True freshman Koi Perich’s performance in the Gophers’ 48-0 win over Rhode Island last week — an interception and a 28-yard punt return — brought a lot of attention. So did one post-game quote.

“I got to take it to the crib,” Perich said on feeling a need to score a touchdown after finding an opening on his first career return. “But it’s fun. … I like the ball in my hands, but obviously I’m grateful for the opportunity any time I get the chance to go back there. It’s a dangerous spot. You are the only man back there.”

But Perich wasn’t the only highly touted true freshman to play in the rout at Huntington Bank Stadium. In the fourth quarter, quarterback Drake Lindsey replaced starter Max Brosmer. The Fayetteville, Ark., native was 3 for 4 passing for 35 yards across two drives and capped his performance by completing his first collegiate touchdown pass, a 7-yard connection with redshirt freshman transfer Tyler Williams.

Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck told the Pioneer Press he saw Lindsey as “cool, calm and precise” in his debut. Lindsey is the next man up, if Brosmer goes down this season. Fleck needs to have confidence in Lindsey; and Lindsey needs it in himself.

“It’s just the management of the game, functioning,” Fleck said. “Not that I didn’t expect that he would, it’s we have to get him as much experience as we possibly can.”

Brosmer called it a “big brother moment” for both him and Lindsey to throw their first touchdown passes. Offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh saw Lindsey execute the offense against an FCS opponent, but felt the best learning moment was Lindsey breaking the huddle too soon and an offensive lineman being flagged for a false start.

If the Gophers would have had another offensive drive last Saturday, the plan was to put third-stringer Dylan Wittke, a Virginia Tech transfer, in the game, Fleck said. As with Lindsey, Wittke also needs experience if the season goes haywire.

With the outcome in hand, the Gophers had 71 players participate against Rhode Island, 20 more than played in the 19-17 loss to North Carolina on Aug. 29.

With the advent of the NCAA transfer portal, it’s important for more players taking the field each game. Fleck has acknowledged this reality.

If veteran starters leave for other programs in the offseason, younger players must have developed to a certain point for the possibility they will be counted on sooner. And if those underclassmen don’t get snaps sooner, they could be tempted to leave for a program where live action might be more readily available.

While Lindsey got his first taste of major college football, Perich got a bigger bite after only playing special teams against the Tar Heels. Perich played 17 defensive snaps in different packages — on top of his special-teams duties. His Pro Football Focus grade of 72.6 was the U’s sixth-highest against Rhode Island.

Fleck said Perich’s role will continue to grow based on what he has earned and what benefits the team. With Quintin Redding injured on the first return Saturday, Daniel Jackson or Perich could see more time as the top returner. Perich’s punt return was the U’s longest since 2018.

“He’s a sponge,” Fleck said of Perich. “He loves to learn. He loves the game. It’s not like, ‘Oh yeah, he’s a freshman and I can only spoon feed him.’ We can give it to him by the shovels, if he can handle it. As of right now, he can handle it by the shovels. We are going to continue to do that and get to the bulldozer part. He just absorbs it all. I’m proud of him for that.”

Defensive coordinator Corey Heatherman said Perich wasn’t in the right spot on a defensive call during a practice, but in the same situation in the game, he was in the correct spot and got a pick off Cody Lindenberg’s tipped pass. “It’s the development every day,” Heatherman said.

Besides Perich, only two other true freshmen have appeared in both games this season: defensive back Samuel Madu and long snapper Alan Soukup. After playing special teams in Week 1, Madu got three snaps at cornerback against the Rams.

“When he presses guys, if he gets his hands on you, it’s over,” cornerbacks coach Nick Monroe said of Madu. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen somebody that physical that young. He’s 18 years old, and that’s whether it was in the run game or the pass game.”

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