Two players drop commitments to Gophers football this week; one chooses USC

Brady Pretzlaff, a linebacker from Gaylord, Mich., who gave the Gophers a verbal commitment last January, on Wednesday announced on the X platform that he no longer is committed to Minnesota.

Pretzlaff's announcement came after the three-star recruit took an official visit to Michigan State over the weekend. Defensive coordinator Joe Rossi, who has left the Gophers to become Michigan State's defensive coordinator, was one of the coaches who recruited Pretzlaff to Minnesota.

Pretzlaff is the 14th-ranked linebacker from Michigan and 61st-ranked linebacker nationally in the 2024 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings of major recruiting services. He is the second player in three days from the Gophers' 2024 class to rescind his verbal commitment to coach P.J. Fleck's program.

On Monday, Prior Lake defensive lineman Jide Abasiri decommitted after taking an official visit to USC over the weekend and then announcing his commitment to the Trojans on social media Thursday morning.

The Gophers are waiting to see if the top-ranked player in their 2024 prep class, Esko safety Koi Perich, stays true to the pledge he made on April 19. Perich visited Ohio State last weekend and said Tuesday that "nothing is a done deal." He is expected to make his decision before the Dec. 20 opening of the three-day early signing period.

Gophers safety Tyler Nubin on Wednesday was named first-team All-America by the Sporting News, the fourth NCAA-recognized organization to put the senior on an All-America team.

Earlier, the Associated Press, the Football Writers Association of America and the Walter Camp Football Foundation named Nubin to their second teams. The American Football Coaches Association has not announced its All-America teams yet.

Nubin is the second Gophers safety in the past five years to earn first-team All-America honors, joining consensus pick Antoine Winfield Jr. in 2019.