Will 2026 Be the Season Darius Taylor Finally Reaches His Full Potential?

When Darius Taylor burst onto the scene as a true freshman, it looked like Minnesota had found the heir apparent to Mohamed Ibrahim. Three seasons later, Taylor hasn't surpassed 1,000 rushing yards in a single season, which is something Ibrahim did three times in his Gophers career. Will 2026 be the season that Taylor finally hits his ceiling?

Taylor's college career has been a roller coaster. He has undoubtedly been one of the best playmakers in the Big Ten when healthy, but he missed seven games as a freshman, one as a sophomore, and three more last season, and he was clearly banged up in a few more.

Taylor had more than 1,300 yards from scrimmage as a sophomore in 2024, and he had 12 total touchdowns. His 111.3 yards per game ranked 35th-best in college football. He seemingly put it all together that season, but it didn't feel like his true ceiling. He averaged only 4.8 yards per carry, and he had only five games with more than 100 yards.

Taylor began his high school career at Walled Lake Western as a wide receiver, which has been evident in his college career. He has 99 receptions for 687 yards and two touchdowns with the Gophers. He's one of the most complete running backs in the country.

A major reason why Ibrahim led the Big Ten in rushing yards during the 2020 and 2022 season was due to the offensive line he was running behind. Future second-round pick John Michael Schmitz led a veteran group both seasons, and future second-round pick Aireontae Ersery gave Minnesota a dominant unit in 2022.

Taylor ran behind Ersery in 2023 and 2024, but the rest of the offensive line has produced inconsistent results in the run game. This year's group has a real chance to be the best offensive line unit since that 2022 season. Greg Johnson has the potential to be a first-round pick, former four-star recruit Nathan Roy showed serious promise as a redshirt freshman, and Ashton Beers, Tony Nelson and Bennett Warren give them an experienced unit.

Taylor currently has the 10th-most rushing yards in program history with 2,455, but he doesn't have a single-season total in the top 10 of the Gophers record books. Ibrahim's 2022 record with 1,665 yards seems unlikely, but Taylor potentially finishing his Gophers career without a season over 1,000 yards on the ground would feel like a failure.

What is Taylor's ceiling? He might be the only person who can truly answer that question, but it would probably clear the 1,000 barrier and be somewhere in between that and Ibrahim's record. With his added receiving threat, it's not unrealistic to think he could work his way into Doak Walker Award discussions as the nation's top running back.

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