Minnesota Golden Gophers Depth Chart
Offense
Season snap share: share of all the team’s offensive plays this season, with its likely range. Ordered by estimated snaps, latest game counted twice
Quarterbackseason snap share
QB1#5 Drake LindseyQB · JR · 8 G · 6 GS94%466 snapsQB2#16 Brady PalmerQB · FR · 1 G3%15 snapsQB3#6 Max ShikenjanskiQB · SR · 1 G2%8 snapsRunning backseason snap share
RB1#1 Darius TaylorRB · SR · 7 G · 4 GS44%35–54% · ~219 est.RB2#23 TJ ThomasRB · JR · 8 G · 2 GS37%29–45% · ~183 est.RB3#9 Xavier FordRB · SO · 7 G · 1 GS16%12–35% · ~81 est.RB4A.J. TurnerRB · 2 G6%2–11% · ~29 est.Wide receiversseason snap share
WR1#11 Javon TracyWR · SR · 8 G · 2 GS84%70–98% · ~417 est.WR2#13 Noah JenningsWR · SR · 8 G · 6 GS82%69–95% · ~407 est.WR3#8 Jalen SmithWR · JR · 7 G · 4 GS60%51–70% · ~300 est.—#84 Hayden MooreWR · FR · 2 G9%4–12% · ~44 est.—#89 Quayd HendryxWR · FR · 7 G5%1–8% · ~25 est.—#25 Zion SteptoeWR · SR · 2 G · 1 GS2%0–3% · ~8 est.—#7 Bradley MartinoWR · SO · 1 G2%0–3% · ~8 est.Tight endseason snap share
TE1Roman VossTE · 5 G · 1 GS36%25–48% · ~177 est.TE2Pierce WalshTE · 6 G · 5 GS24%13–32% · ~118 est.TE3#82 Julian JohnsonTE · JR · 5 G · 3 GS20%14–27% · ~98 est.TE4#87 Kaden HelmsTE · SR · 4 G10%4–14% · ~50 est.Offensive linestarts · snap share
OL1#65 Greg JohnsonOL · SR · 6 G · 6 GS72%67–75% · ~359 est.OL2#59 Tony NelsonOL · SR · 6 G · 6 GS72%67–75% · ~359 est.OL3#50 Nathan RoyOL · JR · 7 G · 6 GS72%67–75% · ~359 est.OL4#51 Daniel ShippOL · SO · 6 G · 6 GS72%67–75% · ~359 est.OL5#78 Ashton BeersOL · SR · 3 G · 3 GS38%36–40% · ~191 est.—#58 Jaden BallOL · JR · 1 G · 1 GS12%11–12% · ~60 est.Defense
Season snap share: share of all the opponents’ plays this season, with its likely range. Ordered by estimated snaps, latest game counted twice
Defensive lineseason snap share
DL1#3 TJ Bush Jr.DL · SR · 8 G · 6 GS61%39–79% · ~295 est.DL2#0 Anthony SmithDL · SR · 8 G · 6 GS50%32–64% · ~238 est.DL3#99 Theorin RandleDL · SR · 6 G · 5 GS41%26–53% · ~198 est.DL4#70 Naquan CrowderDL · SR · 8 G · 2 GS44%28–56% · ~211 est.—#11 Karter MenzDL · SR · 6 G · 1 GS38%25–49% · ~184 est.—#1 Jaxon HowardDL · SR · 6 G30%19–38% · ~142 est.—#93 Riley SunramDL · JR · 6 G · 2 GS28%16–36% · ~135 est.—#90 Xion ChapmanDL · SR · 4 G23%13–29% · ~108 est.—#98 Adam KissayiDL · JR · 3 G10%5–13% · ~47 est.Linebackersseason snap share
LB1#6 Maverick BaranowskiLB · SR · 8 G · 6 GS97%81–100% · ~464 est.LB2#19 Joey GerlachLB · SR · 8 G · 4 GS77%64–92% · ~368 est.LB3#49 Matt KingsburyLB · SR · 7 G · 2 GS40%19–55% · ~194 est.—#46 Mason CarrierLB · JR · 6 G16%0–29% · ~75 est.—#35 Nate ClevelandLB · SO · 3 G6%0–13% · ~31 est.—#2 Emmanuel KarmoLB · SO · 1 G6%1–11% · ~29 est.—#16 Hudson DunnLB · FR · 1 G1%0–7% · ~6 est.Cornerbacksseason snap share
CB1#14 Kerry BrownDB · SR · 8 G · 6 GS98%74–100% · ~470 est.CB2#4 Zack HardenDB · SO · 8 G · 6 GS95%72–100% · ~455 est.—Aydan WestDB · 8 G · 6 GS88%67–98% · ~422 est.—#17 John NestorDB · SR · 8 G · 6 GS76%57–84% · ~363 est.—#7 Aidan GousbyDB · SR · 6 G · 5 GS47%34–54% · ~227 est.Special Teams
By kicks and punts
Kickerby kicks
K1#92 Beckham SunderlandPK · SR · 8 G44kicks · 5 lastK2Luke DrzewieckiPK · SR · 7 G15kicks · 3 lastK3#36 Daniel JacksonPK · SO · 1 G1kickLong snapperroster order
LS1#52 Alan SoukupLS · JR · 2 GJRLS2#53 Jakob LutzLS · SOSOSnaps by Game
| Player | Pos | Wk 1 vs Eastern Illinois | Wk 2 vs Mississippi State | Wk 3 vs Akron | Wk 4 @ Washington | Wk 5 vs Michigan | Wk 6 @ Purdue | Wk 8 vs Iowa | Wk 9 @ Indiana | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team offensive plays | 71 | 63 | 63 | 62 | 65 | 52 | 61 | 60 | 497 | |
| Opponent offensive plays | 43 | 68 | 60 | 54 | 49 | 71 | 66 | 69 | 480 | |
| Quarterbacks · estimated snaps | ||||||||||
| Drake Lindsey | QB | 48 | 63 | 63 | 55 | 65 | 52 | 60 | 60 | 466 |
| Brady Palmer | QB | 15 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 15 |
| Max Shikenjanski | QB | 8 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 8 |
| Running backs · estimated snaps | ||||||||||
| Darius Taylor | RB | ~28 | ~21 | · | ~40 | ~41 | ~31 | ~28 | ~30 | 219 |
| TJ Thomas | RB | ~19 | ~28 | ~33 | ~22 | ~24 | ~22 | ~14 | ~21 | 183 |
| Xavier Ford | RB | ~12 | ~11 | ~16 | ~7 | ~5 | · | ~20 | ~10 | 81 |
| A.J. Turner | RB | · | ~11 | ~18 | · | · | · | · | · | 29 |
| Ryan Estrada | RB | ~12 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 12 |
| Niko Castillo | RB | ~12 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 12 |
| Jaron Thomas | RB | ~10 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 10 |
| Receivers & tight ends · estimated snaps | ||||||||||
| Javon Tracy | WR | ~49 | ~52 | ~54 | ~53 | ~51 | ~47 | ~56 | ~55 | 417 |
| Noah Jennings | WR | ~41 | ~54 | ~57 | ~53 | ~60 | ~47 | ~44 | ~51 | 407 |
| Jalen Smith | WR | ~26 | ~55 | ~46 | ~43 | · | ~38 | ~48 | ~44 | 300 |
| Roman Voss | TE | · | · | ~40 | ~25 | · | ~30 | ~48 | ~34 | 177 |
| Pierce Walsh | TE | ~39 | ~34 | · | · | ~45 | · | · | · | 118 |
| Julian Johnson | TE | · | ~18 | ~25 | ~38 | · | · | · | ~17 | 98 |
| Kaden Helms | TE | · | ~27 | · | · | · | · | · | ~23 | 50 |
| Hayden Moore | WR | ~38 | ~6 | · | · | · | · | · | · | 44 |
| George Rohl | TE | ~28 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 28 |
| Quayd Hendryx | WR | ~13 | · | · | ~12 | · | · | · | · | 25 |
| Jacob Simpson | TE | ~20 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 20 |
| Bradley Martino | WR | ~8 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 8 |
| Zion Steptoe | WR | ~8 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 8 |
| Defensive line · estimated snaps | ||||||||||
| TJ Bush Jr. | DL | ~27 | ~51 | ~26 | ~36 | ~36 | ~34 | ~42 | ~43 | 295 |
| Anthony Smith | DL | ~12 | ~34 | ~34 | ~25 | ~28 | ~45 | ~23 | ~37 | 238 |
| Naquan Crowder | DL | ~22 | ~29 | ~32 | ~29 | ~32 | ~28 | ~39 | · | 211 |
| Theorin Randle | DL | ~19 | ~36 | ~36 | ~16 | · | ~52 | · | ~39 | 198 |
| Karter Menz | DL | ~24 | ~38 | · | ~27 | · | ~41 | ~27 | ~27 | 184 |
| Jaxon Howard | DL | · | ~23 | ~30 | ~21 | ~16 | ~20 | · | ~32 | 142 |
| Riley Sunram | DL | · | ~31 | ~28 | ~32 | ~25 | · | · | ~19 | 135 |
| Xion Chapman | DL | · | · | ~20 | · | ~19 | · | ~34 | ~35 | 108 |
| Adam Kissayi | DL | ~15 | ~15 | ~17 | · | · | · | · | · | 47 |
| Sid Kaba | DL | ~20 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 20 |
| Aaden Aytch | DL | ~18 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 18 |
| Jaylin Hicks | DL | ~17 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 17 |
| Sam Macy | DL | ~12 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 12 |
| Linebackers · estimated snaps | ||||||||||
| Maverick Baranowski | LB | ~41 | ~67 | ~54 | ~54 | ~48 | ~71 | ~60 | ~69 | 464 |
| Joey Gerlach | LB | ~7 | ~32 | ~60 | ~42 | ~40 | ~66 | ~66 | ~55 | 368 |
| Matt Kingsbury | LB | ~35 | ~59 | · | ~21 | ~34 | · | ~25 | ~20 | 194 |
| Mason Carrier | LB | ~22 | · | · | ~5 | ~13 | ~32 | ~3 | · | 75 |
| Nate Cleveland | LB | ~14 | · | ~8 | · | ~9 | · | · | · | 31 |
| Emmanuel Karmo | LB | ~29 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 29 |
| Hudson Dunn | LB | · | · | ~6 | · | · | · | · | · | 6 |
| Secondary · estimated snaps | ||||||||||
| Kerry Brown | DB | ~40 | ~68 | ~59 | ~53 | ~49 | ~70 | ~62 | ~69 | 470 |
| Zack Harden | DB | ~43 | ~65 | ~57 | ~54 | ~49 | ~69 | ~66 | ~52 | 455 |
| Aydan West | DB | ~6 | ~67 | ~55 | ~53 | ~48 | ~65 | ~60 | ~68 | 422 |
| John Nestor | DB | ~13 | ~17 | ~60 | ~41 | ~47 | ~55 | ~65 | ~65 | 363 |
| Aidan Gousby | DB | · | ~53 | · | ~51 | · | ~5 | ~50 | ~68 | 227 |
| Mekhai Smith | DB | ~42 | ~68 | ~45 | · | · | ~67 | · | ~2 | 224 |
| Naiim Parrish | DB | ~42 | · | ~12 | ~5 | ~15 | · | ~5 | ~22 | 101 |
| Garrison Monroe | DB | · | · | ~22 | ~16 | ~37 | · | ~21 | · | 96 |
| Rhyland Kelly | DB | ~30 | · | · | · | · | · | · | · | 30 |
| Mike Gerald | DB | · | · | · | · | · | ~22 | · | · | 22 |
| Trason Richardson | DB | · | · | ~9 | · | · | · | · | · | 9 |
| Offensive line · estimated snaps | ||||||||||
| Nathan Roy | OL | ~69 | ~61 | ~61 | ~60 | · | ~50 | · | ~58 | 359 |
| Daniel Shipp | OL | ~69 | ~61 | ~61 | ~60 | · | ~50 | · | ~58 | 359 |
| Tony Nelson | OL | ~69 | ~61 | ~61 | ~60 | · | ~50 | · | ~58 | 359 |
| Greg Johnson | OL | ~69 | ~61 | ~61 | ~60 | · | ~50 | · | ~58 | 359 |
| Ashton Beers | OL | ~69 | ~61 | ~61 | · | · | · | · | · | 191 |
| Jaden Ball | OL | · | · | · | ~60 | · | · | · | · | 60 |
How the snap estimates work. No free source publishes college snap counts, so these are estimates. Quarterbacks: every offensive play is credited to the QB running the offense, which is close to exact. Everyone else: a model trained on real NFL snap counts (nflverse, 2023–24) turns each player's share of their position group's involvement that game (carries and targets on offense, tackles, sacks and breakups on defense) into a share of the team's plays. Tested on a season it never saw, it's typically within 5 snaps a game for running backs and 9–10 for other positions, and within about 10–15% over a season. The ranges shown are where the real number landed 80% of the time in that test. They narrow as the season goes on, and are widest for part-time players in a single game. Blocking tight ends and receivers who rarely see the ball get underestimated. Offensive linemen leave no trace in the play-by-play, so the line comes from each game's starting lineup. Where a school's game notes list its starters by spot, and its website allows automated access, the line shows who played left tackle through right tackle.