LAS VEGAS – Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey has spent the offseason training in a variety of locales. He took teammates to Pensacola, Fla., in May for workouts at a prominent sports performance facility. He went home to Fayetteville, Ark., in early July for sessions with area high school, college and pro athletes. And recently, he’s ventured to Woodbury High School for practices with a select group of Vikings players and Gophers teammates.
“[The pro players] just have this persona about them that you never really know how they’re gonna be, but they were great guys,” Lindsey said Wednesday from Big Ten football media days at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. “J.J. McCarthy was awesome. Justin Jefferson was a great dude. At the end of the day, they’re just like us. They’re just at a higher level.”
Lindsey and McCarthy enter training camp in similar situations. Both will face the challenge of becoming a first-time starter after spending essentially a redshirt season in 2024 with teams that will rely heavily on their quick development. Lindsey might not have as much pressure on him as McCarthy faces, with his status as a top-10 NFL draft pick, but he’s picked McCarthy’s brain for tips and discovered he’s already taken such advice.
“He just told me to keep my head down and keep working,” Lindsey said. “And I’d ask him some stuff about Michigan and how that was, and how coach [Jim] Harbaugh was, and he gave me some good tips and pointers. It was cool to be able to be around him.”
Gophers coach P.J. Fleck is confident Lindsey can handle the challenge with help.
“Every player earns pressure. You should want it,” Fleck said. “Coaches have it. We all have it, but the surrounding cast is where we need to lean on the most.”
All-in on Perich on offense
When safety Koi Perich sported a half-maroon, half-white jersey in spring practice — an indication he’ll play both defense and offense this season — Fleck and offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr. devised ways to get the ball in his hands. They’ve found a willing student in Perich.
“We’re going to do as much as Koi will allow us to do,” Fleck said. “Koi works really hard in the unrequired [areas], not just practicing, and he’s doing a ton of stuff on his own ever since January. We took last year as a snippet and saying, ‘OK, it’s your true freshman year. You got here in June.’ The season ended December. We dabbled in it a little bit, but now we’re going to commit to it.”
