Koi Perich Leaving Gophers for Vikings ASAP

Yahoo

4 days ago

Koi Perich grew up in Esko, MN, a small town just outside of Duluth, that holds around 2,000 people. Because of a commitment he made to his high school track team, Perich arrived on campus for his true freshman of college at the University of Minnesota late and injured.
Because of that, the safety was limited in his playing time, to start the 2025 Gophers football season. Nonetheless, the homegrown supertalent seemed to impact the game every time he got on the field.
To go with his 46 combined tackles and 3 passes defended, Koi Perich snagged 5 interceptions (which led the Big Ten) and forced 1 fumble. He also sat near the top of the conference in most punt/kick return categories.
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It just seemed that, in every big moment, the 18-year-old kid did something special. And not only did Koi's historic freshman season earn him a place on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, but he was also named 1st Team All Big-Ten and 2nd Team All-American.
Gopher phenom Koi Perich ready to build on huge freshman season
Entering 2025, PJ Fleck and the Minnesota Gophers appear determined to play Koi Perich on both sides of the ball. He's even been wearing a multi-colored practice jersey this spring and summer. I'm all for it. This is one of the most talented players to ever wear a maroon and gold uniform.
Fleck and his coaches (on all sides of the ball) should squeeze every ounce of CFB talent/usage possible out of Perich. Not only will it help Minnesota win more football games, but it will undoubtedly help grow the brand too.
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And in return, the small-town kid out of Esko will have more opportunities for national recognition, over the next couple years, than any Gopher in modern football history, and way more than any helmet schools (like Ohio State) could have offered him.
Let's be real, too. While there's little concern, at this point, that the Minnesota Gophers will lose Koi Perich to the transfer portal, his time in college football is limited. This kid is an NFL talent, and guess what? He knows it.
Koi Perich has already used up one of his four years of standard college eligibility. And while there are quite a few ways to get a fifth year these days, don't expect Minnesota's young superstar to stick around any longer than he has to.
Koi Perich didn't dream of playing for Gophers, wants to be a Viking
On Wednesday, at Gopher football media day, Koi told reporters gathered at the U of M football facilities that his dream was never to play for his home state's only power conference collegiate football program.
In fact, Perich never dreamed of playing college football at all. His only dream is at the next level. But Koi is like any out-state kid from MN. His childhood football dreams aren't just in the NFL, he specifically wants to play for the Minnesota Vikings.
Reporter: 'Was [playing for the Minnesota Gophers] always a dream of yours growing up?'
Perich: 'No, I didn't watch college football. My dream was to play for the Vikings. I would just skip through college if I could and just gone straight to the Vikings. But, you gotta do your three years, and I'm willing to do it.'
Koi Perich – Gophers Football media day (video via KSTP Sports)
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As Koi reminds us, football fans in this state, especially outside of the Twin Cities, live and die with the Minnesota Vikings. But Gopher diehards shouldn't be offended by that. If anything, it means we could very well see the future Dinkytown legend trade in his maroon and gold, for purple and gold.
Whether he's able to manifest that destiny straight out of the draft, or later on in his career, has yet to be determined. One thing is certain, however. As long as this kid stays healthy, he will be an early round draft pick in 2027, after he finishes his required three seasons with the Gophers.
Not only was Koi an All-American as a freshman, but entering his sophomore season, the 6'1″, 200lb safety/utility weapon has been tagged as one of the 20 best players in all of college football, by PFF.
After just one year of high-level football, Perich is already developing into the type of talent that NFL scouts will be drooling to get their hands on just as quickly as he is willing to make the jump.
Koi Perich dreams of playing for Minnesota Vikings just like every other local out-state kid
Koi and I have very few things in common, most notably, football talent. But as two people who were born and raised in small town Minnesota, we share one thing for sure. We fell in love with the game of football because of the Vikings, who have owned the greater MN sports market since the mid-90s.
Football kids in Minnesota, especially those who grow up away from the Twin Cities, are raised idolizing and pedestalizing the Vikings like their fandom means the difference between making it to heaven and being sent south for the rest of your eternal winters.
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For 30-somethings like me (and Adam Thielen), it was Randy Moss, Cris Carter and whoever happened to be throwing them the football between the 1998 and early 2000s seasons. Those Vikings teams revolutionized the game of football and hooked millions of local kids my age.
For older teenagers, like Koi Perich, and early twenty-somethings a bit older than he is, they remember Brett Favre and the Vikings' run in 2009-10, along with the Minneapolis Miracle from 2017-18.
What few of us think about when we dig back into our football memories, is the Minnesota Gophers, who have hovered from mediocre to terrible for most of our modern day lives. PJ Fleck is helping to turn that around and Huntington Bank Stadium is more full now than at any U of M football stadium most of us have attended.
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