The Minnesota Golden Gophers are known for their hard-nosed, “punch you in the mouth” brand of football under P.J. Fleck, and that often starts at the running back position.
That’s supposed to be the case in 2024, but the Golden Gophers will be short a key piece. Darius Taylor is reportedly missing the opener against the North Carolina Tar Heels.
What happened to Minnesota’s star running back, and when will he return?
Injury Update for Minnesota RB Darius Taylor
Taylor will have to wait at least one more week to make his season debut after he was ruled out for Thursday’s contest by Fleck.
Taylor injured his leg in a portion of practice open to the media 10 days ago, leaving the practice field and missing the rest of the media availability.
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No injury update had been given on Taylor since, but he’s apparently out for the team’s opener. Taylor was not listed as available on the team’s Big Ten availability report posted two hours before the game.
What Taylor’s Injury Means for Minnesota
Taylor was expected to be one of Minnesota’s best players this season after running for just under 800 yards in just six games in 2023, including 138 yards and a touchdown in last year’s loss to North Carolina.
Ohio transfer Sieh Bangura is expected to see an increase in workload in Taylor’s stead. Bangura was a star for the Bobcats, running for over 800 yards last season and 1,000 yards in 2022.
There was good news, though, for Minnesota, as leading receiver Daniel Jackson is available and expected to be a full go after missing several practices in the leadup to the opener. Jackson had over 800 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago and he is approaching 2,000 yards in his Minnesota career.
Minnesota was considered a home favorite as recently as 48 hours ago, but the line moved quickly, making North Carolina a slight road favorite.
The Gophers and Tar Heels will have a delayed kickoff due to weather, but the game is expected to begin around 9 ET.
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