Is skipping Senior Day honors a sign Gophers' Brevyn Spann-Ford will return for another season?

Gophers tight end Brevyn Spann-Ford, a fifth-year junior from St. Cloud, said Wednesday that he will not participate in the team's Senior Day festivities on Saturday before the game against Iowa, a sign that he might return in 2023 for his final season of eligibility rather than enter the NFL draft.

When asked if he's thinking about coming back next year, Spann-Ford said, succinctly, "We'll see. That's all I really got to say.''

Spann-Ford, 6-7 and 270 pounds, leads the Gophers with 31 receptions for 374 yards and two touchdowns. Like anyone who played in the 2020 season, he received an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA because of a season shortened by COVID-19.

Gophers center John Michael Schmitz was named one of seven semifinalists for the Outland Trophy, given annually to the most outstanding interior lineman by the Football Writers Association of America.

The sixth-year senior is the top-ranked center among Power 5 schools, according to Pro Football Focus College, and he recently was named a semifinalist for the Rotary Lombardi Award. The Flossmoor, Ill., native also was named first-team Midseason All-America by the Associated Press, ESPN, Pro Football Focus and CBS.

The other Outland semifinalists are offensive linemen Steve Avila of TCU, Paris Johnson Jr. of Ohio State, Olusegun Oluwatimi of Michigan and Peter Skoronski of Northwestern, and defensive linemen Jalen Carter of Georgia and Calijah Kancey of Pittsburgh.

Gophers sixth-year senior quarterback Tanner Morgan was named one of 20 semifinals for the Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year award, which honors a player for his leadership both on and off the field. This is Morgan's second consecutive year as a Witten semifinalist.