The Gophers football program continued its annual tradition of racking up commitments in June, with 15 total players pledging to the 2025 recruiting class last month.

It’s typical for head coach P.J. Fleck’s teams to add a bulk of prospects during the window for on-campus official visit weekends, and in the process, they joined the leading group of programs nationwide in terms of volume.

With 22 commitments, Minnesota is now tied with Wisconsin for fifth nationally, behind only Ohio State (23), Duke (24), Syracuse (28) and Rutgers (29).

The U’s class ranks 40th in the nation and 12th in the now-18-team Big Ten, according to 247Sports Composite ranking.

Daniel House, a Gophers football reporter for nine seasons and the founder of analytics and analysis site Gophers Guru, helped the Pioneer Press break down the U’s incoming class with roughly five months to go until national signing day on December 4.

Strengths of the class

The Gophers continue to emphasize bigger numbers in the trenches, with six pledges for its defensive line and four on its offensive line. A handful of those players have versatility to play in multiple alignments or positions.

“You always bet on the high upside traits and character evaluations,” House said. “Then you see what happens once they get in the stength program. … Looking at this specific O-line and D-Line talent they brought in, it’s long, athletic, agile players who can work in space along the O-line. Then that versatility that you can play multiple spots, which is really good for depth, especially in the (transfer) portal era. Then the defensive line, same thing: long wingspans, flexible at the top of rushes and developing (body) frames.”

Best in Minnesota

The Gophers have had success with the top in-state recruit in recent years, with Esko safety Koi Perich joining the U in the 2024 class and 2023 top player Jaxon Howard transferring to the U after a year at LSU. That run continues with Robbinsdale Cooper rush end Emmanuel Karmo.

“It’s an intriguing skill set with him — great downhill trigger and lateral movement skills,” House said. “And you look at where college football is going, you want to have those rush ends that can drop into coverage and move all over, mug into gaps and get you into some creative packages. … Those position-less defenders, they open up a lot of schematic possibilities and mismatches.”

Karmo, a three-star prospect listed at 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, has a “lot of potential going into his senior year to ascend even more,” House said.

Hole left to fill

Minnesota’s incoming class represents nearly a full 22-player lineup — besides safety. The Gophers were targeting three-star Cincinnati safety Micah Rice, but he committed to Louisville on June 13.

“Safety is probably the top priority,” Rice said. “That’s the main spot right now. I mean, they had such a strong official visit weekend, bringing people in and filling some spots that they obviously had pinned down that they wanted to address. … Now it’s just navigating the next few months.”

De-commit who got away

The Gophers have had two players exit their recruiting class — Middleton, Wis., defensive lineman Torin Pettaway and Midlothian, Texas, offensive lineman Nelson McGuire.

While Pettaway went to the Badgers — and that always has the chance to sting the Gophers more given the rivalry — House believes McGuire will be on the one that really got away.

“McGuire’s going to be a really good player,” House said. “That was someone that flew under the radar there because he’s playing along the defensive line, and then they found him at a satellite camp. It looked like a guy that could be an ascending prospect, once teams got film. … Minnesota had him up on the visit (and) he committed. Now all these Big 12 and SEC schools are going to be in the mix.”

McGuire is currently weighing his other options.

Impression on Kollock

The top-rated recruit in the U’s class is considered to be Laguna Beach, Calif., quarterback Jackson Kollock. House watched Kollock and a handful of other QBs at U camps last summer; he saw the possibility of the U going after Kollock at that time.

But Kollock committed to Washington last October. However, the U got a second chance as he left the Huskies’ class after head coach Kalen DeBoer went to Alabama in January.

“I see a quarterback with good size (6-foot-3 and 225 pound) and mobility, big arm,” House said. “You watch him throw the out-breakers, the corner routes, and those throw types are really important. He’s able to drive the ball and lead receivers to open. (He has) mobility to move around and throw off different platforms when structure breaks. He can slip out and navigate the pressure and be accurate. Also working from the pocket, being able to layer in crossers and deep over routes, which is important within this scheme.”

A local sleeper

The Gophers gained a commitment from Andover receiver Cameron Begali in April, and House could see why the U wanted the 6-foot, 180-pound prospect during its subsequent summer camps.

“I was pretty impressed with him,” House said. “He’s a sudden route runner. He’s got good hands, ran a lot of different releases and got separation during all the different drills they were going through, so I’ve earmarked him as someone that might be a big sleeper in this class overall.”

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