In our “Race to MAHturity” series, we will be highlighting Gopher football players who are expected to step up and take on a bigger role for Minnesota next season (whenever that may be).
The Minnesota Movers have a secret weapon and his name is John Michael Schmitz. Though he may not be a secret for much longer if he continues to draw the attention of evaluators like Pro Football Focus, who have him ranked as the second-highest rated returning Power 5 interior offensive lineman for 2020. And he isn’t even a regular starter.
As a redshirt sophomore last season, Schmitz was the Gophers’ sixth man on the offensive line, sliding in at center whenever there was an injury among the starting five and offensive line coach Brian Callahan needed to shuffle his linemen around.