Minnesota's receiver room looks almost nothing like it did a year ago. Eight new faces joined the position group this spring, and that turnover leaves senior Javon Tracy and junior Jalen Smith as the only players with real experience in a Gophers uniform heading into fall camp — and the ones now responsible for bringing everybody else up to speed.
Tracy arrived in Dinkytown before the 2025 season as a transfer from Miami (Ohio) and immediately became a reliable target, hauling in 37 catches for 454 yards and 6 touchdowns. Smith, working through his first full season in the offense, caught 28 passes on 53 targets for 419 yards and doubled his touchdown total from two to four. Together, the pair combined for 65 catches, 873 yards and 10 touchdowns as Minnesota's No. 2 and No. 3 options at the position last season — production the Gophers now need from a receiver room that otherwise has almost no game experience.
The roster turnover ran in both directions. Minnesota lost receivers Kenric Lanier II, Cristian Driver and Malachai Coleman off last year's group, and replaced them by hitting the transfer portal hard, bringing in Auburn's Perry Thompson, Cincinnati's Noah Jennings and Tulsa's Zion Steptoe among the newcomers. Jennings, a 6-foot, 190-pound target, drew attention during a spring practice open to the public and looks like a candidate to handle the slot after never logging more than 30 snaps there at Cincinnati.
At Gophers media day on July 22, Tracy talked about what it takes to bring a receiver room like this together fast, emphasizing that the little details are what separate good and bad performances at receiver, especially in the Big Ten. That's the message he and Smith will need to keep hammering through fall camp — a group with two proven veterans and a stack of newcomers who still have to prove they belong on Saturdays.