Pair of Gophers earn watchlist honors on Thursday
A pair of Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive stars earned preseason watchlist honors on Thursday. Star safety Koi Perich was named to the Paul Hornung Award watchlist, while defensive lineman Anthony Smith found himself on the Wuerffel Trophy watchlist.
For Perich, it marks his fourth watchlist honor this preseason as he was also named to the Jim Thorpe Award, Bronko Nagurski, and Lott Impact Trophy watchlists.
The Paul Hornung Award is annually given to the nation’s most versatile player. After earning first-team All-Big Ten honors as a safety and second-team All-Big Ten honors as a return specialist, the Esko, Minnesota native will add a third position to his repertoire in 2025: wide receiver.
We’re going to do as much as Koi will allow us to do,” Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck said during Big Ten Media Days. “Koi works really hard in the unrequired, not just practicing. And he’s doing a ton of stuff on his own ever since January. Because we took last year as a snippet and said, okay, it’s your true freshman year. You got here in June. The season ended in December. We dabbled in it a little bit. But now we’re going to commit to it,” Fleck said.
“And I don’t know this, but like Travis Hunter, he got a ton of credit being a two-way player, right? And there’s not a lot of people who can do that and do it successfully. We feel Koi can. And I’m not comparing him to Travis by any means. But I’m saying that is somebody who did it within the last decade. That’s how hard it really is. And if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to be both feet in on it. But if there’s one person that can do it, it’s Koi.”
For Smith, the Wuerffel Trophy is annually given to the FBS player who “best combines exemplary community service with leadership achievement on and off the field.
The Pennsylvania native is coming off a breakout season in 2024 with 27 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and six sacks. Smith in 2025 is expected to be one of the Big Ten’s top defensive ends once again and a leader of the Gophers’ defense.
Which Golden Gophers have been named to preseason watch lists?
Maxwell Award: Darius Taylor
Jim Thorpe Award: Koi Perich
Bronko Nagurski Trophy: Koi Perich
Paul Hornung Award: Koi Perich
Wuerffel Trophy: Anthony Smith
Lott IMPACT Trophy: Anthony Smith, Koi Perich
