Gophers cornerback Justin Walley says he'll return for 2024 season

The free-for-all that is the 30-day window for college football's transfer portal opened Monday, with nearly 650 players across the country entering their names into the database in hopes of landing with another team.

For the Gophers, retaining their best players is important, and one of their top defensive players announced he'll remain with the program in 2024.

Cornerback Justin Walley, a junior who has been a starter for the past 2½ seasons, posted on the X platform that he'll return for his senior season, crediting the Dinkytown Athletes name, image and likeness collective. An honorable mention All-Big Ten performer, Walley led the Gophers with eight pass breakups and ranked eighth with 41 tackles.

The D'Iberville, Miss., native has been a key player for Minnesota since he started the final six games of the 2021 season and earned true freshman All-America honors from 247Sports. This season, he had impactful games against Nebraska, when he had eight tackles and a forced fumble, and Iowa, when he had four tackles, one interception and one pass breakup.

The Gophers lost one scholarship player to the portal on Monday. Reserve offensive lineman Tyrell Lawrence, who did not see game action in three years at Minnesota, entered his name into the portal, he announced on the X platform.