MINNEAPOLIS — Let's not sugar-coat it. A 37-3 whipping at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes Nov. 18 makes it fairly clear the Gophers - at this point, anyway - are not in the same league as the perennial Big Ten football powerhouse.
But U of M head coach P.J. Fleck can take some solace in a smaller victory that occurred Wednesday morning: Koi Perich, an athlete many consider the #1 football recruit in Minnesota, announced he will play for the Gophers despite a serious recruiting effort and last-minute push by the Buckeyes.
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day traveled to Esko to visit Koi just last week, but Perich kept a verbal commitment he made to Fleck in April. Florida State was among several other schools to vie for his services.
Perich is a three-sport standout at Esko High School, playing safety in football. The 6 foot 2, 200-pounder is fast, a hard hitter and has impeccable football instincts. A consensus four-star recruit, he was ranked as the No. 1 prospect in Minnesota by On3, 247Sports and ESPN, and the No. 3 safety and No. 53 overall recruit in the nation.
When Randy Shaver talked with Perich earlier this year for the KARE 11 Prep Preview, he said losing the game that would have sent Esko to the Prep Bowl in 2022 provided plenty of motivation to improve himself and his game. Koi said he was bigger, faster, and a more instinctual player during the 2023 season.
Shaver then asked Perich what he liked most about football, and there was no hesitation.
"Just hittin' people man, that's the number one thing. I mean, there's not another sport in the world where you can go out and hit someone as hard as you can without going to jail," Koi said with a grin on his face.
Here are some of the highlights from Perich's senior season.
- 10 games played
- Responsible for 27 total touchdowns (17 on offense, 5 on defense, 4 on returns, passed for one)
- Made 62 tackles, seven tackles for loss
- 2 sacks
- 5 interceptions
- 2 fumbles recovered, one forced
- Named First-Team All-State by the AP
- Invited to compete in the 2024 All-American Bowl
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more coverage of Minnesota sports:
Watch the latest reports from the KARE 11 sports team in our YouTube playlist: