Why This Cincinnati Wide Receiver Is Getting Overlooked in Minnesota's Portal Class

Noah Jennings could be the Gophers' missing piece in the wide receiver room.

Cincinnati Bearcats wide receiver Noah Jennings (8) catches a pass in the second quarter of the NCAA football game between the Cincinnati Bearcats and BYU Cougars at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati on Nov. 22, 2025. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Gophers signed three wide receivers in the transfer portal for the second straight offseason. Cincinnati's Noah Jennings might be their most overlooked addition. Here's why.

Minnesota added Malachi Coleman, Javon Tracy and Logan Loya from the portal last offseason, and they were ranked by 247Sports in that order. Tracy was substantially below Coleman, who was the 43rd-ranked wide receiver and 246th overall player. Tracy was the 72nd-ranked receiver and 381st overall player. He finished the season with 37 catches for 454 yards and six touchdowns, which was significantly more than Coleman's five catches for 83 yards.

Auburn's Perry Thompson is the 138th-ranked overall player and 35th-ranked wide receiver in this year's portal rankings. Jennings is much lower at 412th overall and 78th at his position. I think Jennings has a much higher likelihood of making a big contribution to Minnesota's offense in 2026, similar to Tracy and Coleman's situation last offseason.

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Jennings began his college career at the FCS level with Charleston Southern, where he had 26 catches for 410 yards and one touchdown as a true freshman in 2023. His production climbed to 46 catches for 475 yards and three touchdowns in 2024. He made the jump to FBS in 2025, where he joined Cincinnati as a transfer.

He was fifth on the Bearcats' route in routes run with 209 on the season, and he finished fifth on the team with 23 catches for 323 yards. Tracy and Jalen Smith will likely be Minnesota's top two receivers in 2026, so Jennings will likely compete for a No. 3 role at the position.

Nov 29, 2025; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Cincinnati Bearcats running back Tawee Walker (3) runs with the ball behind the block of wide receiver Noah Jennings (8) during the first half at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Thompson will come to Minnesota with two years of college eligibility remaining, and likely a much higher ceiling than Jennings, but that was a similar sentiment people had last offseason with Coleman and Tracy. Jennings has shown the ability to be an ancillary option and do the dirty work, and that could help him play a bigger role in 2026.

Jennings nearly 100 catches and more than 1,200 receiving yards in his college career. That is significantly more than Thompson's 22 catches for 280 yards, and Minnesota's other transfer Zion Stepoe's 36 catches for 475 yards combined. I am taking production over potential, and I think Jennings will fit more seemlessly in Minnesota's offensive plans as the No. 3 wide receiver in 2026.