Darius Taylor’s health is already shaping Minnesota’s season, and the ripple effects are showing up far beyond Dinkytown.
The clearest example so far is Fame Ijeboi. While the Gophers’ backfield has been hit by another early injury to Taylor, the transfer running back Minnesota also wanted back has stepped right into a featured role at Purdue and is putting up the kind of production the Boilermakers expected when they brought him in.
Ijeboi has been busy through two games. He opened with 11 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown in Purdue’s 44-19 win over Indiana State on Sept. 4, then followed that up Saturday with 27 rushes for 114 yards and three scores, plus six catches for 42 yards, in a 38-36 double-overtime loss to Wake Forest.
Taylor, meanwhile, was slowed by an undisclosed injury in Minnesota’s 38-13 loss to Mississippi State on Saturday. He had just six carries for 15 yards and one catch for five yards, and Pro Football Focus said he was on the field for only 14 of the 69 total snaps against the Bulldogs.
It came after a strong start to the year, when Taylor piled up 87 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns before sitting out the second half of the Gophers’ 59-7 win over Eastern Illinois on Sept. 3.
Minnesota made a meaningful investment to bring Taylor back for his senior season in 2026. The Gophers also wanted Ijeboi back for his junior year, and he was still weighing his options while the transfer portal was open. But the Folcroft, Pa., native wanted a starting job, and that was not expected to happen with Taylor lined up for the lead role, sources told the Pioneer Press.
At Purdue, he’s gotten exactly that opportunity.
Taylor’s injury history only adds to the concern. He missed three games with a hamstring last season, and the source material notes he has missed 27% of games in his career, not counting other games in which he wasn’t fully healthy. He also put in extra work this offseason to try to stay on the field, including Pilates classes, but he’s back in the injury conversation again.
Gophers coach P.J. Fleck was asked Monday whether Taylor might be shut down for Saturday’s game against Akron and held out until the Big Ten opener at Washington on Sept. 26.
“Truly is a day-by-day basis,” Fleck responded. “He started the football game last week.”
Minnesota’s depth chart at running back has been thinned further by other injuries. Freshman Ryan Estrada played against Eastern Illinois, finishing with three carries for 10 yards and two catches for 12 yards, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury in that game.
Freshman Zeke Bates missed the first two games and could return later this season. Fifth-year back AJ Turner, who injured his knee at California last September, made his season debut against Mississippi State and contributed two carries and one catch for nine total yards.
If Taylor can’t go, or is limited again, Elon transfer TJ Thomas looks like the next man up. Through two games, the 5-foot-8, 190-pound back has 10 carries for 51 yards and six catches for 63 yards.
Ijeboi’s time at Minnesota offered a glimpse of what he could do when given a larger workload. Last season, with Taylor out or limited, he posted 97 carries for 441 yards and two touchdowns and added 12 receptions for 54 yards and another score. At Purdue, he’s on pace to blow past those totals.
And the story isn’t done yet. Minnesota’s trip to West Lafayette, Ind., on Oct. 10 will bring Ijeboi and the Gophers face to face.
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