SOTC Update: Minnesota Golden Gophers

P.J. Fleck continues to string together winning seasons in Minneapolis. Is 7-9 wins the floor and ceiling here? This is the State of the Chart™ update for the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Feb 27, 2025

State of the Chart™ Recap Edition

Live All-In Ranking: 34th
Offense: 57th
Defense: 21st
2024 Results: 8-5 (5-4 in Big Ten)

All of the information that follows is just the beginning and everything will be updated in our first edition of the State of the Chart™ digital magazine. Slated for a launch in July of 2025, learn more about this and shoot us your email to be kept up-to-speed on launch dates and receive sneak previews…

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|||||| STATE OF THE CHART™ SUMMARY

P.J. Fleck was the up-and-coming coach from Western Michigan with swagger and strong leadership qualities. That was eight years ago. Many questioned the decision to take this job. It’s a tough one in a tough conference. Can you really win consistently here? Well, Fleck is doing that. They had another solid 2024 season and it really could have been better. He’s attracting talent to this roster and sticking to his guns. This is a really talented roster (ranked 20th in our talent rankings). He is making good coordinator hires, especially on defense. They are getting poached to other programs and he’s forced to reset. The 2024 Gophers were fortunate with a +9 turnover margin, but also very well could have won four very close losses and approached double-digit wins if everything broke right. They play disciplined (8th fewest penalty yards per game), ball-control on offense and smothering on defense. They keep games close and win them late. If they can just find that one missing piece on offense - the occasional explosive play - to keep defenses honest and allow a little more room for star running back Darius Taylor to operate, this could be on the verge of taking the next step.

|||||| HEAD COACH AND COACHING STAFF

P.J. Fleck continues to do a really good job here in Minneapolis. They are stringing together competitive, winning seasons despite many challenges and competing in a top conference. The '24 season was good, but was close to being great. He is entrenched here now and if he could just keep a defensive coordinator around, the next step can be taken. Expect more of the same, hard-nosed winning football here in 2025.

Coaching Staff Notes/Changes:

There is a lot of turnover on the defensive staff. Fleck is developing coaching talent and doing a lot of promotions from within this time around.
For the second straight season, Fleck nailed the defensive coordinator hire and they leave for another program. This time it’s Corey Hetherman, who takes off for South Beach to join the Miami program. Hetherman was hired here after two seasons as Rutgers’ linebackers coach. The defense was great and he moves on. This is one of those challenges Fleck will face. This time around, he promotes from within and elevates Danny Collins, who was the pass game coordinator on defense and a secondary coach. Keeping the defense playing at a high-level is going to be crucial to keeping this going in the right direction.
Nick Monroe was also given a promotion to include co-defensive coordinator to his roles and responsibilities. He also coaches cornerbacks and is entering his third season here after coming in from Syracuse.
Dennis Dottin-Carter is promoted from a defensive analyst to a full-time defensive line coach role.
Former Gophers linebacker Mariano Sori-Morin joined the coaching staff after his playing career ended and he’s been promoted to linebackers coach.
They bring in Central Michigan defensive line coach CJ Robbins to handle the Rush Ends for the Gophers in 2025.
The offense lost their running backs coach Nic McKissic-Luke to the NFL’s New York Jets. So, Fleck goes out and brings in Jayden Everett after a season as the assistant running backs coach at Michigan.

Note: This is a “dynamic” article; meaning we will update any information that comes in this “off-season” and post a note when impactful moves are made or news breaks.

|||||| 2024 SCHEDULE / RESULTS ANALYSIS

This team lost five games this season by a combined 30 points. If not for that Iowa game getting away from them a bit, it would have been even closer. The opening loss to North Carolina at home by two points stung at the time, but it stings even more so when we see this full picture, plus they should have won that game. They lost to a good Michigan team at the Big House by just three points. They lost to a good Rutgers team on the road by a touchdown. They provided the biggest possible scare to eventual Big Ten Championship attendee, Penn State, losing by just a single point in Minneapolis in week 13. They finished with a convincing win over Virginia Tech and this was another very good season all told. It came in as the 45th most difficult schedule according to our SOS+ metric. They deserved better than the posted eight wins, according to our dWIN (deserved Wins) metric that combines post-game win expectancy numbers (PGWE), turnover margin and weighted spread numbers. That had them at 8.8 wins.

||||||| POSITION GROUP CHECK-INS

OFFENSE: The offense simply has not progressed they way it needs to in order to make this a complete team and turn that corner from good to great. OC Greg Harbaugh Jr. thought they had their quarterback when they brought in Max Brosmer from FCS New Hampshire. And, really, based on most of the underlying numbers, they did have a good quarterback in Brosmer. He is a game manager and that is what they want to do here. They just really sorely lacked the explosive plays. They ran it slow with 29.3 seconds going by between plays (122nd slowest in FBS). The offensive line had a lot of talent but they did not translate it to the field as hoped. We have them as the 15th ranked talent level in run blocking, but they managed just 3.72 yards per carry on the ground. That’s partially due to a really tough slate of opposition, but it’s also a failing that needs to improve. They will continue to run the football, control the clock and do everything they can to win the battles in the trenches. If they can add in that one missing piece, that threat of a deep pass, it will open up even more running room for budding star running back Darius Taylor and they will be really cooking with something. They will need do it with another new quarterback in 2025.

||| QB

Max Brosmer came in from New Hampshire and was what they wanted him to be. He managed the game and limited mistakes. He just lacked the killer instinct to gut punch the opponent with a big play down the field. He graduates and they will host a true battle between incumbent backup Drake Lindsey and Georgia Tech transfer-in Zach Pyron. Whoever wins will need to have a lot of Brosmer in them, with just a little more to get this over the hump. That’s asking a lot.

||| RB

Darius Taylor has developed into a star in the making. He needed to stay healthy, something that he was unable to do in his true freshman season a year ago. He came up just shy of 1,000 yards, but scored ten times and contributed in the passing game. Not many rooms have the depth of the Gophers with five players above 14.0 ratings. All under Taylor on this depth chart is leaving via graduation or portal exit. They bring in a really good one in A.J. Turner from Marshall to take on that backup role to Taylor.

||| WR

Daniel Jackson and Elijah Spencer were the unquestioned 1/2 punch here with Jackson taking in 115 targets, hauling in 75 passes and scoring four times. Spencer was also very good and reliable, but nobody really provided much of a threat to stretch the field. With both moving on, they hit the portal to bring in both Logan Loya (UCLA) and Javon Tracy from Miami (OH) to supplement and likely take on starting roles. Le’Meke Brockington showed signs of becoming that home run hitter with 18 grabs, averaging 15.4 yard average depth of target. Malachi Coleman is a high-upside play coming in from Nebraska.

||| TE

Jameson Geers and Nick Kallerup split snaps here, both seeing the field for over 500 snaps. Kallerup was the better blocker of the two, while Geers chipped in more in the passing game with 28 grabs. Kallerup runs out of eligibility and they bring in Drew Biber from Purdue to team up with Geers for a similar role and they should not see a drop in production here at all. Frank Bierman was third in line here and he likely stays there until he can show more.

||| OL

This was a really talented group in 2024; especially in opening holes in the running game. LT Aireontae Ersery developed into a star and is heading to the NFL. They lose two other starters in LG Tyler Cooper and RT Quinn Carroll. Both important pieces. They hit the portal to bring in two potential replacements in Marcellus Marshall (UCF) and Dylan Ray (Kentucky). It would have been nice to hold on to back up RT Phillip Daniels, but he’s headed to the Buckeyes. Work to do here and this will be so important to the offense taking that next step.

DEFENSE: This was a really good unit and it’s little surprise that the leader of it, first-year defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman was quickly swooped up by Miami (FL) to take over there. They showed a lot of talent based on our cumulative ratings (22nd) but even outperformed that level with impressive surface-level stats - including 16.9 points per game allowed (9th) and 285.7 yards per game (5th). The offense wasn’t amazing, but they did a decent job holding on to the ball, moving it on the ground and going really slow to help this unit recharge their batteries. They shut down the run, holding opponents to just 3.5 yards per carry. They also limited explosive plays, allowing just 25 plays of over 30 yards and just four that went for 50+ throughout the season. They did a nice job tightening in the red zone as well, allowing just a 50% touchdown rate when opponents entered their 20-yard line. They are losing some key parts of this, beyond Hetherman - but key players on the field. Fleck promoted from within, elevating Danny Collins, who will earn his stripes if he can keep this at this level in 2025.

||| DL

This was a really good group, led by Danny Striggow and Jah Joyner. Anthony Smith provided contributed six sacks and also played a primary role (3/4 snaps). Others chipped in as they went about nine deep in the rotation. They will lose both Striggow and Joyner, but others will step up/in and they bring in Rushawn Lawrence from FCS Stony Brook who may be asked to step into a big role. They should wind up just fine here.

||| LB

Cody Lindenberg led this unit from his middle linebacker spot all season. He was particularly adept at stopping the run. He will head to the NFL a year early and it’s likely that Maverick Baranowski will step into that role. Devon Williams saw a good amount of playing time here and performed okay. He will likely be asked to play a similar, if not an enhanced role in 2025. They will miss Lindenberg’s leadership, but they should be okay here.

||| DB

Another solid group here on the third level. They were particularly solid at cornerback with Ethan Robinson never leaving the field and Justin Walley playing a lot. Kerry Brown was a redshirt freshman who stepped into a big role and became a leader. Nickel Jack Henderson graduates and will be missed. S Koi Perich didn’t play a ton but shows signs of stardom and we could see that come to fruition in ‘25. This was a deep, talented group and just like the front seven, they should perform at a similar level.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Kicker Dragan Kesich was good, hitting 20/28, with three of those misses coming from beyond 50-yards. He’ll return as the primary place kicker, unless Syracuse transfer Brady Denaburg can unseat him. Punter Mark Crawford was also solid. He graduates and it may be Caleb McGrath stepping in for 2025. Koi Perich was the primary kickoff and punt returner as a true freshman. He was above average and should only get better with more experience.

Reader feedback is requested and encouraged! Who knows these teams better than their passionate fan bases? We don’t pretend to know it all and would love your feedback. We will update/edit based (and credit) for anything that is brought to our attention. Let’s do this together…

|||||| TRANSFER PORTAL TRACKER

Any team in the “green” for our talent churn total is doing well in the portal game. Fleck and his staff have done a very nice job bringing in mainly offensive weaponry to supplement what is already a solid defense. The usually have a stable of running backs and they add to that with A.J. Turner coming in from Marshall as the highest rated portal pick-up. The next three players are also on offense. Wide receivers Logan Loya (UCLA) and Javon Tracy (Miami-OH) will try to impact this passing game to get the Gophers to the next level. Even the losses are a bit magnified with two running backs leaving — Jordan Nubin and Sieh Bangura — who were not impact players here last year.

Below is a screen shot of the full, live Transfer Portal Tracker over at CFBDepth.com. Click the image or the button below to view it in its entirety…

Live Minnesota Portal Tracker >

|||||| 2025 RECRUITING CLASS

Fleck focuses on scouting and player development to supplement his roster. He’s utilizing the portal (see above) to strategically target known deficiencies and plug-and-play. So, this 41st ranking (at time of publish) is about in line with what to expect. They will develop this into a better class when it is all said and done and they are doing a better job that most at keeping these players around to meet that potential wearing the maroon and gold.

Here is a snapshot of the 2025 Recruiting Class+ with a link to the live page with updates throughout the cycle:

2025 Minnesota Recruiting Class+ >

|||||| 2025 SCHEDULE LOOK AHEAD

They avoided Ohio State and Oregon in 2024, but they are not so fortunate in 2025. Two of the non-conference games will be testers, opening with Buffalo coming to town as the Bulls wound up one of the better group of five schools in 2024 and it’s never easy to travel to Cal-Berkeley. We mentioned Ohio State and Oregon — both on the road — make this go from ‘tough’ to ‘really freaking tough.’ In order to hit that expectation, they will need to win their Big Ten home games against Rutgers, Purdue, Nebraska, Michigan State and Wisconsin. Overall, this is really tough and getting to a Bowl game should be the expectation — with some bounces going their way and winning the close ones, they can keep this on par with recent seasons.

There is a lot of movement and decisions to be made throughout the off-season, including more portal moves, winter workouts and spring ball. Get all caught up with the full-on State of the Chart Magazine coming in July. If you missed the ad before, get more information and give us your e-mail to stay in the loop on everything SOTC!

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