Gophers land Oklahoma State linebacker Jeff Roberson via transfer portal

With leading tackler Cody Lindenberg leaving for the NFL draft, the Gophers football team has a big hole to fill at linebacker.

Late Thursday night, Minnesota added a reinforcement when Oklahoma State linebacker Jeff Roberson announced on social media that he’s joining the Gophers as a graduate transfer.

Roberson, 6-1 and 230 pounds, spent five seasons at Oklahoma State, playing mostly on special teams early in his career and missing the 2022 season as a medical redshirt before taking over as a starter in 2024. He finished the season with 58 tackles, 8½ tackles for loss, three sacks, seven quarterback hurries and one interception.

He has one year of eligibility remaining and will join a linebacker group with the Gophers that saw Maverick Baranowski and Devin Williams start the Duke’s Mayo Bowl victory over Virginia Tech.

A Choctaw, Okla., native, Roberson was a three-star recruit out of high school and was ranked as the No. 13 player in Oklahoma and the No. 40 inside linebacker nationally in the 2019 class in the 247Sports composite ratings.

Roberson is the 15th player to join the Gophers as a transfer since the portal opened on Dec. 9. Minnesota’s transfer class is rated 22nd nationally and sixth among Big Ten teams by 247Sports.