Gophers tackle Nick Connelly, who started the first five games of the season, has retired from football, a team spokesman confirmed Wednesday.
Connelly, a third-year sophomore from Red Wing, was injured during an extra-point attempt on Oct. 7 at Purdue and was assisted off the field and walked slowly to the locker room.
The 6-7, 300-pounder played mostly on special teams as a freshman but won the right tackle job this year. Senior Vincent Calhoun started in Connelly's place against Michigan State before redshirt freshman Sam Schlueter took over for the Illinois game and is listed as the starter for Saturday's game at Iowa.
With Connelly no longer with the team, the Gophers' two-deep lineup at tackle has true freshman Blaise Andries of Marshall, Minn., as the backup to both Donnell Greene at left tackle and Schlueter at right tackle. Andries has yet to play, and coach P.J. Fleck wants to burn as few redshirts as possible.
Randy Johnson
