Koi Perich's recruitment to Minnesota 'came down to the last minute'

Minnesota's top-ranked recruit officially signed with the Gophers on Wednesday.

Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck got a chance to catch one of Koi Perich’s games this season and saw what one might expect to see from the top-ranked recruit in Minnesota’s 2024 class.

“Kid’s so good he picks balls off left and right,” Fleck told reporters during a press conference on Wednesday. “The defense scored all the points.”

During one of those interceptions, Perich, a four-star safety, pointed at Fleck as he sprinted down the sideline on his way to the end zone for a touchdown.

“Would like him to keep his eyes on the goal line and go ahead and finish … but if you’re going to go ahead and point at me, I’ll take it,” Fleck said. “Especially if you’re going to stay committed to us. That made it even better.”

Perich officially signed his National Letter of Intent on Wednesday, locking the top-ranked recruit into the University of Minnesota program. He was one of 26 players the Gophers officially added on National Signing Day on Wednesday, and it wasn’t always certain that the Esko, Minn., native would stick with his verbal commitment.

Perich verbally committed to Minnesota in April, but that was before he received offers from Ohio State, Florida State and Southern Cal. Perich visited Ohio State over the weekend of Dec. 9-10 and then canceled a visit to Florida State, signaling his decision was between the Gophers and Buckeyes.

Ohio State recruiting analyst Matt Parker had predicted that Perich would flip his commitment to the Buckeyes after his weekend visit, and while Perich stayed locked in at Minnesota, Fleck indicated on Wednesday his decision went down to the wire.

“Obviously it was well documented with his recruiting battle towards the end. And I think some things kinda get blown out of proportion at times and some people say they have this and they really don’t,” Fleck said. “This was very real. And it came down to the last minute with this young man.”

But Fleck, safeties coach Danny Collins and the Gophers got rewarded after a wait, keeping the No. 1 recruit in Minnesota home.

“(Perich) is a special person, a special player and I can’t tell you how much his commitment means to the future of our program,” Fleck said.