Report: Gophers offer Purdue tackle in the portal after winning starting job

Jaden Ball has four years of eligibility remaining and he reportedly just won Purdue's starting right tackle job before entering the transfer portal.

Jaden Ball | Credit: Ryan Long, Purdue Athletic

The spring transfer portal has been busy and the latest action involves a now-former Purdue offensive lineman making a visit to the Minnesota Gophers this week.

According to 247Sports national recruiting insider Allen Trieu, tackle Jaden Ball is in the portal and will visit Minnesota and Ohio State this week. He's also reportedly receiving interest from Syracuse.

Purdue OT Jaden Ball has received offers from Ohio State, Minnesota and Syracuse since entering the portal.

He takes officials with the Buckeyes and Gophers this week.

(VIP) https://t.co/HZWC9Ztryt pic.twitter.com/YJdraczZsP

— Allen Trieu (@AllenTrieu) April 21, 2025

Ball is coming off his redshirt freshman season and he didn't play in any games for Purdue, so he has four years of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound tackle was rated as a three-star recruit coming out of high school in 2024.

Where things get even more intriguing is that Ball participated in Purdue's spring practices and apparently earned the starting right tackle job, according to Rivals national recruiting analyst Greg Smith.

Jaden Ball is in the transfer portal after earning the starting right tackle job at Purdue sources tell @RivalsPortal. The 6-6, 310 pound OL has been offered by Ohio State, Minnesota, and Syracuse. He will officially visit Minnesota and Ohio State this week.@DubJellison

— Greg Smith (@GregSmithRivals) April 21, 2025

Ball is from Ohio, so the Buckeyes might have some hometown appeal for him. But if Ball is looking for a path to immediate playing time, the Gophers might be the better option.

Ohio State's likely starting right tackle in 2025 is Phillip Daniels, who made the transfer to the Buckeyes after starring for the Gophers the past few seasons. At Minnesota, the offensive line is in flux after losing Daniels and three other 2024 starters: Aireontae Ersery, Quinn Carroll and Tyler Cooper.

The Gophers added Marcellus Marshall (UCF), Dylan Ray (Kentucky) and Kahlei Tafai (Washington) in the portal, but Tafai was banged up during spring practice while Marshall and Ray have experience mostly at guard. Here was most common offensive line seen during the spring session, per our Tony Liebert.

• LT: Nathan Roy
• LG: Greg Johnson
• C: Ashton Beers
• RG: Marcellus Marshall
• RT: Dylan Ray

Perhaps the Gophers are targeting Ball to compete for the starting right tackle job?

Of course, money talks and there's no doubt that Ohio State's football program has deeper pockets than Minnesota. We'll see what happens, but Ball is a really interesting spring portal target to monitor.