Tyler Bride, a graduate transfer cornerback from Georgia Southern, announced Saturday on Twitter that he's joining the Gophers football program for the 2023 season.
Gophers land Georgia Southern cornerback Tyler Bride as a graduate transfer
The 5-10, 180-pounder played in 30 games over the past three seasons for the Eagles.
May 13, 2023 at 7:23PM
![Minnesota Gophers players wait with head coach P.J. Fleck to run out of the tunnel before their game against the Purdue Boilermakers Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022 at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. ]](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/M6TPICNPB54FMCDXMIYZG4GXPM.jpg?&w=712)
Bride, 5-10 and 180 pounds, played in 30 games over three seasons for Georgia Southern, collecting 82 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 16 pass breakups. Last year, he made 42 tackles, broke up nine passes and had two interceptions. The Norcross, Ga., native was a three-star prep recruit out of Greater Atlanta Christian School.
Bride entered the transfer portal on April 11 and made an official visit to the Gophers on Friday. He also made official visits to Memphis and Rice. Because the NCAA didn't charge players a year of eligibility in COVID-shortened 2020 season, Bride will have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
With Terell Smith and Jordan Howden off to the NFL and five defensive backs either transferring or retiring from football, the Gophers were thin in the secondary, and coach P.J. Fleck turned to the transfer portal. Last week, Fleck received a graduate transfer commitment from cornerback Tre'Von Jones, formerly of Elon. In April, Miami (Ohio) safety Rowan Zolman joined the Gophers.
Johnson’s record was 56-71 overall and 22-57 in Big Ten play, which included finishing 13th or lower in the conference three times.
