Gophers' coordinators on Koi Perich's two-way role: 'We have a plan'

Perich's potential offensive role in 2025 continues to be a huge storyline at Gophers camp.

Koi Perich (No. 3) at Gophers practice. | Picture via: @tonyliebert (X)

Koi Perich's split jersey and potential two-way role in 2025 continue to be a big storyline coming out of Gophers camp, but we still don't know exactly what his workload could look like.

Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck has said that his offensive role will not be a gadget thing, and he will play significant snaps. We heard a different perspective on Tuesday from both of the Gophers' coordinators.

"We have a plan. I am looking for what I can do to help the team the best way. Same thing with Koi, same thing with our offensive staff, obviously same thing with Coach Fleck," defensive coordinator Danny Collins said. "We have a plan in place. We're ready for that plan right now — in the season. We have it pretty narrowed down in terms of the plan of how to get him all those reps."

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It sounds like Collins and the Gophers coaching staff know exactly how they want to handle Perich's offense, defense and special teams role in 2025. Will that be more than 20 snaps a game at receiver? We don't know, but it sounds like they do.

Perich will likely be a workhorse at safety along with his role as a dynamic returner. The bigger question is how many touches he will get on an offense that has plenty of weapons to choose from.

"I don't know how many offensive snaps it will be, because I think it all depends on what he can handle. It's a job-based offense. I think it's kind of a thing I will probably say a lot this year, hopefully. If it ends up looking the way I think it could, Koi will have a certain job within the offense," Gophers offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. said. "He's talented. He's done a number of good things offensively and defensively, and then obviously last year, you saw with the ball in his hands on special teams. He can do a lot of things. Why would I not want the ball in his hands?"

“I don’t know how many offensive snaps it will be, because I think it will be what he can handle.”

Gophers OC Greg Harbaugh Jr. when asked about Koi Perich’s offensive role this season. pic.twitter.com/LhJQ8TULzI

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) August 5, 2025

Colorado's Travis Hunter revolutionized the two-way role last season in a way that we haven't seen in college football in a very long time. Players like Charles Woodson and Jabrill Peppers have played multiple positions on a much smaller scale. It sounds like Perich might land somewhere in between those roles in 2025.

As a true sophomore and someone who has been on campus for just over 12 months, a true two-way role seems both unlikely and unnecessary. We probably won't know his true offensive role until things kick off on August 28 to open the season at Huntington Bank Stadium against Buffalo.