2017 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 2017 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota during the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gophers were led by first-year head coach P.J. Fleck and played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Minnesota competed as a member of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 5–7, 2–7 in Big Ten play to finish in sixth place in the West Division.

2017 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Division	West Division
2017 record	5–7 (2–7 Big Ten)
Head coach	P. J. Fleck (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Kirk Ciarrocca (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Robb Smith (1st season)
Home stadium	TCF Bank Stadium (Capacity: 50,805)

2017 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 5 Ohio State xy$		8	–	1					12	–	2
No. 15 Michigan State		7	–	2					10	–	3
No. 8 Penn State		7	–	2					11	–	2
Michigan		5	–	4					8	–	5
Rutgers		3	–	6					4	–	8
Indiana		2	–	7					5	–	7
Maryland		2	–	7					4	–	8
West Division
No. 7 Wisconsin xy		9	–	0					13	–	1
No. 17 Northwestern		7	–	2					10	–	3
Iowa		4	–	5					8	–	5
Purdue		4	–	5					7	–	6
Nebraska		3	–	6					4	–	8
Minnesota		2	–	7					5	–	7
Illinois		0	–	9					2	–	10
Championship: Ohio State 27, Wisconsin 21
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Recruiting

Position key

Back	B		Center	C		Cornerback	CB		Defensive back	DB
Defensive end	DE		Defensive lineman	DL		Defensive tackle	DT		End	E
Fullback	FB		Guard	G		Halfback	HB		Kicker	K
Kickoff returner	KR		Offensive tackle	OT		Offensive lineman	OL		Linebacker	LB
Long snapper	LS		Punter	P		Punt returner	PR		Quarterback	QB
Running back	RB		Safety	S		Tight end	TE		Wide receiver	WR

Recruits

The Gophers signed a total of 26 recruits.

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Blaise Andries OT	Marshall, Minnesota	Marshall HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	Apr 9, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Eric Abojei OT	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Robbinsdale Cooper HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Apr 17, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Grant Ryerse K	Woodbury, Minnesota	East Ridge HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jun 8, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Dominik London RB	Woodbury, Minnesota	East Ridge HS	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	Jun 15, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Nathan Bursch TE	Woodbury, Minnesota	Woodbury HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jun 20, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Neil McLaurin QB	Laurel, Mississippi	West Jones HS/Southwest Mississippi Community College	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Dec 11, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Tanner Morgan QB	Union, Kentucky	Ryle HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	Jan 6, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Esezi Otomewo DE	Indianapolis, Indiana	Ben Davis HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jan 6, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Trenton Guthrie LB	Pinckney, Michigan	Northville HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	204 lb (93 kg)	Jan 6, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
John Schmitz OG	Flossmoor, Illinois	Homewood-Flossmoor HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	Jan 6, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Noah Hickcox DE	Rockford, Illinois	Boylan Catholic HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	279 lb (127 kg)	Jan 6, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Chris Autman-Bell WR	Kankakee, Illinois	Bishop McNamara HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	178 lb (81 kg)	Jan 6, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A
Mohamed Ibrahim RB	Olney, Maryland	Good Counsel HS	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	178 lb (81 kg)	Jan 8, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Kyle Sassack OT	Pontiac, Michigan	Notre Dame Prep	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	Jan 8, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Nate Ulmor TE	Allendale, Michigan	Allendale HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	Jan 8, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jacob Paulson TE	Louisville, Kentucky	Christian Academy of Louisville	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Jan 11, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Demetrius Douglas CB	Portland, Oregon	Jesuit HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	173 lb (78 kg)	Jan 14, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Harrison Van Dyke WR	Stilwell, Kansas	Blue Valley HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jan 15, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A
Reyondous Estes QB	East Saint Louis, Illinois	East St. Louis HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	164 lb (74 kg)	Jan 18, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Kendarian Handy-Holly S	Jackson, Alabama	Jackson HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	Jan 21, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Adam Beck Bench	Pyongyang, North Korea	George Ranch HS	5 ft 2 in (1.57 m)	120 lb (54 kg)	January 35th, 1840
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Austin Schirck DT	Carroll, Iowa	Carroll HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	Jan 29, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A
Justus Harris CB	Roswell, Georgia	Roswell HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jan 29, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A
Royal Silver DT	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	Iowa Western Community College	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	Jan 29, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A
Malcolm Robinson DT	Massillon, Ohio	Massillon Washington HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	Jan 30, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Boye Mafe DE	Minnetonka, Minnesota	Hopkins HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Feb 1, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Minnesota Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 1, 2017. "2017 Minnesota Football Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 1, 2017. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 1, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 1, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 1, 2017.

Schedule

The Gophers' 2017 schedule consisted of 7 home games and 5 away games. Minnesota hosted two of its non-conference games; against Buffalo from the MAC and against Middle Tennessee from Conference USA; the Gophers played on the road against Oregon State from the Pac-12.

The Gophers played nine conference games; they hosted Maryland, Michigan State, Illinois, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. They traveled to Purdue, Iowa, and Michigan, and Northwestern.

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	6:00 p.m.	Buffalo*	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 17–7	43,224
September 9	9:00 p.m.	at Oregon State*	Reser Stadium Corvallis, OR	FS1	W 48–14	35,206
September 16	2:30 p.m.	Middle Tennessee*	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 34–3	43,727
September 30	11:00 a.m.	Maryland	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	FS1	L 24–31	43,511
October 7	2:30 p.m.	at Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN2	L 17–31	42,085
October 14	7:00 p.m.	No. 21 Michigan State	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	L 27–30	47,541
October 21	2:30 p.m.	Illinois	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN	BTN	W 24–17	45,243
October 28	5:30 p.m.	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (Floyd of Rosedale)	FS1	L 10–17	66,292
November 4	6:30 p.m.	at Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug)	FOX	L 10–33	111,090
November 11	11:00 a.m.	Nebraska	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN ($5 Bits of Broken Chair Trophy)	FS1	W 54–21	39,933
November 18	11:00 a.m.	at Northwestern	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	BTN	L 0–39	30,014
November 25	2:30 p.m.	No. 5 Wisconsin	TCF Bank Stadium Minneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	ABC	L 0–31	47,327
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

• Sources:[1]

Game summaries

Buffalo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulls	7	0	0	0	7
Golden Gophers	14	0	0	3	17

See also: 2017 Buffalo Bulls football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–0	2002	MINN, 41–17

at Oregon State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	10	10	14	14	48
Beavers	0	14	0	0	14

See also: 2017 Oregon State Beavers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–1	2016	MINN, 30–23

Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	0	3	0	0	3
Golden Gophers	3	17	7	7	34

See also: 2017 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–0	2014	MINN, 35–24

Maryland

	1	2	3	4	Total
Terrapins	7	10	0	14	31
Golden Gophers	0	10	7	7	24

See also: 2017 Maryland Terrapins football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–1	2016	MINN, 31–10

at Purdue

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	7	7	0	3	17
Boilermakers	6	0	7	18	31

See also: 2017 Purdue Boilermakers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
37–32–3	2016	MINN, 44–31

Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 21 Spartans	10	7	6	7	30
Golden Gophers	6	0	0	21	27

See also: 2017 Michigan State Spartans football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
17–29	2013	MSU, 14–3

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	7	0	0	10	17
Golden Gophers	7	0	3	14	24

See also: 2017 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
37–29–3	2016	MINN, 40–17

at Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	0	0	0	10	10
Hawkeyes	7	0	7	3	17

See also: 2017 Iowa Hawkeyes football team and Iowa–Minnesota football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
62–46–2	2016	IOWA, 14–7

at Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	7	0	0	3	10
Wolverines	13	7	13	0	33

See also: 2017 Michigan Wolverines football team and Little Brown Jug (college football trophy)

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
25–74–3	2015	MICH, 29–26

Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cornhuskers	7	7	0	7	21
Golden Gophers	14	16	10	14	54

See also: 2017 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team and Minnesota–Nebraska football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
31–24–2	2016	NEB, 24–17

at Northwestern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Gophers	0	0	0	0	0
Wildcats	0	25	7	7	39

See also: 2017 Northwestern Wildcats football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
53–345	2016	MINN, 29–12

Wisconsin

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Badgers	7	10	7	7	31
Golden Gophers	0	0	0	0	0

See also: 2017 Wisconsin Badgers football team and Minnesota–Wisconsin football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
59–59–8	2016	WISC, 31–17

Roster

2017 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 1 Rodney Smith  Jr WR 2 Isaiah Gentry-Madaris  Jr WR 3 Chris Autman-Bell Fr WR 5 Melvin Holland Jr.  Jr WR 6 Tyler Johnson So WR 8 Mark Williams  Fr WR 9 Eric Carter  Sr QB 11 Demry Croft  So WR 12 Hunter Register  So QB 13 Tanner Morgan Fr QB 14 Jaran Roste Fr QB 15 Conor Rhoda  Sr QB 16 Ray Estes Fr QB 17 Seth Green  Fr WR 19 Clay Geary  Fr QB 19 Samuel Pickerign Fr RB 22 Kobe McCrary Sr RB 23 Shannon Brooks Jr WR 24 Drew Hmielewski  Fr WR 25 Phillip Howard  Fr RB 28 Jonathan Femi-Cole  So RB 30 Mohamed Ibrahim Fr RB 31 Domink London Fr RB 32 Zachariah Knox  So RB 33 Mike Delich Fr TE 40 Nathan Bursch Fr TE 42 Ko Kieft  Fr TE 44 Colton Beebe  So TE 49 Jake Paulson Fr OL 53 Vincent Magaña Jr OL 55 Eric Rousemiller Fr OL 58 Quinn Oseland  So OL 60 John Michael Schmitz Fr OL 61 Bronson Dovich  So OL 62 Jared Weyler  Jr OL 64 Conner Olson  Fr OL 65 Axel Ruschmeyer Fr OL 70 Sam Schlueter  Fr OL 71 Ben Davis So OL 73 Donnell Greene  Jr OL 74 Nick Connelly  So OL 75 Noah Kuehn  So OL 75 Kyle Sassack Fr OL 76 Vincent Calhoun Sr OL 77 Blaise Andries Fr OL 78 Garrison Wright  Sr TE 80 Nate Wozniak  Sr WR 81 Brock Annexstad Fr WR 82 Demetrius Douglas Fr WR 83 Harry Van Dyne Fr WR 84 Will Reger  Jr TE 85 Bryce Witham  So TE 86 Brandon Lingen Sr WR 87 Reid Hilbelink Fr WR 88 Rashad Still Jr WR 89 Matt Morse  So TE 89 Nate Umlor Fr TE 98 Clayton Witherspoon Fr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 2 Jacob Huff Jr DL 3 Jerry Gibson  Jr DB 4 Adekunle Ayinde  Sr LB 5 Trenton Guthrie Fr DB 6 Chris Williamson Jr DB 7 Ken Handy-Holly Fr DB 8 Duke McGhee  Sr DB 11 Antoine Winfield Jr. So LB 12 Cody Poock  Sr LB 13 Jonathan Celestin Sr DB 14 Zo Craighton  So LB 15 Everett Williams  Jr DB 16 Coney Durr So DL 19 Gary Moore  Jr LB 20 Julian Huff Jr LB 21 Kamal Martin So DB 22 Dorborwulu Cooper  Jr DB 23 Adam Beck Fr DB 26 Justus Harris Fr DB 27 Calvin Swenson  Fr DB 29 Jack Leius So DB 26 Johnny Santaga Fr DB 31 Kiondre Thomas  Fr DB 32 Brady Wieland  Fr DB 34 Antonio Shenault Jr LB 35 Jaylen Waters  So LB 36 Blake Cashman Jr DB 40 Alex Strazzanti Fr LB 41 Thomas Barber So LB 43 Bailey Schoenfelder  Fr LB 44 Tommy Fuller Fr LB 45 Carter Coughlin So DL 46 Winston DeLattiboudere  So DB 50 Danny Anderson Fr DL 52 Austin Schirck Fr LB 57 Joe Russell Fr DL 59 Connor Novak-Goar So DL 69 Boye Mafe Fr DL 75 Malcolm Robinson Fr DL 90 Sam Renner  So DL 91 Noah Hickcox Fr DL 92 Tai'yon Devers So DL 93 Merrick Jackson  Sr DL 94 Quinn Coughlin Fr DL 95 Esezi Otomewo Fr DL 96 Steven Richardson Sr DL 97 Royal Silver Jr DL 98 O.J. Smith  Jr DL 99 Andrew Stelter Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 18 Ryan Santoso  Sr LS 25 Payton Jordahl  Jr K, P 33 Grant Ryerse Fr P 34 Logan McElfresh  Jr H 36 Casey O'Brien  Fr K 37 John Mack  Fr K 38 Emmit Carpenter  Jr LS 39 Trey Hansen  So K 42 Justin Juenemann  Sr P 47 Jacob Herbers  So	Head coach P. J. Fleck (Head Coach) Coordinators/assistant coaches Kirk Ciarrocca (Offensive Coordinator / Quarterbacks) Robb Smith (Defensive Coordinator / Linebackers) Kenni Burns (Running Backs) Brian Callahan (Tight Ends) Maurice Linguist (Defensive Backs) Bryce Paup (Defensive Line) Matt Simon (Wide Receivers) Ed Warinner (Offensive Line / Run Game Coordinator) Rob Wenger (Special Teams Coordinator) Gerrit Chernoff (General Manager) Dan Nichol (Head Strength & Conditioning) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: September 5, 2017

References

1. "2017 Minnesota Football Schedule". Minnesota Football - Future Schedules. Retrieved January 12, 2017.