With Minnesota set to start spring practices on Tuesday, Gophers Nation continues to look at each Golden Gophers position group. After taking a look at the quarterbacks and running backs, our attention turns towards the Golden Gophers' wide receiver group.
This offseason, the Golden Gophers said goodbye to a trio of wide receivers in Chris Autman-Bell, Corey Crooms, and Dino Kaliakmanis. But the program does return its top performing wide receiver in Daniel Jackson. However, after Jackson, the Gophers have plenty of questions at the position while they have depth in terms of bodies, there's very little proven depth for the prgoram as well.
Notably, Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck and wide receivers coach Matt Simon addressed the wide receiver room in the transfer portal this offseason by bringing in Penn State transfer Cristian Driver and Emporia State (D2) transfer Jaylen Varner. Varner is expected to be a main part of the Gophers' rotation at the position in 2024 while Driver's ultimate role will be decided this spring and fall.
PROJECTED STARTERS: Le'Meke Brockington, Daniel Jackson (slot), Elijah Spencer
The projected starters for the Golden Gophers in 2024 will be Le’Meke Brockington, Elijah Spencer, and Daniel Jackson.
Jackson is the biggest name to know, he was one of the Big Ten's best in 2023 recording 53 receptions for 831 yards and eight touchdowns. He returns in 2024 looking to follow it up with an even better season and with projected stronger quarterback play, it wouldn't be shocking to see him do so.
Le'Meke Brockington has plenty of upside but will need to be more consistent in 2024 and that will start this spring. After recording 11 receptions for 203 yards and a touchdown in 2022, Brockington was kept to just five receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown in 2023 while playing in seven games, he missed six games with an injury.
Elijah Spencer enters his second year with the program. The former C-USA standout who recorded 85 receptions for 1,324 yards and 15 touchdowns in his two seasons with Charlotte had a very quiet first season with the Golden Gophers, playing in all 13 games. He was kept to just nine receptions for 65 yards. He was a victim of poor quarterback play in 2023 and while he'll need to improve his own game this spring, there's plenty of talent and big play ability in Spencer's game.
SECOND STRING: Jaylen Varner, Kenrick Lanier, Cristian Driver
When it comes to the second string wide receivers, we're currently projecting Jaylen Varner, Kenric Lanier, and Cristian Driver.
Varner will look to make the jump from Division II football to FBS football this year, a major jump for any player. At Emporia State, he put together a very strong career over three seasons, playing in 33 games recording 177 receptions for 1,977 yards and 26 touchdowns including 90 receptions for 1,008 yards and 12 touchdowns last fall. Varner does have some FBS experience, while he didn't see the field for game action, he was a walk-on at Missouri in 2019. This will be Varner's final season of eligibility. Ultimately it remains a question of how Varner's game will translate to the FBS level and while he won't be expected to make the same level of impact that he did at Emporia State, the 6-foot-0, 185-pound Missouri native could carve himself out a solid role in the wide receiver rotation.
Lanier, a three-star signee in the 2023 recruiting class appeared in one game as a true freshman, playing in the Gophers' bowl game against Bowling Green but did not record any stats. He was very productive in high school for Decatur High School in Georgia including 64 receptions for 1,156 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior. He's got quality size at 6-foot-1 and combines with strong athleticism and good speed. Can he take the next step forward in his development this spring? If he does, he seems like a strong candidate to break into the wide receiver rotation next season.
Finding that third second-string member is on the more difficult side, but we ultimately went with Cristian Driver. The son of former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Donald Driver, Cristian spent two years at Penn State, one playing safety, and the other playing wide receiver. He did play in 10 games for the Nittany Lions overall, with most of his time on the field coming on special teams. In 2023, he played in six games recording one reception for eight yards as part of a very underwhelming wide receiver room for the Nittany Lions. While Driver has the athleticism to be a quality wide receiver, he'll need to prove it this spring.
DEPTH: TJ McWilliams, Donielle Hayes, Dallas Sims, Kristen Hoskins, Cade Conzemius, Quentin Redding
Following Driver, the depth for the Gophers becomes even more unproven.
Scholarship wise, there is reedshirt freshmen TJ McWilliams and Donielle Hayes. Neither recorded any stats as true freshmen in 2023. 2024 signee Dallas Sims also enrolled on campus earlier this offseason and will get an important jumpstart on his career with spring practices.
Then there is the trio of walk-ons in Kristen Hoskins, Cade Conzemius, and Quentin Redding. While they may be able to find ways onto the field via special teams or an occasional offensive snap here or there, it's unlikely that any of the three will find themselves in a consistent role on the field in 2024.
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