Minnesota 2024 spring position preview: Secondary
Next up in our spring position previews is Minnesota's secondary as we take a look both at the cornerback and safety positions for the Golden Gophers.
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The Gophers of course this offseason said goodbye to Tyler Nubin, who has been a huge part of the defensive success that the program has had over the last several seasons. The hole left by Nubin will be one that is tough to truly replace.
PROJECTED STARTERS - CORNERBACK
At cornerback, we project currently for the Gophers to tab Justin Walley and Ethan Robinson as the program's starters this fall. Notably, the Gophers will also use a nickel corner at times, when they use the Nickel, look for Jack Henderson to be in that role.
Wally has started at corner for the Gophers in 31 straight games dating back to the 2021 season. The Mississippi native in his career has been productive on the field, recording 113 total tackles, five interceptions, and nine pass deflections. Last season, he had a quality season with 45 tackles, two tackles for loss, and one interception. According to PFF, Walley recorded a career high 673 snaps throughout the season, but also recorded a career best defensive grade of 76.0. With another strong showing in 2024, Walley will put himself in line to be drafted in next year's NFL Draft.
Robinson transferred into the program this offseason from Bucknell and will be stepping into a starting role. One of the top cornerbacks in the transfer portal this offseason, Robinson.
For Bucknell, Robinson played in 31 games over the last three seasons, recording 154 tackles including 6.5 tackles for a loss and one sack. He also has 25 pass deflections and five interceptions including 13 passes broken up and three interceptions in 2023.
At nickel, Henderson is a natural safety but will drop down into the nickel role when needed for the Gophers. Last season, he played in all 13 games including making seven starts for the Gophers. He ultimately led the team in tackles with 59 as well as notching five tackles for loss, one sack, and two interceptions.
PROJECTED STARTERS - SAFETY
At safety, it was a spring that the Gophers depth at the position was able to get some much needed extra snaps as Aidan Gousby and Darius Green both missed the spring with injuries. That being said, Green will likely reprise his role as the Gophers starting safety in 2024 after starting in 11 of 13 games last season. It was an up-and-down season for the Georgia native who will hope to take the next step in his development. Last season, he finished the year with 51 tackles, three tackles for loss and one pass break up.
At free safety, we expect Coleman Bryson to step into the starting role after playing in 13 games last season, mostly on special teams. He played five games at safety as well and recorded 25 tackles on the season.
BACKUPS & DEPTH - CORNERBACK
When it comes to the depth at cornerback, the Gophers recently saw the room take a hit as Tariq Watson entered the transfer portal after two seasons with the program.
With that, redshirt freshman Za'Quan Bryan should be nearly a lock to earn himself a backup role this season while Rhyland Kelly will fill in the other backup role for the program.
Kelly as a redshirt freshman last fall played in seven games but did not record any tackles. Bryan, like Kelly, doesn't have a ton of experience under his belt with two career games played last fall as a true freshman.
The Gophers could choose to add to the cornerback room this spring as well while true freshman Mike Gerald could work his way into a role as well with a strong fall camp.
It will be interesting to see if the Gophers look to move Jack Henderson or Craig McDonald into more of an outside cornerback role this fall. While there is upside in the room, the departure of Watson does slim down the depth quite a bit especially from an experience standpoint.
BACKUPS & DEPTH - SAFETY
When it comes to the backups at safety, Jai'Onte' McMillan and Aidan Gousby seem like the most likely options while Garrison Monroe and Kerry Brown should factor into the rotation. It's worth noting that star 2024 signee Koi Perich will be on campus come the summer as well and could factor into the program's plans at safety this fall as well.
Gousby last season played in the program's first nine games recording 10 tackles and one fumble recovery but would miss the program's last four games with an injury that has kept him out into the spring.
McMillan transferred into the program this offseason after spending the past few seasons at TCU. In his four seasons in Fort Worth, McMillan played in 32 games, recording 15 tackles including two tackles for loss, one interception, and four pass deflections. In 2022, McMillan played a pivotal role in TCU's run to the national championship game on special teams, appearing in 14 of 15 games, totaling 10 tackles.
Monroe in 2023 redshirted as a true freshman and did not see the field but should be in line for his first action this fall.
Brown redshirted this past fall as well even though he played in five games including the Quick Lane Bowl against Bowling Green. He saw most of his time on special teams but did see time at safety in two games. He recorded five tackles on the season.
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