Ranking every Gophers football position group from strongest to weakest

The Gophers had a busy offseason, adding 21 players from the transfer portal. Let's rank all of their position groups from strongest to weakest heading into the 2025 season.

1a. Running back

Darius Taylor returns as potentially the best running back in the conference and Minnesota surrounded him with intriguing talent from the transfer portal. Marshall's A.J. Turner, Cameron Davis from Washington and Johann Cardenas from Vanderbilt join redshirt freshman Fame Ijeboi to make a loaded RB room behind Taylor.

1b. Safety

Koi Perich is one of the best football players in the entire country, but Minnesota has plenty of other talented safeties on its roster. Kerry Brown broke out last season as a redshirt freshman, and Aidan Gousby might be one of the best third safeties in the conference. The Gophers' also have Darius Green, who has started multiple games, which gives them four legit starting caliber players at the position.

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3. Defensive tackle

Minnesota returns Jalen Logan-Redding and Deven Eastern, who have both played more than 900 snaps in their collegiate careers. They went out and added Stony Brook's Rushawn Lawrence and Mo Omonode from Purdue in the transfer portal. I am much higher on the floor of Minnesota's interior than most.

4. Wide receiver

With Daniel Jackson and Elijah Spencer off to the NFL, the Gophers had a lot of work to do with their wide receiver room this offseason. They added Javon Tracy from Miami (OH), UCLA's Logan Loya and Malachi Coleman from the transfer portal. With Lemeke Brockington, Cristian Driver, Kenric Lanier II and Nuke Hayes returning, the Gophers have seven playable receivers. There might not be the top-end talent they've had in the past, but there's plenty of depth.

5. Tight end

Minnesota lost Nick Kallerup to the next level in the offseason, but added Purdue transfer Drew Biber. The Gophers return No. 1 option Jameson Geers, who had 28 catches for 280 yards and four touchdowns last season, alongside another blocking specialist Frank Bierman. There are three solid options at the position heading into 2025.

6. Offensive line

Offensive line is likely Minnesota's highest variance position heading into the season. Greg Johnson and Ashton Beers both return as players who started multiple games last season, but they added four transfers to fill in the rest of the holes. The Gophers have had a sure-fire NFL player on its offensive line for the past few seasons, and there might not be one currently on the roster. Redshirt freshman Nathan Roy has the potential, but there's a lot of questions up front.

7. Defensive end

Anthony Smith returns as a potential elite pass rusher for the Gophers this season, but there are a lot of questions behind him. Jaxon Howard has the talent to be a great No. 2, but he still needs to show it with production on the field. Lucas Finnesy is the second-most experiences and Minnesota added Steven Curtis from Illinois State in the transfer portal. This is another position that has a lot of potential to go a lot of different ways.

8. Linebacker

Cody Lindenberg is now with the Las Vegas Raiders, and Minnesota's linebacker room as a big hole to fill. Maverick Baranowski and Devon Williams have a ton of experience with more than 700 career snaps, but they'll need to take the next step to replace Lindenberg's production. The Gophers also added Oklahoma State's Jeff Roberson to compete alongside Joey Gerlach potentially for the No. 3 spot.

9. Cornerback

Minnesota lost Justin Walley and Ethan Robinson to the NFL in the offseason. Za'Quan Bryan returns after playing 266 snaps last season, but he's now a full-time starter. He is joined by NC Central's Jaylen Bowden and Iowa's John Nestor from the transfer portal as the top three outside options. Jai'Onte McMillan will likely assume the nickel role again. There's a lot of questions to be answered at the position.

10. Quarterback

I'm high on the potential of Drake Lindsey heading into the season, but it's hard to rank Minnesota's quarterback room much higher. Lindsey has never made a collegiate start and Emmett Moorehead is his likely backup, who didn't log a single snap last season.

11. Special teams

Minnesota will have a new kicker and punter in 2025. Alan Soukup returns as the team's primary long snapper, but the Gophers have Syracuse's Brady Denaburg as the projected kicker and UCLA's Brody Richter and Division II Ouachita Baptist transfer Tom Weston are expected to compete for punting duties.

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