Gophers football transfer portal impact, Part I: offense

Sure, the college football season just ended Monday night with Ohio State winning the national championship, but it’s not too early to look ahead to next season.

For the Gophers, roster construction has mostly taken place, and the transfer portal has been key. One need only look at the impact that quarterback Max Brosmer had on Minnesota’s program to see how valuable the portal has become.

The Gophers have added 15 players from the portal and lost 12 since the start of the 2024 season, and several of the additions could become starters.There is a second transfer portal window that runs April 16-25, which could bring more movement after spring practice, but for now, we’ll examine the transfer class that coach P.J. Fleck and his staff have assembled.

Wide receiver

Situation: With Daniel Jackson (75 catches, 863 yards, four TDs) and Elijah Spencer (52-684-6) having exhausted their eligibility, Le’Meke Brockington (18-282-1) is Minnesota’s top returning wideout. There will be catches to be had, and Fleck hit the portal to grab three receivers to bolster the group.

Transfer spotlight: Javon Tracy, Miami (Ohio)

Comment: Tracy, 6-0 and 206 pounds, appears to be a plug-and-play type of wideout for one of the Gophers’ starting jobs. He earned first-team All-Mid-American Conference honors last fall by catching 57 passes for 818 yards and seven TDs. He’s improved steadily over the past two seasons, going from a 63.2 Pro Football Focus grade in 2023 to a 77.2 last year and having 10 or more targets in three games in 2024.

The Gophers added two other wideout transfers: UCLA’s Logan Loya, a graduate transfer with 109 career receptions for 1,314 yards and 12 TDs; and Nebraska’s Malachi Coleman, a 6-5, 210-pound prospect who’ll be a redshirt sophomore this year.

Situation: The 2024 season saw sophomore Darius Taylor diversify his game, catching 54 passes for 350 yards and two TDs — the most catches among Big Ten running backs — while still rushing for 986 yards and 10 TDs. His primary backup, Oklahoma transfer Marcus Major, is gone, so there will be carries available to not overload Taylor.

Transfer spotlight: A.J. Turner, Marshall

Comment: Turner rushed 104 times for 864 yards — an 8.3-yard average — and eight TDs in 2024. Included in that were runs of 88, 80, 69 and 67 yards. Pro Football Focus raves about Turner, giving him a stellar 87.7 offense grade. He’s joined by Washington transfer Cameron Davis, a 6-0, 214-pounder who rushed for 522 yards and 13 TDs in 2022 before being sidelined by injury in 2023 and gaining 190 yards last year.

Situation: The Gophers must replace four starters on the offensive line, with center Greg Johnson as the only returnee. Left tackle Aireontae Ersery left for the NFL, where he could be a first-round draft pick.

Guard/tackle Quinn Carroll and guard Tyler Cooper exhausted their eligibility. Right tackle Phillip Daniels transferred to Ohio State. Returnees Tony Nelson and Ashton Beers manned the guard spots in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, while Martes Lewis played right tackle.

Transfer spotlight: Kahlee Tafai, Washington

Comment: At 6-5 and 338, Tafai is an intriguing prospect who worked his way into the starting lineup for four games with the Huskies in 2024. He’ll need to improve, as his 38.5 PFF grade indicates, but upon entering the portal, he had plenty of big-name suitors, including Alabama, UCLA, Michigan State, Nebraska and USC.

The Gophers added two other offensive linemen in grad transfer Dylan Ray from Kentucky, who mainly has played guard, and Marcellus Marshall, a versatile player from Central Florida. Both should compete for a starting job.

Situation: The addition of Brosmer was just what the Gophers needed and resulted in an 8-5 season. Brosmer, though, was a one-year transfer who’s now preparing for the NFL draft. The hope is that backup QB Drake Lindsey, the 2024 early enrollee true freshman who followed Brosmer like a puppy, looking to devour any scrap of information, will seize the reins as the 2025 starter.

Transfer spotlight: Zach Pyron, Georgia Tech

Comment: With Lindsey and sophomore Dylan Wittke, a 2024 transfer from Virginia Tech, having played sparingly, the Gophers added Pyron, who has 19 games and four starts in his career. The former four-star recruit has passed for 995 yards and five touchdowns with seven interceptions in his career and has rushed for six TDs. He’ll be part of the competition to start, knowing that Lindsey might have the inside track.

Note: This is Part I of a two-part series. Part II will focus on the portal’s impact on the Gophers defense and special teams.