Gophers 2026 recruiting class might be Fleck’s best

Portraits of Gophers football greats ring the inside of the team’s locker room at Huntington Bank Stadium, arranged by number and corresponding locker below, a reminder of what each player can strive to be.

At 11 a.m. Wednesday, that locker room – where the head coach is known to crowd-surf atop his players after every Minnesota victory – also was the site of more exuberance as P.J. Fleck introduced his 2026 recruiting class on the first day of the early signing period. Fleck celebrated the 31 players who turned their verbal commitments into signatures on financial aid agreements and officially became Gophers.

It’s a class that features players from 17 different states, is heavy on offensive and defensive linemen and will fill needs in developing a roster.

“When you look at our roster, this is the lifeblood of our program,” Fleck said. “We’re about 80% high school players and development, another 20%, right around there, with transfer portal players.”

Here are five things to know about the Gophers’ 2026 recruiting class:

From 6:09 a.m. to 9:20 a.m. Wednesday, the Gophers announced — one by one, time zone by time zone — on social media the signings of 31 players to binding financial aid agreements. At that time, the Gophers’ 2026 class ranked 24^th nationally and seventh among Big Ten schools in the 247Sports.com composite ratings of major recruiting services. It is in position to be the top class, ratings-wise, among the 10 that Fleck has assembled in Dinkytown.

“This is the highest-ranked recruiting class in Minnesota history, ranked 24th in the country,” Fleck said to applause from the donors. “And I’m really, really proud to say that we signed our first top-25 class. It took us nine years.”

Fleck credited the long-term, consistent approach he and his staff take to recruiting.

“We are now recruiting and signing players who were at our little kids’ camp nine years ago,” he said. “We are going to raise them Gophers, we’re going to teach them Gophers, and we’re going to keep them Gophers.”

Brian Callahan, the Gophers offensive line coach, had a spring in his step on Wednesday, according to Fleck.

“Brian Callahan was in my office first in every time zone, with the phone, with his guys, his O-linemen, first on the phone at 7 o’clock – right there waiting outside my door. That tells you how excited he is about this offensive line.”

The highlights: The Gophers signed tackle Andrew Trout of Rocori, the No. 4-ranked player in Minnesota; tackle Gavin Meier of Janesville Parker High School, the No. 1-ranked recruit in Wisconsin; and tackle Aaron Thomas, a 6-7, 300-pounder from Mountain Pointe High in Phoenix who previously was committed to Ohio State.

KJ Henson, a defensive tackle from Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College, who committed to the Gophers in November, was expected to sign on Wednesday morning. He announced later in the day on social media he was decommitting from Minnesota. He followed the lead of teammates Derrick Salley Jr., a top juco wideout, and defensive back Michael Graham Jr., who both decommitted from the Gophers in late November. Those two ended up signing with Kansas State, and Henson is a possibility to land there.

In Henson’s place, the Gophers signed wide receiver Josiah Dozier of Moody, Ala., who flipped his commitment from South Florida. The three-star recruit had 82 receptions for 1,802 yards and 30 touchdowns over the past two years.

“This was one of our surprises of the class,” Fleck said of Dozier.

A point of emphasis for the Gophers in recruiting was increasing the team’s speed, especially at the offensive skill positions. Minnesota has only 33 plays of 20 yards or longer this season, which ranks 131st nationally.

“We’ve got to be able to stretch the field vertically more,” Fleck said, adding that quarterback Drake Lindsey will be one of the best players ever at Minnesota if surrounded by the right players.

Fleck showed he and his staff could recruit both regionally and nationally in this class. The Gophers landed the top-ranked player in Minnesota in Forest Lake defensive lineman Howie Johnson, the top-ranked player in Wisconsin in Meier, and the No. 2-ranked player in Indiana in edge rusher Aaden Aytch of Lafayette Jefferson High School.