Gophers land two in ESPN's preseason top 100
Hype for the upcoming Gophers football season may have inched up with two players landing in ESPN's Preseason Top 100 Players for 2022. Running back Mohamed Ibrahim and center John Michael Schmitz come in at Nos. 28 and 73, respectively, on this year’s list.
Ibrahim comes in as the fifth best running back in the nation despite his 2021 season being cut short after rupturing his Achilles in the season opener against Ohio State. As a redshirt freshman Ibrahim rushed for 1,160 yards and nine touchdowns but saw his production dip in 2019 to just 604 yards and 7 touchdowns. He bounced back in the COVID-shortened 2020 season when he rushed for 1,076 yards and 15 touchdowns in just seven games.
The senior running back was named the Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year, awarded to the best running back in the Big Ten, as well as being named First-Team All-Big Ten. ESPN’s Todd McShay has Ibrahim as the 14th best running back in the 2023 draft class (paywall).
Schmitz enters the season on the preseason watch lists for the Lombardi and Rimington awards, handed out to college football’s best lineman and center. Coming in at No. 73 overall, Schmitz is the second-highest rated center on the list.
According to PFF, Schmitz was graded as the 6th best run-blocking and 12th best pass-blocking center in all of college football last season. McShay has the senior center as his 29th best prospect in the 2023 draft class.
Ibrahim and Schmitz were also named preseason All-Americans by The Athletic (paywall).
The Big Ten as a whole had 18 players make the ESPN top 100, with Ibrahim being the top rated non-Ohio State Big Ten player in the nation.
The Gophers kick off the season Sept. 1 at Huntington Bank Stadium against New Mexico State, who are coached by former Gophers head coach Jerry Kill.
