Danny Collins brings 'special gift' to Gophers defense: 'It's a little bit different'

The Gophers' defense will have a similar philosophy under first-year defensive coordinator Danny Collins this season, but we might see something a little bit different in 2025.

Collins follows Joe Rossi and Corey Hetherman as Minnesota's third defensive coordinator in three years. After a season where their defense ranked in the top 10 in points allowed per game, P.J. Fleck opted to promote within because it "makes sense" after you have a really good year. It was a different situation from 2023 when Minnesota wanted to look for a new face after Rossi left for Michigan State.

"We played great defense last year. Danny Collins has coached every single position on our defensive side of the ball. He's been with me 13 years, he knows the defense like the back of his hand," Fleck said at Big Ten Media Days Wednesday. "With all due respect, Coach Rossi is a tremendous defensive coordinator. Corey Heatherman is awesome. Ed Pinkham, phenomenal. It's still our defense for 13 years, we haven't really changed in our defensive philosophy, and the type of our defense. But the fingerprint of who's calling it is a little bit different."

In the modern transfer portal era, it would've been easy for some of the Gophers' top defensive players to look elsewhere following the coaching change, but that was not the case. Anthony Smith, Koi Perich, Kerry Brown, and others all opted to stay in Minneapolis and play for Collins.

"It's super easy for the transition, after Coach Hetherman left, having DC (Danny Collins) as our new DC, it's been an easy transition," Smith said. "Especially that he was in-house the entire time. It's easy to talk to him... I can go into DC's room and have a conversation about football, and we can chop it up... Or we can just talk about basketball and anything else in life."

Fleck has spoken about how Collins likes to move players around like chess pieces on a chessboard, in order to highlight their strengths and athleticism. There's probably no player on the roster with more potential in that role than Perich, who Collins coached and recruited heavily as the safeties coach.

"Each different coordinator has their own little special gift that they bring to the game. I think Danny (Collins) has learned from each and every one of them, and he's got his own little special thing," Perich said. "He's going to call it in his own way, and I am very excited to see what the way is and to see how he's going to implement his own game into our defense."

Fleck came to Minnesota as an offensive minded coach, but the Gophers have developed into one of the most consistent defenses in the Big Ten throughout his tenure. Their defense now enters a new era under Collins, but everyone seems to like where things are headed.