MN Gophers Announce Two More Top Talents Returning for 2026

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Just weeks after winning his seventh-straight bowl game as Minnesota Gophers head football coach, PJ Fleck and his staff are busy trying to construct the 2026 roster on the fly.

That’s easier said than done, trying to operate legitimately in this Wild Wild West NIL era of college athletics. Yet, outside of losing local superstar safety Koi Perich, Fleck has held his roster together pretty darn well, keeping a large majority of starters on both sides of the ball.

Another top talent announces return to Minnesota Gophers football

It doesn’t take a long look around the country before you realize that isn’t the norm in a lot of other schools, and something fans should not take for granted. And on Monday afternoon, Dinkytown Athletes announced more top talents who have signed on for another season in Minnesota.

The first came on the offensive line, when the Gophers’ collective announced that starter Ashton Beers is returning for 2026. The Wisconsin native finished is coming off of his third season in Dinkytown, second as a starter.

Related: MN Gophers Land Former Top 100 Recruit Out of Transfer Portal

Ashton Beers’ duties last season, where he started 12 games at center, were much different than what he saw in 2024. In his redshirt freshman season, the Wisconsin native was mostly utilized as a right guard, where he logged over 500 snaps. He also started two games at left guard (130+ snaps).

In total, Beers has logged 1,454 snaps on the Minnesota Gophers’ offensive line, in his three years on campus. His grades (if you believe in PFF) aren’t great (62.7 OFF), but the 6’6″ 315 pound center took a big step forward in pass blocking (58.4 to 82.7) from 2024 to 2025 — a sign PJ Fleck & Co hope will lead to major growth in 2026.

MN Gophers top 2025 recruit also returning for sophomore season

Linebacker Emmanuel Karmo grew up in the Minneapolis area and attended Robbinsdale Cooper high school, before becoming the Minnesota Gophers No. 1 composite signee in their 2025 high school recruiting class, according to 247Sports.

In his true freshman season, Karmo played in 12 games for his hometown Golden Gophers. He totaled 222 snaps (PFF), 156 on defense and 66 on special teams (mostly kick coverage).

His numbers and grades look like that of a talented freshman. Karmo totaled just 14 tackles, but nine were solo and one was a sack. He also recovered a fumble and added two passes defensed.

Other Minnesota Gophers returnees for 2026

The youngster didn’t register in the PFF rankings, because he was not on the field enough. That’s probably better off because his grades on defense — 58.6 DEF, 40.3 TKL, 63.2 COV — were disappointing, to say the least.

According to Darren Wolfson (KSTP), both Beers and Karmo have been inked for a while now, but Monday was the first time either side had made things public.

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