Gophers Get Full Commitment From Edge Rushing Group

College football has become the wild west each offseason with the introduction of the transfer portal. The Minnesota Gophers have already signed their first player (backup quarterback Michael Merdinger). They are also set to lose star safety Koi Perich.

While the Perich news is disappointing, plenty of talent has remained loyal to sticking in Dinkytown. Among that group are edge rushers Anthony Smith and Karter Menz. They have a fellow edge rusher set to rejoin them as well.

Jaxon Howard returning to MN Gophers

Before Karter Menz broke out as a sophomore this season (6.5 sacks), the edge rushing tandem for the Minnesota Gophers was comprised of Anthony Smith and Jaxon Howard. Smith more than doubled his sack total from 2024 (6.0) and led the Big Ten with 12.5. Howard, an LSU transfer, is an integral part of the group too, and he will be back.

🔒 👇 Defense 🔒👇

🏈 〽️ @11JaxonHoward Will Be Back in 2026 〽️🏈@cubfoods is a proud sponsor of Gopher Athletics pic.twitter.com/A1Z6O5db7C

— DinkytownAthletes (@DTAthletes) January 3, 2026

Howard played in 13 games this season for the Gophers and recorded 4.0 sacks. He had 29 total tackles and 5.5 were for losses. A junior next year, and draft eligible, he’ll be looking to take another step forward.

P.J. Fleck will be turning over the rush ends position to a new coach as well. C.J. Robbins was working as the rush ends coach, but earned a promotion to take over the entire defensive line. Bobby April has been brought in to backfill his role.

With Menz, Smith, and Howard all returning for the Gophers, they are retaining their top-three sack producers from this season. Deven Eastern and Jalen Logan-Redding will need to be replaced on the defensive line, but Danny Collins has a good foundation to build on.

This was hardly a standout defensive season for the Minnesota Gophers as a whole. Collins will need to further find his footing in year two after replacing Miami’s Corey Hetherman. If the Gophers group can take a step forward defensively, it would help an offense that is returning plenty of playmakers with another year of experience.