Koi Perich, Gophers' top football recruit, visits Ohio State; cancels trip to Florida State

Esko's Koi Perich, a four-star football recruit committed to the Gophers, denied that he has decided to switch his commitment to Ohio State.

Perich, a safety, made an official visit to Ohio State over the weekend. He also said Tuesday that he has canceled a planned visit to Florida State the coming weekend.

The top-ranked recruit in Minnesota in the 2024 class and the top-ranked player in the Gophers' class, Perich responded to a text message Tuesday morning saying, "Florida State is canceled. Nothing is a done deal."

Online speculation about Perich's commitment to the Gophers has been heavy since he said in October that he would continue making recruiting visits.

The latest speculation on Perich comes a day after the Gophers received the news Monday that Prior Lake defensive lineman Jide Abasiri, who committed to the Gophers on March 25, had announced his decommitment. Abasiri, the fourth-ranked Minnesota player in the 2024 class, received an offer from USC on Nov. 19 and made his official visit to the Trojans' Los Angeles campus this past weekend.

High school seniors can sign their national letters of intent with colleges during a three-day early signing period that begins Dec. 20.

Why are players such as Perich and Abasiri looking at other options? There could be several reasons.

Neither Ohio State, in Perich's case, nor USC, in Abasiri's case, had offered a scholarship when they committed to Minnesota. In addition, both Ohio State and USC are national powers that have a lot to offer, including name, image and likeness money that Minnesota likely can't match.

The Gophers' 5-7 record and four-game losing streak to close the 2023 regular season couldn't have helped in recruiting. And news broke Sunday that Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi is leaving to take the same position with Michigan State, leaving defensive recruits not knowing who their coordinator will be next season.