Former Gophers Coach Coming Hard for Koi Perich

The biggest shock to the Minnesota Gophers football program so far this offseason was Koi Perich announcing his plans to enter the transfer portal late Thursday. What’s not surprising — the type of suitors reportedly hot after the superstar talent from Esko.

As first reported by Ryan Burns (247Sports), Ohio State — who Koi spurned in favor of staying home out of high school — and Miami are the two schools to watch closely.

But from what I learned in doing my own digging Friday, is that former Gopher defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman and his Miami Hurricanes are current frontrunners in the Koi Perich transfer portal sweepstakes.

Corey Hetherman leading a charge for Koi Perich

Now confirmed by multiple sources close to Perich, the 20-year-old safety is seriously thinking about pulling the trigger on a commitment to playing the 2026 college football season at Miami, who is getting ready to face Ole Miss in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff this weekend.

Source: Koi Perich is not only a top priority for Mario Cristobal's Miami Hurricanes in the transfer portal, but former Minnesota Gophers defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman has the wheels in motion.

— Ted (@tlschwerz) January 3, 2026

We found out that Koi Perich was playing for seven figures with the Minnesota Gophers this year. That number made sense after he played 13 games and lead the Big Ten with five interceptions as a true freshman — not to mention his abilities as a kick and punt returner.

Perich worked with a personal wide receivers coach to try and give Minnesota a Travis Hunter type threat that they can utilize on both offense and defense. Unfortunately, that experiment did not work out like PJ Fleck had hoped, as it negatively affected his efficiency and approach on defense.

The Hurricanes make sense for MN Gophers Koi Perich

If he indeed makes the jump to Miami, I’d imagine Perich and those close to him do so because they are convinced Hetherman can turn him back into the ball-hawking secondary weapon he played like under his guidance in Dinkytown.

Ultimately Perich, who has used two years of eligibility thus far, is likely to play one more season at the collegiate level before he jumps to the NFL.

Replacing Caleb Downs at Ohio State or Jakobe Thomas in Miami could be exactly what the doctor ordered for a Koi Perich resurgence.

While the grass isn’t always greener on the other side… but the weather down in South Beach and resources at the University of Miami surely make for better growing conditions.