Gophers’ expected Class of 2018

The Gophers football team has 26 players in the recruiting Class of 2018 who have given verbal commitments and are expected to sign their national letters of intent on Wednesday, the start of the three-day early signing period.

Player (Pos.) Ht. Wt. Stars

Mayan Ahanotu (DE) 6-3 246 ⋆⋆⋆

From Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.): Son of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cal standout Chidi Ahanotu. Offers included Oklahoma, Michigan State, Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt.

Josh Aune (Ath.) 6-1 201 ⋆⋆⋆

From St. Paul Highland Park: Versatile athlete rushed for 841 yards and 12 TDs and led the Scots with 116 tackles and seven sacks as a linebacker.

Rashod Bateman (WR) 6-1 180 ⋆⋆⋆⋆

From Tift County (Tifton, Ga.): Jumped from three-star to four-star status after catching 83 passes for 1,539 yards and 21 TDs this year. Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas A&M have offered since Dec. 8.

Austin Beier (OG) 6-5 285 ⋆⋆⋆

From St. John’s Jesuit (Toledo, Ohio): Ranked 30th-best guard nationally and 33rd-best Ohio recruit at any position. Offer list included Boston College, Cincinnati, Indiana and Northwestern.

Nathan Boe (C) 6-4 250 ⋆⋆⋆

From Lakeville North: Offers included Northern Illinois, and FCS teams in North Dakota, Northern Iowa, South Dakota State and Western Illinois.

Jason Dickson (OT) 6-7 309 ⋆⋆⋆

From Diablo Valley (Calif.) College: Listed as seventh-best junior college tackle in Class of 2018. Will have two years of eligibility remaining. Originally committed to UCLA.

Curtis Dunlap (OG) 6-4 368 ⋆⋆⋆⋆

From IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.): Highest-ranked recruit for the Gophers. Formerly committed to Florida. Arkansas, Florida State, Georgia and LSU were among schools extending offers.

Nolan Edmonds (RB) 5-10 206 ⋆⋆⋆

From Alpharetta, Ga.: Committed to U on March 15, rescinded June 23, then recommitted July 30. Ranked 28th nationally among RBs.

Daniel Faalele (OT) 6-8 400 ⋆⋆⋆

From IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.): Massive Australian has played only one year of varsity football but had scholarship offers from Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, Florida State and Michigan.

Erik Gibson (WR) 6-1 200 ⋆⋆⋆

From Martin Luther King (Detroit): Ranked 25th among Michigan wide receivers. Received offers from Ball State, Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan of the Mid-American Conference.

Jornell Manns (WR) 5-10 187 ⋆⋆⋆

From Mansfield, Ohio: Versatile player in high school, leading Mansfield with 1,432 rushing yards and 29 TDs. Caught 43 passes for 545 yards and seven TDs this season.

Grant Norton (OT) 6-8 255 ⋆⋆⋆

From Camdenton, Mo.: At 6-8, could be a left tackle candidate. Nebraska, Purdue and Wisconsin are among teams that offered scholarships.

Abi Okonji (DE) 6-2 238 ⋆⋆⋆

From South Gwinnett (Snellville, Ga.): Received offers from Indiana, Maryland, Michigan State and Rutgers among Big Ten teams.

Braelen Oliver (LB) 6-1 218 ⋆⋆⋆

From Douglas County (Douglasville, Ga.): Earned region player of the year after amassing 164 tackles and five sacks. Received offers from West Virginia, Syracuse and Duke.

Alex Reigelsperger (DE) 6-3 247 ⋆⋆⋆

From Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio): Former Kentucky commit is quick with a high motor. Ranked No. 24 nationally among weak-side defensive ends.

Logan Richter (DT) 6-4 291 ⋆⋆⋆

From Perham, Minn.: Fifth-ranked player in Minnesota also received interest from Wyoming, North Dakota State and North Dakota.

Thomas Rush (OLB) 6-3 209 ⋆⋆⋆

From Marysville, Ohio: Originally committed to Bowling Green as a running back in June. Earned second-team All-Ohio honors.

Benny Sapp III (CB) 6-0 183 ⋆⋆⋆

From Eden Prairie: Played in only two games this year after needing knee surgery to repair meniscus. Missed previous two seasons because of torn ACL. Turned heads early in career at Florida power St. Thomas Aquinas.

C.J. Smith (CB) 6-1 175 ⋆⋆⋆

From Duncan U. Fletcher (Neptune Beach, Fla.): Originally committed to Georgia Southern. Mississippi State and South Florida were among early offers.

Terell Smith (CB) 6-0 170 ⋆⋆⋆

From South Gwinnett (Snellville, Ga.): Ranked 63rd nationally among cornerbacks. Speedster won state Class 7A 100-meter dash in 10.39 seconds.

Mariano Sori-Marin (ILB) 6-2 223 ⋆⋆⋆

From Providence Catholic (New Lenox, Ill.): Had 88 tackles and five sacks. Versatile player also saw action on offense. Had offers from Ivy League schools Brown, Cornell, Harvard, Penn and Yale.

Brevyn Spann-Ford (TE) 6-6 233 ⋆⋆⋆

From St. Cloud Tech: Averaged 16.7 yards on his 46 catches as a senior and had 16 TD receptions. Also had offers from Iowa State, Michigan State, Missouri and West Virginia.

Elijah Teague (DT) 6-2 289 ⋆⋆⋆

From Marist (Chicago): Part of highest-rated DL class for Gophers in internet era. Had offers from Oklahoma, Penn State, Wisconsin.

Vic Viramontes (QB) 6-2 230 ⋆⋆⋆

From Riverside (Calif.) C.C.: Top-ranked dual-threat JUCO QB could be Gophers starter in 2018. Passed for 1,575 yards and 20 TDs, rushed for 1,336 yards and 21 TDs.

Bryce Williams (RB) 6-0 190 ⋆⋆⋆

From Cardinal Mooney (Sarasota, Fla.): Ranked 48th nationally among running backs per 247Sports.com. Also had offers from Iowa State and Purdue.

Jack York (OT) 6-5 300 ⋆⋆⋆

From First Baptist Academy (Dallas): Originally committed to Texas State, flipped to San Diego State, then flipped to Gophers.

Stars: Composite ranking of several recruiting sites as tabulated by 247Sports.com. Sources: Star Tribune reporting, 247Sports.com.