The Minnesota Golden Gophers’ 2025 season is less than a week away, and as we continue to prepare for the 2025 season, we’re ready to predict the Gophers’ statistical leaders in multiple categories while also predicting the stat lines for Drake Lindsey and the Gophers’ trio of running backs. Before we jump in, our goal […]
The Minnesota Golden Gophers’ 2025 season is less than a week away, and as we continue to prepare for the 2025 season, we’re ready to predict the Gophers’ statistical leaders in multiple categories while also predicting the stat lines for Drake Lindsey and the Gophers’ trio of running backs.
Before we jump in, our goal with these projections was to be realistic but also a little bold as well. It would be a bit boring if there wasn’t a taste of boldness mixed in, but for the most part, we do believe that most of these numbers are obtainable for the Gophers.
Don’t forget to give us your picks in the Inside Gophers Nation forum as well!
What will be Drake Lindsey’s stat line at the end of the 2025 season?
All eyes will be on Drake Lindsey this fall as he begins his career as the Gophers’ starting quarterback. Expectations from fans will certainly be high for the Arkansas native, and the Minnesota coaching staff’s own expectations will probably be on the higher side as well. Offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. hasn’t been shy about what he’s asked Lindsey to do in fall camp.
What we do know is that the Gophers this offseason are going to be relying on the talent surrounding Lindsey. It’s not going to be all on the young signal caller. They’re going to lean on their dangerous rushing attack and the veteran group of receivers and tight ends.
Last season, the Gophers passed the ball at a higher rate than usual in the P.J. Fleck era; it was about a 50/50 split in terms of passing and rushing plays. The Gophers’ quarterbacks threw over 400 passing attempts, which was 80 more than the next closest season total of 323.
In 2025, the Gophers won’t be throwing 400 passing attempts. They won’t be throwing almost 30-35 passing attempts per game. If anything, we would likely project them if Drake Lindsey is healthy from start to finish, to finish the season with about 300-325 passing attempts, which puts the Gophers around 25-27 passing attempts per game, and that is still likely on the higher side. Of course, how willing they are to throw the ball is going to change over the course of the year, depending on the results.
For our purposes, let’s put Lindsey at 315 passing attempts this fall over a 13-game schedule, so we’re assuming the Gophers do make the postseason and about 24 attempts per game. With 315 passing attempts, it would probably be fair to project Lindsey to complete somewhere between 56% and 60% of his passing attempts. That would all in all be a pretty good season. He can certainly surpass those, but as a redshirt freshman quarterback, there may be some sluggish games.
Based on the Gophers’ historic trends at quarterback when it comes to yards per attempt, we’re going to project about 7.5 yards per attempt for Lindsey. Which would be the Gophers’ highest average for a starting quarterback since 2022; however, we’re giving an adjustment for an experienced wide receiver room and good tight end room.
At 7.5 yards per attempt, across 315 passing attempts, that roughly comes out to 2,363 passing yards.
Now, touchdowns and interceptions are always difficult to predict, but it is worth noting that a Gophers starting quarterback has only surpassed 15 touchdowns twice in P.J. Fleck’s nine seasons: Tanner Morgan in 2019 (30) and Max Brosmer in 2024 (18). Interceptions are going to happen as well. So ultimately, what will Lindsey’s stat line look like?
We’re going to go with: 183-for-315 (58%), 2,363 passing yards, 15 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.
What will Minnesota’s top three running backs
Like at quarterback, we know Darius Taylor will be the starting running back. We know he’s going to get a majority of the snaps and be the Gophers’ stat leader in most rushing categories, if not all.
So let’s predict this season’s stat line for the three primary tailbacks: Darius Taylor, A.J. Turner, and Cam Davis. Warning, we’re high on the Gophers’ running back room, and the stat projections probably represent that quite well.
First, it’s worth noting that the Gophers’ running back room is deeper this year than it has been in quite a while. A running back room that could potentially compare is the 2019 room that had Rodney Smith, Mohamed Ibrahim, and Shannon Brooks.
With that, we’re going to use that 2019 season as a potential baseline for this upcoming season. That year, Rodney Smith had 228 carries, Mohamed Ibrahim had 114, and Shannon Brooks had 71. Those three made up about 76% of all rushing attempts, we imagine that, those numbers are going to be a bit higher for the Gophers in 2025, with the trio of Taylor, Turner, and Davis likely making up closer to 80-85% of carries when factoring in that Drake Lindsey will one way or another be credited with 40-50 rushing attempts this eason.
For the sake of the projections, we’re going to project the Gophers run about 63 plays per game this season, or about 819 total plays over 13 games, which would be their third-highest total since 2021.
If the Gophers attempt 330 passing attempts total (315 for Lindsey, 15 from other quarterbacks), the Gophers are likely looking at 489 rushing attempts, about an average of 37.6 rushing attempts over the course of 13 games.
Using the ratios from that 2019 season, plus a small bump, that would likely project about 45% of all carries to go to Darius Taylor, giving him 220 carries on the season. We would also project about 112 carries for A.J. Turner and 70 carries for Cam Davis. Those may be on the higher side, but they really equate to about 8.6 carries a game for Turner and 5.3 carries a game for Davis.
Stat Projections:
Darius Taylor: 220 rushing attempts, 1,144 rushing yards (5.2 ypc), 13 TDs
A.J. Turner: 112 carries, 627 rushing yards (5.6 ypc), 6 TDs
Cam Davis: 70 carries, 371 rushing yards (4.3 ypc), 3 TD
Between the trio that would add up to 402 carries, 2,142 rushing yards, and 22 touchdowns. That also leaves room for Drake Lindsey to pick up three or four touchdowns as well as Fame Ijeboi, and perhaps an additional running back or even a wide receiver to add on an additional touchdown or two as well. Overall, we would expect the Gophers to be around the 2,000-2,200 yard mark with about 25-28 total rushing touchdowns.
Which Minnesota receiver will lead the Gophers in receptions, yards, and receiving touchdowns?
Minnesota’s wide receiver room has plenty of new faces this season, which was a much-needed infusion of talent. The Gophers’ wide receiver rotation now in 2025 will not just be four or five receivers but will have the opportunity to be six, seven, and potentially, with Koi Perich, eight receivers deep. That’s something that the program really hasn’t been able to enjoy for quite a while.
Now it remains to be seen if the Gophers will use all those receivers; in all likelihood, it will still be 3-4 receivers who receive 95% of the receptions, and that’s okay. That being said, it’s hard to say that the Gophers have a true No. 1 wide receiver entering this season.
The popular pick heading into the season will likely be Miami (OH) transfer and redshirt junior standout Javon Tracy. He had 57 receptions for 818 yards and seven touchdowns last season for the Redhawks. UCLA transfer Logan Loya in the slot could be an interesting pick, as could tight end Jameson Geers, who could have a bit of a breakout season this year.
To lead the team in reception, we’re going to go with Logan Loya with about 44 receptions. Considering our expectations for Drake Lindsey, that could equate to about 206 receiving yards for Loya over the course of the season, based on his average of 11.4 yards per reception the last two seasons. We believe his Power Four experience and consistent history of production are going to make him a favorite target of Lindsey’s this season.
That being said, we’re not going to have Loya as the yardage leader; for that, we’re going to go with Javon Tracy, who we’re projecting to have about 38 receptions for 522 yards this season, an average of 14.0 yards per reception. That may be on the higher side for Tracy, but what’s the fun in not being bold?
In terms of touchdowns, we’re also going to go with Javon Tracy, but we’re going to keep a very close eye on tight end Jameson Geers. With a projected 15 touchdowns this season from Lindsey and maybe 17 total, it will likely take only about six or seven touchdowns for someone to be the leader. Geers, who had four last season, could be in for a bigger season and should be a reliable redzone target.
For the record, we’re predicting for the Gophers’ wide receiver room for the following to be their statistical leaders (based on statistical trends and past performance)
Logan Loya: 48 receptions, 576 yards, 4 TDs
Javon Tracy: 42 receptions, 605 yards, 6 TDs
Darius Taylor: 36 receptions, 295 yards, 2 TDs
Jameson Geers: 24 receptions, 312 yards, 4 TDs
Le’Meke Brockington: 19 receptions, 304 yards, 1 TD
Again, the projections here may be on the bolder side, but with the expectation the Gophers may be a bit more explosive in the passing attack this year, all the projections overall feel quite reasonable.
Which Gophers will lead the program in tackles?
There are a few potential options here. Last season, Cody Lindenberg led the Gophers with 94 tackles, but he’s now gone off to the NFL. Maverick Barnowski had 65, Kerry Brown had 63, Danny Striggow had 52, and Koi Perich had 46.
The leader in tackles will certainly come from the second or third level, and will either be a Gophers’ linebacker or safety.
We’re going to go with Maverick Barawnoski to lead the Golden Gophers in tackles. If he can stay healthy, Baranowski will almost always be on the field for the Gophers and is going to have just an incredible amount of opportunities compared to others. The question is, can he become the first Gopher since Blake Cashman in 2018 to get past the century mark? Probably not, but we still expect him to have a strong season, and we’re going to predict a solid 78 tackles for Baranowski this season.
If we had to predict who would come in second, and potentially steal that top spot away from him, it would have to be Kerry Brown. Brown is fantastic, not just in coverage but also plays extremely well downhill against the run, which should help inflate his opportunities to rack up tackles.
Who will be the Gophers’ sack leader in 2025?
This is an easy one to pick; defensive end Anthony Smith is the choice. The Pennsylvania native had a breakout season last year with a dozen tackles for loss and six sacks. He’s by far the Gophers’ best pass rusher coming into the season, and there’s a good chance he surpasses his career high of six sacks from last season.
But what other Gophers could find themselves in the running? Rush ends Jaxon Howard, and Karter Menz are two good threats. Howard will be the Gophers’ starter at the position, and while his first season on campus was a quiet one, he still possesses perhaps the most upside of any Gophers’ edge rusher. Menz sounds like he’ll have a pass-rushing specialist role this season at times as well, which makes him a potential pick as well.
Ultimately, Anthony Smith is the choice, and we’re going to predict a double-digit 10 sacks for him this season.
Who will lead the Gophers in interceptions?
Last season, the Golden Gophers were led by then true freshman Koi Perich with five interceptions. Cornerback Ethan Robinson also recorded a trio of interceptions, while fellow cornerback Justin Walley and safety Kerry Brown both finished with a pair of interceptions.
It would be very, very easy to go back to Perich to lead the team in interceptions. The true sophomore who has garnered numerous preseason honors, including multiple preseason All-American selections, is a ballhawk and always finds himself in the right spot. Furthermore, since 2017, safety has led the Gophers in interceptions outright in eight of nine seasons, with the 2020 season being the only exception.
Outside Perich, Kerry Brown is a great choice to potentially do so. Opposing offenses may try to avoid throwing to Perich’s side of the field this fall, and that could open up more opportunities for Brown.
Redshirt freshman Za’Quan Bryan could be an intriguing option as well. Teams are likely going to test Bryan throughout the season, especially early on, which could allow him to get quite a number of opportunities.
With all that being said, we hate to go with the “chalk” picks, but it’s hard to go with anybody but Perich in this spot. We’re going to predict another four interceptions for the star safety.
Category: General Sports
