Bye week turned into commitment week for the Gophers

P.J. Fleck listed three goals for his Gophers football team during its bye week between the Michigan State and Oregon games.

The coach wanted:

Judging by the Gophers’ developments since the 23-20 overtime win over the Spartans on Nov. 1, Fleck had a fourth item on his must-do list:

During the past 11 days, Fleck has added seven players to his 2026 recruiting class.

Four of them were “flips,” or players who previously had given a verbal commitment to a different program but changed their minds and chose Minnesota. The other three were from junior college power Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College.

With those seven additions, the Gophers have 31 members in their 2026 class.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the class was ranked 25th nationally and sixth among Big Ten teams by 247Sports, a recruiting-focused website. Recruits can make their verbal commitments binding Dec. 3, the opening day of the three-day early signing period.

Said Allen Trieu, Midwest football recruiting analyst for 247Sports: “Bye weeks have become where colleges really have to get serious about finalizing their classes.”

The most recent players to commit to the Gophers was the trio from Hutchinson Community College, the top-ranked team in NJCAA Division I.

Pledging to Minnesota over the weekend were wide receiver Derrick Salley Jr., defensive tackle KJ Henson and defensive back Michael Graham.

Salley, from Summerville, S.C., is 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds and is rated the No. 1 junior college wide receiver and the No. 2 JUCO player nationally in the 247Sports composite rankings of major recruiting services. A sophomore, Salley has 33 receptions for 645 yards and 12 touchdowns in eight games for the Blue Dragons. Salley also received scholarship offers from Illinois, Kansas State, Boise State and Oklahoma State.

Henson, from Glen Burnie, Md., is 6-3 and 289 pounds and is rated the No. 7 JUCO defensive lineman and No. 26 juco player nationally in the 247Sports composite. Kansas, Kansas State and Purdue were among the offers for the sophomore, who has 32 tackles, five sacks and six tackles for loss.

With the adoption of the transfer portal in 2018, junior college players became a lesser-used avenue of roster building. But with the possibility of junior college seasons not counting toward NCAA eligibility following Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia’s successful petition for a court injunction, JUCO players could be in more demand.

“One, I look at [a JUCO player] as a little bit more of a transfer portal player these days, like a natural transfer,” Fleck said. “Two, with the JUCO rules possibly changing, you might be able to get those players for multiple years. ... Think about if we have Max Brosmer for one more year.”

Trieu believes Henson is the key commitment among the Hutchinson trio.

“Those are three really good players,” he said. “Henson, because of the position he plays, is the most likely to make an impact next year. … It’s so hard to find interior defensive linemen, and that’s a huge pickup."

Early last week, the Fleck and the Gophers were in the flipping business.

The addition of Thomas, 6-7 and 300 pounds, was impressive, Trieu said, because of his robust offer list that included Florida State, Texas A&M, Oregon, Auburn and Texas, among others.

Fleck and his staff also offered a scholarship to Lafayette, La., quarterback Cole Bergeron, who has committed to Virginia Tech, which fired coach Brent Pry earlier this season. The 6-4½, 210-pounder is a three-star recruit who is ranked No. 38 nationally among QBs in the 2026 class, according to the 247Sports composite.

“In this late flipping time, especially at quarterback, schools don’t offer guys just to offer them,” Trieu said. “Usually, they have an idea that the kid may be interested.”

For Fleck and his staff, the recruiting doesn’t end until the signatures are gained.