FCS All-American safety joins Minnesota through the transfer portal

The Gophers have added a productive Lehigh transfer to their secondary.

Mekhai Smith during his sophomore season at Lehigh. | Picture via: Lehigh University

Lehigh transfer safety Mekhai Smith became the latest portal player to commit to the Gophers on Tuesday night.

"Committed!! Let’s get to work. RTB‼️@CoachNJ_Monroe @Coach_DCollins @Coach_Fleck @MinnesotaOn3 @GopherFootball AGTG," he posted on X.

BREAKING: Lehigh transfer safety Mekhai Smith (@SmithMekhai) has committed to Minnesota.

Listed at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, he was an FCS All-American in 2025 with 56 total tackles, and 4 INTs. https://t.co/vJMtSgo27h pic.twitter.com/BIamiFlVTY

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) January 7, 2026

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Standing at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Smith was under-recruited coming out of Lower Merion High School, yes, that Lower Merion, in 2024. He opted to stay in Pennsylvania and play for Lehigh. He quickly established himself as a difference maker with 40 total tackles in 2024. He played 418 total snaps as a true freshman.

His role continued to grow in 2025, and so did his production. Smith compiled 56 total tackles and four interceptions for a 12-1 Lehigh team, which won the Patriot League. He's a versatile defensive player, logging 35.5% of his defensive snaps in the box, 46.0% as a free safety and 17.7% at slot cornerback. Smith received FCS All-American honors by multiple publications, including FCS Central On SI.

With do-it-all sophomore Koi Perich in the transfer portal, Minnesota needed to add some depth to its secondary. Smith joins Southwest Minnesota State transfer Parker Knutson and Michigan State's Elisha West as the third true safety to transfer to the Gophers this month. Smith is the most accomplished of all three players, and there's a real chance he could play a lot of snaps as soon as 2026.

Defensive coordinator Danny Collins and Minnesota's staff loves to move around their secondary players like chess pieces, and they'll have plenty of options with West, Knutson, Smith and cornerback Aydan West, alongside returners such as Kerry Brown, John Nestor and Aidan Gousby.

Current transfer portal commtiments

• Michael Merdinger, Liberty QB
• Jaron Thomas, Purdue RB
• Bennett Warren, Tennessee OT
• Andrew Marshall, Eastern Michigan OLB
• Naquan Crowder, Marshall DT
• Perry Thompson, Auburn WR
• Parker Knutson, Southwest Minnesota State (D-II) S
• Aydan West, Michigan State CB
• Elisha West, Michigan State S
• Beckham Sunderland, Michigan K
• Mekhai Smith, Lehigh S