Our fall camp position previews continue at Gophers Nation as the Gophers season opener agaisnt North Carolina continues to draw closer. After taking a look at the offensive line on Monday, we turn our atetntion to the defensive side of the ball and the Gophers defensive line.
The Gophers defensive line, coached by Winston DeLattiboudere III returns plenty of experience in 2024 which should only help this position group take the step to the next level.
Last season, the Golden Gophers defensive line was incosnsistent. Ultimately, they allowed 149.1 rushing yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry. They also totaled 26 sacks across the season, which was tied for 74th best in the nation alongside the likes of Illinois, Kansas, Middle Tennessee, Lousiana-Monroe, and Washington State.
In 2024, the Gophers defense as a whole will look to take a step forward from an up-and-down but overall dissapointing 2023 campaign. If they're going to take that step forward, the defensive line room is going to be a major part of that potential success.
The one thing for certain is that the Gophers have the pieces to put together one of the Big Ten's best defensive lines this fall. But can they show the consistency in 2024?
DEFENSIVE END
The defensive end group for the Gohpers has a chance to be a strong group and defensive line coach Winston DeLattiboudere III has a legitimate four-deep at the position heading into this fall.
The starters for the Gophers are locked in at both defensive end and at the RUSH end position.
Jah Joyner, one of the Big Ten's best pass rushers had a breakout campaign in 2023 and could be in store for an even bigger season this fall. His PFF pass rush grade of 90.8 was ranked 11th best in the country last year and is one of the top returning pass rushers in the nation.
Opposite of Joyner at the RUSH position will be Danny Striggow. Striggow has been a back-to-back Big Ten Honorable Mention. He's been solid for the Gophers overall each of those two seasons, totaling 71 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and 9.5 sacks.
While Joyner and Striggow are key members of the Gophers pass rush, they'll have to improve their abilities against the run as both were inconsistent in 2023.
Backing up Joyner at defensive end will be Anthony Smith, a breakout candidate for the Gophers this fall.
Smith played in all 13 games last season, totaling over 300 snaps and was the Gophers second best pass rusher last fall in the eyes of Pro Football Focus despite not having the production to back it up. He totaled 16 pressures across the season and finished with 15 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, and one sack.
Behind Striggow will be LSU transfer and former four-star prospect Jaxon Howard, who transferred back home this offseason. Last season, Howard appeared in five games including three on defense for LSU, totaling 30 snaps. He recorded two quarterback hurries across 12 pass rush snaps.
When it comes to the Gophers depth at the position, the Gophers have quite a few young talents to keep an eye on over the next few years including redshirt freshman Karter Menz, freshman Sam Macy, and freshman Adam Kissayi.
Of those three, Kissayi might be the closest to making an impact despite being a true freshman, look for the Florida native to potentially make his collegaite debut this fall.
Redshirt senior Lucas Finnessy will likely play a depth role for the Gophers but throughout his career has only been a member of the program's special teams unit throughout his career thus far.
Beyond Finnessy, redshirt sophomroe Hayden Schwartz will look to start finding playing time after missing the back half of last year with an injury while walk-on Jack Hawkinson will also provide some depth at the position.
DEFENSIVE TACKLE
At defensive tackle, the Gophers return plenty of experience with Deven Eastern, Jalen Logan-Redding, and Logan Richter all back for another season. They also get Darnell Jefferies back after he missed the entire 2023 season with an injury suffered in fall camp.
Winston DeLattiboudere III will also have at his disposal the likes of redshirt junior Nate Becker, and redshirt freshmen Luther McCoy, Martin Owusu, and Theorin Randle.
Starting with the starters, Deven Eastern is back for the 2024 season after a fantastic 2023 campaign and is expected to be one of the Big Ten's top defensive tackles this fall.
Last season, Eastern totaled 28 tackles and just one tackle for loss but was a sound tackler and solid both against the run and the pass. He'll be a stabilizing force in the middle of the Gophers defensive line. Expect an even better season out for the Shakopee, Minnesota native this fall.
Starting opposite of Eastern will likely be Jalen Logan-Redding. The redshirt senior out of Missouri recorded 29 tackles including 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks last season. He's a quality pass rusher from within the middle of the Gophers defense, totaling 12 total pressures last season and eight quarterback hurries.
Sixth-year defensive tackle Logan Richter will backup Eastern at defensive tackle this fall. He's coming off a 2023 campaign in which he recorded 16 tackles. The Perham, Minnesota native is still looking for his career tackle for loss or sack.
Backing up Logan-Redding will be Darnell Jefferies who's now in his seventh year of college football. The former Clemson Tiger missed all of the 2023 season with an injury but did play in all 13 games for Minnesota in 2022, recording six tackles. He also had 29 games of experience with Clemson from 2018 through 2021.
Beyond Jefferies, the depth at the position is a bit inexperienced for the Gophers. Nate Becker is the most experienced with 10 games of action in his career though mostly on special teams. He has not recorded a tackle yet in his career. DeLattiboudere will also look for one of his young trio of defensive tackles in Luther McCoy, Martin Owusu, or Theorin Randle to potentially emerge this fall as well.
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