Minnesota’s offense has spent the season trying to survive the trenches, and Greg Johnson has become the linchpin.
That’s a pretty good place to be heading into a bye week, even after the Gophers got steamrolled 41-13 at Purdue on Saturday. Minnesota sits at 4-2 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten, but the break arrives with plenty of cleanup needed on both sides of the ball before Iowa comes to Huntington Bank Stadium next Saturday.
The defense has been all over the map. In back-to-back wins, Minnesota held Washington to 40 rushing yards and Michigan to 180 total yards. In the two losses, though, the Gophers got gashed - Mississippi State ran for 252 yards in a 38-13 win at Huntington Bank Stadium back in September, and Purdue ripped off 305 rushing yards over the weekend.
On offense, the issues have been just as clear. Minnesota is averaging only 96.4 rushing yards per game at 3.6 yards per carry, which ranks 120th nationally.
Yet even with the ground game stuck in neutral, the pass protection has held together better than expected. The Gophers have allowed just four sacks all season, or 0.8 per game, tied for 12th in the country, and that’s with both their starting and backup centers out.
That’s where Johnson comes in.
The senior interior lineman has been the stabilizer for Minnesota up front, and Pro Football Focus has him at 80.3 overall on offense, which ranks 13th among 737 FBS guards and fourth in the Big Ten. He’s given up only one quarterback pressure in 202 pass-blocking snaps. PFF says that’s his biggest weak spot, with a 74.9 pass-blocking grade, but his 81.1 run-blocking grade ranks 11th nationally.
Mel Kiper Jr. clearly liked what he saw. In his updated 2027 NFL Draft Big Board released Thursday, the ESPN draft analyst slotted Johnson at No. 15 overall and pegged him as the top interior offensive lineman in the class.
“15. Greg Johnson, G/C, Minnesota
Height: 6-6 | Weight: 325
2026 stats over six games: Six starts, zero sacks allowed, one pressure allowed
Johnson has played significant snaps at left guard and center this season, and he’s a high-level blocker at both spots. Versatility is one of his best traits; he had 50-plus snaps at both tackle spots last season in addition to his work on the interior.
Johnson is a strong run blocker, with an aggressive, nasty edge to his game. He’s powerful and can sustain well.
But he also anchors well in pass protection, and he has never allowed a sack across 43 career games (34 starts).”
Kiper listed Johnson as a guard/center, and he was the only Minnesota player on the board anywhere in the piece. The top of the interior offensive line rankings behind him included Iowa’s Kade Pieper at No. 19 overall, Notre Dame’s Anthonie Knapp, Cincinnati’s Evan Tengesdahl and Ohio State’s Austin Siereveld. Pieper, a PFF first-team All-American in 2025, is set to come to town next weekend with the Hawkeyes.
Johnson’s rise has lined up with Minnesota asking him to move around more. He shifted to center for the win at Washington and has stayed there since Ashton Beers was lost for the season. That split has left Johnson with 197 snaps at center and 157 at left guard, but it has also given him a chance to show exactly the kind of flexibility Kiper highlighted.
His best showing came in the 27-24 win at Washington, where PFF gave him an 88.4 overall grade, the best mark of any guard in the country that week. The Football Writers Association of America named him Outland Trophy National Player of the Week, and on Tuesday he was added to the Lombardi Award’s midseason watch list of 60 players.
None of this is a surprise if you’ve followed his path. Johnson started all 13 games at center in 2024, then started 11 at left guard along with one start each at left and right tackle in 2025. He earned All-Big Ten honorable mention last season and was Academic All-Big Ten in 2024 and 2025.
If Johnson keeps climbing, he could also end a long first-round drought for Minnesota offensive linemen. The last Gophers O-lineman taken in the first round was center Brian Williams, who went No. 18 overall to the New York Giants in 1989.
The next test arrives Oct. 24, when Minnesota hosts Iowa after the bye. The Hawkeyes bring a line of their own that stacks up well.
Pieper owns an 81.6 overall grade at right guard, which actually ranks two spots ahead of Johnson nationally, and he has allowed two pressures with no sacks. Iowa is also averaging 148.4 rushing yards per game at 4.9 yards per carry, while allowing just 0.8 sacks per game, the same rate as Minnesota.
Hawkeyes tackle Trevor Lauck also made Kiper’s board at No. 23.
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