The Minnesota Golden Gophers have landed their third transfer portal commitment as Illinois State defensive end Steven Curtis has announced his decision on Sunday morning.

The West Palm Beach, Florida native comes to Minneapolis after a career with Illinois State that saw him play in 25 games, totaling 54 tackles, eight tackles for loss, and five sacks for the Redbirds. This fall, Curtis had a breakout campaign with 50 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and five sacks. He also had two forced fumbles.

Curtis comes to Minneapolis with two years of eligibility remaining.

Curtis is ranked by Rivals as a top-300 prospect in the transfer portal this cycle. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound defensive end will compete for playing time in a Gophers defensive line room that will see major contributor Jah Joyner head to the NFL this offseason. They will also say goodbye to rush end Danny Striggow who exhausted his eligibility this fall.

The Gophers do notably return Anthony Smith, who can play both both inside and on the edge. Other notable returnees in 2025 currently are expected to include Lucas Finnessy who played in all 12 games as well as Jaxon Howard who played in nine of 12 games this season.

As part of the 2023 recruiting class, Curtis signed with Illinois State but did notably receive FBS offers from both Akron and Pittsburgh.

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