Category: P.J. FLECK

Roman Voss, the multi-positions player from Jackson, Minnesota and considered the state’s No. 1 recruit in the class of 2026, verbally committed to the Golden Gophers today.  He told Hayes Fawcett @on3recruits this afternoon of his news making decision.

About 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Voss is considered one of the dozen or so most athletic prep football players in the country for the class of 2026.  Although he has played both offense and defense in high school, he projects as a tight end with Minnesota. It’s believed he has the pass catching and run breaking skills to not only excel in college but perhaps become a play-on-Sundays tight end.

The four-star recruit’s final college choices were Minnesota and Alabama.  The Gophers have one other tight end among their 2026 verbal commits, Gabe Weaver from St. Louis.  Alabama doesn’t have a tight end in its class so far, per 247Sports.

Voss is now considered the most highly coveted member of the Gophers’ 2026 class that has more than 20 verbal commits. He was recruited by Minnesota tight ends coach Eric Koehler and offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr., according to 247Sports.  Head coach P.J. Fleck was heavily involved, too.

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer and his offensive coordinator, Ryan Grubb, have roots in the Upper Midwest.  DeBoer, as head coach at the University of Sioux Falls and Grubb, as an assistant there, recruited this area and now are doing the same from Tuscaloosa.  Among the Tide’s verbal commits for 2026 is quarterback Jett Thomalla from Omaha, considered the state of Nebraska’s No. 1 recruit, per 247Sports.

The decision to commit to the Gophers means family and friends will have less than a three-hour drive to watch Voss play at Huntington Bank Stadium.  The driving distance to the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa is over 1,000 miles and non-stop takes almost 16 hours.

In the new world of college football, recruits are well aware of being paid for their talents. Revenue sharing is expected to start this summer in major college football with the guess here that perhaps 50-plus football Gophers will receive money from the athletic department which is expected to pay athletes not only in football, but men’s and women’s basketball, men’s hockey and volleyball.

Next school year Minnesota’s official collective, Dinkytown Athletes, is likely to have a record amount of money for name, image and likeness compensation.  NIL has played a key role in the Gopher football program’s success in retaining core players on the roster including pre-season All-American safety Koi Perich and star running back Darius Taylor.

The Gophers’ 2026 recruiting class is also led by two other 247 four-star recruits, defensive lineman Howie Johnson from Forest Lake and offensive tackle Andrew Trout from Cold Spring.  They are the state of Minnesota’s No. 2 and No. 3 ranked players by 247Sports.

Fleck and the Gophers have landed the top high school recruit in Minnesota in three of the four previous years: Eden Prairie defensive lineman Trey Bixby (2022), Esko athlete Koi Perich (2024), and Robbinsdale Cooper linebacker Emmanuel Karmo (2025).

When Voss officially signs on make it four of the last five.

Worth Noting

Five Gophers have been chosen by Phil Steele Publications as either members of the preseason All-American team or preseason Big Ten all-conference teams. Koi Perich is a second team All-American safety. He is also a second team All-Big Ten safety and third team All-Big Ten punt returner.

Steele also recognizes defensive tackle Deven Eastern on the All-Big Ten third team, while running back Darius Taylor, defensive end Anthony Smith, and long snapper Alan Soukup are fourth team All-Big Ten.

Monday is a historic day for the University of St. Thomas after a vote by the NCAA Division I Board of Directors makes the Tommies a full member of the NCAA. The Tommies become the only NCAA member to reclassify directly from Division III to Division I. The Tommies are now fully eligible to compete in postseason play, including NCAA tournaments and championships.

Glen Taylor agreed to sell the Timberwolves about four years ago for $1.5 billion to Alex Rodriquez and Marc Lore.  Now the NBA’s most glamorous franchise, the Lakers, is reportedly selling for $10 billion!

The Lakers, who originated in Minneapolis, moved to Los Angeles after the 1959-1960 NBA season.  That was owner Bob Short’s decision, and he retained control of the franchise until 1965 when he sold it for about $5 million, per multiple reports.

Wild ownership and management is disappointed in the state’s decision not to help fund major renovations for Xcel Energy Center during the last legislative session.  The Wolves, with the second oldest arena in the NBA, have ambitions to replace Target Center and perhaps build a privately financed facility.  Financial heavyweight Michael Bloomberg is part of the new ownership group.

Wild fans look forward to this week’s NHL Draft and at the same time might recall the blunder of 2018 when Minnesota selected defenseman Filip Johannsson in the first round.  At No. 24, GM Paul Fenton’s selection went before others thought he should go and Johansson never played for the Wild.

The Wild has hired 62-year-old Greg Cronin as head coach of the Iowa Wild, the franchise’s primary affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).  He has 38 years of coaching and player development experience including at the NHL, AHL and NCAA levels.