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QB guru boldly calls Gophers' Drake Lindsey a future first-round pick

Quincy Avery thinks Lindsey will be a top-three quarterback in the Big Ten this year.
Will Ragatz|
Drake Lindsey debuts as the Gophers' starting quarterback in 2025.
Drake Lindsey debuts as the Gophers' starting quarterback in 2025. | Picture via: Brad Rempel (University of Minnesota)

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Renowned quarterback trainer Quincy Avery has extremely high expectations for Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey in 2025 and beyond. Reacting to college football analyst Josh Pate's rankings of the top 10 quarterbacks in the Big Ten, Avery went bold with his predictions for Lindsey's future.

"I'm willing to bet a good chunk of change that a top 3 QB in Big 10 isn't on this list right now," he posted on X. "Drake Lindsey is so much better than anyone understands. I truly and honestly believe he's gonna be a Rd1 (NFL draft) pick when it's all said and done."

Avery has seen up close what Lindsey is capable of during workouts. And he's got a pretty good baseline for comparison. Avery, who also worked with Max Brosmer and was baffled when last year's Gophers QB went undrafted, has trained the likes of Jalen Hurts, C.J. Stroud, Jordan Love and numerous other NFL quarterbacks. So when he says something like that about Lindsey, it's notable.

Buzz has been building around Lindsey over the course of Gophers offseason practices. The redshirt freshman and former high three-star recruit out of Arkansas has stepped into Brosmer's role as the starter and shown not only a command of the offense, but plenty of flashes of arm talent. Minnesota will lean on Darius Taylor and its running game this season, starting on Thursday night against Buffalo, but how well Lindsey plays will determine the ceiling for P.J. Fleck's squad.

If Lindsey turns into a top-3 QB in the conference and future first-round pick, the Gophers will be extremely dangerous this year and into next year.

With that said, even if Avery knows his stuff, he may also be a bit biased as someone who has worked with Lindsey. Gophers fans should keep their expectations in check until the season actually gets underway. There was a time, almost a decade ago, when ESPN's Todd McShay called Mitch Leidner a future first-round pick.

Lindsey and the Gophers kick off the 2025 campaign this week against Buffalo at Huntington Bank Stadium. There's palpable excitement around this team and its new quarterback.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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