NCAA – Page 12 – David Shama's Minnesota Sports Headliners

Even in Spring College Football Magazine Brings Excitement

Posted on June 8, 2025June 8, 2025 by David Shama

At the Walgreen’s checkout line on Friday, I was surprised to see a college football magazine for sale. I almost gagged at the price of $14.99 but simultaneously fell into a state of ecstasy.

Everyone should have something that takes them back to their favorite childhood endeavor. At the top of my list is and was searching the magazine shelves at a pharmacy or bookstore for the first college football publication of the year.

I couldn’t resist buying Athlon’s magazine, even at a ridiculous cost of $16.27 including tax. Don’t tell Athlon but $22 is probably my ceiling.

Years ago, it was usually Street & Smith’s that was out first. It was a comprehensive national preview, and you didn’t need a small loan to buy it.

Steet & Smith’s magazine hit newsstands in August. Decades ago, the college football season didn’t start until mid-September or later in the month. Now the preview publications will be out in June, partially because the season starts in late August.

As a youth, I was waiting for the Gophers’ return to Big Ten glory and national championships. That’s what my elders talked about, the great legacy of Minnesota football. I rushed to the store with anticipation that a Gopher player might be a magazine cover boy. Couldn’t wait in the 1950s and 1960s to see if Minnesota was forecast among the nation’s elite.

Nowadays, I still get excited about buying and reading the magazines, but with tempered expectations, of course. Yes, I am ready for whatever fortunes are forecast for the Maroon and Gold, but I am also curious to see what the Big Ten and national landscape is supposed to be.

Know that Athlon lists Minnesota No. 42 in its 2025 rankings of 136 college football teams. Matthew McConnaughey’s Texas Longhorns are No. 1, and the Golden Flashes of Kent State are No. 136.

Athlon predicts Minnesota will finish 11^th in the 18 team Big Ten Conference. That’s not a lofty forecast but the magazine thinks the Gophers can have a winning season and forecasts a postseason appearance against the Big 12’s Baylor Bears at the Rate Bowl in Phoenix.

Bears beware! The Gophers have won eight consecutive bowl games, including six straight under head coach P.J. Fleck.

Koi Perich photo courtesy of University of Minnesota

I do have something else Gopher fans can strut about. Sophomore safety and wunderkind Koi Perich is an Athlon third-team defense All-American and first team All-Big Ten. As the magazines come out and national award candidates are announced, the preseason recognition will mount for the Esko, Minnesota native who figures to impact games this fall as a defender, special teams player and even offensive threat.

Fleck will be in his ninth season leading the Gophers program. His best season was in 2019 when the Gophers finished 11-2 and ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll.

The notion from some skeptics endures that Fleck will use the Gopher job as a stepping stone. Athlon reinforced that with a quote from an opposing Big Ten assistant coach.

“…It’s no secret Fleck wants to be at a high-end, title contending program,” he said anonymously. “This doesn’t look like a ’19 season on paper, but if they win nine games or so, he’ll be on the hunt to move.”

I am going to sign off now and get back to devouring Athlon’s pages. Doesn’t everyone want to know what awaits not only the power conference teams but also the likes of Kennesaw State, Old Dominion and Liberty (not the insurance company).

If you see an older guy with a stack of magazines at Barnes & Noble any time soon be sure to lend a hand. Or maybe a couple of bucks. This stuff is expensive!

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Golden Gophers Football Recruiting Alert: Mataalii Benjamin

Posted on May 28, 2025May 28, 2025 by David Shama

The first of two Gophers Summer Splash weekends starts on Friday in Minneapolis. The invitation only event is for high school football players Minnesota is targeting for its recruiting class of 2026.

The attendees will number about 25, including 10 who already have made verbal commitments to the Gophers, per recruiting authority Ryan Burns from Gopher Illustrated and 247Sports. He talked to Sports Headliners about prospects who already are, or will be, of high interest to Minnesota fans.

Yes, Burns said the Gopher coaches would be “through the roof” in the coming days if they received a verbal commitment from the state’s No. 1 ranked player, Roman Voss from Jackson.

“I’d also tell you they’d love to add a kid from Utah named Mataalii Benjamin who is a very high upside offensive tackle,” Burns said. “And being able to add tackle bodies is very important. They’re one of the toughest things to find across college football because they’re always in such high demand.

“Benjamin has offers from all over the country but being able to get him on campus this weekend is very important for them. …I think he’s one of the higher upside guys that they’ve been targeting along the offensive line in some time.”

A player Burns is locked in on is wide receiver Hayden Moore from Newberry, Florida. After Moore verbally committed to the Gophers, he picked up an offer from Big Ten power Penn State and he is “tentatively” scheduled to visit there next month, per Burns who is curious to learn the Florida native’s thoughts after this weekend.

Voss is the player who Gopher fans have zeroed in on. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound prospect is so versatile he could be a possibility at multiple positions in college, but Burns predicts he will be a tight end.

“I think he’s going to be a great college tight end,” Burns said. He added that Voss “is as athletically gifted a tight end as I’ve seen come out of this state since Brevyn Spann-Ford (former Gopher now with the NFL Cowboys).”

Burns said in college Voss could remind him of former Iowa All-American Sam LaPorta, now a standout tight end for the NFL Lions. He added that Voss and his family are on board with his playing tight end in college.

At one time it was thought Voss, who is expected at Summer Splash, might choose Iowa. The Hawkeyes are known as a tight ends factory and Jackson is near the Iowa border. “Iowa is not in it for (securing) Roman Voss,” Burns said.

Voss is “essentially bound” to either Alabama or Minnesota, per Burns who said the coveted prospect will visit the Crimson Tide in June with indications a college destination will be made after that. Jackson is a short drive to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer became acquainted with southwest Minnesota recruiting when he was leading the program at the University of Sioux Falls.

Four-star state of Minnesota recruits Howie Johnson, a defensive lineman from Forest Lake, and Andrew Trout, an offensive tackle from Cold Spring, are already Gopher commits and expected to be at Summer Splash. They are players Burns believes could contribute early in their college careers.

The next highest ranked in-state player is high three-star Dodge Center athlete Pierce Petersohn who is also expected to attend Summer Splash. Burns said the uncommitted Petersohn is projected as a college linebacker by Minnesota and Iowa State, and a tight end by Penn State. “He’s going to take official visits to all three of those schools coming up here in the next month or so, and then he’s going to try and figure out what’s best for him.”

How does Burns view the quality and depth of talent in the state for the class of 2026? “I just don’t think it’s a very good year in the state of Minnesota to be quite honest with you. I think it’s a below average year. It’s a year where you’ve got a lot of high-end guys at the top. Guys like Roman Voss, Howie Johnson, Andrew Trout, Pierce Petersohn, but I think the cliff drops off pretty steeply after the top five I would say; top maybe 6, 7, 8. …In terms of depth I don’t think it’s a great year.”

Despite not being that enthused about the in-state talent depth, Burns believes the 2026 Gopher recruiting class could be one of the best since head coach P.J. Fleck came to Minnesota in 2017. Burns offered praise to the staff for getting in early with a lot of their targets and building relationships.

An example is offensive tackle Daniel McMorris from Oklahoma who is expected at Summer Splash. Burns said Minnesota was the first school to offer McMorris but now he has over 20 offers including Wisconsin and Stanford.

To make this one of Fleck’s best classes Burns said the Gophers will need a “great next 30 days of recruiting.” He projects by the end of June the 2026 Minnesota will have “north of 20” verbal commitments.

The Gophers will host a second Summer Splash June 13-15, with a smaller number of targets expected to attend, per Burns.

Under NCAA rules, prep players can’t make signed agreements with schools for several months from now.

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Jerry Kill Praises New Golden Gophers Running Back

Posted on May 14, 2025May 14, 2025 by David Shama

Former Gophers head coach Jerry Kill has praise for running back Johann Cardenas who announced recently he is transferring to Minnesota from Vanderbilt. Kill is a top assistant coach at Vandy and he talked Monday to Sports Headliners about Cardenas.

“If he stays healthy, he’ll be a really good player,” Kill said.

Cardenas battled injuries last fall and this spring. He redshirted in 2024, not playing in any games. Kill said this spring the Kay, Texas native played with the “third or fourth string.”

Cardenas, listed at 6-foot and 223-pounds, has “lots of ability,” per Kill. “He’s a Big Ten (quality) back.”

Cardenas, whose style Kill described as that of a “downhill runner,” came out of high school ranked among the top 50 prep running backs nationally by Rivals (29th), On3 (33rd), ESPN (42nd) and 247Sports (49th). He accepted Vandy’s offer over those from Kentucky, Texas Tech, Colorado, Missouri, Oregon and others.

With four seasons of eligibility ahead at Minnesota, Cardenas joins a talented running back roster that includes 2025 transfers Cam Davis from Washington and A.J. Turner of Marshall. They will back up one of the Big Ten’s best running backs in junior Darius Taylor who the last two seasons was a conference honorable mention selection.

Cardenas was recruited to Vandy by Jayden Everett, now the Minnesota running backs coach. Kill and Everett were together briefly in Nashville. He described Everett as a “good person” and passionate coach.

Kill, whose coaching stops have been plagued by epilepsy, is healthier now than when he had to step down at Minnesota in 2025. He’s happy coaching for head coach Clark Lea, likes Nashville and is only about two hours away by car from southern Illinois where his two daughters live.

In Kill’s first season with the Commodores last fall, they were one of the surprises of college football when they pulled off an historic 40-35 upset of Alabama. The Commodores had a 7-6 record while playing competitively in the vaunted SEC against teams like Texas and Missouri.

Back for a final season is quarterback Diego Pavia who as a transfer in 2024 established himself as one of the best at his position in America. He finished the season 177-for-298 passing for 2,293 yards with 20 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He ran for 801 yards and scored eight times.

Pavia played two seasons for Kill at New Mexico State (historically a college football graveyard) including a 10-win 2023 season highlighted by a road upset of SEC bully Auburn. Pavia, an Albuquerque native, was a way under the radar player coming out of high school and New Mexico Military Institute. He chose Kill and the Aggies over offers from Jackson State and Saint Francis.

This fall Kill’s discovery and protege will be a Heisman Trophy candidate in his last season of college football. Asked if years ago he saw that coming, Kill quickly said, “No.”

Worth Noting

The Timberwolves, who figure to close out the Warriors tonight and then move on to the Western Conference Finals, are +600 to win the NBA title, per FanDuel SportsBook. The website lists only the Thunder at -140, and the Knicks, +490, as bigger favorites.

The drama between a potential matchup against the Knicks will be off the charts locally and nationally because of the preseason trade that sent Minnesota’s Karl-Anthony Towns to New York in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo. Talk about bragging rights on the line for the players, franchises and fanbases!

And then there would be the “reunion” with Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. He was fired by the Wolves in January of 2019 and was widely criticized by Minnesota fans for the lengthy minutes he demanded of his top players during his time with the team.

The NFL wasn’t going to take a home game away from the Vikings and their fans when they scheduled the team twice in 2025 international games. The Vikings played a home game in London last year and so they only had eight games in Minneapolis. That’s the same total for U.S. Bank Stadium in 2025, with the Vikings playing in Dublin (Steelers home game) on September 28 and London (Browns home game) on October 5. The NFL 17-game schedule dictates alternate years in which teams have nine or eight home games.

The Vikings, who this writer expected to extend GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s contract before the April 24-26 NFL Draft, still seem certain to come to terms with their GM soon. He was hired in January of 2022 with a four-year deal and has been instrumental in the team’s progress including free agent acquisitions.

Another expected offseason contract announcement is likely a new deal for versatile defensive standout Josh Metellus. The 27-year-old defensive back has also been an outstanding team leader.

As of Monday, the Vikings offseason roster, BTW, was at 91 players including “international player pathway/practice squad exemption” punter Oscar Chapman, an Australian who played at Auburn.

Luke Ryerse, the baseball-football star from East Ridge High School who enrolled at Minnesota in January, has struggled this spring pitching for the Gophers. He is 0-4 with a 11:22 ERA but he has struck out 23 batters in 21.2 innings.

The true freshman was rated as a five-star football prospect in high school by Chris Sailer Kicking, which ranked him as the No. 4 punter in the nation and as the No. 26 kicker.

The LaunchPad Golf The Meadows entertainment venue in Prior Lake will open this fall. The year-round facility will be nestled near Mystic Lake Casino and The Meadows at Mystic Lake.

LaunchPad Golf is a Canadian Company that announced last year the Prior Lake venue would be its first in the United States.

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