New faces coming to Gopher football this season, who transferred in and what can we expect?
Last week I tried to catch you up on who the transfer portal took and who the transfer portal gave to Gopher Basketball. With a roster of 13, the comings and goings can be a significant portion of the roster, having a huge impact from one season to the next.
Football is a little bit different and it seems that PJ Fleck has been managing the portal very well this offseason, and other last few. The Gopher staff has managed to hang on to the majority of their key returners and found some nice players to plug into some of the roster holes.
In the 2023 transfer class the program picked up Tre’Vone Jones who started all 13 games at corner and Corey Crooms who was the team’s second-leading WR. Both were positions of great need a year ago.
The 2022 group of transfers included Quinn Carroll, Chuck Filiaga, Beanie Bishop, and Kyler Baugh. I haven’t done the research, but there are a lot of starts made from that group. Again, filling key areas of need to plug holes for the upcoming season, as you should do with the transfer portal.
This offseason the staff managed to hang on to all of the team’s impact players. At one point in late November, I was texting a group of friends and I identified 13 players on the roster that they “had” to keep. All but 1 are still on the roster, Athan Kaliakmanis being the one who left, but more on him later.
So, with a roster that returns quite a few starters and impact players, this year’s transfer class needed a couple of key players and then depth. On paper, it appears to have hit the mark.
Here are your 2024 incoming transfers.
QB – Max Brosmer
From: New Hampshire
Projected Impact: Starting QB
A top-3 finalist for the FCS Walter Payton Award, essentially the Heisman for FCS. Brosmer completed 64% of his passes, threw for 3,464 yards, 29 touchdowns and just 5 interceptions last season at New Hampshire. He comes to Minnesota to be the starting quarterback and should give Greg Harbaugh’s offense an accurate and experienced passer.
Kaliakmanis struggled last year to make the right reads and lead the offense on sustained drives. He just never seemed to be able to match his raw talent to what was needed to run the offense.
It seems as though Brosmer may be more suited to run the Gopher offense and has the experience to come and contribute immediately. He will have one season as a Gopher before the reigns will likely be given to Drake Lindsey.
QB – Dylan Wittke
From: Virginia Tech
Projected Impact: Depth
Wittke is a Georgia native who went to Virginia Tech out of high school. He played just 1 season with the Hokies, redshirting and then entered the portal. He comes to Minnesota to be depth this season and then I’m sure he will have the opportunity to compete for the starting job next year.
RB – Marcus Major
From: Oklahoma
Projected Impact: Should see plenty of action as part of the RB rotation.
A 4-start prospect out of high school, Major played four seasons for the Sooners as a rotation back. Over his career he rushed for 833 yards and 8 touchdowns in 35 games. There is no doubt that Darius Taylor is the team’s feature back but with the departures of Zach Evans, Sean Tyler and Bryce Williams, there is a significant need for running back depth.
This program needs a pair and a spare (or 3) and Major very well may be the guy who is paired with Taylor to keep everyone’s legs fresh.
RB – Sieh Bangura
From: Ohio
Projected Impact: Is the pair or is he the spare, but he’ll play
PJ Fleck dips back into the MAC to pull Bangura who was the MAC freshman of the year in 2022 and over 2 seasons has rushed for nearly 2,000 yards, scoring 25 total touchdowns.
Bangura is a pass-catching back who had a good spring, he is very much in line for reps this fall.
RB – Jaren Mangham
From: Michigan State
Projected Impact: Situational back and much-needed depth
This Michigan State transfer has made the rounds in college football. He Mangham began his career as a 4-star recruiter for Colorado. He played quite a bit as a true freshman finishing 2nd on the team in carries, yards and rushing touchdowns. His sophomore season was the 5-game season of Covid and he was surpassed on the depth chart by freshman Jarek Broussard. So Mangham transferred to South Florida where he had a great season, leading the Bulls in rushing and having 15 touchdowns. But then 2022 was cut short, limited to just 4 games.
So after 2 years in South Florida, Mangham returned home to play for Michigan State. But he began the 2023 season injured, finally getting to play in the final 6 games of the season.
Now, hopefully healthy, he is transferring to Minnesota. Mangham seems in line to get short-yardage carries and will be an experienced back who could be called on more, should injuries mount at running back.
WR – Tyler Williams
From: Georgia
Projected Impact: Opportunity to start, but he’s young
We love our 4-star receivers from Georgia, don’t we? OK, technically Williams is a Florida kid who signed with the Bulldogs out of high school. Williams was a top-100 player in the 2023 class, having offers from virtually everybody. He spent his freshman season with Georgia and decided to transfer after redshirting, participating in 2 games.
At 6’3” and over 200 lbs, Williams is a physical specimen. He also ran track in high school and could have been a D1 basketball player as well. The pedigree and tools are all there, it is easy to get very excited about Williams in 2024. But it is important to remember that he is just a redshirt freshman. Could he step into a role opposite Daniel Jackson? Absolutely. But he may also just be a part of the receiver rotation as more experienced guys like Lemeke Brockington and Elijah Spencer earn more snaps.
Very excited about this transfer, but 2024 may not be the year he breaks out.
WR – Cristian Driver
From: Penn State
Projected Impact: Part of the WR rotation
The son of Donald Driver is coming to Huntington Bank Stadium. Driver is 5’11” and around 200 lbs. Out of high school, he was a 4-star safety recruit who had offers from many helmet schools.
After redshirting in 2022 for the Nittany Lions, he played sparingly in 2023 and chose to hit the portal.
At Minnesota, he has the skill set to be effective in the slot and should be a part of the WR rotation. Staying healthy and showing consistency will be key for Driver.
OT – Aluma Nkele
From: UTEP
Projected Impact: Will compete at RT to start or provide depth
Nkele is a big kid, coming to Minnesota at 6’7”, 370 lbs. This team is returning 4/5 of their starting offensive line and they have young Greg Johnson, ready to step in and be a very good interior lineman. So is Nkele just being brought in for depth?
Yes and no.
There has been the notion of moving Quinn Carroll from RT over to RG, where he may be more suited to thrive. But that notion has been toyed with since last spring and it never seems to materialize.
So, perhaps Nkele is here to compete with Martez Lewis, hoping one of them steps up to earn Coach Callahan’s trust at RT, allowing Carroll to move inside. Or Carroll remains at tackle, where he has essentially started for 2 seasons and Nkele is experienced depth.
It is also worth noting that Nkele will have 2 years to play at Minnesota and there will be more opportunity to play in 2025.
DE – Jaxon Howard
From: LSU
Projected Impact: Anywhere from rotational rush end to having a major impact
Moving to the defense, I’ll start with potentially the highest-impact player to come to the Gophers in this year’s portal. Out of high school, Howard was a 4-star prospect coming out of Robbinsdale Cooper and had offers from LSU, Bama, Georgia, Miami, Ohio State, Michigan…he could have played anywhere. He chose LSU after giving Minnesota serious consideration.
Howard was able to participate as a true freshman for the Tigers, playing in 5 games. But following the spring game, he entered the portal, deciding to come home to Minnesota.
We should be very excited about this transfer, but we should also temper expectations a little bit. Yes, he was a 4-star recruit who was taken by LSU. Yes, he has a unique skill set that should be well-suited for the Gopher defense. But he is also just a redshirt freshman and often playing along the defensive line requires some maturity and growth. He may be very good, perhaps a guy who will be playing on Sundays, but do not expect he will be playing at an All-Big Ten level right away.
Danny Striggow had a great season at rush end last year and I expect he’ll be your starter. Howard will play and the position will eventually be his.
DE – Adam Kissayi
From: Clemson
Projected Impact: Minimal in 2024
A defensive line transfer from LSU and Clemson in the same offseason? I like this trend.
Kissayi is actually going to be a true freshman. He signed with Clemson in December, started taking classes in January and after spring football decided to hit the portal. The Gopher staff recruited him heavily out of high school and really only had to wait a few additional months to get him.
He will likely slide into the strong side along the DL and will spend this year behind the likes of Jay Joyner and Anthony Smith. Kissayi is a great addition, but his impact will come later.
CB – Jai’Onte’ McMillan
From: TCU
Projected Impact: Secondary depth
McMillan has 1 year to play and decided to leave TCU to head north. He was a walk-on out of high school who earned himself playing time and a scholarship.
He participated in quite a few games for the Horned Frogs but his impact was mostly on special teams and secondary depth. I expect that McMillan, who has a big frame, is going to be valuable as a reserve nickel, reserve safety and corner in a pinch. His experience and versatility are going to be nice to have for the Gopher defensive staff.
CB – Ethan Robinson
From: Bucknell
Projected Impact: Potential starter
Robinson is a 1st team All-Patriot corner who left the smaller school for his final year of eligibility. He brings a 6’ frame and quite a bit of experience. For the Bison he finished last season starting 9 games where he had 50 tackles, 3 interceptions and 10 pass breakups. He played in 31 games for Bucknell over his 3 seasons.
Secondary depth is a noticeable hole for the Gopher defense and Robinson needs to plug that opening opposite Justin Walley.
—————
The biggest losses for Minnesota this offseason were Marquese Williams, Kaliakmanis, JJ Guedet, Tariq Watson and Zach Evans. It appears that they ended up upgrading through the portal this offseason with potentially three starters added and two or three key rotational players.
The only area of need that wasn’t fully addressed is secondary depth, particularly at safety. But overall, this seems to be an offseason where the staff navigated transfer season as well as anybody.