Darius Taylor talks about return from injury, run game struggles and more

Taylor made his return to the lineup last week against Oregon on the road.

Nov 14, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers running back Darius Taylor (1) breaks away from Oregon Ducks linebacker Teitum Tuioti (44) during the first half at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The health of star Gophers running back Darius Taylor continues to have a serious impact on Gophers football this season. He finally returned to the lineup last week against Oregon, and he finished with 10 carries for 57 yards, to go along with four catches for 40 yards.

It was only Taylor's third game since Week 1 with at least 10 total touches. He suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 against Northwestern State, which held him out of the Cal and Rutgers games. He returned against Ohio State, Purdue and Nebraska before having another flare-up against Iowa. He is now seemingly healthy after another recovery.

"It was great. They do a good job of setting up a good plan for me. The biggest thing is keeping my head in it, making sure that I am doing the things I need to do. But, they did a great job, and I was excited to get back out there," Taylor told the media this week.

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Taylor has only 90 carries for 411 yards and one touchdown this season on the ground. Minnesota's run game has taken a serious hit with him on the sidelines. They rank 124th in FBS with only 105.0 rushing yards per game.

"The biggest thing is just having the mindset to run the ball. That's something that we worked on all year, making it our identity. It is our identity. It's something that we pride ourselves on. It's something that has always been; we're going to run the ball. The biggest thing is just the mindset, going out there, and just doing it, executing at the highest level," he continued.

Minnesota was among the top rushing teams in college football in the early parts of P.J. Fleck's tenure with the program behind backs such as Rodney Smith, Mohamed Ibrahim and Bucky Irving. When Taylor broke onto the scene as a true freshman, it looked like they would continue that style, but that hasn't been the case.

If the Gophers want to improve their overall offensive success, it begins and ends with the run game. Taylor was a former high school wide receiver, and he has shown impressive abilities as a pass catcher, but Minnesota needs to get back to its identity and run the football at a high level. Redshirt freshman Fame Ijeboi has shown he can be a bell-cow back, but they'll need Taylor healthy if they want to get back to a dominant running team.