Throughout University of Minnesota Gophers' football history — which goes all the way back to the late-1800s , when the game first began popping up on college campuses around the country — this has been a program known for producing high-caliber running backs… or whatever they were called back in the 20's and earlier.
During PJ Fleck's 8-year tenure in Dinkytown, the Gophers have only added to their " Running Back U " moniker, with guys like Rodney Smith , Shannon Brooks , and University of Minnesota all-time leading rusher , Mohamed Ibrahim.
The top running back on campus in 2025 will be junior, Darius Taylor, who's 1,785 rushing yards through two seasons already have him ranked in the Minnesota's modern-day (since 1955) top 20 all-time.
And on Tuesday, PJ Fleck and the Gophers got a commitment from a running back that could be the next to shoot up that prestigious list. Ryan Estrada is a 5'9″, 195 lb running back out of El Paso, TX.
Estrada currently carries .9023 four-star rating by 247Sports ' composite rankings, which is a cumulative system based off of four different websites (ESPN, Rivals, 247Sports and On3).
1000% Committed🛶🛶 #RTB @GopherFootball @CoachJ_Everett @Coach_Fleck @Coach1Martinez @Coach_Macias @TopViewFit pic.twitter.com/K4vOILAx0D
— RYAN ESTRADA (@RyanEstrada_1) June 17, 2025
After visiting the U of M and surrounding areas over the weekend for the Gophers' annual "Summer Splash" recruiting event, Estrada verbally committed to Minnesota on Tuesday, where he immediately became the second-highest rated composite commit for the Gophers' 2026 class so far.
Not only will this kid increase the clout of PJ's 2026 recruiting class, but Ryan Estrada will forever go down in history as Minnesota's second-highest rated running back recruit ever, behind only Washburn's Jeff Jones, who committed to his hometown school back in 2014 and remains the Gophers' highest-rated commit of the internet era .
That's why Estrada chose the Golden Gophers over offers from a bevy of helmet schools, including Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma, along with other prime contenders Missouri and Oklahoma State. Wisconsin had also offered.
As a junior at El Dorado High School in El Paso Texas, Estrada ran for 2,422 yards and 32 touchdowns. He averaged an absolutely insane 13.53 yards per carry. We'll see if he tries to add more pass catching to his game, as a senior. Ryan totaled 9 receptions in 2024, along with 2 touchdowns.
There is a lot of time between now and 2026 National Signing Day, let along the end of Ryan Estrada's career, which we all hope will begin and end at the University of Minnesota.
But in a perfect future, the Texas native will keep his commitment, then live up to expectations, eventually joining the likes of Darrell Thompson (1986-89), Marion Barber III (2001-04), Laurence Maroney (2003-05), David Cobb (2011-14) and the aforementioned Mohamed Ibrahim (2018-22).
Related: Minnesota Gophers Legend Signs Another Early Contract Extension with Ravens
And don't forget about those who came before those legends, ball-carriers that helped make the game of football what it is today, including the OG Bronko Nagurski ( 1927-29 ), along with Bruce Smith ( 1939-41 ) and Paul Giel ( 1951-53 ). For now, though, let's just hope he keeps this commitment.
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