One of Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck's priorities when the transfer portal opened Dec. 5 was to improve his team's wide receiving corps. On Sunday, Fleck landed a commitment from a second highly productive transfer receiver.
Gophers bolster receiving corps with transfer Elijah Spencer of North Carolina Charlotte
The sophomore led the 49ers with 57 catches for 943 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022; two defensive players said they would join the program as well.
December 19, 2022 at 12:45PM
Elijah Spencer, a sophomore who led North Carolina Charlotte with 57 receptions for 943 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022, announced on Twitter that he's joining the Gophers. The 6-1, 193-pounder, who was named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list this season, also had a strong freshman season in 2021, when he was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year after catching 28 passes for 381 yards and six TDs.
Spencer joins Western Michigan transfer Corey Crooms, who caught 57 passes for 814 yards and five TDs this season for the Broncos. Together, Spencer and Crooms had 14 TD catches this season. The Gophers had a total of seven among their wideout group, led by Daniel Jackson's three scores.
An Irmo, S.C., native, Spencer was a three-star recruit out of Dutch Fork High School in 2021. Along with Charlotte, he had scholarship offers from Georgia Southern, Eastern Michigan and Kent State. He entered his name into the transfer portal on Dec. 4 and will have two years of eligibility remaining.
Later Sunday, the Gophers received commitments from safety Jack Henderson, a transfer from Southeastern Louisiana, and linebacker Matt Kingsbury, a three-star prep recruit from Chicago St. Leo High School.
Henderson, 6-3 and 205 pounds, led Southeastern Louisiana with 90 tackles in 2022, including 55 solo and a seven tackles for loss. He also had two sacks, intercepted two passes and had four pass breakups on his way to first-team All-Southland Conference honors. He was honorable mention All-Southland in 2021 and third-team all-conference in the 2021 spring season, which was postponed from the fall of 2020 at the FCS level because of COVID-19.
A native of Mandeville, La., Henderson will have two years of eligibility remaining.
The Gophers have four transfer commitments so far in December. The other was Western Michigan linebacker Ryan Selig.
Kingsbury, a 6-3, 235-pounder, is a three-star recruit by 247Sports and is ranked 32nd among Illinois prep players. He had scholarship offers from 16 other FBS programs, including Purdue, Air Force, Army, Navy, Wyoming and seven Mid-American Conference schools.
Kingsbury had 131 tackles, 11 sacks, three forced fumbles and one interception during the 2022 season.
Oliver to Georgia Tech
Former Gophers linebacker Braelen Oliver announced he is transferring to Georgia Tech. Oliver, a Douglasville, Ga., native, started 10 games this season for Minnesota, finishing with 33 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. He'll have one year of eligibility with the Yellow Jackets.
Minnesota’s bench scored 50 points, including a team-leading 18 points from graduate transfer Annika Stewart, showcasing the depth that coach Dawn Plitzuweit promised.
