Gophers targeting ultra-productive UMD tight end in transfer portal

Minnesota offered a scholarship to one of the most productive tight ends in college football on Thursday.

Luke Dehnicke leaping for a catch for Minnesota-Duluth. | Picture via: Minnesota-Duluth Athletics

Players have begun to announce their intentions to enter the transfer portal all over the country, and Minnesota has already offered a scholarship to Minnesota Duluth (UMD) transfer tight end Luke Dehnicke.

Minnesota Offered! @CoachKoehler pic.twitter.com/aOZUIpUuJo

— Luke Dehnicke (@LDehnicke) December 4, 2025

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Hailing from Andover, Minnesota, Dehnicke was a breakout star for the Bulldogs this season. He played in only three games in 2024 before exploding for 61 catches for 1,119 yards and 14 touchdowns this season as a redshirt freshman. He finished second in all of Division-II in total receiving yards.

UMD finished 10-2 before losing to Ashland University in the D2 playoffs on Nov. 22. At 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, Dehnicke immediately received Division-I Power Conference interest when he announced that he would enter the transfer portal on Dec. 2.

Dehnicke has publicly announced offers from Wake Forest, Northwestern, Arizona and the Gophers. Minnesota did not pursue him as a recruit when he came out of Andover High School in the class of 2024, and he's now an intriguing transfer portal prospect.

His father, Drew Dehnicke, played defensive end at the University of Minnesota from 1997 to 2000, so it will be interesting to see if that factors into the recruitment.

The Gophers are losing more than 700 snaps from graduating senior tight ends Jameson Geers and Drew Biber, with tight end/fullback hybrid Frank Bierman also leaving behind 155 snaps. Redshirt sophomore tight end Pierce Walsh played more than 200 snaps this season, and he's a candidate to see an expanded role in 2026. Highly-touted freshman Roman Voss also has a path to playing time in his first season with the program.

Minnesota didn't have a single player surpass 500 passing yards this season, which was the first time in program history since the shortened 2020 season. Adding a player with production like Dehnicke would be a huge boost for the passing game, and he would provide Drake Lindsey with another dynamic offensive weapon.

The transfer portal for D1 players doesn't technically "open" until Jan. 2, but those same rules are not enforced at the D2 level. Dehnicke's recruitment will be one to follow closely as transfer portal season continues to heat up.