University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Football

NOTABLE: - The 2026 season will be his tenth as head coach at Minnesota (14th year overall as head coach) - Has a 66-44 record at Minnesota and 96-66 overall - 2019 Big Ten Coach of the Year, 2019 Dodd Trophy Finalist, 2019 Bear Bryant Award Finalist and 2019 AFCA National Coach of the Year Finalist - 2x AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year (2016, '19), George Munger Award Finalist (2016, '19), Eddie Robinson Award Finalist (2016, '19) and MAC Coach of the Year (2014, '16) - Ten bowl game appearances as head coach and a 7-0 record in bowl games at Minnesota - Coached 28 NFL Draft Picks, including 20 at Minnesota P.J. Fleck was named head football coach at Minnesota on January 6, 2017. Fleck, 45, is the 30th head coach in the program’s history. He has a career record of 96-66 and is 66-44 at Minnesota. In nine years, Fleck has established himself as one of the most successful coaches ever to lead the Minnesota program. Fleck is the fifth-longest tenured coach in program history and the second-longest active tenured coach in the Big Ten. Fleck's Minnesota record stands at 66-44, putting him fourth in program history in overall wins. He's also fourth at Minnesota in Big Ten wins (39) and fifth in games coached (110). Fleck's overall win percentage of .600 is third best among Minnesota coaches with more than 40 games under their helm behind only College Football Hall of Fame members Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, ‘45-50). In his 13th season overal

Former NFL tight end Brandon Bostick joined the University of Minnesota football staff in February 2026 as an Offensive Analyst. Bostick came to Minnesota fr...

NOTABLE: - The 2026 season will be his tenth year at Minnesota, ninth as offensive line coach (37th year overall in coaching) - Aireontae Ersery was drafted in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, making him the third Gopher offensive lineman drafted in the last four years. - John Michael Schmitz was drafted in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, making him the highest Gopher center to be picked since 1989 - Daniel Faalele was drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft, making him the first Gopher OL to be picked since 2006 - Connor Olson set a Minnesota offensive lineman record with 58 games started, every contest of his career - In 2025, Nathan Roy was named a Freshman All-American Team by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). - In 2024, Ersery was named an All-American by the FWAA, Sporting News and FWAA. He was also named the Big Ten Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year and was All-Big Ten First Team. - In 2022, Schmitz was named one of three finalists for the Rimington Award, was a First Team All-American and was PFF's top-ranked center - In 2021, all five of Minnesota's starting offensive lineman were recognized with All-Big Ten honors, including Faalele and Blaise Andries earning First Team distinction - In 2021, Minnesota's line enabled the Gophers to rush for 2,575 yards and 25 scores, a feat made even more impressive considering the Gophers used five different lead tailbacks due to injuries - In 2019, Minnesota's line blocked for

Brian Sheehan joined the University of Minnesota program in March 2022 as offensive quality control. In his role, he has assisted the offensive line coach wi...

Bryan Nardo joined the University of Minnesota football staff as Senior Defensive Assistant in January 2026. Nardo came to Minnesota from Charlotte where he ...

NOTABLE: - The 2026 season will be his first coaching the defensive line at Minnesota, but it will be his fourth season with the Gophers - Coached rush ends at Minnesota in 2025 and was a graduate assistant at Minnesota from 2020-21 - Helped mentor former Gopher and Super Bowl champion Boye Mafe and former Gopher and NFL player Thomas Rush - Has coached defensive line, rush ends, linebackers and special teams - Three-year starter at Northwestern C.J. Robbins joined the University of Minnesota football program in February 2025 as Rush Ends Coach. He was named Defensive Line Coach in December 2025. In 2025, Robbins coached Karter Menz (6.5 sacks) and Jaxon Howard (4.0 sacks) and worked with Anthony Smith (12.5 sacks). That trio combined for 23 of Minnesota’s 39 sacks and added a combined 32 tackles for loss. Robbins came to Minnesota from Central Michigan where he had a brief stint leading the defensive line. Robbins spent the 2023-2024 seasons at Kent state. In 2023 he coached the rush ends and was also the co-special teams coordinator as well as the defensive recruiting coordinator. Prior to the 2024 season, Robbins was moved to linebackers coach and was promoted to special teams coordinator and the assistant head coach. In 2022, he coached the outside linebackers at the University of South Dakota Robbins was a graduate assistant at Minnesota during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In his first stint with the Gophers he helped mentor Boye Mafe (7.5 sacks) and Thomas Rush (5.5 sacks

Caleb Richardson joined the University of Minnesota as an Offensive Line Assistant in January 2026. He previously volunteered with the program during the 2025 season. Prior to Minnesota, he was a graduate assistant at Northern Illinois from May 2023 – January 2025 and he was also an assistant coach at Sioux Falls from December 2022 – May 2023. Richardson also spent time at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire after playing offensive line at Bethel from 2018-21.

Christian Pawola joined the University of Minnesota football staff in February 2025 as the Assistant Defensive Backs Coach. In 2025, Pawola worked with both ...

NOTABLE: - The 2026 season will be his first at Minnesota - Has more than 20 years coaching experience, including serving as the Interim Head Coach at USF - Has coached five All-Americans in his career and three Lou Groza Award semifinalists. Daniel Da Prato joined the University of Minnesota football staff as Special Teams Coordinator in late December 2025. Da Prato comes to Minnesota after serving as Associate Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator at New Mexico in 2025. He has more than 20 years of coaching experience and is considered one of the best coaches for special teams. He has coached five All-Americans and three Lou Groza Award semifinalists. While with the Lobos, Da Prato coached numerous special teams standouts in kick returner Damon Bankston, kicker Luke Drzewiecki, punter Daniel Hughes and punt returner D.J. McKinney. Bankston was named All-Mountain First Team as he returned 12 kickoffs for 434 yards. He averaged 36.2 yards per return and returned two kickoffs for touchdowns. Drzewiecki made 18-of-19 field goals last season and Hughes averaged 45.4 yards per punt and recorded only two touchbacks as both were named All-Mountain West Honorable Mention. McKinney led New Mexico with five punt returns for 73 yards (14.6 average) and one touchdown. Prior to New Mexico, Da Prato spent the 2023-24 seasons at Texas State as the Associate Head Coach and Special Teams Coordinator. In 2023, Texas State improved right away as the program led the entire country in total k

NOTABLE: - The 2026 season will be the tenth at Minnesota, second as defensive coordinator, fifth coaching the safeties and his 14th year with Fleck. - Coached All-Americans Tyler Nubin (First Team, 2023) and Koi Perich (Second Team, 2024) at Minnesota and has coached two Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award semifinalists in Perich and Kerry Brown in 2024. - Has coached two NFL draft picks at Minnesota in Nubin (New York Giants) and Jordan Howden (New Orleans Saints) - In 2025, Minnesota's defense tied for sixth in the nation with 3.0 sacks per game and was 11th in the nation with 7.1 tackles per loss per game. - Helped Minnesota's defense rank fifth in the nation in total defense in 2024, seventh in team passing efficient defense and ninth in scoring defense. - Helped Minnesota’s defense rank eighth in the nation in 2022 in total defense, fourth in scoring defense, seventh in team passing efficiency defense and 15th in rushing defense - Helped Minnesota’s defense rank third in the nation in 2021 in total defense, tie for sixth in scoring defense and rank eighth in rushing defense - Called the defense in Minnesota's 30-24 win against Bowling Green in the 2023 Quick Lane Bowl - Served as interim defensive backs coach for Minnesota's 34-10 win against Georgia Tech in the 2018 Quick Lane Bowl Danny Collins was promoted to defensive coordinator in January 2025. He continues to coach the safeties in this role. The 2026 season will be the tenth at Minnesota for Collins. It wi

NOTABLE: - The 2026 season will be the fourth at Minnesota and third coaching the tight ends - In 2025, coached All-Big Ten Honorable Mention Jameson Geers - In 2024, coached Nick Kallerup, who signed a free agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks after the 2025 NFL Draft - Has nearly 30 years of experience on his resume, which includes more than 20 years as a head coach or offensive coordinator - Has coached tight ends, quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs during his career - His father, father-in-law and brother have all coached or are currently coaching football. Eric Koehler joined the Minnesota football staff in February 2023 as a senior offensive analyst. He was named tight ends coach prior to the 2024 season. Koehler is a veteran coach who has nearly 30 years of experience on his resume, which includes more than 20 years as a head coach or offensive coordinator. Koehler has worked at Miami University (2014-22), Illinois State (2013), Grand Valley State (2008-12), Wartburg (2002-07), Rose-Hulman (2001), Wisconsin-Platteville (1999-00), Worcester Polytech Institute (1998) and his alma mater Hanover, which is where he started as an assistant coach in 1997 after his playing career ended. The 2025 season saw the continued maturation of Jameson Geers and the emergence of Frank Bierman and transfer Drew Biber. Geers was named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention after catching 26 passes for 206 yards and four touchdowns, while Biber ended the season with 18 receptions for

NOTABLE: - The 2026 season will be Harbaugh's seventh year overall at Minnesota and fourth as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach (18th year overall in coaching). - Is in his third stint with the Gophers, as he previously served in a quality control role twice on Fleck’s Minnesota staff (2017 and 2019). - Coached Minnesota quarterback Drake Lindsey in 2025. Lindsey was a redshirt freshman and won eight of the 13 games he started. Lindsey's eight wins set a program record for wins by a freshman quarterback. He completed 249-of-386 passes for 2,382 yards and 18 touchdowns against only six interceptions. His 249 completions and completion percentage of 63.2% rank fourth in school single-season history, while his 18 touchdowns tied for eighth. - Coached Minnesota quarterback Max Brosmer in 2024. In his one season at Minnesota, Brosmer completed a single-season school record 268 passes for 2,828 yards (third most in single-season school history) and 18 touchdowns (tied for eighth most in school single-season history). He ranked second in single-season school history with a completion percentage of 66.5% and his 217.54 passing yards per game is eighth in single-season school history. Brosmer signed with the Minnesota Vikings after playing for the Gophers. - Position coach for Gophers Max Brosmer (QB, Minnesota Vikings), Nick Kallerup (TE, Seattle Seahawks) and Brevyn Spann-Ford (TE, Dallas Cowboys), who all signed NFL contracts as free agents after their college careers ended.

NOTABLE: - The 2026 season will be his first at Minnesota and his ninth in coaching - Has served as an offensive coordinator and coached quarterbacks and wide receivers in his career - Was the Offensive Coordinator at North Dakota from 2024-25 when the team averaged 31.85 points per game - Signed with the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent after the 2015 NFL Draft and spent time with Minnesota and the Detroit Lions from 2015-17 - Played at Minnesota from 2012-2014 and had 50 receptions for 702 yards and three touchdowns and was also a two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree - Started his college career at Rochester Community and Technical College in 2010 - Played high school football at Caledonia High School in Caledonia, Minn., and his head coach was his father, Carl Fruechte. Carl Fruechte was inducted into the Minnesota Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2024 and is one of the few high school coaches in state history with more than 200 career wins Isaac Fruechte joined the University of Minnesota football staff as Wide Receivers Coach in January 2026. Fruechte comes to Minnesota, his alma mater, after serving as the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach at North Dakota during the 2024-25 seasons. Under Fruechte, North Dakota averaged 32.9 points and 387.3 yards per game in 2025 and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs. In 2024, North Dakota put up 30.8 points per game and 360.2 yards per game. At North Dakota, his offenses often found success in the red zone

Karter Johnson joined the University of Minnesota football staff as an Offensive Analyst in January 2026. Johnson graduated from Minnesota in May 2025 and he...

Keegan O'Hara was named an offensive analyst at the University of Minnesota in January 2023. He was promoted to Assistant Quarterbacks Coach prior to the 2025 season. At Minnesota, O'Hara has worked with standout quartebacks Drake Lindsey and Max Brosmer. In 2025, he helped mentor Lindsey who won eight games and set a program record for wins by a freshman quarterback. Lindsey was stellar in his first year leading the Maroon and Gold, as he completed 249-of-386 passes for 2,382 yards and 18 touchdowns against only six interceptions. In program program single-season history, his TD-to-INT ratio (3.00) tied for third, completions total (249) and completion percentage (.632) ranked fourth, attempts total (386) ranked fifth, passing touchdown total (18) tied for eighth, and passing yardage total (2,382) ranked 14th. In 2024, O'Hara worked with Brosmer, who completed a single-season school record 268 passes for 2,828 yards (third most in single-season school history) and 18 touchdowns (tied for eighth most in school single-season history). Brosmer ranked second in single-season school history with a completion percentage of 66.5% and his 217.54 passing yards per game is eighth in single-season school history. Brosmer signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings after the 2025 NFL Draft. Brosmer started two games and played in eight as a rookie for the Vikings during the 2025 season. O’Hara spent the 2022 season at Ohio State as a graduate assistant working with the Buckeyes wi

Kody Schutzman joined the University of Minnesota football staff in May 2022 and has served in a number of different roles on the defensive side of the ball....

NOTABLE: - The 2026 season will be his fourth year at Minnesota and second coaching the linebackers - Named Newcomer Coordinator title in January 2026 - Played in 58 career games at Minnesota from 2018-22 and ended his career with 274 tackles and 14.5 tackles for loss - Named All-Big Ten Third Team in 2022 and All-Big Ten Honorable Mention in 2021; four-time Academic All-Big Ten performer Mariano Sori-Marin was named Linebackers Coach in January 2025, and he added Newcomer Coordinator responsibilities in January 2026. Sori-Marin joined the Minnesota staff prior to the 2023 season as a defensive analyst and was promoted to nickel coach / assistant linebackers coach in January 2024. The 2025 season saw Minnesota's linebackers flourish under Sori-Marin. Maverick Baranowski led Minnesota with 103 tackles, while Devon Williams was second on the team with 89. Baranowski, who was named All-Big Ten Honorable Mention, became the first Gopher to record more than 100 tackles since Blake Cashman had 104 in 2018. Baranowski, Williams, Matt Kingsbury, Mason Carrier and Emmanuel Karmo were responsible for 27.2% of the team's tackles for loss in 2025 (25 of 92) and 23.1% of the team's sacks (9 of 39). In addition, they recorded six of the team's 31 pass breakups (19.4%). The unit also forced two fumbles anf recovered four. In 2024, with Sori-Marin coaching, three of the team’s top six tacklers played either linebacker (Cody Lindenberg and Maverick Baranowski) or nickel (Jack Henderson) and t

Matt Limegrover joined the University of Minnesota as an Assistant Offensive Line Coach in January 2026. Limegrover previously worked at Minnesota from 2011-2015 as the Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach. He has more than 30 years of coaching experience and has worked almost exclusively with the offensive line. He has coached in 13 bowl games, including the Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl. He has also been on three staffs that have won a Big Ten Championship, as he was at Penn State in 2016 and Northwestern in 1996 and 1996. Since his time at Minnesota, Limegrover has worked at Kent State, Arkansas State, Michigan and Penn State. Prior to his first stint at Minnesota, Limegrover worked at Northern Illinois, Southern Illinois, Emporia State, Ferris State Northwestern and Chicago, which is his alma mater. Most recently, Limegrover was at Kent State from 2023-24. There he served as the Co-Offensive Coordinator, Run Game Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach. He was at Arkansas State in 2021-22. He led the offensive line in 2021 and coached tight ends in 2022. During his time in Jonesboro, Limegrover coached Andre Harris Jr to All-Sun Belt honors. The Red Wolves’ offense was 11th in the nation in passing at more than 300 yards per game and posted more than 500 yards on four different occasions. Prior to Arkansas State, Limegrover was the offensive line coach at Penn State from 2016-19. During that span, Penn State won the 2016 Big 10 title, won 42 games and post

Micah Strahan joined the University of Minnesota as a Special Teams Assistant Coach in January 2026. Strahan came to Minnesota from Midland Christian School in Midland, Texas, where he was the Director of Sports Performance. Strahan was a linebacker at Texas State from 2021-22 and played at Tulsa from 2019-20.

Mike Scott joined the University of Minnesota football staff in February 2026 as a Defensive Analyst. Scott came to Minnesota from Eastern Michigan where he ...

Mike Shula joined the University of Minnesota football staff as an Offensive Assistant in March 2026. Shula came to Minnesota from South Carolina where he sp...

NOTABLE: - The 2026 season will be his first coaching running backs at Minnesota, but it will be his eighth overall with head coach P.J. Fleck - Coached running backs at Kent State in 2025 - Minnesota’s career record holder for rushing yards (4,668), rushing and total touchdowns (53), 100-yard rushing games (24) and 200-yard rushing games (5) - Big Ten Running Back of the Year in 2020 and was named an All-American in 2020 and in 2022. Mohamed Ibrahim joined the University of Minnesota football staff as Running Backs Coach in January 2026. The 2026 season will be his first coaching running backs for the Gophers, but it will also be his eighth overall with head coach P.J. Fleck. Ibrahim spent six years playing for Fleck at Minnesota and volunteered with the Gophers in 2024. Ibrahim returns to Minnesota after coaching running backs at Kent State during the 2025 season. At Kent State, Ibrahim’s running backs combined to rush for 1,045 yards four touchdowns and helped the team go from zero wins in 2024 to five wins in 2025. Ibrahim spent the 2024 college season helping the Minnesota program after his NFL playing career ended. He spent part of the 2024 NFL preseason with the Minnesota Vikings after being with the Detroit Lions for the 2023 season. His 2023 season was cut short due to an injury sustained against the Baltimore Ravens. Ibrahim played at Minnesota from 2017-22 and is one of the best players to ever wear the Maroon and Gold. He competed in 41 career games and set numero

Nick Faus joined the University of Minnesota football staff in February 2025 as the Assistant Wide Receivers Coach. Faus returned to Minnesota after spending...

NOTABLE: - The 2026 season will be the fourth at Minnesota - In 2025, coached John Nestor, who led the Big Ten with six interceptions - Starting corners in 2024 both made it to the NFL as Justin Walley was drafted in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft by the Indianapolis Colts and Ethan Robinson signed as a free agent by the Miami Dolphins - Has coached four players who have been drafted into the NFL since 2021 - Is from Mahtomedi, Minn., and his father, Marty, was a graduate assistant for the Gophers in 1994-95 Nick Monroe joined the University of Minnesota football staff in January 2023 as Cornerbacks Coach and Co-Defensive Coordinator. The 2025 season saw Minnesota replace both starting corners, as Justin Walley and Ethan Robinson moved on to the NFL. John Nestor transferred to Minnesota from Iowa prior to the season and emerged as one of the best defenders in the Big Ten. Nestor tied for the conference lead in interceptions with six (tied for third most in single-season history) and had 50 tackles and had six tackles for loss. Nestor returned one interception for a touchdown and also broke up six passes and recovered one fumble. Monroe also oversaw the development of young defensive backs Mike Gerald and Naiim Parrish, but he also helped prepare Aidan Gousby and Jai'Onte' McMillan to play corner when the team needed them to. Gousby played safety for most of his career, but started the final two games of the season at corner for Minnesota, while McMillan, a more traditi

Steve Stanard joined the University of Minnesota as a Rush Ends Coach in February 2026. Stanard has nearly 40 years of coaching experience on his resume and has also served as a head coach and defensive coordinator. He spent the previous six seasons coaching linebackers at Kansas State. At Kansas State, he coached 10 linebackers who were received All-Big 12 honors with at least one honoree in every season on staff. In 2025, he mentored Austin Romaine who was named to the All-Big 12 Football Second Team for the second straight year after finishing second on Kansas State in tackles (66) and tackles for loss (seven). He also had half of a sack, broke up two passes, made one interception and recovered one fumble. The 2024 season saw Romaine lead Kansas State with 96 tackles, the most by a Wildcat since 2017, as he was named All-Big 12 Second Team. With Romaine leading the way, Kansas State finished in the top 30 nationally in three defensive categories as they ranked fourth in fourth down defense at 32.1%, 25th in sacks per game at 2.69 and 28th in rushing yards allowed per game at 118.7. Kansas State’s rushing defense did not allow a 200-yard rushing game for the first time since 2016 and the Wildcats were one of only two Big 12 teams to lay that claim in 2024. Three of Stanard’s linebackers earned All-Big 12 honors in 2023, led by second-team honoree Austin Moore. He led the team with 12.5 tackles for loss and tied for the team lead with 63 tackles. Desmond Purnell earned All-B

Travis Moore joined the University of Minnesota football staff as Assistant Defensive Line Coach in January 2026. Moore came to Minnesota from Northern Illin...