It's Another Huge Week for Gopher Football Recruiting
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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