Don’t you just love it when essentially an entire position group returns from one year to the next? The only defensive end not returning this fall is Lucas Finnessy who had 11 tackles last year, includine one sack against Wisconsin.
The unit returns with some added talent and a year of development. This was one of the stronger defensive units a year ago, will it be even better in 2026?
2026 Defensive End
2025 Starters: Anthony Smith, Karter Menz
2026 Starters: Anthony Smith, Karter Menz
Depth: TJ Bush, Jaxon Howard
Last year, Anthony Smith had one of the best single-season performances by a Gopher defensive lineman in program history. His 12.5 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss earned him first-team All-Big Ten; it seemed like a forgone conclusion that he would enter the NFL Draft. But Smith decided to run it back for one more season in Minnesota and instantly the Gopher defensive end unit became one of the strongest in the conference.
Opposite Smith was usually Karter Menz, who had a bit of a breakout year. He redshirted in 2023, played sparingly in 2024 and then in 2025 he recorded in 6.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss, both were second on the team. Now as a redshirt junior, he looks to establish himself as one of the leaders and a reliably consistent presence on the defense.
Also returning is Jaxon Howard, the former 4-star kid out of Robbinsdale who chose LSU before returning to Minnesota in 2024. He, like Menz, is a redshirt junior and he had a solid 2025 season with four sacks and 5.5 TFLs.
But wait, there’s more. The program added a very nice transfer end from Cal in TJ Bush. Last season, Bush led the Bears with 5.5 sacks and also had 11.5 TFLs. He decided to transfer for his final season and came to Minnesota where he will compete with Menz to start opposite Smith.
These four will all play significant snaps as they rotate to stay fresh and place the right guys on the field in the right situations. And beyond those four, the most likely player to see reps would be Adam Kissayi. Out of high school, Kissayi committed to Clemson and was on campus in South Carolina for spring practices before he decided being a Tiger wasn’t the right fit and he transferred to Minnesota. He redshirted in 2024 and then played in seven games last season. Now as a redshirt sophomore, he will be a fringe part of the rotation. Kissayi being the team’s 5th defensive end only validates the overall depth at this position.
Looking beyond 2026, the most recent recruiting class was heavy on defensive linemen and a couple of these freshmen are highly ranked and potentially going to continue this being a dominant unit for the Gopher defense. Aaden Aytch, Anthony Charles and Josiah Anyansi are the incoming freshman who likely won’t see the field this year, but are names worth remembering.
Upgrade or Downgrade?
Frankly, I would have been ready to give this position a neutral grade. Yes, Menz, Howard and Kissayi are all primed to improve this year. And bringing back Smith is a huge win for the program. But I would anticipate that Smith is going to have a dominant season…with slightly reduced sack numbers. I would have anticipated essentially the same level of impact from this group.
But then we added Bush and there is no way that I cannot call this an upgrade. All four of the top names on this list would start for most of the rest of the Big Ten, and Kissayi would possibly start on some teams as well.
I’m tempering my expectations for Smith after he had an incredible junior season. Topping 12.5 sacks is going to be a tough task, but he will be knocking down Gopher records throughout the season and hopefully continues to improve his draft status. Watching him for another season is a gift and the rest of this group is going to have plenty of opportunities to make plays.
This group is going to be very good.