New Gophers QB Max Brosmer embraces challenge of fixing their offense

When new Gophers quarterback Max Brosmer entered the transfer portal in late November, the highly regarded New Hampshire veteran knew he was in for a unique experience but wasn’t sure exactly what to expect.

“It’s a wild new world,” Brosmer said. “I was kind of warned going into the portal about how kind of crazy it gets. I don’t think that I really understood the true depth of it until I got in.”

He jumped in feet-first and quickly realized something.

“I wanted to get in and out of the portal as quickly as I could,” Brosmer said, “as long as I was going to a school that fit me the best.”

That fit turned out to be the Gophers, who were one of the earliest suitors for the finalist for the Walter Payton Award, which goes to the top player at the FCS level. On Wednesday, the eve of the Gophers’ first spring practice session, Brosmer appeared in a Minnesota news conference for the first time and showed the poise that coach P.J. Fleck and his staff hope translates on the field.

“You feel like he’s already been here for 30 years,” Fleck said.

Sign up for our Gophers Update newsletter

In Brosmer, who’ll use his final season of eligibility this fall, the Gophers hope they have filled a glaring need in football’s most important position. Incumbent starter Athan Kaliakmanis entered the transfer portal after an inconsistent season that saw Minnesota pass for only 143.4 yards per game, which ranked 126th among the 134 FBS teams.

Fleck and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Greg Harbaugh Jr. put their chips all in on Brosmer, who enters spring practice as the only quarterback on the roster who has played in a college football game. His backups are Max Shikenjanski, a freshman walk-on last season, and Drake Lindsey, an early enrollee freshman this year.

That opportunity helped sell the Gophers on Brosmer, who passed for an FCS-best 313.6 yards per game while completing 64% of his throws with 29 touchdowns and five interceptions. The Gophers haven’t had that type of production since 2019, when Tanner Morgan completed 66.9% of his throws for 3,253 yards and 30 TDs.

“It’s the challenge,” said Brosmer, a native of Roswell, Ga. “That excites me and Coach Harbaugh and the team. You can always easily walk into school that you know has the best passing attack in the country, and you have these high expectations placed upon you as you get there. Coming into a school where you know there’s a new challenge is super, super exciting.”

Harbaugh shares that excitement. In his first year as the Gophers’ primary play-caller, Harbaugh and Kaliakmanis struggled to find consistency, and Minnesota endured a four-game November losing streak that left the team with a 5-7 regular-season record.

Hope springs eternal in spring football, and Harbaugh likes the approach that Brosmer is taking to his role with the Gophers.

“When you’re recruiting a quarterback that, No. 1, he could change the landscape of how you are offensively, that’s a pretty big deal,” Harbaugh said. “… I think what you’ll see is that it’s different than other relationships that I have with players. Max and I look at it as a partnership. We’re working together constantly to put the best product out there.”

The key word there is “working.” Brosmer’s serious approach to his craft has impressed his new teammates.

“Max, with one word, I’d describe him as a general,” wide receiver Daniel Jackson said.

Fleck concurred and offered an anecdote to support that opinion.

“I’ve never seen a person walk into a situation -- maybe even a more uncomfortable situation because he’s the new guy -- and connect as many people as quickly as he has,” Fleck said. “… Most people, for spring break, you hear Panama City, you hear Miami and these things. Nope, he took a bunch of players back [to Georgia] with him, and they worked out during spring break. That’s leadership.”