Koi Perich wasn’t trying to be clever when recently describing his decision to stay home, enroll at the University of Minnesota and join the Gophers football program.

During a KFAN interview last week, the four-star recruit from Esko, Minn., cited how the Gophers have become a “safety school.” But that’s not exactly what he meant.

The true freshman wasn’t referring to the notion of a “safety school” in the sense that he applied to a handful of colleges and then Minnesota just in case things didn’t work out academically at schools he really wanted to attend.

Naw, what Perich meant to say is that Minnesota has become “Safety U” — an often-used phrase, which inserts the name of the position group a certain football program has becomes known for due to a string of standout players at that spot. That’s what he was getting at for why he picked the Gophers over Ohio State and others.

Going into this season, the Gophers’ latest high-end safety product, Tyler Nubin, had joined the New York Giants via the NFL draft, leaving a big hole in the back of the U defense. Nubin came after Jordan Howden went to the New Orleans Saints or Antoine Winfield Jr. left to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“That was a group (of current safeties) that you’d probably say wasn’t as proven or didn’t have the depth than other units may have had on film last season,” new defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman acknowledged last week.

But Minnesota’s conveyor belt continues to move along at safety and their continuation at the position has been key to the four-game winning streak the Gophers take into Saturday’s game at Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J.

On top of Nubin going to the next level, veteran returner Darius Green has been sidelined for more than half the season. No problem.

Minnesota has had Aidan Gousby, Kerry Brown, Coleman Bryson and Perich step up this fall. This week, Brown and Perich were among 14 semifinalists nationwide for the Shaun Alexander freshman of the year award. Minnesota is the only program with two semifinalists, and both at one position no less.

Perich is the highest-graded freshman safety in the power four conferences this season, according to Pro Football Focus, while Brown is second on the Gophers with 43 total tackles.

Brown came up big in the fourth quarter of the 25-17 win at No. 24 Illinois last week. With the Illini needing points, he made a tackle for lost yards on third down and came back with a pass breakup on fourth down.

“I’m supposed to do that, so just being able to do that in a big game feels great,” said Brown, who also had a fourth-down stop to set the tone in the first quarter of a 48-23 win over Maryland on Oct. 26.

Brown does not have prototypical size, listed at 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds, but the Naples, Fla., native loves his role on the team.

Going into this year, Brown said the returning safeties “didn’t really worry about” needing to replace Nubin, who set a program record with 13 career interceptions.

“It’s a credit to (safeties coach) Danny Collins and his teaching philosophy and his teaching style and the connection he has with his players,” head coach P.J. Fleck said. “The culture and atmosphere he creates within that room, a healthy competition. … They want to do it for each other. That room is very unique,  but there was a tradition set.”

While Green hasn’t been able to play more than 105 snaps this season, he has tried to uphold that standard by texting teammates tips and reminders on the Illini last week. He did it even though he wasn’t on the travel roster to Champaign, Ill.

The new mix of safeties has been a diverse mix, with each player bringing different strengths to the field. Gousby leads the position with 401 snaps, followed by Brown 289, Bryson 218 and Perich 214, according to PFF.

“They are always one step ahead,” Hetherman said. “We got to keep pushing them in that direction because one of the toughest things is getting all those guys on the field all the time because they are playing really well right now.”

Gophers safeties have made their mark with takeaways this season. As a group, they are responsible for eight of the defense’s 15 interceptions and had a hand in two of its seven forced fumbles/fumble recoveries. Perich’s five interceptions ranks first in the Big Ten and second in the nation. Plus, he’s added a forced fumble.

And Perich can be forgiven for his “safety school” mistake.

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