Minnesota Lands Seven 4-Star Recruits in Updated 2026 Rankings

The Gophers' incoming recruiting class ranks 29th in the country.

Winslow senior Quayd Hendryx (5) scores a touchdown during the Group 4 state football championship game against the Ramapo Raiders at SHI Stadium, Nov 30, 2025, Piscataway, New Jersey, United States. | Yannick Peterhans / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN have all recently released updated rankings for the 2026 high school cycle, and Minnesota has seven four-star recruits set to join the program in this year's freshman class.

Aaden Aytch, Edge (Lafayette, Indiana)

Aytch is the top four-star recruit in the country at No. 33 overall, according to Rivals, which is significantly higher than 247Sports and ESPN. Overall, he's the No. 1 recruit in Minnesota's class on the 247Sports Composite and No. 2 on the Rivals Industry rankings.

Howie Johnson, DL (Forest Lake, Minnesota)

Johnson will come to the Gophers as the consensus No. 1 high school recruit in Minnesota. 247Sports is highest on his potential as the 145th-best player in the class. He's the only incoming freshman who's a four-star prospect on all three services.

Roman Voss, TE (Jackson, Minnesota)

Voss won the 2025 Minnesota Mr. Football award, but he's not the state's top prospect. 247Sports and ESPN have him No. 2, while Rivals surprisingly has him at No. 5 and a three-star prospect. He'll join the Gophers' program this summer after he graduates from high school.

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Quayd Hendryx, WR (Atco, New Jersey)

Hendryx is undoubtedly Minnesota's fastest-rising prospect since early national signing day in December. Rivals is highest on his potential as a four-star recruit and the 209th-best player in the country.

Ryan Estrada, RB (El Paso, Texas)

Estrada had an incredibly productive high school football career with more than 7,500 rushing yards. Rivals is the only service to rank him as a four-star recruit. He'll come to Minnesota with the potential to contribute very early in his college career.

Andrew Trout, OL (Cold Spring, Minnesota)

Trout was the first player to verbally commit to Minnesota's 2026 recruiting class back in January 2024. ESPN is the only service to rank him as a four-star recruit.

Rico Blassingame, WR (Phoenix, Arizona)

Blassingame is another player with a wide range of rankings across the three services. 247Sports is the only one to view him as a four-star recruit and Minnesota's third-best prospect in the class. He's significantly lower on the other two services.

Other notes

Minnesota has 31 incoming freshman in its 2026 class. There are 17 ranked in the top 1,000 of the latest 247Sports Composite, and seven are listed as four-star recruits by at least one major service.