No. 1 player in Iowa Jayden McGregory schedules official visit with Gophers

The No. 1 ranked 2026 recruit in Iowa, Jayden McGregory, announced on Monday that he has locked in an official visit with the Gophers for their annual Summer Splash recruiting event this spring (May 30-June 1).

LOCKED🔒!! @Coach_DCollins @Coach_Fleck @GopherFootball
#RTB🛶 pic.twitter.com/0G6QmztFtA
— 4⭐️Jayden “JMAC” McGregory (@Jay_McGregory) February 3, 2025

McGregory is a talented two-way player who is listed as an athlete (ATH) on most recruiting services. At 6-foot-2, 182 pounds, he will likely be recruited as a safety, but he also plays wide receiver at the high school level. He was a first-team All-State selection as a junior, allowing only two catches all season. He had 20 total tackles, 13 pass breakups, and three interceptions.

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Head coach P.J. Fleck and defensive coordinator Danny Collins visited McGregory at Valley High School in Des Moines in January, and he returned the favor and took an unofficial visit with the Gophers last month. It was his second time on campus after visiting on Oct. 5 during Minnesota's upset win over USC.

According to 247Sports' composite ratings, McGregory is the No. 218 recruit in the country, the No. 15 ATH and the No. 1 player in Iowa. He is being pursued by some of the best programs in the sport, such as Georgia, Tennessee and Michigan among others. The Gophers are the first program to lock him in for an official visit.

Between Antoine Winfield Jr., Jordan Howden, Tyler Nubin, Koi Perich and Kerry Brown, Minnesota has a long list of evidence of being able to develop elite-level safety talent. It's clear that McGregory is one of the Gophers' top targets in the class of 2026 as they look for their next star talent in the secondary. He's the type of player that Minnesota could build its recruiting class around.

Related: Recruitment heating up between Gophers and No. 1 player in Iowa