5 takeaways from Minnesota's first official visit weekend

The Gophers added six verbal commitments from 2026 recruits over the weekend.

Nov 9, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck on the field before the game against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Gophers football hosted more than 20 prospects from the class of 2026 on official visits last weekend, kicking off their annual Summer Splash recruiting event. Six players verbally committed to the program, so let's break it all down.

Ranking the significance of the six commitments

1. Mataalii Benjamin, OT (Lehi, UT)
2. Daniel McMorris, OT (Norman, OK)
3. Angel Luciano, LB (Harrisburg, PA)
4. Anthony Charles, DE (McDonald, PA)
5. Aaden Aytch, DE (Lafayette, IN)
6. Chance Payne, CB (Jefferson, GA)

According to the latest 247Sports Composite rankings, McMorris is the most highly-touted commitment of the weekend at No. 480 overall in the class. He's followed by Benjamin at No. 663, Charles at No. 863, Luciano at No. 1,198 and then Aytch and Payne are currently unranked.

Benjamin, McMorris, Luciano, Charles and Aytch all committed to Minnesota before scheduled official visits with other power conference programs, which is always a big win. It was a trench-building weekend for the Gophers, with two offensive linemen and two edge defenders.

Big dominoes left to fall

The Gophers had a succesfull weekend. Whenever you add six commitments, it's always a success, but there are still some big dominoes to fall in the class. The four highest-ranked uncommitted players on campus, Roman Voss, Pierce Petersohn, Damon Ferguson and Jayden McGregory, all left this weekend without committing to Minnesota.

Voss, Petersohn and McGregory were all relatively expected, and the Gophers still sit well with all three of their recruitments, but they are the prospects that can truly change the outlook of the class. Four of Minnesota's commits from the weekend rank outside the top 800 in the 247Sports Composite. Every commitment cannot be a home run, but the weekend was business as usual for P.J. Fleck and his staff.

Hayden Moore cancels Penn State official visit

Minnesota hosted eight 2026 recruits who were already verbally committed on their official visits last weekend, one of whom was Moore. The Newberry, Florida native, wide receiver committed to the Gophers on April 13, but quickly scheduled an official visit with Penn State. According to Ryan Burns from 247Sports, he cancelled that visit after spending last weekend in Minnesota.

Listed at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, Moore had an impressive junior campaign with 51 catches for 982 yards and 12 touchdowns. He's joined by Kai Meza and Rico Blassingame as one of three receivers firmly committed to the Gophers' 2026 class.

Targets commit elsewhere

Minnesota wasn't the only program that had a big recruiting weekend. Tight end Jack Sievers committed to Wisconsin, and linebacker Braylon Hodge committed to Michigan State, both of whom were slated to visit the Gophers at some point. Minnesota is slated to have another big official visit weekend on June 13-15, with more than 15 targets expected to be on campus, but Sievers and Hodge are now both off the board.

Strong offensive line class

Minnesota added three potential starters from the transfer portal to its offensive line this offseason. The strong focus on offensive line recruiting this cycle makes me think they don't want to do that again. Out of the 16 players from the 2026 class currently committed to the program, four of the top seven are offensive linemen.