Minnesota continues to stay hot in the transfer portal. After picking up seven portal commitments on Sunday, the Golden Gophers added another portal commitment on Monday. This time, it came in the form of Stony Brook (FCS) defensive lineman Rushawn Lawrence.

The Gophers land Lawrence after an official visit over the weekend and beat out Oklahoma to land the talented defensive lineman.

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lawrence spent time at both the University of Albany and Lackawanna College before playing his last three seasons at Stony Brook.

Following a 2022 season and a 2023 season in which he played just four games, Lawrence enjoyed a breakout season in 2024 with 12 games played, recording 42 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and eight sacks. He also had one interception, two pass deflections, and two forced fumbles.

He is the second defensive line commitment for the Gophers this transfer portal window joining Illinois State defensive end Steven Curtis, who made his commitment on Sunday.

Lawrence was one of the highest rated defensive linemen in the entire FCS this season according to Pro Football Focus with an overall defensive grade of 86.8. He played both defensive tackle and defensive end for Stony Brook, though much of his time came at defensive tackle. In 12 games played, PFF credits Lawrence with 24 total quarterback pressures including 14 quarterback hurries.

The Gophers are currently set to return the likes of Jalen Logan-Redding, Deven Eastern, and Anthony Smith among others all inside. Smith, like Lawrence also has the ability to play on the edge for the Gophers.

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