A Gopher defensive back has been drafted in five of the last six NFL Drafts. And nearly all of them have surpassed expectations in the NFL and are contributing throughout the league. Both of last year’s starters are in NFL training camps, leaving two big holes to be filled.
2025 POSITION GROUP
2024 Starter: Justin Walley, Ethan Robinson
2025 Starters: Za’Quan Bryan, John Nestor/Jaylen Bowden/Mike Gerald
Depth: John Nestor, Jaylen Bowden, Mike Gerald, Jai’Onte’ McMillan, Rhyland Kelly
This past spring it was Justin Walley
who was drafted in the third round by Indianapolis and Walley was a likely starter before tearing his ACL last week. Ethan Robinson signed with the Dolphins as an undrafted free agent. He is not projected to make the final roster, but he did make a ridiculous interception near the end of their second preseason game.
So who steps into their roles?
It starts with sophomore, Za’Quan Bryan who redshirted in 2023, played in 12 games (with three starts) in 2024 and is now going to be called on to step into a starting role this fall. He is the CB on the roster who has the most experience in a Gopher uniform and there is excitement that he will slide into the starting role easily. He started the Virginia Tech bowl game to end last season and finished with 1 TFL and an interception.
The staff brought in a couple of transfers who are likely to be in the mix for playing time in John Nestor and Jaylen Bowden.
Nestor comes to the program after spending his first two seasons at Iowa where he played in 10 games last year for the Hawkeyes as a sophomore. He is pushing for playing time, possibly starting opposite Bryan.
Bowden is moving on up from North Carolina Central where he started all 10 games his sophomore season. Between the two transfers, I would expect to see Nestor as the most likely to see significant playing time early.
But the name that is popping up most frequently as the potential starter opposite Bryan is Mike Gerald. Gerald was a part of the 2024 recruiting class as a 3-start corner out of Texas. He redshirted last year, playing only in the bowl game, and is turning heads as we near the start of the season.
After those four names, you may see redshirt junior, Rhyland Kelly or the TCU transfer in his second year with the Gophers, Jai’Onte’ McMillan on the field.
Upgrade/Downgrade
There is a lot of faith being put on shoulders of Bryan if this year’s Gopher corners are going to be successful. I think that this position group is clearly a downgrade from 2024, but this might be that one year of young guys getting thrown into the fire before they mature into excellent defenders. We may see Bryan and Gerald competing in NFL training camps in the coming years, but this is the year they get their on-the-job training.
The best news in all of this is that they have support all around them. The Gopher safeties may be one of the best duos in the country, the linebackers are very experienced and Nick Monroe is proving to be an excellent corners coach.
Can the Gopher secondary be good this year? I have confidence that the answer to that is, “yes.” But I have to consider this group a downgrade when you are replacing a guy who was likely going to earn a starting job as a rookie and another who is likely a practice squad member somewhere.
