Freshman safety who hopes to replicate Travis Hunter's success as a two-way superstar earns All-Big Ten spot

Forget being one of the best freshmen in the country; Koi Perich was one of the best overall defenders in the entire nation. On Tuesday, the Minnesota Gophers struck gold in Perich, who was named a First Team All-Big Ten section, making it over veterans at bigger programs with higher profile names.

With 42 tackles and five interceptions, it's easy to see why he made it. Perich also added 15 kick returns for 298 yards and 17 punt returns for 173 yards. Now, entering his sophomore year, Perich wants to continue getting more opportunities on offense.

And Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck is open to getting Perich touches on offense, just as Travis Hunter has made famous.

Perich never logged a touch on offense in 2024, but he did play log snaps at receiver and running back. Fleck later said he can see a role for Perich soon.

"It's something that we want to be able to dabble with a little bit. I don't want to put too much on his plate, but whatever we've put on his plate, he's been fine," Fleck said. "He's a competitor and an athlete and if we can add another athlete on offense — and I am not saying he's gonna play 30, 40 snaps, but if we can find a way to get 8-10 snaps with him doing different things, then we're definitely gonna highlight that."

“He’s somebody we’ll invest in on offense, defense and special teams because he can handle it; he loves it,” Fleck said. “I don’t think it’s gonna be a lot early. We want to get his feet wet and get him going that way as we keep going through the season. Obviously, into next year probably will be more of the focus.’’