Which Golden Gophers will represent Minnesota at Big Ten Media Days?
On Monday, the Minnesota Golden Gophers football program announced that head coach P.J. Fleck will be joined by four players in Las Vegas for this year’s Big Ten Media Days.
Joining the ninth-year head coach at Mandalay Bay will be running back Darius Taylor, safety Koi Perich, defensive lineman Anthony Smith, and quarterback Drake Lindsey.
This year’s Big Ten Media Days will be the first time that the event is held in Las Vegas after being held regularly in Indianapolis. It was also previously held in Chicago. The three-day event will start on July 22 and run through July 24. The Gophers will be available to the media on July 23.
While the transferring of Zach Pyron this spring all but locked up the starting quarterback job for redshirt freshman Drake Lindsey. Lindsey’s inclusion into being among the players scheduled to be in Las Vegas is another sign pointing towards Lindsey officially being in line to take over for quarterback Max Brosmer.
Lindsey’s development and the starting quarterback job will likely be one of the more discussed storylines surrounding the Gophers in Vegas.
“Drake has attached himself to Max’s (Brosmer) hip,” P.J. Fleck said about Lindsey last December prior to the Gophers’ Duke’s Mayo Bowl game against Virginia Tech. “You see Max somewhere, and Drake is right there. It’s just not the football piece,” he noted. “It’s the mannerisms. It’s how you lead. It’s what you say. It’s when you say it. It’s how you say it. Drake has been able to take all that and apply it now to bowl prep.”
Taking some of the load and pressure off Lindsey, this upcoming year will be junior tailback Darius Taylor. The Walled Lake, Michigan native is coming off a 2024 campaign in which he totaled over 1,300 yards from scrimmage and 12 touchdowns.
Defensively, Anthony Smith and Koi Perich will be among the program’s leaders. Both are coming off major 2024 seasons in which they were some of the best at their position in the Big Ten.
Smith totaled 27 tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and six sacks last season, splitting time both inside and outside on the defensive line. Perich, on the other hand, recorded 46 tackles, five interceptions, and three pass deflections as a true freshman.
Head coach P.J. Fleck enters the 2025 season with a 58-39 record with the program and 88-61 overall. The Gophers have won eight or more games in three straight seasons.
