Gophers looking to factor star safety Koi Perich in to offensive plan

Practice jerseys for the Gophers football team come in three colors: white for most of the offensive players, a gold, non-contact version for quarterbacks, and maroon tops for defensive players.

This year, there’s a peacock in the mix. During Tuesday’s practice at the Gophers’ indoor facility, one player wore a half-maroon, half-white jersey — split vertically down the middle through a half-gold, half-maroon “3.”

Of course, it was Koi Perich, the sophomore from Esko, Minn., who established himself as a star safety and return ace as a true freshman last fall. Now, he’s becoming more and more in the Gophers’ plans on offense.

“The more you can do with Koi Perich, the better off you’re going to be — simple as that. So, you can take that for however you want it. You can take a picture of his new jersey if you want, then figure it out," Gophers coach P.J. Fleck said, seemingly sending a shot across the bow of Big Ten defensive coordinators as much as he was offering insight. “He’s too good of a football player not to be on the field, somehow, some way, throughout the entire game, not just on one side.”

On that one side, Perich has been outstanding, earning first-team All-Big Ten honors and second-team All-America recognition from the Sporting News after leading the conference and tying for fourth nationally with five interceptions last season. His signature moments included game-sealing interceptions against USC and UCLA, the former resulting in the iconic scene of Perich being hoisted upon the shoulders of fans who stormed the field at Huntington Bank Stadium.

Now, Fleck wants to see such moments come from Perich’s offensive prowess. Last year, he was used for a handful of plays on offense, mainly as a decoy, and did not register an offensive stat. The potential is there — get him in the open field and he can be a game-changer, as his 60-yard punt return against Michigan last year attests – and Fleck plans to mine it.

“[Offensive coordinator Greg Harbaugh Jr.] has done a really good job of giving him what he can handle, but whatever we give him, we want him to be really good at,” Fleck said. “This isn’t just a gadget thing.”

“It obviously comes with more work, and every opportunity is not given,” Perich said. “… That’s why I love this program. It’s all hard work, day in and day out. It’s pretty fun to come in each day and work."

Said Harbaugh, “He’s a pretty good player, so I’ll work with him.”

Perich is going through his first spring practice with the Gophers after finishing his senior season at Esko rather than enrolling early to start his college career. His hope was to lead Esko to a state championship in basketball or track and field after falling short in football, but that didn’t happen, and a hamstring injury kept him from competing for individual state titles on the track. When he did join the team in June, he hit the ground running and quickly became a fan favorite.

Perich’s impact came mainly on defense, and he finished with 46 tackles, 2 ½ tackles for loss and three pass breakups. He is ranked No. 2 among returning safeties by Pro Football Focus, behind only Ohio State’s Caleb Downs. Perich’s 88.9 overall rating in 2024 ranked seventh among safeties.

Gophers defensive coordinator Danny Collins, who helped recruit Perich and was his position coach last year, is eager to see his star pupil’s improvement. Collins expects to use him in several ways, along with safeties Kerry Brown and Aidan Gousby.