Predicting the defensive depth chart for Gopher Football

The Gophers might have a fearsome foursome of defensive ends going into the 2026 season. The group is headlined by Anthony Smith, an all-Big Ten recipient who returns to Minnesota for his fifth season, followed by one of the U’s best additions in the January transfer portal, senior edge rusher TJ Bush from California. That pair is proven. Smith has accounted for 92 total pressures and 19 1/2 ...

PHOENIX — Other college football programs tampered with Anthony Smith this winter, offering the Gophers’ star defensive end huge sums of money to go into the transfer portal and pick their program. But Smith wasn’t biting, and his big announcement in front of a national TV audience on Friday night should put an end to that. After winning defensive Most Valuable Player in Minnesota’s 20-17 ...

Gophers defensive end Anthony Smith shares the Big Ten Conference lead in sacks, which can serve as a tent pole in both his personal and the program’s overall goal of him being a first- or second-round pick in the NFL draft come April. If the imposing 6-foot-6, 285-pound edge rusher — who touts seven sacks across seven games — goes that high in the draft, Minnesota will extend its streak of ...