Gophers football: Outgoing transfers hits 15, where are these players headed?

Jan. 6—Second-year linebacker Jaqwondis Burns on Wednesday became the 15th Gophers football player to enter the NCAA transfer portal since midseason.

"I want to thank the University of Minnesota, the coaching staff and my teammates," Burns posted.

Burns, who was listed at 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, played in six games as a reserve in the 2021 season, with three tackles and a sack against Purdue. The three-star recruit from Terrell, Texas, who attended IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., played sparingly at Minnesota behind every-down starters Jack Gibbens and Mariano Sori-Marin.

Joe Rossi, the Gophers defensive coordinator and linebackers coach, mentioned Burns in December when talking about expected returning players in the mix for more playing time with Gibbens' eligibility exhausted for the 2022 season. Sori-Marin is expected to return for a fifth year next fall.

Burns is the third Minnesota player to announce his exit this week, following running back Ky Thomas and receiver/tight end Nnamdi Adim-Madumere. Thomas was the Gophers' leading rusher in 2021; Adin-Madumere didn't see the field.

As the Gophers departures have added up, so have the totals at other programs, especially as bowl games wrap up seasons. It's hard to gauge how many there currently are at each school nationwide, but Rivals pegged totals from Aug. 1-Jan. 1, with Virginia, Syracuse and Indiana leading the way with 16 or more in that span.

247Sports said Wednesday there are more than 1,500 players in the portal.

Minnesota, meanwhile, has added four incoming transfers since mid-December, including two this week at positions of need: offensive lineman Quinn Carroll (Notre Dame) and defensive lineman Lorenza Surgers (Vanderbilt).

In other words, the transfer portal been a turnstile — not only for the U but everyone else.

DEPARTURES WITH DESTINATIONS

Defensive lineman MJ Anderson (Iowa State)

Receiver Brady Boyd (Texas Tech)

Running back Cam Wiley (Akron)

Tight end Austin Henderson (Liberty)

Defensive lineman Rashod Cheney (South Florida)

Linebacker DJ Gordon (South Florida)

DEPARTURES WITH UNKNOWN DESTINATIONS

(Date departure announced)

Linebacker Jaqwondis Burns (Wednesday)

Receiver Mnamdi Admi-Madumere (Monday)

Running back Ky Thomas (Monday)

Kicker Michael Lantz* (Dec. 21)

Offensive lineman Saia Mapakaitolo (Dec. 6)

Receiver Dylan Hillard-McGill (Nov. 30)

Quarterback Zach Annexstad (Nov. 29)

Quarterback Jacob Clark (Nov. 28)

Offensive lineman Curtis Dunlap (Oct. 12)

— — was not on team in 2021