On paper, the 2026 Golden Gophers have the chance to be the most talented team PJ Fleck has rostered in his decade-long run as head football coach.

Minnesota Gophers returning tons of talent in 2026

It starts at quarterback, where Drake Lindsey long ago announced his plan to return as a redshirt sophomore and his second season as Minnesota’s QB1.

Then, immediately after the Gophers’ bowl game win, projected top 100 draft pick (EDGE) Anthony Smith side-stepped the 2025 NFL Draft in favor of 2026, so he can play out his super senior season in Dinkytown.

Agreed. #Minnesota DL Anthony Smith (6-6, 285, rJR) is a big, powerful player. He fits teams that are base 3-down defensive fronts. Has 8.5 sacks this season.

Huge opportunity for him tonight against Oregon (9:00 PM ET). Keep an eye on #0. https://t.co/fj8MPuOLZX pic.twitter.com/ZpP2YskDnZ

— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) November 14, 2025

And those two leaders are only the beginning of Minnesota’s growing list of returning starters for 2026.

Star RB Darius Taylor, (OL) Greg Johnson, (S) Kerry Brown and (CB) John Nestor, are all among other many Golden Gopher starters who have signed new NIL deals and announced their contracted commitment to remain in Dinkytown for at least one more season — which is all the guarantee you get in today’s college sports world.

Karter Menz returning to Minnesota Gophers

And Thursday night, Fleck added another defensive starter to his 2026 boat, when Minnesota’s other EDGE Karter Menz announced that he too has signed on for another season.

Standout Minnesota edge Karter Menz has signed a new deal to stay with the Gophers, per his rep @youngbucksport.

The sophomore posted 32 tackles, 9 TFLs & 6.5 sacks this year. The deal is expected to make him 1 of the highest-paid edges in the Big Ten.https://t.co/zER9sEzkS6 pic.twitter.com/JSGvF3vIlx

— Chris Hummer (@chris_hummer) January 2, 2026

After appearing in just 5 games as a freshman, Karter Menz played in all 13 games in 2025 where he racked up 32 total tackles, 6.5 sacks and 9 tackles for loss.

After his breakout season, Menz undoubtedly had bigger offers coming in from across the country, just like Koi Perich did. But instead of following his 2029 classmate out the door to “greener pastures”, the North Dakota native chose to stay the course and help be part of the football solution at the University of Minnesota.

[@KarterMenz has completely bought in.”]

– @Coach_Fleck on Menz’s gROWth 🗣️📈#RTB #SkiUMah #Gophers pic.twitter.com/YjdT3oFPh1

— Minnesota Football (@GopherFootball) October 20, 2025

“I think Karter Menz is a great example of the developmental program. Again, he came to us and he was a Dakota kid. He was long, twitchy, great athlete, but again you look at his size and you’re like this is going to take some years to get him to where he needs to be. He has completely bought in to the nutrition, the diet, the weight room. It takes players a year or two to get to where they need to be. This is a huge year for him.”

P.J. Fleck

Gopher Football going through coaching changes too

Beyond the player roster, Gopher Football has made a few changes on the coaching staff since the 2025 season ended. They’ve hired a new EDGE coach who the players clearly like. Fleck also fired his DL coach firings, and saw a RB coach hop the border to Wisconsin. More than likely, the changes aren’t done yet.

The Minnesota Gophers lost defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman to the Miami Hurricanes last offseason and he now has them in the Fiesta Bowl against Ole Miss. Danny Collins has plenty of work to do, in his second season as DC, after an up and down year one. Keeping talent like Smith and Menz will make that easier.