Hours before the Gophers’ primetime season opener in Minneapolis last Thursday, the Mankato West football practice was abuzz.

Some members of the Scarlets varsity team vividly remember what Jalen Smith did at their high school and were pumped to get home, turn on the TV and see Minnesota’s redshirt freshman make his first college start.

“As a program, it just definitely lets these guys know that, ‘Hey, this is doable, and it’s something to be proud of,’ ” Mankato West head coach JJ Helget told the Pioneer Press this week. “For the school, the teachers, everybody, it’s just kind of neat to see somebody from your school to go play at that level.”

After playing one snap as a true freshman last year, Smith led the Gophers with nine targets, catching two for 76 yards and a touchdown. His 60-yard TD served as the dagger in a 23-10 win over Buffalo, and it was longer than any U pass play in 2024.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound target also had some issues catching the ball against the Bulls and will look to improve against Northwestern (La.) State at 11 a.m. Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Here are seven things to know about Smith:

Incredible comparison

Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck has repeatedly made the biggest comparison possible for Smith, saying he shows signs of being a combination of Tyler Johnson and Rashod Bateman. No pressure, kid; that’s only the two best wideouts to wear maroon and gold in the past decade.

“There’s an enormous amount of reasons why,” Fleck told the Pioneer Press. He went on to say its the work Smith has done on in the weight room, the scout team last season and in practices during fall camp.

“We’ve had a year and a half with him, he has been the same since he’s walked in this door — his work ethic and commitment level — and he’s now proving it,” Fleck said. “… He’s just got to do it more on a consistent basis, which again, comes when you’re playing as a freshman.”

Recruiting process

Big-time interest in Smith didn’t really take off until he ran a 100-meter dash in 10.8 seconds as a junior on the Mankato West track and field team.

“Schools had been messaging me and asking questions about him,” Helget said. “They had kind of been poking and prodding a little bit, but I think they were all waiting for him to pop that time.”

Iowa State offered a scholarship almost immediately in April 2023, Helget said. Minnesota and Iowa were then soon in Mankato to watch Smith workout. The Hawkeyes didn’t offer a ride to the three-star recruit, and Smith committed to the U on the same day they offered that May.

Two-way player

As a junior, Smith didn’t really want to play on defense. “He wanted to just be a receiver,” Helget said. “Everybody wants to catch touchdowns.”

That fall, Smith had eight TDs from 51 receptions for 724 yards in Class 5A. But the Scarlets needed him at cornerback in their run to the state championship game.

Come midseason, Rochester Mayo’s all-state wideout Carter Holcomb was a problem for Mankato West, and Smith accepted the challenge. He quieted Holcomb while also having eight catches, 104 yards and a touchdown on offense.

“When he was able to kind of go both ways and do that, that kind of told us, ‘All right, he’s ready to be the big deal,” Helget said.

As a senior, other teams put its best cover guys on Smith and rolled coverages his way, but he still had 45 catches for 632 yards and nine touchdowns, while also playing corner.

Against Chaska that year, Smith dazzled on a jet sweep. “Just weaved around everybody,” Helget said. “It reminded me of playing Madden, essentially.”

Smith is Helget’s first player to reach the Power Four level (Mekhi Collins, a junior receiver at North Dakota State, comes close) and he’s the first Mankato West graduate to go straight to the Gophers since quarterback Philip Nelson in 2012.

Competitor and tutor

“Jalen was always very quiet,” Helget said of his time in the southern Minnesota city. “He was very respectful. He did what you asked him to do. And he didn’t necessarily show much emotion, but you definitely could tell he was a competitor.”

Smith’s rise on the football field came after giving up basketball as a junior and committing to work the weight room. But he also impressed away from sports.

“He peer tutored with me in one of my classes,” Helget said. “He was always willing to help out.”

Glimpses

Offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh said he knew Smith was going to be an early contributor during the summer camp after he committed to the U.

After being a summer enrollee the following year, Smith started to make plays on scout team last fall. “The best type of players make those plays on scout team: Mo Ibrahim, Brevyn Spann-Ford,” Harbaugh said.

Gophers coaches relayed to Helget that Smith has gained 20 pounds at the U while not sacrificing his speed.

The gains Smith has made in a short time can be hard to believe. “If you’d have told me that Jalen was going to be starting as a redshirt freshman at the Gophers, I don’t know if I’d have took that bet,” Helget said.

Creating fans

Helget’s elementary-age son Carter is naturally a big Mankato West fan and now “everything Gophers because of Jalen.” They plan to travel to Minneapolis with family for the Gophers’ homecoming game against Purdue on Oct. 11.

“When you can keep kids home, and I think Coach Fleck and those guys are doing a real good job of that, it’s exciting,” Helget said. “You see Jalen. You see Koi Perich. You see guys like that and you get excited.”

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