In the NCAA transfer portal era, college football players staying at the same program can be as newsworthy as those who decide to leave.

On Saturday, true freshman running back Darius Taylor said he would remain with the Gophers for the 2024 season. Given the precocious start to his collegiate career and the poaching that can occur from big, deeper-pocketed programs, this represents a big win for Minnesota.

Taylor’s early success with the Gophers induced warnings from head coach P.J. Fleck that Taylor might leave the U for another school — with name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation a consideration.

Comparisons were made to Mar’Keise “Bucky” Irving, a true freshman who left Minnesota via the portal for Oregon before the 2022 season. With the help of the Ducks’ robust NIL collective and the deep pockets of Nike founder Phil Knight, Irving has since had two 1,000-yard rushing seasons for the championship-contending Ducks.

But Taylor allayed those comparisons and concerns with a message on social media this weekend.

“Thank you Gopher fans for supporting me during my time in Minnesota,” he wrote on X. “Thank you to my TEAM who has made this a world class experience. After talking with my family and taking time to think, I have decided to come back for another year with Dinkytown Athletes (the U’s NIL collective). Who’s going to join me?”

Taylor rushed for 591 yards on 103 carries and four touchdowns across five games. Before he was injured in late September, he was a three-time Big Ten freshman of the week and the conference’s leading rusher. He played only one of the final eight games due to injuries.

Taylor’s retention is even more important given the defections from the Gophers’ backfield this week. Redshirt freshman Zach Evans and true freshman Marquese Williams said they will enter the portal. Walk-on tailback Max Grand also said he was leaving the U.

Minnesota has had six scholarship players announce intentions to leave the U this week.

Briefly

Clearwater (Fla.) Academy International offensive lineman Mauricio Hinds backed off his pledge to the Gophers’ 2024 recruiting class. The U has had four high school players leave next year’s class. Currently, Minnesota has 21 commitments for 2024. … The Gophers offered a scholarship to Purdue transfer Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen. The U offered the fourth-year receiver out of high school in Walled Lake (Mich.) Western, which is the same school as Taylor.

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