Drake Lindsey's Development Among 5 Things to Watch at Gophers' Open Practice

The Gophers are deep into spring football, and they're holding a practice available to fans on Tuesday afternoon at 4:40 p.m. CT at their indoor practice facility in Athlete's Village. Here are five things to keep an eye on as we inch closer to the spring game on April 25.

Drake Lindsey's development

At this time last year, Lindsey had to earn the confidence of his teammates as the new, young quarterback. It's now a completely different feel heading into year two as a starter. This is his football team. Minnesota needs him to be a vocal leader, along with taking a jump in performance, in order to reach its full potential in 2026. I am curious to see how different that looks with an entire offseason as the undisputed QB1 under his belt.

Wide receiver pecking order

Add us as a preferred source on Google

The Gophers are losing leading receiver Le'Meke Brockington to the NFL, but they did retain Javon Tracy and Jalen Smith, who were their second and third leading receivers last season. Both players have the opportunity to emerge as a true No. 1 option in 2026, but Minnesota also added a trio of receivers from the transfer portal.

Auburn's Perry Thompson, Noah Jennings from Cincinnati and Tulsa's Zion Steptoe all bring a unique talent to the Twin Cities. Lindsey's development will go hand-in-hand with the development of the receiver room. You can often notice any new or improved connections with receivers during open practices like Tuesday's.

Secondary rotation

Koi Perich is now in Oregon, but the Gophers were able to build a talented secondary for 2026. Kerry Brown returns as the top safety, and John Nestor has the chance to be an All-Big Ten option at cornerback. There are a lot of new faces at every other position.

Aidan Gousby, Garrison Monroe and Mike Gerald are all expected to have roles as returning players. The Gophers were busy in the transfer portal with Michigan State cornerback Aydan West, Lehigh safety Mekhai Smith, Southwest Minnesota State transfer Parker Knutson and West's older brother at Michigan State, Elisha West. Danny Collins has shown a desire to move his secondary players around like chess pieces, so I will be watching what that looks like on Tuesday afternoon.

New-look defensive line

Minnesota is bringing back its standout pass rushing trio from last season of Anthony Smith, Karter Menz and Jaxon Howard. TJ Bush Jr. from Cal, Xion Chapman from FIU and Marshall duo of Naquan Crowder and Sid Kaba are all new-look faces. An open practice in April doesn't show the true potential of a defensive line, but it will be the first opportunity for many people to see how all the pieces fit together.

Running back room

Darius Taylor is back for his fourth and final season with the Gophers, and they've built a fascinating running back room around their bell-cow. Last year's big portal addition, AJ Turner, is back after last year's season-ending injury, and they added TJ Thomas Jr. from Elon and Purdue's Jaron Thomas in the transfer portal this winter. Highly-touted freshman Ryan Estrada isn't joining the team until the fall, which gives all three transfers an opportunity to shine this spring.