Gophers tight ends coach Clay Patterson leaving for promotion at Colorado

He will become passing game coordinator and tight ends coach for the Buffaloes.

January 10, 2022 at 1:26PM
The Minnesota Gophers take the field before the start of an NCAA football game between the Gophers and the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday, Nov. 27, 2021 at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn. Minnesota defeated Wisconsin 23-13. ] AARON LAVINSKY • aaron.lavinsky@startribune.com
The Gophers take the field. (Aaron Lavinsky, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

For the second time in three days, the Gophers are losing an assistant football coach who's receiving a promotion with another program.

Gophers tight ends coach Clay Patterson is leaving Minnesota to become tight ends coach/passing game coordinator at Colorado, the Buffaloes program announced Sunday. Patterson, a Gophers assistant from 2018 to 2021, will work under Colorado's new offensive coordinator Mike Sanford, who spent the past two seasons as Gophers offensive coordinator before being fired at the end 2021 regular season.

On Friday, defensive backs/safeties coach Joe Harasymiak left the Gophers to become defensive coordinator at Rutgers.

The Gophers and Colorado meet on Sept. 17 at Huntington Bank Stadium.

about the writer

about the writer

Randy Johnson

College football reporter

Randy Johnson covers University of Minnesota football and college football for the Star Tribune, along with Gophers hockey and the Wild.

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