Gophers 2025 QB outlook: Drake Lindsey's job to lose? Will they add a veteran?

What is the Gophers' future at the quarterback position?

Drake Lindsey / Pic via: @drakelindsey5 (X)

The college football regular season is over, which means it's officially transfer portal season. Last year, Minnesota opted to dip into the portal and add Max Brosmer from New Hampshire. A year later, their current quarterback situation is much different, with talented freshman Drake Lindsey waiting in the wings. What will P.J. Fleck and company do at QB this offseason?

Lindsey signed with Minnesota as a heralded high school prospect around this time last year. He was named the 2023 Arkansas Gatorade Player of the Year after throwing for nearly 4,000 yards, 52 touchdowns, and only 4 interceptions as a senior.

"Right before he signed, we talked about, we had to bring in a transfer at that time and we were talking about Max [Brosmer] and I explained to him, this is going to be a really big thing for you, to learn from him, and Max to take him under his wing, and Drake has done that," Gophers offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. said in August.

Brosmer started all 12 regular season games for the Gophers in 2024, leading them to a 7-5 record. Lindsey earned the backup role as a true freshman and was the only other player on the team to attempt a pass. The one other scholarship quarterback on the roster is Virginia Tech transfer Dylan Wittke, but four-star freshman commit Jackson Kollock is expected to sign with the program on early National Signing Day later this week.

"What we'll see down the road is the impact that [Brosmer] was able to have on Drake Lindsey. It's going to be vital because Drake is very talented and he's going to be a phenomenal quarterback here at Minnesota. Hopefully for a long time," former Gophers QB Tanner Morgan said earlier this year. "Coach Fleck and Coach Harbaugh early on said, 'You need to learn everything you can.' This guy is going to show you what it looks like to actually do it."

Since Fleck took over the program in 2017, Minnesota has had five different Week 1 starters: Conor Rhoda, Zack Annexstad, Tanner Morgan, Athan Kaliakmanis, and Brosmer. Rhoda and Annexstad were the only two to make their first career start in Week 1, and the latter did it as a walk-on true freshman.

It's not unprecedented for Fleck and his staff to roll with an inexperienced option at the quarterback position, but heading into year nine at Minnesota, the program's expectations have changed dramatically since years one and two, when Rhoda and Annexstad started.

After capping off their 2024 regular season with a dominant win over rival Wisconsin, Fleck talked about how he "had to be right" with Brosmer because there were zero returning scholarship quarterbacks on the roster. This time around, it's a little bit different because he doesn't necessarily have to be right with Lindsey, but he has to make a decision. He can roll with the redshirt freshman or add some competition from the transfer portal.

Based on the sentiment around the program, it seems like the Gophers have liked what they've seen from Lindsey and I fully expect the job to be his to lose. Still, it's inherently risky to enter a season with only three scholarship quarterbacks, none of whom have ever made a collegiate start. That's why I also believe Minnesota will look to bring in some veteran competition at the position via the transfer portal, possibly from the group of five or FCS level.