Over the weekend, Minnesota added a major piece to its 2026 recruiting class as Liberty (AZ) linebacker/edge defender Hudson Dunn announced his commitment to the Golden Gophers.

The three-star prospect chose the Gophers over a dozen other offers, including Arizona, Arizona State, Boston College, Cal, Illinois, Iowa State, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, Washington, and Washington State.

Below, Gophers Nation provides a scouting report on the Gophers' latest recruitment and what Minnesota fans should expect to see out of Dunn.

Dunn is a three-star prospect on both Rivals and On3 and is considered a top-10 talent within the state of Arizona. He attends Liberty High School in Peoria, Arizona, one of the top programs in The Grand Canyon State. For Liberty, Dunn shows the ability to play both on and off the ball, giving him versatility as both an edge defender and a traditional linebacker.

Dunn possesses quality but not great size at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds. That size will keep him mostly in a traditional linebacker role at the collegiate level. It's a solid starting spot for the Arizona standout, but he will need to add another 25–30 pounds to his frame as he prepares for the college game.

From an athletic profile, Dunn is a solid all-around athlete with slightly above-average speed, with a reported 40-yard dash time of 4.69. The same thing can be said about his explosiveness. He does have some quality explosion to his game, especially on the ball, but it can be inconsistent and won't be dominant at the collegiate level as it currently stands. Dunn reported a personal high squat of 385, which is certainly a tremendous number for a high school rising senior. In a physical conference like the Big Ten, Dunn's already great strength will only be an asset for him, especially when trying to slow down Big Ten running backs.

What stands out about Dunn's game from an intangibles point of view is his ability to quickly diagnose plays and then quickly read and react to those plays as they develop. He also plays with good anticipation. He does a good job of being disciplined, especially with his eyes. One thing you can often see with a player of his caliber is sometimes trying to do too much and not sticking to their role. That's not an issue for Dunn; very rarely does he choose to freelance during a play and sticks to his duties for the called defensive play. When playing downhill against the run, Dunn is willing to fight through contact at the line of scrimmage and plays with a strong motor.

There isn't a ton of tape of Dunn playing off-ball against the run, but what we have seen, we do like. As mentioned above, Dunn is a disciplined defender who does a great job of not getting distracted by "eye candy" during a play and sticks to his responsibilities. He's gap-disciplined as well, and once arriving at the line of scrimmage, can fight through contact while also being able to quickly disengage when the time comes to get to the ball carrier. His tackling is sound — he does a good job of getting a low pad level, maintaining balance, and, of course, wraps up ball carriers before using his superb strength to bring them down.

Again, not a ton of examples of Dunn dropping into coverage against the pass, but of the few examples there are, Dunn is sound. It's hard to gauge at the moment how his pass coverage abilities will hold up as he transitions to the college level, but his speed and athleticism should allow him to be formidable when covering potential tight ends, though his smaller 6-foot-1 frame could be a disadvantage against taller pass catchers.

There's a lot of film when it comes to Dunn's pass rushing capabilities, where he thrives for Liberty. While he projects to a linebacker at the collegiate level, Dunn will bring the ability to rush the passer from the middle of the Gophers' defense in future years, and his experience with Liberty should serve him well. Dunn shows off a strong first step, plays with a good bend to his game, and has a decent moveset to go with it, though a lot of his pass rushing wins are simply due to being one of the more athletic pass rushers that opposing offensive linemen will face. How much Dunn will rush the passer for Minnesota remains to be seen, but when asked to do so, he should be able to provide solid production and pressure from the second level.

Dunn at the next level projects well to a middle (MIKE) linebacker for the Gophers. His 6-foot-1 frame, once he adds another 20–30 pounds, will serve him well at the position, though perhaps slightly undersized. His strength will especially be a plus for him against the run when battling opposing offensive linemen, while his plus football IQ should allow him to develop into a potential leader and quarterback of the Gophers' defense. His good athleticism and quality speed will allow him to be versatile as a MIKE as well, allowing him to be a potential true three-down linebacker.

Dunn is so far one of our favorite prospects in Minnesota's 2026 recruiting class. He has all the capabilities of becoming a multi-year starter for the Gophers at the MIKE spot, and once he fully develops, he has the chance, as mentioned above, to be a true three-down linebacker. He's the type of linebacker that P.J. Fleck has often raved about during his tenure with the program, and he could quickly turn into a P.J. Fleck favorite once he arrives on campus.

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