The Gophers have big holes to fill at defensive tackle in their next recruiting class, and Saturday night, they landed one potential solution.

Elijah Teague, a highly coveted junior from Chicago Marist High School, verbally committed to Minnesota after an unofficial visit to campus.

The 6-2, 287-pound Teague is a consensus three-star recruit who also had reported offers from Penn State, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Tennessee, among others.

The Gophers have three returning seniors at defensive tackle for this fall – Steven Richardson, Andrew Stelter and Merrick Jackson. Gary Moore is a redshirt junior, but heading into signing day earlier this month, they had no freshmen or sophomores at the position.

Coach P.J. Fleck signed three defensive tackles in the 2017 class and plans to add six more for next year. Teague announced his commitment on Twitter.