Gopher Football Star Makes Huge Announcement

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Anthony Smith : Rate Bowl - Minnesota vs New Mexico
Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Another year, another bowl game victory for Minnesota Gophers head coach PJ Fleck on Friday afternoon, this time a 23-20 win over the (9-3) New Mexico Lobos in the 2025 Rate Bowl.

It took an incredible overtime touchdown catch from freshman wide receiver Jalen Smith to get the job done, but today’s win — PJ Fleck’s seventh-straight (7-0) in the postseason as Minnesota head coach — had little to do with offense.

Outside of Darius Taylor’s 116 yards on 24 carries, the Golden Gophers offense was mostly anemic. They did take care of the football, however (0 INT, 0 TD). And with how suffocating Minnesota’s defense was against New Mexico, that’s all that was needed.

Dominant MN Gophers defense powered by Anthony Smith

The Gophers held the Lobos to just 204 yards total, including overtime. Just 88 of those yards came through the air. New Mexico’s biggest issue offensively?

It was defensive lineman Anthony Smith, who entered the Rate Bowl as a 2026 top 100 draft prospect with 10.5 sacks already in tow. Every other time either of New Mexico’s two QBs dropped back to pass, No. 0 was breathing down their neck.

It wasn’t just Smith’s TWO sacks that impressed everyone watching the MN Gophers squeak one out in OT vs the Lobos, including numerous NFL scouts either in attendance or on TV.

When the dust settled in Phoenix, the former 4-star recruit out of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania took home the game’s defensive MVP award with SIX tackles — FOUR tackles for loss… and TWO passes defended, just for fun.

Smith announces 2026 return to Dinkytown

But then, before reporters could ask Minnesota’s redshirt Junior out of Shippensburg, Pennsylvania what his plans for the future look like, he took the postgame microphone and announced them to everyone at Chase Field.

That’s right, the Golden Gophers’ top defensive lineman is returning for his redshirt senior season.

While the rest of the coaching carousel spins across the country, it’s become clear that PJ Fleck is going nowhere. In 2026, he will hit the 10-year mark as Minnesota Gophers head coach. And his star defensive lineman, Anthony Smith, will be there alongside him yet again.

Depending how the offseason goes, it is lining up to be far and away the most talented. Of course, a lot of that will depend on the development of Drake Lindsey, who committed to his Dinkytown return weeks ago.

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