# 2015 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 2015 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Jerry Kill, who resigned on October 28, 2015 for health reasons. Tracy Claeys replaced Kill on an interim basis and was named head coach two weeks later on November 11. The Gophers played their home games at TCF Bank Stadium. They were a member of the West Division of the Big Ten Conference. Minnesota finished the regular season with a record of 5–7, 2–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place in the West Division. Despite finishing below .500, the Gophers were invited to the Quick Lane Bowl versus Central Michigan due to there not being enough bowl eligible teams and Minnesota's high Academic Performance Rating. Minnesota defeated Central Michigan 21–14 to finish the season 6–7.

## Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | 40$^‡$ | Commit date |
| Beebe, Colton FB | Kansas City, KS | Piper HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 248 lb (112 kg) | 4.75 | Dec 17, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 71 |||||||
| Brooks, Shannon RB | Jasper, GA | Pickens County HS | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 201 lb (91 kg) | 4.56 | Sep 11, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 73 |||||||
| Buford, Ray ATH | Southfield, MI | Southfield HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 193 lb (88 kg) | 4.65 | Jul 19, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Connelly, Nick OL | Red Wing, MN | Red Wing HS | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 269 lb (122 kg) | 5.04 | Jun 24, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 72 |||||||
| Craighton, Alonzo DB | Geismar, LA | Dutchtown HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 184 lb (83 kg) | 4.60 | Oct 13, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Croft, Demry QB | Rockford, IL | Boylan Catholic HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 192 lb (87 kg) | 4.66 | Jun 30, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 73 |||||||
| DeLattiboudere, Winston DL | Ellicott City, MD | Howard HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 217 lb (98 kg) | 4.78 | Feb 1, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Dovich, Bronson OL | Chaska, MN | Chaska HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 290 lb (130 kg) | N/A | May 30, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 74 |||||||
| Femi-Cole, Jonathan RB | Aurora, ON, CN | St. Andrew's College | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 218 lb (99 kg) | 4.59 | Jul 19, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 74 |||||||
| Hall, Mose DL | Mobile, AL | Murphy HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 253 lb (115 kg) | 5.03 | Jan 27, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 72 |||||||
| Hardin, Kiante ATH | Webb City, MO | Webb City HS | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | 4.55 | Oct 14, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 72 |||||||
| Huff, Jacob DB | Bolingbrook, IL | Bolingbrook HS | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 201 lb (91 kg) | 4.65 | Jun 5, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Huff, Julian LB | Bolingbrook, IL | Bolingbrook HS | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | 4.70 | Jun 5, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Johannesson, James RB | Fargo, ND | Fargo South HS | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 216 lb (98 kg) | 4.55 | Aug 22, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 73 |||||||
| Johnson, Dior DB | Southfield, MI | Southfield HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | N/A | Jan 28, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 75 |||||||
| Moore, Tyler OL | Houston, TX | North Shore HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 317 lb (144 kg) | N/A | Dec 16, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Oseland, Quinn OL | Springfield, IL | Sacred Heart Griffin HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 303 lb (137 kg) | 5.53 | Aug 13, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Register, Hunter WR | Lafayette, LA | Ovey Comeaux HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 191 lb (87 kg) | 4.58 | Jan 21, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 74 |||||||
| Rogers, Charlie DB | Iowa City, IA | Iowa Western CC (JC) | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 208 lb (94 kg) | 4.47 | Dec 3, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Shenault, Antonio DB | Roselle, IL | Lake Park HS | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | 4.61 | Oct 9, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 72 |||||||
| Stieber, Ted OL | Akron, OH | Archbishop Hoban HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 298 lb (135 kg) | 5.86 | Jun 18, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 74 |||||||
| Still, Rashad WR | El Paso, TX | Andress HS | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 4.50 | Jan 24, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Waters, Jaylen LB | Copperas Cove, TX | Copperas Cove HS | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | 4.63 | Jul 21, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Witham, Bryce TE | Grand Rapids, MI | West Catholic HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | 4.68 | Jan 26, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 73 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 56 Rivals: 52 247Sports: 63 ESPN: 62 |||||||
| ‡ Refers to 40 yard dash Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height, weight and 40 time. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Yahoo Sports: Rivals.com 2015 Minnesota Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015. "Scout.com 2015 Minnesota Commitments". Scout.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015. "ESPN 2015 Minnesota Commitments". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 12, 2015. |||||||

## Schedule

Minnesota faced all six Big Ten West Division opponents: Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue, and Wisconsin. The Gophers also faced Big Ten East Division opponents Michigan and Ohio State. Minnesota played four non-conference games: TCU of the Big 12 Conference, Colorado State of the Mountain West Conference, and Kent State and Ohio of the Mid-American Conference. Minnesota had one bye week during the season between their games against Nebraska and Michigan.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | 8:00 pm | No. 2 TCU* | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPN | L 17–23 | 54,147 |
| September 12 | 2:30 pm | at Colorado State* | Hughes StadiumFort Collins, CO | CBSSN | W 23–20 $^{OT}$ | 32,500 |
| September 19 | 11:00 am | Kent State* | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 10–7 | 52,823 |
| September 26 | 2:30 pm | Ohio* | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | BTN | W 27–24 | 53,917 |
| October 3 | 11:00 am | at #16 Northwestern | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | BTN | L 0–27 | 30,044 |
| October 10 | 2:30 pm | at Purdue | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | ESPNU | W 41–13 | 33,780 |
| October 17 | 2:30 pm | Nebraska | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN (rivalry) | ESPN2 | L 25–48 | 54,062 |
| October 31 | 6:00 pm | No. 15 Michigan | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN (Little Brown Jug) | ESPN | L 26–29 | 50,789 |
| November 7 | 7:00 pm | at No. 1 Ohio State | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC | L 14–28 | 108,075 |
| November 14 | 7:00 pm | at No. 8 Iowa | Kinnick StadiumIowa City, IA (rivalry) | BTN | L 35–40 | 70,585 |
| November 21 | 11:00 am | Illinois | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN | ESPNews | W 32–23 | 47,976 |
| November 28 | 2:30 pm | Wisconsin | TCF Bank StadiumMinneapolis, MN (rivalry) | BTN | L 21–31 | 52,850 |
| December 28 | 4:00 pm | vs. Central Michigan* | Ford FieldDetroit, MI (Quick Lane Bowl) | ESPN2 | W 21–14 | 34,217 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Players into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL club |
| 4 | 106 | Eric Murray | CB | Kansas City Chiefs |
| 4 | 115 | De'Vondre Campbell | LB | Atlanta Falcons |
| Undrafted | – | Briean Boddy-Calhoun | CB | Jacksonville Jaguars |