high school recruit works out, and plenty of players find that the schools they chose originally are imperfect fits.

The Gophers will lose players via transfer (history suggests it will be a good few) in addition to their graduations, and the best way to making sure that next season ends in another bowl is to buffet their high school recruiting with transfers of their own. Below are the positions I believe they will (or at least should) target this month and when the window reopens in the spring.

In this post, players are referred to by their class (freshman, sophomore, etc.) entering the 2025 season. This practice may be slightly confusing, but since this covers the 2025 roster, it is better than the alternative.

Quarterback

Potential need: immediate contributor

When it went so well the first time...

Bringing in Max Brosmer worked superbly. The leading passer in FCS in 2023 completely revived and reshaped the Minnesota passing attack in 2024. The only regret from the experience is that Brosmer did not have one more year year to play. Redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey and incoming freshman Jackson Kollock seemingly provide solid potential long-term, but ideally they would get to sit a little longer.

Recently, P.J. Fleck has favored FCS transfers: Jack Gibbens (Abilene Christian), Jack Henderson (Southeastern Louisiana), Tre'Von Jones (Elon), Ethan Robinson (Bucknell), and Brosmer (New Hampshire) have all stepped right into the lineup from the lower subdivision.

This strategy works well for a program of Minnesota's stature. Unlike FBS transfers, players from the FCS usually are not leaving their previous schools because they lost a competition to someone better. They want a step up to improve their NFL Draft stock but do not typically get looks name-brand programs. And one figures that their demands for NIL-related compensation, if they have any, are easier to fit into a collective's budget. I expect Fleck to go this route again, finding a high-level FCS quarterback on his last year of eligibility. He might not replicate the success Brosmer had, but another veteran under center could make sure the bottom does not fall out of the passing game.

Running Back

Potential need: depth

This position is on the list because of how many tailbacks the Gophers carried and how many tailbacks actually carried the ball in 2024. When only three of the team's ten running backs actually have a role, some of the others may depart. If the coaches still think it is worth having such a large group, then they will have to find reinforcements.

Wide Receiver

Potential need: immediate contributor

Despite Fleck and Matt Simon's reputations for developing great receivers, Minnesota consistently has a problem of not involving their underclassmen at the position. Whether this is due to poor high school scouting or a chronic shortcoming of the system, this leaves the team without experienced options to replace the regulars they lose.

Daniel Jackson and Elijah Spencer are out of eligibility, leaving just two remotely experienced players at the position: Le'Meke Brockington and Cristian Driver, who combined for only 23 receptions this regular season. Brockington enters his redshirt senior season as well, meaning underclassmen like Donielle Hayes, Kenric Lanier, and Tyler Williams will have to play actual roles in the offense in 2025 so they are not starting fresh in 2026. Maybe one of these players can step up. Most likely, though, Minnesota needs to import help on the outside.

Offensive Tackle

Potential need: immediate contributor

We can guess who three of the Gophers' five starting offensive linemen will be next year: center Greg Johnson, right guard Ashton Beers, and tackle Phillip Daniels. We should see a competition between redshirt junior Tony Nelson (who filled in for Tyler Cooper against Maryland) and redshirt sophomore Jerome Williams (who was injured in 2024, but is a former 4-star recruit) for the left guard job.

The Gophers might want an extra guard for depth, but they have seemed reluctant to add linemen as transfers unless they really need help. While we have too little data to confirm or refute it, the conventional wisdom — that you need to develop a line rather than piece one together — makes sense on its face. If they pursue offensive linemen in the portal, they will probably stop at one.

Minnesota does not likely have two starting-caliber tackles. Martes Lewis has had multiple chances to prove himself, and the Gophers decided early on this year that they preferred a line with Beers or Daniels, both underclassmen. They clearly see Aluma Nkele as a package player at most. Redshirt freshman Nathan Roy will probably start in 2026, but if there is an experienced tackle out there who can serve as a stopgap, Minnesota could use him.

Defensive Tackle

Potential need: immediate contributor

The good news is that both of Minnesota's defensive tackles will evidently be back for 2025. The problem is that you need more than two legit tackles to make it through a season, which the Gophers probably did not in 2024. Even the starters, Deven Eastern and Jalen Logan-Redding, had plenty of struggles against the run — not a total surprise, considering Eastern's move from 3-technique to nose and Logan-Redding's move from the edge to the inside. The Gophers do not have a true nose tackle. It is vital to find the kind of player who can eat double teams and give a buffer to developing youngsters like Martin Owusu, Theorin Randle, and Riley Sunram.

Cornerback

Potential need: immediate contributor

For the third straight year, the Gophers will look to import a cornerback. While Za'Quan Bryan showed some potential in 2024, and Jai'Onte McMillan could bounce back to the outside after spending the year in the slot, there are no game-tested options beyond these two. Rhyland Kelly, Samuel Madu, and others should work into the rotation next season to avoid having this problem for a fourth straight year.

Safety

Potential need: depth

Safety is maybe this team's most solidified position for the next two seasons. Koi Perich is clearly a star, Kerry Brown looks like he could develop into one as well, Aidan Gousby has shown major progress when healthy, and Coleman Bryson and Darius Green are both capable. However, when playing time is limited, players will explore their options. While the graduation of nickelback Jack Henderson opens up a starting role for one of the five, someone in this group will probably transfer.

(For the record: I would be very, very surprised if Perich leaves the U of M. I have no sources or inside knowledge, but what I know intuitively is that the coaching staff — and whatever money people are involved with the program — will prioritize retaining him.)

Depending on how many safeties leave, Minnesota will need to bolster their reserves. That could be another young player with multiple years of eligibility or a veteran looking for rotational reps in his last season. Either would protect against an injury in the starting lineup.