The Gophers made moves to shore up two positions through the transfer portal, securing commitments from former Auburn wide receiver Perry Thompson and former Marshall defensive tackle Naquan Crowder.
Thompson, 6-3 and 220 pounds, played the past two seasons for Auburn, making five starts in 2025 and catching 17 passes for 154 yards after having five catches for 126 yards in 2024. He was as a high four-star recruit coming out of Foley (Ala.) High School in 2024 and ranked as the No. 5 player in Alabama and the No. 11 wide receiver recruit nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings of major recruiting services.
Thompson originally committed to Alabama in June of 2022 as a five-star recruit before decommitting 13 months later. Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla.) and Tennessee were among other schools extending scholarship offers to Thompson.
With leading receiver Le’Meke Brockington exhausting his eligibility, Thompson will have a chance to make an immediate impact with the Gophers.
Crowder, 6-3 and 320 pounds, fills a position of need that saw senior tackles Deven Eastern and Jalen Logan-Redding exhaust their eligibility. Crowder, an Aliquippa, Pa., native, had 26 tackles, three tackles for loss and one sack for Marshall in 2025. He spent the 2023 and ’24 seasons at Division II California (Pa.) University and had 51 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two blocked kicks in 2024.
Crowder played in 318 snaps for Marshall in 2014, and he earned a 76.;3 defensive grade, an 83.4 run defense grade and a 63.1 pass rush grade from Pro Football Focus. He will have two years of eligibility with the Gophers.
Crowder and Thompson are the fifth and sixth players to commit to the Gophers out of the transfer portal since its opening Jan. 2. They’re joined by quarterback Michael Merdinger (Liberty), linebacker Andrew Marshall (Eastern Michigan), running back Jaron Thomas (Purdue) and offensive tackle Bennett Warren (Tennessee).
