The Gophers football program wants players from the state of Minnesota to be the foundation of each recruiting class. The rub is the stateās talent base doesnāt run more than a few inches deep, so the U must look elsewhere for the majority of signees every year. In head coach P.J. Fleckās six recruiting classes since taking over the program in 2017, the U has signed an average of 3.6 scholarship players from Minnesota, ranging from a high of five in 2017 to a low of two in 2021.