Minnesota offensive lineman Greg Johnson lines up across from defensive end Anthony Smith at every practice this preseason, and the matchup has become one of the more telling storylines of the Gophers' camp. Both are returning All-Americans, and the daily one-on-one battles have bred what's been described as a love-hate relationship between the two — the kind of competitive friction that pushes both players into the season sharper than they'd be otherwise.
Smith is coming off a dominant 2025: 38 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and a Big Ten-leading 12.5 sacks, numbers that earned him a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team. The 6-foot-6, 285-pound edge rusher from Shippensburg, Pennsylvania has 31 career tackles for loss and 19.5 sacks in a Minnesota uniform, and this offseason he was tabbed a Phil Steele preseason First Team All-American and a Walter Camp Preseason All-America Second Team selection.
Johnson, a Prior Lake product who was the No. 3 recruit in Minnesota in the 2023 class, has bounced around the offensive line during his career — center as a sophomore in 2024, then left guard last season, with spot starts at both tackle spots mixed in. He started all 12 regular-season games in 2025, logging more than 430 pass-blocking snaps and over 300 run-blocking snaps while allowing just 10 pressures and three sacks the entire season. That kind of consistency up front is exactly why he earned his own Phil Steele preseason All-American nod alongside Smith.
The two facing off in practice isn't just a fun subplot — it's a snapshot of what Minnesota is banking on in year 10 under P.J. Fleck. The Gophers went 8-5 and 5-4 in the Big Ten a season ago, then closed it out by beating New Mexico 20-17 in overtime in the Rate Bowl, Fleck's seventh straight bowl win to open a game. With Smith anchoring the pass rush and Johnson holding down the interior line, Minnesota has two proven building blocks as it looks to push past another middle-of-the-pack finish and closer to the kind of season the program had in 2019.
