Luka Dončić recruiting for Lakers ahead of contract extension decision
Luka Dončić, who became the face of the Lakers' present and future the moment Rob Pelinka and the organization shocked the NBA by acquiring him from Dallas last February, is eligible to sign a contract extension with the franchise on Aug. 2.
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While Dončić hasn't directly addressed his future with the franchise this summer — time he's spent in Europe putting together an all-time revenge glow-up, one skinny picture at a time — his actions behind the scenes crystalize why the Lakers are confident with how things stand.
Doncic, according to league sources, had communicated his desires for a capable rim-running center, shooting help and defensive support. The Lakers responded by filling those needs with Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia and, soon, Marcus Smart.
Welcome home, Deandre and Jake 💜 pic.twitter.com/V2U56EnrFX
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 9, 2025
In addition to that, league sources said, Dončić has been an active recruiter for the Lakers this summer and helped secure commitments from Ayton and Smart after both unexpectedly hit free agency via contract buyouts.
The Lakers also posted an interview with Dončić on Saturday (taped during the season) that ended with him saying that he hoped his legacy with the Lakers would leave him known as 'the guy that brought championships to the city.'
All of it has the Lakers moving with confidence that they're in alignment with Dončić in their plans to build a championship roster.
None of this is to say that Dončić was going to patiently wait for next summer or a talent-rich 2027 free agency crop for the Lakers to begin stacking their team. While Dončić and the Lakers understand their long-term flexibility needs, the short-term movement has, on paper, signaled a commitment to competing in the short term, provided some things break their way.
If — and it's a word you hear a lot when you speak to people about the Lakers' summer to date — a few key things happen, contention could be closer than a quick first-round exit last spring would suggest.
The argument for the Lakers goes something like this:
Whether or not the Lakers' moves are good enough to vault them up toward the Oklahoma City Thunder or allow them to keep pace with the Rockets, Nuggets and Clippers — who all made splashy moves this summer — remains to be seen. However, it does seem clear that, at least for now, they've sold Dončić on a vision he trusts.
Come the first weekend in August, he can sign an extension to cement that.
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New York Times
5 minutes ago
- New York Times
Phillies' Aidan Miller, a base-stealing shortstop, charts a surprising development path
READING, Pa. — Three weeks ago, Aidan Miller made a pregame promise in the clubhouse that he immediately forgot. If he went hitless, he told his teammates, he'd buzz his head. It's been a challenging season at the plate for the 21-year-old Phillies shortstop prospect, meaning he must embrace the bad with the good. This is why he's discovered progress elsewhere. Advertisement But, on this day, he went hitless. 'I go back to the locker room and everybody's looking at me,' Miller said. 'I'm a man of my word.' Dylan Campbell, one of Miller's teammates at Double-A Reading, found some clippers. They did it right there, in the clubhouse bathroom at FirstEnergy Stadium. Miller lost the bet, but he decided this could be a way to change the vibes. It all depended on the perspective. 'Ever since, I've been hitting,' Miller said. 'It's been a running joke that buzz-headed Aidan Miller rakes. I'm going to stick to it.' This whole season for Miller is a matter of perspective. The Phillies could have traded Miller at the July 31 deadline; his advocates within the organization point to his continued improvement at shortstop and newfound base-stealing prowess as signs that a well-rounded player has emerged. The Phillies drafted Miller 27th overall in 2023, and he projected as a power-hitting corner infielder. Now, most rival evaluators are convinced he'll stick at shortstop. And he could reach 50 steals before 10 homers this season. It's an unusual development path. 'I still think I'm a five-tool player,' Miller said. 'I think I can impact the game in every way, and that's what I want to be. It hasn't been the best year hitting for me, but I know that I'm still a really good hitter and still can hit for average and still can hit for power. It's just a matter of time, I think, before it all clicks.' Miller is hitting .233/.350/.373 this season. His slugging has declined sharply from 2024, when he rocketed from Low A to Double A in five months. But after not playing shortstop in high school, he has adapted to the position as a pro. 'He can play shortstop,' said Adam Everett, the Phillies' minor-league infield coordinator who made a living as a skilled glove-first shortstop for a decade in the majors. This is not just a Phillies opinion; Miller's improved first step and footspeed are indicators he can stay at shortstop. Advertisement His offseason speed training manifested in more than improved defense. He's stolen 46 bases in 53 tries over 90 games. Miller is the first Reading player to steal 40 bags since Quintin Berry in 2009. If he reaches 50 in the next month, he'd do something no Reading player has done in 38 years. Jose Leiva swiped 50 bags in 1987. 'If you would have told me he was going to be playing shortstop like he's playing shortstop and running the way he's running, I would not have made that bet,' Phillies director of player development Luke Murton said. 'A lot of it is the culmination of how hard the kid works and how talented he is. He's just gotten better. 'When you draft high school kids, we all have an idea of what we think they're going to become. This is one of those times where he's gone in a direction that we didn't see. And, from a hitting perspective, what we think he's going to be has not changed at all. We basically have added layers to how good a player he's capable of being in the big leagues.' That did not preclude Miller from trade talks. The Phillies were willing to move him in the right deal last summer and this summer. It never reached that point. But he heard the rumors. The night before the trade deadline, Miller committed two errors on routine plays — he short-armed a throw to first base and flubbed a hard-hit groundball right at him. Reading was rained out the next night. He played some of his best baseball over the next nine games, going 14-for-37 (.378) with seven extra-base hits and seven stolen bases. He made a spectacular play in the hole at shortstop that featured a jump-throw. AIDAN MILLER WHAT A PLAY!!! — Reading Fightin Phils (@ReadingFightins) August 10, 2025 There was one game during that stretch when Miller went hitless. He drew a walk and was hit by a pitch. He stole a bag and scored a run. He made a spinning play in extra innings to preserve a tie in a game Reading ultimately won. Everett reviewed the play later. 'And,' he said, 'I went, 'Holy cow.'' That night, after the game, Miller sent Everett an unprompted text message. 'I was a winning player today,' Miller said. Everett was excited. 'Man,' he said, 'now he's learning how to play the game.' It would be easier to evaluate Miller if he were hitting like everyone expected as a 21-year-old in the Double-A Eastern League. That would make him one of the sport's most elite prospects. He is not that, but the potential ceiling is elevated if he can stick at shortstop, incorporate an improved base-stealing element and reclaim some power. Advertisement Rival evaluators who have watched Miller at various stages this season saw a passive hitter who was caught between approaches and unable to unlock his raw power. Miller agreed with that assessment. He was too focused on staying in the zone and seeking fastballs to clobber. About a month ago, he sat with Reading hitting coach Tom Slater, and they dissected trends that had emerged. Teams were throwing Miller more breaking stuff than most hitters. Too often, Miller was giving the pitcher a free strike by not offering at a first-pitch slider or curveball. 'When you are being the aggressor up there, you have a lot more room to do damage,' Miller said. 'Ultimately, as a hitter, that's what you want to do.' The player selected one pick ahead of Miller, New York Yankees shortstop George Lombard Jr., is considered a better prospect. He is a year younger than Miller despite being in the same draft class. Lombard has spent most of his season also in the Eastern League, batting .207/.325/.345, and is regarded as a better defender. Teams often learn more about a prospect during prolonged struggles. 'The biggest thing is when I wasn't hitting,' Miller said, 'I wanted to impact the game in a different way.' That, Everett said, required a certain level of maturity. 'He's starting to embrace that grind,' Everett said. 'I told him, 'You're not going to the big leagues this year. It ain't happening. So play here. Play in the present. Learn this. And then we'll go to the next step when you're ready.' And that's what he's doing. He's really embraced it.' Miller can make a lasting impression with a strong final month; even then, he does not project as an immediate 2026 contributor for the Phillies. He might profile as a solid everyday player, a dream outcome for the 27th pick in the draft. Maybe he's more. Trea Turner has quelled any questions about moving off shortstop in 2026. There is no rush. Advertisement But Miller acknowledged this season has tested him. It hasn't been easy to shake the low batting average and dip in power. Through it all, Miller and Everett have formed a strong relationship. 'He has been the guy who has believed in me the most,' Miller said. 'And he's always preaching that I'm a shortstop and telling the organization to keep me there. So I owe a lot to him for that.' Before Tuesday's home game, Reading manager Al Pedrique gathered the team in shallow right field to outline some goals for the week. At the end, he acknowledged Miller for being honored as Eastern League player of the week. Everyone clapped. Miller walked toward the infield and saw Everett, whose roving role takes him to different affiliates every week. They hugged. Everett removed Miller's hat to see the buzz cut. 'I didn't even recognize you,' Everett said. Miller shrugged. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
New York Times
5 minutes ago
- New York Times
The Washington Wizards are stockpiling wings — but what's the plan?
It's a question about the 2025-26 Washington Wizards that comes up again and again: Why does the team have so many wings? The answer is interesting — and it cuts to the heart of the Wizards' roster-construction strategy but also to roster construction in the modern NBA. So I'm devoting the latest edition of The Athletic's Wizards mailbag to this topic. I've edited the submitted questions for clarity and to account for roster moves that occurred after the questions were submitted. Advertisement What's with all the wings? The Wizards appear to have five guards (Malaki Branham, Bub Carrington, CJ McCollum, AJ Johnson and Tre Johnson), three bigs (Marvin Bagley III, Alex Sarr and Tristan Vukcevic) and then about nine or so 6-6 to 6-8 guys who play the three (Justin Champagnie, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, Khris Middleton, Corey Kispert, Dillon Jones, Will Riley, Jamir Watkins and Cam Whitmore). That seems like a bit of a glut that needs to be addressed by Will Dawkins, no? –Brooke T. I would like to 'second' this question. While we all respect Will Dawkins and Michael Winger, Wizards fans are already starting to fall into a mode where fellow fans can't question their moves, circa the 2020 Nats with Mike Rizzo (but without the championship). I think there are real, hard questions that can be asked about roster construction thus far. The team elected to pass on Khaman Maluach this year (and traded up in the draft last year, but not for a Zach Edey type) and hand the center position to a wiry Alex Sarr who may not be able to rebound his position. While we understand that they can't/shouldn't try to win this year, you also can't develop all these wings at the same time. They already had to ship out Colby Jones for pure roster-spot availability reasons, but how in the heck can these guys all develop at the same time if they all play the same position? They certainly can't all develop on the defensive end, where some of them will be playing out of position just to get minutes. And we all know that five minutes into the season, we will all be complaining about a lack of defense and rebounding. –Malcolm H. I agree that, against the backdrop of traditional NBA roster construction, the Wizards are super-heavy on wings, light on traditional bigs and thin on traditional point guards. I also agree that the 2025-26 Wizards almost certainly will be below-average in terms of defensive rebounding — probably even bottom five. I mean, the team finished last season 27th in defensive-rebounding percentage, and that was with two strong defensive rebounders, Jonas Valančiūnas and Kyle Kuzma, on the roster until the trade deadline. Now, without major offseason additions to shore up the already weak defensive rebounding, it's difficult to envision significant gains in that area. Advertisement But at this stage, positional roster imbalance is not the Wizards' primary concern, or perhaps even their secondary concern. They are attempting to bring as many high-upside players as possible onto their roster — through the draft, through trades, through signings — and do their best to develop those players into upper-level NBA players. Think of it as casting a wide net in an effort to see who, eventually, will stand out. Who will fill the Wizards' No. 1 bucket, that of a franchise cornerstone, someone along the lines of who Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is for Oklahoma City or who Jayson Tatum has been for Boston? Who will fill the No. 2 bucket of someone who isn't quite a franchise cornerstone but contends for All-NBA honors, someone akin to Jalen Williams for Oklahoma City or Jaylen Brown for Boston? And who will fit the No. 3 bucket, like Chet Holmgren for OKC and one of any number of very strong tertiary players for Boston last year? That, in my opinion, is Washington's greatest challenge and ought to be Washington's top priority: finding players who fill those broad roles. This explains why Wizards general manager Will Dawkins always says before every draft that he's looking for the 'best-available player' instead of trying to fill specific positional needs. He's looking for the prospects who have the best chances to fill one of those top-three buckets. So, why did Dawkins decide to draft wing Tre Johnson sixth overall instead of big man Khaman Maluach or anyone else who was still available? Dawkins thought Johnson was the best-available player, the player who has the best chance of becoming an upper-level NBA player. Once the team starts to fill those buckets, it can fill in the rest of the roster around those top-level guys. The roster is not built to win now. Heck, it's more accurate to say that, with a roster skewed so heavily toward youth and inexperience, this roster is built to lose in the short term. I say that without negative overtones. I think the front office did the responsible thing by not making roster moves this offseason to try to eke out a few more victories in 2025-26. As an impartial observer, I think the Wizards need to attempt to win the 2026 lottery to try to draft the franchise-changing player they so desperately need, to try to fill that No. 1 or No. 2 bucket that, for the moment, seems to remain unfilled. If I were in Dawkins' shoes, I'd be willing to sacrifice defensive rebounding this season if it were to help the Wizards land the 2026 draft's top prospect. Washington can use next offseason's ample cap space to shore up its defensive rebounding in free agency or trade for defensive rebounding from its full cupboard of wings and future draft picks. Advertisement The questions you've posed here are more about development, specifically whether the seeming overabundance of wings will inhibit those wings' long-term improvement. The point about the difficulty of the wings developing on defense is well-taken if we assume that some of the Wizards' wings will defend opponents who are either much faster and more agile or much larger and stronger. My conclusion is that all of us — me included — need to acknowledge that the NBA game has changed, and continues to change. Our traditional notions of positional roles don't apply as much as they once did. Because of the prevalence of the 3-point shot and because so many teams play fast on offense, defenders now have to cover more ground than ever before. It's now common for players we don't consider 'point guards' to initiate offenses, and it's now rare for centers on offense to play with their backs to the basket. It's a league increasingly populated by versatile players in the 6-foot-4 to 6-foot-9 range. The distinctions among what shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards are expected to do are murkier than ever before, particularly within switch-oriented defensive schemes. Let's examine the league's reigning champs, the Thunder. When everyone's healthy, the Thunder's starting lineup features a pair of 7-footers, Holmgren, who is ultra versatile, and Isaiah Hartenstein, who is more of a traditional big. A close look reveals that, with Holmgren missing more than half the season with an injury, the Thunder relied heavily on lineups dominated by players we regard as wings. During the regular season, nine of Oklahoma City's 10 most-used five-man lineups included only one big or no big at all. Wings such as Jalen Wiliams, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe received tons of minutes. Even the Thunder's primary initiator, Gilgeous-Alexander, is 6-foot-6, a height typically associated with that of a wing. And Williams, commonly considered a wing, initiates the Thunder's offense quite a bit. Look, also, at the Celtics' teams of recent years. Yes, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White were referred to as the Celtics' 'point guards,' but in reality, Tatum and Brown were the Celtics' primary creators. My point isn't that the Wizards are trying to become the Thunder or the Celtics. My point is that great teams have versatile players, and that there's no such thing anymore as a player who is solely a small forward. You and I may think of Justin Champagnie, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyshawn George, Khris Middleton, Corey Kispert, Dillon Jones, Will Riley, Jamir Watkins and Cam Whitmore as guys best suited as threes, but in reality, many of them play the two, the three and the four and sometimes the one, with those roles varying by lineup or varying from possession to possession. Advertisement This goes back to one of my biggest pet peeves in the roster-construction punditry space. Pundits apply the guiding principles of NFL roster construction to the NBA, when, in fact, many of those principles are specific to football. 'The game of basketball is so fluid, and positionally things are changing,' Dawkins told me a few days after this year's draft. 'And unlike football, where you're drafting for one position on one side of the field, you have to play both ends of the floor in basketball. So sometimes you're playing one position on offense but you're playing a different type of position on defense, and there's cross-matches and mismatches. So the way the game is going, with the flexibility, the type of players we're drafting gives Coach (Brian) Keefe options. So we're just going to continue to find people who fit our attributes and bring them into our building.' Coulibaly and George are quintessential examples of this. With Coulibaly listed as 6-8 and George listed as 6-7, we'd traditionally consider them as threes. But last season, the Wizards often deployed Coulibaly and George defensively to guard opponents' top offensive initiators — a critical defensive role that, years ago, probably wouldn't have gone to 6-foot-8 or 6-foot-7 players. In the year ahead, I expect the Wizards' lineups to closely resemble the playing groups the Wizards employed during their best 10-game stretch last season, the stretch from Feb. 24 through March 15 in which they went 6-4. Think a three-wing lineup such as Carrington, Coulibaly, George, Middleton and Sarr or AJ Johnson, McCollum, Tre Johnson, Whitmore and either Bagley or Vukcevic. I won't be shocked to see the Wizards sometimes employ lineups of four wings and one big, depending on the opponent. On most nights, the Wizards will face opponents that play just one big at a time. Think Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia and Toronto, for instance. So, for the Wizards, employing wing-reliant lineups won't be the issue that will put Washington at a disadvantage. The Wizards will be able to make adjustments to protect themselves defensively against opponents that use lineups with two bigs. Cleveland's Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley would cause problems when they play simultaneously. New York would be tough on nights when Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson play simultaneously. Milwaukee would be a potential nightmare with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Myles Turner. Then again, Cleveland, New York and Milwaukee figure to cause problems for lots of East teams. Advertisement I think Wizards officials would portray having so many wings as an advantage for the players' development, citing how those players will have to compete against each other for playing time. There's some truth to that. Even with three-wing lineups, there will be only a finite number of minutes to go around. There's no question in my mind that, when healthy, and as long as they remain bought-in to the team concept, the highest-upside young players — Coulibaly, George, Tre Johnson and Whitmore — will get their minutes. But finding playing time for deserving players is something that Keefe will have to juggle. How many minutes will McCollum, Middleton, Kispert and Champagnie log each game? Perhaps Middleton will held out for one game of many back-to-backs, a decision that would keep Middleton healthy and would give opportunities for others, including Riley. I don't anticipate Jones or Watkins to play a whole lot, especially early in the season. And remember, with Washington now at 16 players on standard NBA contracts, the team will have to reduce its roster size by one player before the regular season starts. (Top photo of Kyshawn George: Reggie Hildred / Imagn Images) Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
New York Times
5 minutes ago
- New York Times
Meet college football's next best hope for a two-way star in a post-Travis Hunter world
This article is part of our Freaks List series, which chronicles the strongest, fastest and most physical players in college football. LAS VEGAS — Koi Perich looks different from his Minnesota teammates in practice, and it's not because of his 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame. Outside of the quarterbacks, half the Gophers wear maroon jerseys, while the other half don white. Each day, Perich pulls on a split-colored jersey with maroon on one side and white on the other. On defense, Perich lines up at safety. Then he flips over to offense and plays receiver. For good measure, Perich also returns kicks and punts. Advertisement 'This isn't a gimmick,' Minnesota coach P.J. Fleck said. 'This is a real thing where he's going to play offense. It could be a Wildcat quarterback. He's going to be on defense, he's going to kick return, he's going to punt return. But Koi will show us what he can handle and how much we give him.' Travis Hunter blazed a path for current and future two-way football stars by channeling his exceptional athletic ability into an unprecedented workload during last year's Heisman Trophy-winning campaign at Colorado. First in line to follow his example is Minnesota's sophomore safety, who made an immediate impact in his debut college season and has eyes on adding to his plate this fall. He's perhaps the most versatile threat in college football, but the major question facing Perich is whether he can produce on offense while remaining effective on defense, where he primarily shined as a freshman. 'I've played offense and defense my whole life,' Perich said. 'Ultimately, it's just playing football.' It's unfair to compare anyone's production directly to Hunter, who earned first-team All-American honors at cornerback and receiver last year, finishing with 96 catches for 1,258 yards and 16 scores, plus four interceptions and 11 pass breakups. But Hunter's snap percentage is more of a true mark for Perich. Last fall, Hunter competed on 84.6 percent of Colorado's snaps from scrimmage (86.8 percent on offense, 82.9 percent on defense), which was well beyond any other college player. 'We're going to do as much as Koi will allow us to do,' Fleck said in July. 'There's not a lot of people who can do that and do it successfully. We feel Koi can, and I'm not comparing him to Travis by any means, but I'm saying that he is somebody who did it within the last decade. That's how hard it really is. And if you're going to do it, you've got to be both feet in on it. But if there's one person that can do it, it's Koi.' Advertisement It requires talent, conditioning and endurance for any player to threaten Hunter's average of 119 snaps per game. But it's not hyperbole to suggest Perich can approach a similar snap count while impacting games on both sides of the ball. As a true freshman last fall, Perich led the Big Ten with five interceptions and was the only Football Bowl Subdivision freshman since 1976 to total more than 100 punt return yards (188), 100 kick return yards (314) and five interceptions in a season. Among Big Ten performers, Perich ranked fourth in punt return average and sixth as a kick returner. Reminder: Freshman Koi Perich led the @bigten in INTs last season 😲 Relive all 5️⃣ of the @GopherFootball star's picks 👇#B1GFootball x @koiperich3 — Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) June 30, 2025 In consecutive games, he intercepted game-sealing passes in the final seconds. In preserving a 24-17 victory against USC, Perich elevated to snag a jump ball in the end zone with nine seconds left to prevent the Trojans from running another play. He followed that pick with a goal-line interception with no time remaining in a 21-17 win at UCLA. 'I saw the videos of him jumping at the USC game,' Gophers defensive end Anthony Smith said. 'He got up there pretty high.' Perich's leaping ability was honed on the basketball court in tiny Esko, Minn., an unincorporated town located near the Iron Range of northern Minnesota. Perich averaged 17.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists per game as a senior at Esko High. But it was how high he soared — and his collection of broken rims — that left an impression on Fleck. 'I've got my dollar popcorn, my dollar diet soda, and I got some gummy bears and I'm like, 'OK, when am I gonna see … there it was,'' Fleck said. 'He did a 360 windmill dunk. And it wasn't the dunk; it was how high he was. Advertisement 'We were taught in the NFL there's a measuring stick of how fast a guy can get vertically, not just how high they can jump, but how fast they get vertically. It was very, very fast.' During his senior track season at Esko, Perich won the 100-meter dash at his sectional meet, with a time of 10.87 seconds that was tops in his class, but an injury sidelined him for state. As a sophomore, he'd won the state title in the long jump. That athleticism translated to the football field. As a high school senior, Perich scored 27 touchdowns, including five on interceptions, three on punt returns and another on a kickoff return. As a late addition to the 2024 All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Perich blocked a punt and had a goal-line interception to earn game MVP honors. Perich became an early recruiting priority for Fleck, but the head coach quickly discovered Perich had no attachment to his state's lone FBS program. Known as one of college football's most aggressive recruiters, Fleck made it a mission to catch the prospect's attention. He had to prove to Perich that he could count on three things if he stayed at home: 1) He could reach the NFL; 2) He could compete for a College Football Playoff berth; 3) The program could help him grow as a person. At one of Perich's high school games, Fleck rented a plane that flew above the stadium with a 'Row The Boat' sign trailing behind. The Gophers' full-court press sales pitch caught Perich's attention. 'I remember going to a high school game, watching one of the best performances I've ever seen from a high school player, and he knew it,' Fleck said. 'He was confident. The beginning of warmups, all the way through the end of the game, he pointed at me on the sideline. I've never pointed at a coach.' Few players emit the type of confidence Perich exudes in most public interactions. At a midsummer news conference, Perich walked to the podium wearing a WWE-style championship belt. He had earned it through team workouts and felt it was the right moment to display it. One of Fleck's friends watched the news conference live and sent him a screenshot, to which Fleck responded, 'That's Koi.' His swagger endears himself to Gophers fans and inevitably draws the ire of Minnesota's rivals. Advertisement Perich told reporters he never watched college football growing up — including the Gophers — and 'would just skip through college if I could and just gone straight to the Vikings, but you've got to do your three years.' His nonchalant attitude toward college football was clear during the recruiting process and especially at the end. Ohio State offered Perich with about seven weeks left in the recruiting cycle. 'It was super close. It came down to the last day,' Perich said. 'Ohio State is Ohio State. What I liked more about Minnesota was just ultimately their NFL safeties.' Koi Perich says he dreamed of playing for the #Vikings growing up. But, college wasn't part of the plan. "I would skip through college if I could… and gone straight to Vikings." — KSTPSports (@KSTPSports) July 16, 2025 Since 2019, Minnesota stars Antoine Winfield and Tyler Nubin have become All-Americans and second-round draft picks; Jordan Howden was a fifth-rounder. 'They laid the steppingstones for me,' Perich said. Perich describes the primary attributes of Hall of Fame safeties and his plans to emulate them: Ed Reed's ball skills, Brian Dawkins' hitting prowess, Troy Polamalu's instincts. Perich said Reed is one of the three living athletes he'd like to meet for a meal (LeBron James and Tiger Woods are the others). Perich has drawn comparisons to former Iowa All-American and current Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Cooper DeJean, from both inside and outside the Minnesota program. DeJean, who debuted at No. 60 in the latest NFL Network player rankings, dabbled as a two-way player in 2023 but broke his leg during a November practice his final season with the Hawkeyes. A season-ending injury is a worst-case example of what could go wrong from a player playing both ways, but coaches also fear elite players could wear down more gradually over the course of a game and limit their effectiveness at their natural position. Advertisement But Perich is undeterred. At an open Gophers scrimmage this month, Perich cruised past his teammates on a post route, slowed his stride and hauled in a deep pass for a 70-yard gain. After hitting the turf at Huntington Bank Stadium, he hopped up and immediately stuck out his arm signaling first down. His confidence, ability and potential all showed up in one play. 'He is a very, very confident individual,' Fleck said. 'I love that in terms of one of our best players, because everybody feeds off that.' Perhaps the right goal for Perich isn't to chase Hunter but to stretch his own boundaries. But by following Hunter's example, Perich could pilot his own path to excellence. 'Hopefully I get that chance. That would be very fun,' Perich said. 'Honestly, I think I have the ability to do it.' The Freaks List series is part of a partnership with GMC Sierra EV. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
