Twenty-one former Minnesota players moved on after last season, and a handful have already carved out clear roles elsewhere as the 2026 season gets rolling. Some are starting right away. Others are buried a little deeper, but they’re still getting on the field and making their presence felt.
The biggest early splash came from Fame Ijeboi at Purdue. The former Gophers running back stepped in as the Boilermakers’ lead back and wasted no time showing what he can do.
He carried the ball 11 times for 87 yards and a touchdown, added two catches for 30 yards, and even had a 63-yard touchdown run wiped out by a holding penalty. His PFF score came in at 93.3.
Koi Perich is already playing every snap for Oregon at safety, and he did plenty of work in the opener against Boise State. Perich logged all 68 snaps and led the Ducks with 11 tackles. He did get beat on a red-zone play that ended with a Boise State tight end touchdown, but he still graded as Oregon’s top safety that day with a 67.4 PFF mark according to the Oregon 247 site.
Cristian Driver has been making noise at Abilene Christian. Through two games, the receiver has 13 catches for 1490 yards and a touchdown. His latest outing included an eight-catch performance against Texas Tech last weekend.
Brody Richter has handled punting duties at New Mexico State. He punted four times in the loss to Florida State and once in the 51-14 win over Mercer, and he’s sitting at just under a 41-yard average through five punts.
Harrison Brun has also settled into a starting job, lining up in the secondary for South Dakota. Through the first two games, he has nine tackles and one pass deflection for the Coyotes.
A few other former Minnesota players are in more familiar early-season rotation spots. Malachi Coleman, now at Wisconsin, had four catches for 76 yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame. His longest grab went for 28 yards, and even though he wasn’t first on the depth chart, he led the Badgers in receptions and receiving yards.
Jaylen Bowden is second on the depth chart at right corner for East Carolina and recorded one tackle in the season-opening loss at Alabama. Ethan Carrier, a reserve linebacker and special teams contributor at South Dakota, has three tackles in two games.
Steven Curtis is second at defensive end for North Texas and played against Indiana without recording a stat. Drew Wilson, a second-string linebacker at Lafayette, had three tackles in the opener against UConn.
Kenric Lanier II is deep on Missouri’s receiver depth chart, but he did get into the opener against Pine Bluff. He just didn’t have a pass thrown his way. Quentin Redding has started his Rutgers career with two punt returns for 24 yards against UMass, while Jackson Kollock completed two passes in UC Davis’ win over San Diego, with completions of seven and five yards.
One former Gopher has yet to see game action. Kahlee Tafai, now at Cal, is second on the depth chart at left guard and was not listed in the participation report against UCLA.
In Other News...
Gophers Just Crossed A Uniform Line Fans May Not Love
Minnesotas football program has taken another step into the commercial side of college athletics, announcing a partnership with Visible, the digital-first wireless carrier powered by Verizon. The deal makes Visible the first helmet bumper sponsor in Gophers history, and its logo will be on the back of every Minnesota football helmet starting Sept. 12.
The move arrives as the athletic department works through a budget deficit, which helps explain why more sponsorship avenues are now on the table. Helmet decals are one thing, but the program is also weighing future jersey patch sponsorships, a sign that the line between tradition and revenue keeps getting thinner. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Just Crossed A New Branding Line Fans Will Debate
A fresh look is coming to Gophers helmets this season, and it is one that will draw plenty of attention before the first snap. Minnesota has added a Visible logo sponsorship sticker to the bottom rear of its football helmets after the NCAA opened the door to commercial logos on equipment, a change that has quickly moved from rulebook language to game-day reality.
The deal was negotiated by Learfield on behalf of the athletics department and reaches beyond football, with additional branding planned for the basketball and hockey programs. The Gophers are set to debut the helmet branding in their upcoming game against Mississippi State, giving fans their first chance to see how far this new era of on-field sponsorship can go. [Read more 🡒]
Gophers Are Bringing A First To Their Helmets This Season
Minnesota football is about to add a little more branding to its game-day look, with Gopher Athletics and Learfields Gopher Sports Properties announcing a partnership with Visible that puts the company on the back of every helmet. Beginning Sept. 12, the logo will appear as the first helmet bumper partner in program history, a small visual change that nonetheless signals how quickly college sports is embracing new commercial territory.
The debut is set for a nationally televised meeting with Mississippi State, giving the Gophers a big stage for a first that would have been unthinkable not long ago. It also comes on the heels of the NCAAs recent approval of commercial logos on college athletic uniforms, opening another branding lane for schools looking to balance tradition, revenue and the modern realities of the sport. [Read more 🡒]