Drake Lindsey Addresses May Arrest, Gophers to Handle Discipline Internally

It has been more than a month since Gophers QB Drake Lindsey was arrested for underage drinking and fake ID charges in his hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas. He spoke to the local media for the first time since the arrest on Tuesday.

"As the leader of the football team, I understand that I cannot make those decisions. I've certainly grown a lot from them and learned a lot. I apologized to the administration, our staff and all the players. I will certainly grow from this and continue to," Lindsey said.

Lindsey is coming off his first season as a starting quarterback with the Gophers in 2025. He completed 63.2% of his passes for 2,382 yards, 22 total touchdowns and six interceptions as a redshirt freshman. He's entering 2026 with high expectations, as there have already been multiple mock drafts that project him as a potential first-round pick next spring.

"Drake has just gotta make better decisions, just like all the players on our team. Take accountability for those decisions, learn from those decisions, and be better for it. That's the only thing you can do with your football team: to continue to educate them. I know he'll be way better for it, and he has been," Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said on Tuesday.

Lindsey answered multiple questions about the situation on Tuesday with the same tune; he will learn from it. He will turn 21 years old this August, and he's still a relatively young starting quarterback for a major Big Ten football program.

Fleck has preached Minnesota as being a "life program." As minor as Lindsey's situation might be, it has been rare to see any Gophers player have trouble with the law since he took over the program before the 2017 season.

When asked about any current or future discipline for Lindsey, Fleck made it clear that the program will handle everything internally. It seems notable that Fleck didn't say no when asked if Lindsey could miss any time during a regular-season game in 2026.

“We’ll keep that all internal.”

Gophers HC PJ Fleck when asked if Drake Lindsey will receive any discipline from his arrest. pic.twitter.com/PmPq669EnM
— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) June 9, 2026

Lindsey and the Gophers began summer workouts on Monday. He will have a similar passing attack with the returns of Javon Tracy and Jalen Smith, but they also signed three new wide receivers from the transfer portal in the offseason.

Lindsey will be the first returning starting quarterback for Minnesota since Tanner Morgan in 2022. They will open the regular-season at home on September 3 against Eastern Illinois.

Add us as a preferred source on Google