Earlier this week, momentum on the 2026 recruiting trail reached fever pitch when (4-star 91 OVR) athlete out of Jackson County, MN, Roman Voss, chose his hometown Gophers over the Alabama Crimson Tide, marking the third straight year PJ Fleck has received a commitment from the No. 1 overall recruit in the state of Minnesota.

But the week wasn’t over for Fleck and the boys, following the Voss’ commitment on Monday. There was another composite 4-star (.8984) Minnesotan — 6’5″, 195 lb (ATH) Pierce Petersohn, out of Triton High School — set to make his college decision this week too.

Pierce Petersohn stiff arms hometown Minnesota Gophers

Recently, Petersohn narrowed his list down to the Golden Gophers and Penn State Nittany Lions. He also held offers from Duke, Iowa, Iowa State and Kansas State.

Unfortunately, after starting the week off hot, Wednesday’s homegrown 4-star announcement halted Minnesota’s momentum a bit, when the teenager stiff-armed his hometown University in favor of taking his talents to State College, PA.

BREAKING: Four-Star TE Pierce Petersohn has Committed to Penn State, he tells me for @on3recruits

The 6’5 200 TE from Dodge Center, MN chose the Nittany Lions over Minnesota

“Happy Valley, see y’all soon!”https://t.co/HV9PmZVN0Y pic.twitter.com/RjyYGL66tw

— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 25, 2025

Related: PJ Fleck, Minnesota Gophers Land No. 1 In-State Recruit (Again)

247Sports has Petersohn (ATH) — who stands at 6’5″, 195 lbs and played QB/FS at Triton — ranked as the 4th best high school football player in the state. Other recruiting sites like him even more. Of note, Penn State recruited the Dodge Center, MN product as a tight end.

Why Petersohn chose Penn State over Minnesota

And according to Andy Greder (Pioneer Press), that was a major factor in Pierce’s decision. In high school, Petersohn and the aforementioned Roman Voss both played quarterback for their respective smaller town schools. And it just so happens that both athletes project at the same offensive position in college, too.

Context: A deciding factor in four-star recruit Pierce Petersohn of Dodge Center, Minn., committing to Penn State over #Gophers: Nittany Lions plan to put him at tight end. Minnesota first made that position pledge to Roman Voss and penciled in Petersohn at linebacker, then TE.

— Andy Greder (@andygreder) June 25, 2025

In fact, the Minnesota Gophers also have another highly-rated tight end committed for 2026 — 6’5″, 220 lb 3-star, Gabe Weaver, out of the St. Louis area. Thus, Fleck & Co told Petersohn that, if he committed to the Gophers, come to campus as a OLB/EDGE defender first, and tight end second.

After promising Voss the tight end position, as part of his commitment earlier in the week, Petersohn didn’t want to give up on his tight end dreams, something you certainly cannot blame him for. Thus, he’s off to College Station.

This week, though, may be PJ’s most crucial high school recruiting week since the pride of Esko, Koi Perich, was choosing between the Gophers and Ohio State 1.5 years ago. And it starts right away on Monday, when the No. 1 rated high school football player in Minnesota (247Sports) will announce his verbal commitment.

Decision Day from top 2026 MN football recruit, Roman Voss

Roman Voss is a 4-star athlete (91 OVR) out of Jackson, MN. Prior to Monday’s decision, Voss’ list of schools — which had included Auburn, Cal, Iowa, Iowa State, Illinois, Miami, Wisconsin, USC and Oklahoma (among others) — had already been whittled down to two schools — his home-state Gophers and the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Voss played mostly quarterback at Jackson High, but both Minnesota and Alabama want the 6’4″ 225 lb freak athlete as a tight end. You don’t have to watch his highlights long to see why.

I will be making my college decision Monday June 23rd! pic.twitter.com/HESSk7NECX

— Roman Voss (@romanvoss2) June 20, 2025

Since the 2025 calendar turned to June, the Minnesota Gophers have landed a whopping 14 commitments for the class of 2026. Weekend after weekend, PJ Fleck and his coaching staff have been cycling dozens of the most talented high school football players in the nation through Dinkytown.

Related: Minnesota Gophers Land Highest-Rated Running Back Recruit in Over a Decade

The Gophers’ 2026 class — which now has 23 total commits — has vaulted all the way up to No. 16 in the country, according to 247Sports. Because this summer has been an unmitigated success on the 2026 (and a little 2027) high school recruiting trail.

(ATH) Pierce Petersohn picking Gopher Football or Penn State

But Roman Voss isn’t the only in-state freak athlete the Minnesota Gophers are chasing this week. The other — 3-star (89 OVR – ATH) Pierce Petersohn — is out of Triton High School, near Dodge Center. He too is down to two schools, one being his home-state Gophers, the other being Big Ten rival, Penn State.

247Sports has Petersohn (ATH) — who stands at 6’5″, 195 lbs and played QB/FS at Triton — ranked as the 4th best high school football player in the state. Other recruiting sites like him even more, which is why he is a composite 4-star recruit.

One intriguing thing to watch with Pierce — Penn State wants him as a tight end, while Minnesota — who already has one tight end commit and could be on the verge of two — is recruiting him as a linebacker. Petersohn also held offers from Duke, Iowa, Iowa State and Kansas State, before recently narrowing his list down to two.

Where’s home?! pic.twitter.com/9Mxp7i0qna

— Pierce Petersohn (2026) (@PiercePetersohn) June 18, 2025

Last week alone, Minnesota reeled eight more commits into PJ’s 2026 recruiting boat, a grab that included the second (247Sports) four-star of the Golden Gophers’ 2026 class — Forest Lake defensive lineman, Howie Johnson.

Most take their visit during the two-week “Summer Splash” event, which is used mostly to convince out of state recruits that Minnesota is not a frozen wasteland year-round.

Yet, the best players in modern Minnesota Gophers history were born and raised in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Let’s hope both of these kids decide to follow their path to becoming a hometown legend.