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What to Expect From Gophers’ Extremely Talented Freshman QB in Debut Start
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- What to Expect From Gophers’ Extremely Talented Freshman QB in Debut Start
Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Gophers
The Minnesota Gophers will open their 2025 football season on Thursday night at Huntington Bank Stadium against the Buffalo Bulls. There are a ton of Gopher unknowns as we enter PJ Fleck's 9th season as head coach, and a ton of new faces that fans will get to know, as the season rolls on.
Given all the unfamiliar names at key positions, sportsbooks and national pundits are overlooking the Gophers in a big way. FanDuel has their over/under win total set at 6.5. Most college football "experts" have them finishing near the bottom of the Big Ten.
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Within U of M football facilities, however, PJ Fleck & Co appear extremely high on the MN Gophers' 2025 squad. In fact, Fleck has even declared publicly that the 12-team College Football Playoff is within reach, if they play up to their potential.
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The Gophers have +1400 odds to make this year's College Football Playoff.
With a RS-FR QB and a favorable schedule, P.J. Fleck wants Minnesota to be "delusional."
"We can get there."
(Link below 👇) pic.twitter.com/XZzfyV41Uk— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) July 23, 2025
If that has any chance at happening, then the Gophers must get big time production out of a 20-year-old redshirt freshman quarterback out of Fayetteville, AK named Drake Lindsey.
So as you get ready for tonight's season opener against Buffalo , here is what you need to know about the Minnesota Gophers new starting quarterback, who will be a household name across the state by years' end, if this 2025 team has any chance of fulfilling their head coach's CFP dreams.
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Drake Lindsey (QB) – Redshirt Freshman
After sitting behind one-and-done grad transfer, Max Brosmer — who is now on the MN Vikings' 53-man roster — the 20-year-old out of Fayetteville, AK is now set to take his place atop Minnesota's QB depth chart.
The offensive coaching staff is far more excited about the Lindsey era in Dinkytown, than they are apprehensive. They aren't the only ones, either. Not only does Drake's high-profile QB trainer, Quincy Avery , believe him to be a top 3 Big Ten quarterback right now, but he also projects him to be a future 1st round draft pick too.
If you can think back to 2024, we've seen some of the talent Drake Lindsey possesses too. As a true freshman, Lindsey got 20 snaps under center and he made the most of them, completing completing 4-of-5 passes for 50 yards, 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions.
Looking forward to more TD drives @Drakelindsey5 ! 🚀 #RTB #SkiUMah #Gophers https://t.co/ilJSphqbUH pic.twitter.com/yX2WsQt9rm
— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) December 12, 2024
Related: CFB Sleeping on Future 1st Round Pick Gophers QB…?
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Without a doubt, Fleck believes he has finally found his "franchise" QB, in Lindsey. The head football coach isn't just talk, though. He's giving his new QB responsibilities that few have had before him.
The Gophers' "check with me" offense, that fans became accustomed to during the first 7 seasons of PJ's tenure, is dead. Not only that, but Lindsey reportedly has full autonomy at the line of scrimmage too, even more so than his NFL predecessor did.
Until we see Lindsey in a large sample size, it's impossible to know what the Gophers have in their new quarterback. But if you want some insight into why Fleck & Co. are so high on their young righty, look no further than his high school stat sheet and highlight tape.
Drake Lindsey's high school highlights and stats are noteworthy…
Drake — a composite 3-star (.8717) at 247Sports — started 2.5 Varsity seasons for his high school alma mater, the Fayetteville Bulldogs. Don't expect him to leave the pocket very often, but that's ok because he is much better with his arm than his legs.
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As a senior, Lindsey completed 69.5% (273/393) of his passes, totalling an absurd 3,916 yards, 52 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions, as he lead the Bulldogs to the 7A Arkansas State Title, which PJ Fleck attended personally.
The lankey 6'5″, 235 lb high school superstar finished his Varsity career at Fayetteville with 7,636 passing yards on 543/801 passing (67.8%), with 90 touchdown passes and just 7 interceptions.
Related: New Food Options at Gopher Football Home Games in 2025
Of course, until we see Drake Lindsey perform live under the lights with our own eyes, it's impossible for even the most optimistic Gopher football fan to trust that a redshirt freshman quarterback will be able to step in his first season as a starter and lead the Minnesota Gophers to places they haven't been since 2019, possibly much longer.
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Not only do they have an inexperienced redshirt freshman starting quarterback, they are also debuting a new inexperienced defensive coordinator, new running backs and fresh crop of wide receivers, not to mention a new role on offense for superstar, Koi Perich.
And it all kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. CDT. #SkiUMah #RTB #GoGophers
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