After travels, former Edina star Quinn Carroll is at home with the Gophers

Five years ago, Quinn Carroll was riding high. As Minnesota's top-ranked football recruit for the 2019 class, the Edina offensive tackle was on the radar for college football's blue bloods. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Southern California were among those who came calling with scholarship offers.

The hometown Gophers wooed Carroll, too, with coach P.J. Fleck famously taking a helicopter from the Minnesota campus to Eastview High School to watch the four-star recruit play for the Hornets. Carroll, whose father, Jay, was a standout Gophers tight end in the early 1980s, listed Minnesota among his six finalists but announced on TV that Notre Dame was his destination.

Who could blame him? Carroll joined a Notre Dame program that regularly was producing NFL offensive linemen, and the then-6-6, 295-pounder seemed to fit right in with the Fighting Irish.

Carroll's Notre Dame career, though, didn't go as planned, and five years later, he is entering his second season as a Gophers starting offensive lineman and one who'll be counted on for productivity and leadership. He's appreciative of his time in South Bend and thankful for the opportunity he has with the Gophers.

"It was a great transition," said Carroll, who joined the Gophers last summer after finishing his bachelor's degree at Notre Dame in three years. "The coaches and players accepted me, basically as if I had been here the whole time, so it was great. And it made me feel very welcomed, and I just hit the ground running when I showed up here."

At Notre Dame, Carroll suffered a knee injury that ended his 2019 season during training camp, played in only two games in 2020 and saw action in 12 games in 2021 but didn't crack the starting lineup. That prompted Carroll to enter the transfer portal, and Fleck had another shot at him.

"The second time went way better than the first time," Fleck joked.

"We just always knew that, 'Gosh, if he doesn't play [at Notre Dame], I hope one day he jumps foot in that portal, and if he does, we'll be all over it,' " Fleck added. "When you're recruiting right now, even if you don't get some of those kids, you hope to build a strong enough bond that if they do jump in the portal … you have the ability to be in the hunt."

Carroll won the starting right tackle job for the Gophers during training camp last year, filled that role through all 13 games and earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention. He helped the Gophers average 207.5 rushing yards per game, which ranked 16th nationally. Pro Football Focus rated him as the 59th-best tackle nationally last season with a 76.0 grade. He's stronger as a run blocker (79.0 PFF rating) than as a pass protector (55.5).

With that in mind, Gophers offensive line coach Brian Callahan moved Carroll from right tackle to right guard this spring, and he's in line to fill the spot manned by Chuck Filiaga last year. It's a move that Carroll welcomes.

"[At guard], stuff's happening like right now, right away, which I think plays to my strengths," said Carroll, who's grown to 6-7 and 315 pounds. "At tackle, there's a lot more time and space before you're engaged, so that's definitely the biggest difference."

Fleck likes what he's seen from Carroll, especially his versatility. If needed, the coach is comfortable with Carroll at right tackle, too.

"I really like Quinn where he's at," Fleck said of Carroll's role at right guard. "But Quinn's just such a great teammate. He'll do anything."

Along with resurrecting his career by transferring to Minnesota, Carroll enjoys playing at home and knowing his family can watch him.

"Especially because my dad played here, too," he said. "It's kind of surreal, thinking about every time I put this uniform on. It's a special feeling."