The University of Minnesota added 21 players to its roster on National Signing Day. Head coach P.J. Fleck and signed players from 11 states. The Gophers added six players from Minnesota, three from California, and two from Illinois and Ohio. The Gophers also signed one player from Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Wisconsin.
Minnesota’s National Signing Day Class-Name, State, High School
Offensive Line
Mark Handy, Albuquerque, N.M. / La Cueva
Kaveon Lee, Plainfield, Ill. / Plainfield Central
Daniel Shipp, Eastvale, Calif. / Centennial
Nicholas Spence, Peoria, Ariz. / Liberty
The Gophers lose both offensive tackles, and Aireonte Ersay and Quinn Carroll will be hard to replace. Hoping to fill that void is Daniel Shipp from California, who has a nasty streak in him. And the pride of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Mark Handy, was born to play right tackle.
Quarterback
Jackson Kollock, Laguna Beach, Calif. / Laguna Beach
Kollock is extremely talented, but he looks like a candidate to be redshirted next year. Holdover freshman Drake Lindsey and the incoming transfer portal quarterback will likely vie for the Gophers’ starting QB job. But Kollock has a ton of potential. He has a big arm and an innate ability to throw accurately on the run.
Running Back
Grant Washington, Avon, Ohio / St. Ignatius
Late Addition: Trey Berry, Montgomery, AL. / Lanier
Washington may be another 2025 redshirt candidate for the Gophers. He is speedy, hits the holes quickly, and is adept at pass-catching. With a returning Darius Taylor and a probable addition from the transfer portal, next year may be a learning year for the talented young back.
Wide Receiver
Legend Lyons, Covina, Cali. / Charter Oak
Bradley Martino, Naples, Fla. / First Baptist Academy
The Gophers have an uphill climb trying to replace their top two wide receivers, Daniel Jackson and Elijah Spencer. But coach Fleck is bullish on the tall, rangy Martino from Naples, Florida. Because of his size, he is much different from Minnesota’s current crop of receivers. He averaged 19 yards a reception his senior year and scored 15 receiving touchdowns.
Defensive Line
Enoch Atewogbola, Avon, Ind. / Avon
Colin Hansen, Byron, Minn. / Byron
Rhett Hlavacka, Fond du Lac, Wis. / Fond du Lac
Jayquan Stubbs, Cleveland, Ohio / Cleveland Heights
Abu Tarawallie, Freetown, Sierra Leone and New Hope, Minn. / Providence Academy
Stubbs is a bit raw as a recruit but has excellent athleticism as a former basketball star. Projects as a dynamic edge rusher. Fleck compares Atewognola to Boye Mafe, the former Gopher who now spends his fall Sundays with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks. He and Stubbs should make for formidable pass-rushing bookends in the future.
Linebacker
Nate Cleveland, Hoffman Estates, Ill. / Hoffman Estates
Emmanuel Karmo, Minneapolis, Minn. / Robbinsdale Cooper
Ethan Stendel, Caledonia, Minn. / Caledonia
Analysis: The head of this class is the four-star linebacker Karmo from Robbinsdale Cooper—an athletic player with excellent ability in coverage and rushing the passer. In addition to playing defense, he doubled as a receiver and running back, where he amassed five rushing touchdowns and five receiving touchdowns this season.
Stendel is another two-way star. He threw for over 1,400 yards and 12 touchdown passes and rushed for 10 more this past season. Stendel was named the Three Rivers Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a linebacker.
Defensive Back
Zack Harden Jr., Eatonton, Ga. / Newton
Naiim Parrish, Freehold, N.J. / Bergen Catholic
Analysis: More work needs to be done to shore up the Gophers’ secondary with the loss of starting cornerbacks Justin Walley, Ethan Robinson, and monster back Jack Henderson. Big-hitting Naiim Parrish has a chance to make an immediate impact as a freshman. Look for additional high school recruits and transfer portal pickups to be added to the Gophers’ roster.
Kicker
Daniel Jackson, Alexandria, Minn. / Alexandria Area
Punter
Luke Ryerse, Woodbury, Minn. / East Ridge
Analysis: The Gophers are losing their placekicker, Dragan Kesich, and punter, Mark Crawford, so it is time to restock these positions.
Minnesota Edge
At his press conference, coach Fleck spoke about the importance of keeping Minnesota kids home to play college football. He is proud that he and his staff successfully recruited the top three senior football players in the state to play for Minnesota (Karmo, Stendel, Abu Tarawallie). In his opening remarks, he said. “The #1, #2 and #3 players from the state of Minnesota stayed home which now we have that trend and I think more and more players are staying home because they want to stay home.”
