Minnesota’s top in-state recruit Roman Voss commits to Gophers over Alabama

Score a big one for Ski-U-Mah over Roll Tide.

Roman Voss, the top-ranked football player in the state of Minnesota in the 2026 recruiting class, announced Monday at Jackson County Central High School that he has picked the Gophers over Alabama as his collegiate destination.

“All Glory To God. Home,” Voss wrote in a post on the X social media platform.

The commitment of Voss, a four-star recruit who’s listed in the athlete category but projects as a tight end for the Gophers, marks the third consecutive year that coach P.J. Fleck has kept the top-ranked Minnesota player in Minnesota. Voss joins Cooper linebacker Emmanuel Karmo (2025) and Esko safety Koi Perich (2024), while the top 2023 in-state recruit, Cooper defensive lineman Jaxon Howard, transferred to Minnesota after spending the 2023 season at LSU.

Voss, 6-4 and 225 pounds, had offers from 14 Power Four programs, including Illinois, Iowa, UCLA, USC and Wisconsin of the Big Ten and Alabama, Auburn and Oklahoma from the SEC. He is the 12th-ranked athlete nationally in the 247Sports composite ratings of major recruiting services.

Voss’ interest in the Gophers was strong, as evidenced by his four unofficial visits to campus. First offered a scholarship by Fleck 13 months ago, Voss made his official visit on May 30-June 1 during the first of Minnesota’s two “Summer Splash” weekends. His only other official visit was to Alabama on June 13-15, and the Gophers and Crimson Tide became his finalists.

Voss played wide receiver and safety for Jackson County Central during his career, but his primary position was quarterback during the 2024 season, in which the Huskies won the Class 2A state championship. An ankle injury sidelined him in the championship game, a 42-26 win over Staples-Motley.

“He’s started for me at quarterback since the eighth grade, so that’s a special kind of guy,” JCC coach Tom Schuller told the Minnesota Star Tribune last season. “He also plays safety for us. He would play linebacker or stand-up edge rusher in college if he played defense.”

The Gophers have Voss pegged for tight end, but Fleck and his staff have shown with Perich that they’ll use a player’s skills in a variety of ways.

By securing a pledge from Voss, the Gophers’ 2026 recruiting class includes the top three players in Minnesota, according to both 247Sports and PrepRedZone.com. Rocori offensive tackle Andrew Trout, the No. 2-ranked player in Minnesota, and Forest Lake defensive lineman Howie Johnson, ranked No. 3, already have committed to Fleck.

The Gophers could make it a top-four sweep if Triton athlete Pierce Petersohn, ranked No. 4, picks Minnesota over his other finalist, Penn State.

The Gophers have 24 players in their 2026 class, which can officially sign in early December. As of early Monday evening, Minnesota’s class ranked 14th nationally and sixth among Big Ten teams in the 247Sports composite ratings.