Minnesota Scene: Quarterback Sam Jackson recommits, defensive end D'Marion Alexander commits to Gophers

The Gophers football program on Wednesday added its seventh and eight recruits in April for the Class of 2021.

Sam Jackson, a 5-11, 170-pound quarterback from Naperville, Ill., announced on Twitter he has his renewed commitment to Minnesota. D'Marion Alexander, a 6-5, 215-pound defensive end from China Spring, Texas, also committed on Twitter.

Jackson originally committed to P.J. Fleck's program in February 2019 — he was the first 2021 commit.

He decided a couple months later to reopen his recruiting and garnered offers from schools such as Iowa, Wisconsin, Oregon and Notre Dame. The Naperville Central High School product is a four-star recruit, per 247Sports.com. The Gophers recruited Jackson as an athlete, meaning he could be tried at several positions in college.

Alexander, a three-star recruit, had offers from schools such as Baylor, Texas Tech, TCU and Arizona State.

With Jackson and Alexander, the 2021 class grows to 13, including four four-star recruits. It is currently ranked fifth nationally and second in the Big Ten.

Megan Ryan

• Winona State junior Brady Madsen was named to the NCAA Division II PING All-America third team by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

• Carleton senior Alyssa Akiyama was named to the NCAA Division III All-America first team by the Women's Golf Coaches Association and teammate Kristin Miyagi, a sophomore, to the second team.