Gophers defensive end Karter Menz is taking advantage of his opportunity

Horace Greeley, the 19th-century author and newspaper publisher, encouraged the development of the United States and opportunities for one to succeed by offering this advice: “Go West, young man, go West.”

Karter Menz, the 21st-century pass rusher, grew up in Horace, N.D., a town named after Greeley. Menz, though, took this advice: “Go East, young man, go East.” The Gophers football team is better for it.

Menz, a 6-5, 240-pound defensive end, has developed into a solid pass rusher for the Gophers. The redshirt sophomore has 4½ sacks this season, ranking second on the team to Anthony Smith’s Big Ten-leading seven. He’s also third in tackles for loss with six and has worked himself into being part of a productive job share with Jaxon Howard, who has three sacks and 4½ tackles for loss.

“Over the past few games, you’ve just seen this meteoric rise from him, and you’re like, ‘He’s got to play,’” Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said of Menz. “He is just scratching the surface.”

Menz played a key role in the Gophers’ 24-6 win over No. 25 Nebraska on Oct. 17, posting 2½ sacks of Huskers quarterback Dylan Raiola and contributing seven tackles. Last week in the 41-3 loss at Iowa, Menz made two tackles, including a second-quarter sack of quarterback Mark Gronowski. The Nebraska game, in which the Gophers had a program-record nine sacks, is one he’ll cherish.

“It was a lot of fun,” Menz said Wednesday, ahead of Saturday’s home game against Michigan State. “Our coordinator [Danny Collins] put us in a really good position to go attack this quarterback. We had a really good game plan that week, and we’re all just rushing as one. … Everyone was getting home, working together and just getting after the quarterback."

The fact that Menz is playing for the Gophers means he had to say no to his North Dakota roots. Horace, a burg of some 915 people in the 2000 census, now is a rapidly growing town that went from 3,085 in the 2020 census to an estimated 7,239 this year. It sits just south of West Fargo and is in the heart of North Dakota State Bison Country.

Karter was a standout at West Fargo Sheyenne High School, helping the Mustangs win a state championship as a junior in 2021. He was the state’s top-ranked recruit in the 2023 class.

“He was the same kind of player then as he is right now,” Sheyenne coach Jeremy Newton said. “He’s just a dynamic athlete that can do things that some kids can’t do. Even at that level, to see him do the same things and they can’t stop him, either, is pretty impressive.”

NDSU was the first school to offer Karter a scholarship, and the Bison were persistent in their efforts. He was considering the Bison early in his recruiting but adjusted his focus when Power Four conference offers came in. The first was from Nebraska in March of 2022, and the Gophers followed a month later. Menz made his official visit to Minnesota in June of 2022. He was impressed and committed a couple of days later.

“For me, it was always Minnesota,” said Menz, a business major. “They talked to me about the culture here that they had, and it’s also close to where I’m from. That was pretty important to me when I was making that choice.”

Fleck considers North Dakota and South Dakota as extensions of Minnesota when it comes to recruiting. Along with Menz, the Gophers lured defensive tackle Riley Sunram from Kindred, N.D. — about 13 miles southwest of Horace — to Minnesota.

Added Collins, “He was a guy that really worked for it. … He had multiple gym memberships and was doing things like that on his own, doing unrequired work. And for me, that was like, ‘OK, this guy’s like us, he works like us. He’s going to fit in really well here.’”

Menz redshirted in 2023 and played in five games last year. He’s added 25 pounds to his once-215-pound frame and uses quickness and leverage to his advantage. His first sack came against Rutgers on Sept. 27, and his play has been steady as he’s gained experience.

“Where he’s improved the most is his confidence,” Collins said. “This is a developmental program, and that’s where I get so excited to watch him continue to grow because he’s seeing it for himself. As coaches, we believe in you, but then you’ve got to believe in yourself. He’s starting to have that confidence.”