Drake Lindsey is 'growing up' in front of P.J. Fleck and the Gophers' eyes

Minnesota's redshirt freshman QB came up big when Minnesota needed him to.

Nov 1, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey (5) celebrates his teams overtime win against the Michigan State Spartans at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Gophers' overtime win over Michigan State was far from their prettiest win of the season, but they're now 6-3 in Big Ten play, and redshirt freshman QB Drake Lindsey delivered another big moment.

Lindsey was coming off what he considered the worst game of his football career against Iowa. His performance against Michigan State wasn't his best of the season, but he did finish 26 of 39 for 197 yards and one rushing touchdown when Minnesota needed it most.

"He's not grown up, he's growing up. It's hard... If you’re not willing to invest in your quarterback as a freshman and go through some highs and lows, you’re never gonna get any better," Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said after Saturday's game.

“If you’re not willing to invest in your quarterback as a freshman and go through some highs and lows, you’re never gonna get any better.”

P.J. Fleck on Drake Lindsey’s performance tonight. Pretty interesting. 👇 pic.twitter.com/qlclT5yGrg

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) November 2, 2025

"This guy's pretty good, but boy, it is not easy to win in the Big Ten, especially as a true freshman, and he just continues to find a way. He rallied, he takes accountability. His preperation is tremendous, I have never seen a freshman prepare like this young man."

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Lindsey led Minnesota on a game-winning drive against Rutgers, and he came up big against Purdue. His bootleg rollout rushing touchdown against Michigan State was inches away from going the other way, but it gave the Gophers their fourth Big Ten win of the season.

Drake Lindsey with the WALK OFF!!! #Gophers Win!!! pic.twitter.com/HLoO10gb2X

— Ron Johnson (@3RonJohnson) November 1, 2025

Minnesota brought in Georgia Tech transfer QB Zach Pyron as an experienced option to push Lindsey for the starting role this spring, and Lindsey beat him out. The Gophers opted to hand the keys of the program to a redshirt freshman with zero starting experience. In the modern transfer portal world of college football, it's a decision that has become increasingly rare.

It was unrealistic to expect Lindsey to step in Week 1 and perform at an All-Conference level. There have certainly been some ups and downs, most notably his performance against Iowa. The most encouraging sign from Lindsey's development continues to be his response.

"Myself included, we weren't executing at a high level. I obviously have a handful of plays that I want back that I gotta do better for us to move the chains," Lindsey said after Saturday's game. "The first drive was completely on me, missing the checkdown. That starts with starting fast, and that starts with me on that play 100%."

It's really easy for an inexperienced quarterback like Lindsey to get frustrated at this point of the season, and Saturday's performance was more evidence that he won't be doing that anytime soon.