7 Best Minnesota Golden Gophers Football Players

The Minnesota Golden Gophers have won seven national championships, the most recent coming in 1960.  

Today, you can engage in online sports betting on the Golden Gophers college football odds weekly at the BetMGM online sportsbook. 

Before you dive into some football betting on the Golden Gophers, check out my list of the top seven players in program history below. 

7 Best Minnesota Golden Gophers Football Players

1. Bronko Nagurski

Nagurski suited up for Minnesota from 1927 to 1929 and left behind an illustrious legacy. 

A consensus All-American, Nagurski was also a first-team All-Big Ten, and the Golden Gophers retired his No. 72. 

Today, the Nagurski Award, given to the nation’s top defensive player, is named after him. 

The Golden Gophers went 18-4-2 and won the Big Ten Conference title in 1927 during Nagurski’s tenure. 

Nagurski is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

2. Bruce Smith

From 1939 to 1941, Smith played halfback for Minnesota. 

He was part of two national championship squads (1940 and 1941), won the Heisman Trophy, was a consensus All-American, first-team All-Big Ten, second-team All-Big Ten, and his No. 54 was retired. 

Today, he’s enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

3. Bobby Bell

A defensive star for Minnesota from 1960 to 1962, Bell played linebacker and defensive end for the school. 

He was part of the 1960 national championship team, won the Outland Trophy, was UPI Lineman of the Year, a unanimous All-American, first-team All-American, two-time first-team All-Big Ten, and had his No. 78 retired. 

Bell was also part of the 1961 and 1962 Rose Bowl squads. 

He’s enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

4. Paul Giel

Giel played running back at Minnesota from 1951 to 1953.

He was the UPI Player of the Year, consensus All-American, and first-team All-American. He was also a two-time Chicago Tribune Silver Football winner and three-time first-team All-Big Ten, and his No. 10 was retired. 

He was the runner-up in the 1953 Heisman Trophy voting, losing to Johnny Lattner of Notre Dame. 

After college, Giel played Major League Baseball from 1954 to 1961.

Giel is enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

5. Sandy Stephens

A 1960 national championship squad member, Stephens became the first black man to play quarterback at Minnesota and led the team to two Rose Bowl games (1961 and 1962). 

He also played some defence, intercepting nine passes (tied for ninth), including three in one game in 1960 against Wisconsin. Those three interceptions in one game are tied for the most by a Minnesota player in a single game. 

Stephens won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football award, was first-team All-Big Ten, his No. 15 was retired, and he’s enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

6. Carl Eller

A defensive end, Eller played at Minnesota from 1961 to 1963. 

He was a consensus All-American, first-team All-Big Ten, second-team All-Big Ten, and was part of the 1961 Rose Bowl-winning squad. 

He’s enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. 

7. Mohamed Ibrahim

Ibrahim enrolled at Minnesota in 2017, redshirted, and played 37 games from 2018 to 2022. 

In 2018, he started nine of 10 games and ran for over 1,100 yards. 

Then, in 2019, he didn’t start any games but still managed 604 yards and seven touchdowns. 

From 2020 to 2021, he played in just eight games due to the pandemic cutting the 2020 season short and an Achilles injury taking him out of almost all of 2021. 

Over his career, he ran for 4,668 yards and 53 touchdowns, both program records. 

In all, he had three seasons with 200 carries or more. 

He’s Minnesota’s single-season leader in rushing yards with 1,665 and rushing touchdowns with 20.