The Gophers football program moved fast one day in April.

Georgia prep quarterback Aaron Philo had de-committed from Minnesota’s 2024 recruiting class, and U coaches were looking for another QB option when they came across Drake Lindsey in Fayetteville, Ark.

Approaching 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, Lindsey had thrown 3,778 yards, 37 touchdowns and three interceptions in 11 games during his junior year in the state’s largest class. But he only had scholarship offers from Alabama-Birmingham, Nevada-Las Vegas and Colorado State.

Gophers quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh watched some of Lindsey’s film and asked Fayetteville coach Jay Wilkinson about why Lindsey was still on the market.

“(Harbaugh) almost felt like it was too good to be true,” Wilkinson recalled to the Pioneer Press. “He’s like, ‘What’s going on with this kid?’ ”

Nothing out of the ordinary, Wilkinson assured him. Lindsey just had a slower start to the recruiting process after playing in mop-up duty as a sophomore. The Gophers changed that level of attention in a hurry.

Lindsey had just returned from an official visit to Colorado State in mid-April when Harbaugh telephoned him. They talked about traditional next steps: Minnesota coaches traveling to Arkansas to meet him in person and see him throw; Lindsey and his family coming up to visit the U.

Hours later, Harbaugh called back to offer Lindsey a scholarship.

“It happened pretty quick,” John David Lindsey, Drake’s father, said in an interview.

Harbaugh and head coach P.J. Fleck showed Lindsey the attention they felt he deserved, and Lindsey gave the Gophers a verbal commitment in mid-May.

But Lindsey needed a little time to process what was happening.

He grew up a fan of the University of Arkansas, with a family chock-full of Razorbacks student-athletes.

That list starts with his grandfather, Jim Lindsey, a member of the school’s sports hall of fame after an outstanding career as an Arkansas running back in the 1960s. After winning a national championship in 1964, he was drafted by the Vikings and rushed for 566 yards in 84 NFL games from 1966-72.

Drake’s father, John David, played receiver for two years in the early 1990s. Drake’s older sister, Loren, is a reserve sophomore guard on the women’s basketball team.

Drake’s uncle, Lyndy, was a three-time letterman at tight end from 1988-91. Two of Drake’s cousins and Lyndy’s sons also played for the Razorbacks: Jack, a three-time letterman at quarterback from 2018-20, and Link, a triple jumper on the track and field team.

“It was definitely a little challenging on me because growing up, I always wanted to be a Razorback,” Drake told the Pioneer Press. “So it was definitely a little hard. The only thing I knew was Arkansas, but I feel like when it didn’t happen, it definitely added a little motivation to me … to prove everybody wrong from here and to go play the best I can at Minnesota. Make a name for myself somewhere else.”

The chance Drake could still end up at Arkansas before national signing period opens Dec. 20 was rekindled over the last week with former Razorbacks head coach Bobby Petrino returning as offensive coordinator under head coach Sam Pittman.

Rumors were circulating from Fayetteville to social media, and it reached Fleck. Lindsey posted on X on Monday that he is “1,000% committed to Minnesota.”

“I just wanted to clear things up because there was a lot of just — Arkansas never even talked to me in the last week since coach Petrino got there,” Drake explained Tuesday. “Coach Fleck was kind of worried about that stuff.”

But that doesn’t mean there weren’t back-channel conversations. “Coach Petrino made one phone call to me,” John David said Monday. “And I just told him that I appreciated it, but Drake was committed to Minnesota.”

While it was smaller schools such as UAB and Colorado State offering Drake scholarships when Minnesota jumped in last spring, there had been interest from other Southeastern Conference schools.

Tennessee and Mississippi State reached out during his junior season. “Mississippi State was probably going to (offer), but then their coach (Mike Leach) passed away,” John David said. “They changed their offense, so that didn’t happen.”

But the fact that his alma mater didn’t offer his son a scholarship perplexes John David.

“It’s a little bit of a weird thing,” John David said. “It’s hard to understand, but I’m happy with what Drake’s decision. He’ll be a great teammate up there in Minneapolis.”

Drake said a factor in his decision was how Fleck handed their FaceTime calls. “Most head coaches can fiddle with something else, or maybe like, just not look at you the whole time,’ Drake said. “But he was just 100 percent focused on me. It just felt like a different type of person.”

John David saw Drake get “upset a few times” when Arkansas didn’t recruit him, but he witnessed the perceived snub push Drake further in his senior season.

During Lindsey’s junior season, Fayetteville went 7-4 and was forced to swallow a 37-0 home loss in the Class 7A state tournament.

Going into this year, Lindsey led QB meetings by teaching plays to others.

“It kind of thrust him into that leadership role where he was kind of mentoring our younger quarterbacks and receivers,” said Wilkinson, Fayetteville’s offensive coordinator and QB coach. “I think that gave him a lot of confidence in spring ball in the summer as far as working with those guys when coaches weren’t around, about making corrections with those guys on the field. And I think that kind of was a springboard for us into this season.”

A few weeks into his son’s senior season, John David texted Drake about coming over to his home for a cookout on a Thursday evening. (John David and Drake’s mother, Amy, are both remarried.)

John David said the food would be ready by about 6:45. Drake replied that he would love to come but since the start of the season, he had been going out to eat every Thursday night with his offensive line and he didn’t want to end that ritual.

“So that’s shows he’s pretty smart,” John David said.

Last Saturday, Drake and Fayetteville capped a 13-0 season with a 2023 state championship. He amassed 3,919 passing yards on 70 percent completions, 52 touchdowns and four interceptions across all 13 games. Two of his picks came when his arm got hit or the ball was tipped.

“He’s a prototypical pocket quarterback,” Wilkinson described. “He moves well in the pocket. He wasn’t a quarterback-run guy for us. But it was a deal where when protection broke down, he can use his legs, extend plays. Huge arm for a high school kid, I mean, just massive arm as far as throwing the ball downfield, and an extremely accurate passer. The biggest thing was just his anticipation — being able to throw the ball into tight windows, when receivers were coming out of breaks. That and the accuracy, more than anything else, was tremendous.”

When Lindsey won the MVP award during the state championship game, Fleck, Harbaugh and co-offensive coordinator/receivers coach Matt Simon were in attendance in Little Rock.

“They were in and out of the crowd, taking pictures with people,” Wilkinson said. “I mean, I think, they are celebrities now in Fayetteville.”

While Lindsey might have grown up a Razorbacks fan, his grandfather’s professional career made him a Vikings fan when he was in elementary school.

“I’ve always followed the Vikings pretty heavily since then,” Lindsey said. “It’s pretty crazy. … I feel like something’s definitely brewing in Minneapolis now. My grandfather was the only connection I have there. Now, I’m gonna play there. …

“I feel like sometimes I need to get out of Arkansas and kind of chart my own path and build my own legacy.”

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