Gophers football showing impressive roster retention early in the offseason

Minnesota will have almost all of its top players returning in 2025.

Aug 29, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers wide receiver Le'Meke Brockington (0) runs after catching a pass as North Carolina Tar Heels defensive back Antavious Lane (1) defends during the second half at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

In the modern era of college sports, it's hard to keep track of who's entering the transfer portal and who's returning to the team. So far this offseason, the Gophers have had great success retaining some of their top players.

Minnesota has had six notable players and nine total enter the transfer portal this offseason, which was expected given the change in roster size down to a strict 105-player limit, but none of them were projected starters. On the other side, they've had at least 16 potential starters announce their plans to return in 2025.

The Gophers' official Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) collective Dinkytown Athletes has taken an approach of collaborating with players to announce their plans to return. This both helps fans keep track and it's an advertising tool to receive more donations.

Notably, star running back Darius Taylor and star safety Koi Perich have announced their plans to return, and they've been followed by a plethora of other players.

Notable players that have announced their return

Player	Position
Drake Lindsey	QB
Darius Taylor	RB
Le'Meke Brockington	WR
Jameson Geers	TE
Greg Johnson	C
Ashton Beers	OG
Jalen Logan-Redding	DT
Deven Eastern	DT
Anthony Smith	DE
Jaxon Howard	DE
Lucas Finnessy	DE
Maverick Baranowski	LB
Devon Williams	LB
Jai'Onte McMillan	CB
Kerry Brown	S
Koi Perich	S
Coleman Bryson	DB

Minnesota will be likely losing as many as seven starters on offense — Max Brosmer, Daniel Jackson, Elijah Spencer, Nick Kallerup, Quinn Carroll, Aireontae Ersery and Tyler Cooper are all out of eligibility. Five potential starters have all announced their plans to return in 2025.

Defensively, the Gophers could be losing as many six major contributors or starters — Danny Striggow, Jah Joyner, Justin Walley, Ethan Robinson and Jack Henderson are all likely gone, but linebacker Cody Lindenberg remains on the fence. As many as nine or 10 potential starters have announced their plans to return, but Lindenberg could take their defense to another level if he opts to come back.

It's worth noting that other potential starters like Phillip Daniels or Za'Quan Bryan could've already rejoined Dinkytown Athletes, but they've not publicly posted about it, so it's not been confirmed.

Overall, the offseason has just begun and there are many twists and turns left to happen, but Minnesota has proven that it can retain its players at a high-level, which has become one of the most important aspects in building a consistent winner in college football today.

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