P.J. Fleck's 5 recruiting 'hidden gems' as Gophers head coach

Where has Fleck found his most success on the recruiting trail?

December 26, 2021; Scottsdale, AZ; Minnesota Defensive End, senior, Boye Mafe, answers questions at the Guaranteed Rate Bowl Media Day at Camelback Inn Ncaa Football Guaranteed Rate Bowl Media Day / Megan Mendoza / USA TODAY NETWORK

Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck has found some hidden gems on the recruiting trail over the years.

Fleck and his staff just finished one of the biggest stretches of the 2025 recruiting cycle, so let's look back at some of the most impressive finds he's had as a talent evaluator at the high school level.

Boye Mafe, EDGE (2017)

• No. 1,527-ranked recruit
• Top offers: Rutgers, Wyoming, North Dakota State

Hailing from Hopkins High School, Mafe was, notably, the fifth-highest ranked player in Minnesota for the class of 2017, but identifying and developing his talent in the Gophers' system might be one of Fleck and his staff's most impressive stories. He was drafted 40th overall (second round) by the Seahawks in 2022.

Mariano Sori-Marin, LB (2018)

• No. 1,227-ranked recruit
• Top offers: Harvard, Yale, Cornell

If it wasn't for Mafe's blossoming NFL career, Sori-Marin would probably have the top spot on this list. Coming out of New Lenox, Ill., he was well on his way to becoming an FCS player, but he went on to start 30+ games and play 2,000+ snaps on some of the best Gophers defenses in the last 50 years.

John Michael Schmitz, IOL (2017)

• No. 1,051-ranked recruit
• Top offers: Louisville, Miami (OH), Central Michigan

Schmitz was committed to Fleck at Western Michigan, then decided to follow him to Minnesota. Instead of playing in the MAC, he went on to be one of the best offensive linemen in program history, playing nearly 2,500 career snaps and earning first-team All-America honors in 2022. He is now well on his way to a long NFL career after the Giants took him with the No. 57 pick (second round) in 2023.

Mohamed Ibrahim, RB (2017)

• No. 1,116-ranked recruit
• Top offers: Iowa, Kentucky, Temple

Ibrahim was pursued by two other Power Five programs, but he was still outside of the top-1,100 players in his class. Fleck's 2017 class was his first and easily his best as Gophers head coach, and Ibrahim is a big reason why. He went on to become the program's all-time leading rusher and one of the best running backs in school history.

Maverick Baranowski (2022)

• No. 1,573-ranked recruit
• Top offers: Tulsa, Kent State, Navy

Only one year into his college career, it might seem a bit premature to put Baranowski on this list, but he played nearly 400 snaps last season as a redshirt freshman. 247Sports had him as the lowest-ranked player in Minnesota's 2022 class, but he already has 53 career tackles, blowing the expectations of his ranking out of the water.

Honorable mentions:

• Cody Lindenberg: No. 1,131-ranked recruit in 2020 who's recorded 115 tackles — 7.5 for loss — in 26 games so far in his Gophers career
• Thomas Rush: No. 1,202-ranked recruit in 2018 who posted 58 tackles — 13.5 for loss — and 8.5 sacks across 58 career games for the Gophers
• Nathan Boe: No. 1,717-ranked recruit in 2018 who played all 13 games in back-to-back seasons in 2022 and 2023, including 13 starts at center in 2023, a year in which he was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention
• Esezi Otomewo: No. 1,551-ranked recruit in 2017