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Grunkemeyer just visited Minnesota last week after picking up an offer from the Gophers. Penn State now involved

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Along with Western Michigan, he had also taken visits to Toledo and USF

Looks like the clock stopping on 1st downs is coming to an end

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Had Minnesota in his Top 3

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ESPN has the Gophers at #33 and 6th in the B1G

The University of Minnesota football team will play its annual Spring Game at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 22, at the team's indoor football facility at Athletes Village. It was previously announced that the game would take place at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Due to limited crowd space, the game will no longer be open to the public, but it will still air live on BTN and on the Gopher Radio Network.

In addition to the move indoors, all fan-related activities – including the annual oar collection and diaper drive – scheduled to take place on Saturday have been postponed. Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck said that the team will hold a fan-friendly event during training camp and the team will hold its annual oar collection and diaper drive then.

"It is unfortunate that we need to move the game indoors," said Fleck. "But without a usable scoreboard at the stadium because of construction and the ongoing rain and threat of inclement weather in the Midwest, we wanted to do what was best for our fans and student-athletes. Moving the game inside allows our fans to enjoy it live on BTN or on the radio. We will plan an event during training camp where we can collect diapers for the community and fans can donate their personalized oars as well."

On today's Locked On Golden Gophers podcast, host Kane Rob, former collegiate football video coordinator and recruiting assistant, discusses new commits Koi Perich and Mo Saine. We then dive in on the defensive standouts this spring.

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Minnesota is set to host Montana State transfer guard Darius Brown for an official visit visit on Friday.

TGR takes a closer look at Brown and what he can add below.

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SCHOOLS IN THE MIX: Richmond, Minnesota, Utah State

THE LOWDOWN: Before his lone season at Montana State, Brown spent four years at Cal-State Northridge and was an All-Big West Second Team performer in 2020-21 while averaging 10.5 points, 5.3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.9 steals per game.

Last season with the Bobcats, Brown flashed similar production, averaging 9.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Those numbers along with his defensive prowess helped him earn Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year and an All-Big Sky Third Team selection.

To go along with his top-tier defensive abilities, Brown is also an efficient shooter, establishing a 46% field goal percentage throughout his career. His career average from three is 36.1%, but he's coming off his best three-point shooting effort this past season at Montana State, averaging 39.7% on the year.

During his four-year stint at Cal-State Northridge, Brown averaged 74.5% from the free-throw line, but saw a dramatic increase this past season at Montana State, where he averaged a career-high 90.0% from the charity stripe.

To sum it up, Brown has been an effective player everywhere he's been and continues to show improvements in his overall game. He's a guard that can bring high-level defense to a roster, can efficiently distribute the basketball, is an efficient shooter, and more than reliable from the free-throw line.

Brown visit schedule includes Richmond (April 19th), Minnesota (April 21st), and Utah State (April 23rd).

So far, Minnesota has received offseason transfer commitments from Pepperdine guard Mike Mitchell and Washington State center Jack Wilson.

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Averaged 9.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game last season while shooting 46.5% from the field, 39.7% from three, and 90.9% from the free-throw line

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Fayetteville, Arkansas native that just took an official visit to Colorado State. Also holds offers from UNLV and UAB. Was the 7A player of the year last season

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UND bound. Sounds about right. Maybe he will develop his game there and help the Sue to a Summit title!

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Wyoming OL transfer that played guard this past season

New Rochelle (N.Y.) Iona Prep defensive lineman Jaylin Hicks was another top Minnesota target that was on campus for a two-day visit earlier this week.

The 6-foot-4, 261-pound prospect has held an offer from the Gophers since January 26th with new cornerbacks coach Nick Monroe serving as his main recruiting contact on the staff. Monroe has been recruiting Hicks since his time at Syracuse, so there is a lot of familiarity between the two.

Fresh off his visit to the Twin Cities, Hicks now holds the Gophers in high-regard in his recruiting process. He details what stood out with TGR below.

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- On what stood out during his two-day visit with the Gophers:

"The facility was a big part that stood out to me and the progress that players made in their bodies from being developed in different ways from freshmen year to senior. College ball moves fast, everything’s quick and done with a purpose and they are in and out nothing over an hour and 50 minutes."

- On observing DL coach Winston DeLattiboudere during practice:

"Very energetic, passionate, and loving of the sport. Loving of his boys and he’s not only a big brother to his boys(the dline) but kind of a father, a teacher. He knows how to get you right in your position and is a technician."

- On conversations with head coach P.J. Fleck:

"Went well. He really likes me and I really like him. He's a genuine man and teacher. Talked about holding his players to a standard they say they want to achieve and if they really want it bad. He’s gonna make us fail everyday so he could build us back up and make us better. A man who cares about his players because he’s an overachiever and wants his players to overachieve in all aspects of life."

- On conversations and hanging with cornerbacks coach Nick Monroe:

"That dude is just great. That's the man right there, I love that dude. So, it was great to catch up with him and seeing how much he enjoys being at Minnesota."

- On impressions of Minnesota after his visit:

"I love Minnesota. It's definitely a favorite."

NOTES: Hicks said Minnesota is one of three schools he's got pegged for an official visit, along with Penn State and Syracuse.

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Fleming Island (Fla.) Bolles defensive lineman Garrison Butler already has plenty of options as nearly 20 programs have extended offers so far.

However, Minnesota is one of the programs that is sticking out the most. So much so, that the 6-foot-2, 270-pound talent already has an official visit locked in with the Gophers this summer.

"An official visit, June 16th-18th," Butler said of when he'll visit the Twin Cities.

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Since picking up his offer from the Gophers back on February 26th, Butler has been in frequent talks with with head coach P.J. Fleck and defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III.

"Both great guys. I love the fact they text me everyday and call me every other day. Their football knowledge is top notch."

As Minnesota continues to build a physical front line, both Fleck and DeLattiboudere feel Butler has the tools to become an impact player in the Big Ten.

"(They like) my power and violent hands on the line."

Butler has also taken a virtual tour of the campus and facilities with the coaching staff in preparation for his summer official.

"Very impressed with everything. It looks amazing," Butler said of his virtual tour.

He noted that he's looking forward to seeing how Minnesota runs their program and getting a chance to see the campus and facilities in-person during his summer official.

Butler is coming off a recent two-day visit with Iowa State. He'll be at Cincinnati this upcoming weekend and he also has a summer official planned with Oregon State as well.

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McClaslin will visit Minnesota again this upcoming weekend

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Likely will back-up center spot and help develop our bigs, grab a few boards and add some rim protection. And maybe add some nature leadership. Welcome aboard

Both Jaden Henley and Treyton Thompson have entered the transfer portal



Gophers also losing Taurus Samuel, Ta'Lon Cooper, and Jamison Battle this offseason

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Rainer will announce his commitment later today at 4 p.m. CST