Is Minnesota's latest portal addition the missing piece to its 2025 defensive line?

The Gophers have a lot of options along the defensive line for next season.

Purdue Boilermakers defensive lineman Mo Omonode (92) lines up for a drill Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, during Purdue football practice at Bimel Outdoor Practice Complex in West Lafayette, Ind. | Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK

Minnesota added Purdue defensive lineman Mo Omonode from the transfer portal on Tuesday. Is he the missing piece for the Gophers' 2025 offensive line?

Omonode played over 100 snaps for Purdue in three consecutive seasons. He almost exclusively played along the interior, with only 17 of his 652 career snaps coming at an end position. His most productive season was in 2023, when he recorded 14 total tackles and two sacks. Last season, he finished with 11 total tackles and one sack, which earned him a 71.6 overall grade according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).

He now joins a veteran interior defensive line group at Minnesota. Jalen Logan-Redding (1,605 career snaps) and Deven Eastern (958) are expected to be the Gophers' top two interior players, and they added Stony Brook transfer Rushawn Lawrence in the winter portal window, who has logged 953 career snaps at the Division I level.

The Gophers have historically rotated defensive linemen frequently throughout the season, and I expect Omonode to compete with Lawrence for the No. 3 role. Last season's unit had Anthony Smith work at the inside along Logan-Redding and Eastern, while veteran Logan Richter, Darnell Jefferies and Nate Becker all logged between 30 and 90 snaps last season.

Omonode and Lawrence are more accomplished players than Richter, Jefferies and Becker, and the depth along the interior will likely give Smith the freedom to work more along the outside as a pass rusher. Omonode is not a flashy addition, but he now gives the Gophers eight experienced options along the defensive line and another chess piece to move around.

Projected 2025 defensive line

• DE: Anthony Smith/Steven Curtis
• DT: Deven Eastern/Mo Omonode
• DT: Jalen Logan-Redding/Rushawn Lawrence
• DE: Jaxon Howard/Lucas Finnessy
• Bench: Nate Becker/Karter Menz/Theorin Randle

A lot of the Gophers' defensive lineman have the versatility to play inside and outside, but Omonode is now their eighth option, who has played more than 150 snaps at the Division I level. First-year defensive coordinator Danny Collins and first-year defensive line coach Dennis Dottin-Carter will have a deep defensive line group in 2025.