Official visit season is just around the corner for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and with that, it's been a perfect time to begin taking a look at those recruits who will be officially visiting Minneapolis next month.
We start with one of Minnesota's top running back targets, four-star prospect Kentrell Rinehart, a 6-2, 200-pound prospect ouf Westland High School in Columbus, Ohio. Rinehart is ranked as a top-15 talent in the state of Ohio and a top-25 running back in the country.
Rinehart had a monster junior season for Bishop Ready, totaling 341 carries for 2,837 yards and 42 touchdowns, averaging 236.4 rushing yards per game and 8.3 yards per carry.
In his recruitment so far, Rinehart earned nearly two dozen offers including Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Miami (FL), Minnesota, North Carolina State, Purdue, South Florida, and Syracuse. He also received interest from Penn State and Wisconsin but neither program has extended an offer.
HIGHLIGHTS
MINNESOTA'S SCHOLARSHIP SITUATION AT RUNNING BACK
Heading into the 2024 season, the Golden Gophers have five running backs on the roster that are under scholarship in Darius Taylor, Sieh Bangura, Jaydon Wright, Marcus Major, and Fame Ijeboi. Of those five, four are set to be returning in 2025 with only Marcus Major departing as he enters this fall with one year of eligibility remaining.
That being said, there's always the opportunity for others to enter the transfer portal next offseason. As of now, the Gophers taking one scholarship running back seems likely for the 2025 recruiting cycle.
