Minnesota Golden Gophers Depth Chart
Offense
Season snap share (share of the team’s plays in games played) with its likely range. Ordered by estimated snaps, latest game counted twice
Quarterbackseason snap share
QB1#5 Drake LindseyQB · JR · 3 G · 3 GS88%174 snapsQB2#16 Brady PalmerQB · FR · 1 G21%15 snapsQB3#6 Max ShikenjanskiQB · SR · 1 G11%8 snapsRunning backseason snap share
RB1#23 TJ ThomasRB · JR · 3 G · 2 GS41%29–50% · ~80 est.RB2#9 Xavier FordRB · SO · 3 G20%10–44% · ~39 est.RB3#1 Darius TaylorRB · SR · 2 G · 2 GS37%25–45% · ~49 est.RB4A.J. TurnerRB · 2 G23%9–45% · ~29 est.Wide receiversseason snap share
WR1#11 Javon TracyWR · SR · 3 G79%61–93% · ~155 est.WR2#13 Noah JenningsWR · SR · 3 G · 3 GS77%60–91% · ~152 est.WR3#8 Jalen SmithWR · JR · 3 G · 3 GS64%50–76% · ~127 est.—#84 Hayden MooreWR · FR · 2 G33%14–43% · ~44 est.—#89 Quayd HendryxWR · FR · 3 G18%6–30% · ~13 est.—#25 Zion SteptoeWR · SR · 2 G · 1 GS11%3–18% · ~8 est.—#7 Bradley MartinoWR · SO · 1 G11%3–18% · ~8 est.Tight endseason snap share
TE1Roman VossTE · 1 G63%54–76% · ~40 est.TE2Pierce WalshTE · 3 G · 3 GS54%22–78% · ~73 est.TE3#82 Julian JohnsonTE · JR · 3 G · 1 GS34%14–49% · ~43 est.TE4#44 George RohlTE · FR · 1 G39%18–56% · ~28 est.Offensive linestarts · snap share
OL1#65 Greg JohnsonOL · SR · 3 G · 3 GS97%90–100% · ~191 est.OL2#59 Tony NelsonOL · SR · 3 G · 3 GS97%90–100% · ~191 est.OL3#78 Ashton BeersOL · SR · 3 G · 3 GS97%90–100% · ~191 est.OL4#50 Nathan RoyOL · JR · 3 G · 3 GS97%90–100% · ~191 est.OL5#51 Daniel ShippOL · SO · 3 G · 3 GS97%90–100% · ~191 est.Defense
Season snap share of the opponent’s plays, with its likely range. Ordered by estimated snaps, latest game counted twice
Defensive lineseason snap share
DL1#3 TJ Bush Jr.DL · SR · 3 G · 3 GS61%32–80% · ~104 est.DL2#99 Theorin RandleDL · SR · 3 G · 2 GS53%27–70% · ~91 est.DL3#70 Naquan CrowderDL · SR · 3 G · 1 GS49%25–63% · ~83 est.DL4#0 Anthony SmithDL · SR · 3 G · 3 GS47%24–61% · ~80 est.—#93 Riley SunramDL · JR · 2 G46%22–62% · ~59 est.—#1 Jaxon HowardDL · SR · 2 G41%20–55% · ~53 est.—#98 Adam KissayiDL · JR · 3 G27%14–36% · ~47 est.—#11 Karter MenzDL · SR · 2 G · 1 GS56%27–75% · ~62 est.—#90 Xion ChapmanDL · SR · 1 G33%13–53% · ~20 est.Linebackersseason snap share
LB1#6 Maverick BaranowskiLB · SR · 3 G · 3 GS95%71–100% · ~162 est.LB2#19 Joey GerlachLB · SR · 3 G · 1 GS58%15–78% · ~99 est.LB3#49 Matt KingsburyLB · SR · 2 G · 2 GS85%60–98% · ~94 est.—#35 Nate ClevelandLB · SO · 2 G21%0–58% · ~22 est.—#2 Emmanuel KarmoLB · SO · 1 G67%7–100% · ~29 est.—#46 Mason CarrierLB · JR · 2 G20%0–54% · ~22 est.—#16 Hudson DunnLB · FR · 1 G10%0–57% · ~6 est.Cornerbacksseason snap share
CB1#14 Kerry BrownDB · SR · 3 G · 3 GS98%68–100% · ~167 est.CB2#4 Zack HardenDB · SO · 3 G · 3 GS96%67–100% · ~165 est.—#22 Mekhai SmithDB · JR · 3 G91%63–99% · ~155 est.—Aydan WestDB · 3 G · 3 GS75%52–81% · ~128 est.—#17 John NestorDB · SR · 3 G · 3 GS53%8–69% · ~90 est.Special Teams
By kicks and punts
Kickerby kicks
K1#92 Beckham SunderlandPK · SR · 3 G21kicks · 8 lastK2Luke DrzewieckiPK · SR · 2 G4kicks · 2 lastK3#36 Daniel JacksonPK · SO · 1 G1kickLong snapperroster order
LS1#52 Alan SoukupLS · JRJRLS2#53 Jakob LutzLS · SOSOSnaps by Game
| Player | Pos | Wk 1 vs Eastern Illinois | Wk 2 vs Mississippi State | Wk 3 vs Akron | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team offensive plays | 71 | 63 | 63 | 197 | |
| Opponent offensive plays | 43 | 68 | 60 | 171 | |
| Quarterbacks · estimated snaps | |||||
| Drake Lindsey | QB | 48 | 63 | 63 | 174 |
| Brady Palmer | QB | 15 | · | · | 15 |
| Max Shikenjanski | QB | 8 | · | · | 8 |
| Running backs · estimated snaps | |||||
| TJ Thomas | RB | ~19 | ~28 | ~33 | 80 |
| Darius Taylor | RB | ~28 | ~21 | · | 49 |
| Xavier Ford | RB | ~12 | ~11 | ~16 | 39 |
| 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 | 155 |
| Noah Jennings | WR | ~41 | ~54 | ~57 | 152 |
| Jalen Smith | WR | ~26 | ~55 | ~46 | 127 |
| Pierce Walsh | TE | ~39 | ~34 | · | 73 |
| Hayden Moore | WR | ~38 | ~6 | · | 44 |
| Julian Johnson | TE | · | ~18 | ~25 | 43 |
| Roman Voss | TE | · | · | ~40 | 40 |
| George Rohl | TE | ~28 | · | · | 28 |
| Kaden Helms | TE | · | ~27 | · | 27 |
| Jacob Simpson | TE | ~20 | · | · | 20 |
| Quayd Hendryx | WR | ~13 | · | · | 13 |
| Bradley Martino | WR | ~8 | · | · | 8 |
| Zion Steptoe | WR | ~8 | · | · | 8 |
| Defensive line · estimated snaps | |||||
| TJ Bush Jr. | DL | ~27 | ~51 | ~26 | 104 |
| Theorin Randle | DL | ~19 | ~36 | ~36 | 91 |
| Naquan Crowder | DL | ~22 | ~29 | ~32 | 83 |
| Anthony Smith | DL | ~12 | ~34 | ~34 | 80 |
| Karter Menz | DL | ~24 | ~38 | · | 62 |
| Riley Sunram | DL | · | ~31 | ~28 | 59 |
| Jaxon Howard | DL | · | ~23 | ~30 | 53 |
| Adam Kissayi | DL | ~15 | ~15 | ~17 | 47 |
| Xion Chapman | DL | · | · | ~20 | 20 |
| 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 | 162 |
| Joey Gerlach | LB | ~7 | ~32 | ~60 | 99 |
| Matt Kingsbury | LB | ~35 | ~59 | · | 94 |
| Emmanuel Karmo | LB | ~29 | · | · | 29 |
| Nate Cleveland | LB | ~14 | · | ~8 | 22 |
| Mason Carrier | LB | ~22 | · | · | 22 |
| Hudson Dunn | LB | · | · | ~6 | 6 |
| Secondary · estimated snaps | |||||
| Kerry Brown | DB | ~40 | ~68 | ~59 | 167 |
| Zack Harden | DB | ~43 | ~65 | ~57 | 165 |
| Mekhai Smith | DB | ~42 | ~68 | ~45 | 155 |
| Aydan West | DB | ~6 | ~67 | ~55 | 128 |
| John Nestor | DB | ~13 | ~17 | ~60 | 90 |
| Naiim Parrish | DB | ~42 | · | ~12 | 54 |
| Aidan Gousby | DB | · | ~53 | · | 53 |
| Rhyland Kelly | DB | ~30 | · | · | 30 |
| Garrison Monroe | DB | · | · | ~22 | 22 |
| Trason Richardson | DB | · | · | ~9 | 9 |
| Offensive line · estimated snaps | |||||
| Nathan Roy | OL | ~69 | ~61 | ~61 | 191 |
| Daniel Shipp | OL | ~69 | ~61 | ~61 | 191 |
| Tony Nelson | OL | ~69 | ~61 | ~61 | 191 |
| Greg Johnson | OL | ~69 | ~61 | ~61 | 191 |
| Ashton Beers | OL | ~69 | ~61 | ~61 | 191 |
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 is listed in roster order.