Injuries force Gophers to rely heavily on highly-touted transfer portal class

Minnesota will be forced to rely heavily on some new faces against North Carolina.

Oklahoma s Marcus Major (24) runs the ball and is tripped up by Iowa State's T.J. Tampa (2) in the fourth quarter during an NCAA football game between University of Oklahoma (OU) and Iowa State at the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023. / NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Gophers football team will be without starting running back Darius Taylor and starting safety Darius Green for its season opener against North Carolina. Minnesota will now look to a group of transfers to fill their roles on Thursday night at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

RB room without Taylor

Since P.J. Fleck became Minnesota's head coach in 2017, the Gophers have had a plethora of injuries to their running back room. Rodney Smith, Shannon Brooks, Mohamed Ibrahim and Taylor have all been out for extended periods of time. This offseason they focused on adding talent to the position from the transfer portal.

Marcus Major from Oklahoma, Sieh Bangura from Ohio and Jaren Mangham from Michigan State will now all get an opportunity to showcase what they have with Taylor on the sideline. Major was a standout performer in training camp, but there is a good chance we see all three players, and maybe even Jordan Nubin, get a chance against the Tar Heels.

Taylor was one of the best freshman running backs in the country last season, averaging 159.2 yards per game in his five starts. He is the only returning scholarship running back on the roster, but the Gophers will now be forced to rely on three new faces to begin the season.

Safety position without Green

Last season Green started 11 games at safety alongside Tyler Nubin. He was expected to overtake the No. 1 role this season as a redshirt junior. He will now begin the season on the sideline, and Minnesota will look towards TCU transfer Jai'Onte McMillan and returning third-year players Coleman Bryson and Aidan Gousby.

Bryson has played just under 350 snaps in his Gophers career, earning the Pinstripe Bowl defensive MVP against Syracuse in 2022. He will certainly play a role, while McMillan and Gousby are a bit of an unknown. McMillan played just over 150 snaps in his TCU career, while Gousby struggled in his 210 snaps last season, earning a 51.0 Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade.

With Nubin off to the NFL, the Gophers' safety position was expected to take a step back this season, but with Green out, they will be forced to rely on some young players, and there is a chance we could now see freshman phenom Koi Perich earlier than anticipated.

Many experts thought the Gophers had an impressive offseason with 12 new transfers. It will be put to the test right away in a pivotal nonconference game against North Carolina to open the season.