The team’s best defensive player left early for the draft and the position coach (who was also the DC) left for Miami and the Gophers have a couple of question marks at linebacker for 2025.
2025 POSITION GROUP
2024 Starter: Cody Lindenberg, Maverick Baranowski
2025 Starters: Baranowski, Devon Williams
Depth: Joey Gerlach, Matt Kingsbury, Jeff Roberson, Emmanuel Karmo, Derrick LeCaptain
Lindenberg and Baranowski were the team’s leading tacklers and the heart of the Gopher defense last season. Unfortunately for Minnesota,
Lindenberg decided to leave early for the NFL and is currently trying to make the Raiders roster after being taken in the 7th round.
So heading into 2025, Baranowski is going to see a LOT of snaps and is the most likely candidate to lead the team in tackles. He is tough, he plays like a bulldog and has the perfect linebacker name. He was thrown into the fire as a true freshman two years ago and as he continues to mature and get better, he be one of the leaders of the 2025 (and 2026) defense.
After Baranowski, there are a lot of names who have the opportunity to step up.
Next to Baranowski will be Devon Williams. Now in his senior year, Williams has started 14 games over his three-year Gopher career and is the most likely starter next week in the Buffalo game. His career has had it’s ups and downs but he has 98 career tackles, 2 interceptions and 4.5 tackles for loss. His experience will be invaluable.
Jeff Roberson was brought in via the portal to be in the mix for playing time. He is here for his senior season after playing at Oklahoma State since 2020. In 2024, he played in 12 games for the Cowboys and had 58 tackles, 8.5 TFLs and three sacks. He has a ton of experience, but may be buried on the depth chart.
Matt Kingsbury is a name that most Gopher fans may not be expecting, but they should expect to see #49 on the field. He was thrown into the fire as a true freshman in 2023 but was still able to redshirt. Last season he playedin all games, mostly on special teams, but he is primed to contribute as a redshirt sophomore this year.
Joey Gerlach will see the field most likely on passing downs as that hybrid LB/S. He played all 13 games as a sophmore and will see his contributions increase dramatically.
Lastly, do not be surprised if you see Robbinsdale Cooper’s Emmanual Karmo on the field this season. Karmo bring elite athleticism and versatility to the Gopher defense. Perhaps we will see back-to-back seasons where the state’s top high school recruit makes an immediate impact on the program.
Upgrade/Downgrade
On the plus side, this unit has a lot of names. There is versatility in this group and some talent. The hard part is replacing a guy like Lindenberg. He and Baranowski would have paired to be one of the best linebacker duos in the conference. Instead we have half of that with opportunities for others to step into.
Personally, I like this unit being led by Baranowski and others are going to be just fine.
I’m optimisticaly calling this group NEUTRAL.
