Minnesota running back Darius Taylor ruled out for opener vs. UNC

The Minnesota Golden Gophers will be without one of their key offensive weapons on Thursday night against UNC. The team officially ruled that star running back Darius Taylor will be out for their season opener. The start of the game has been delayed to 9 PM EST due to lightning and thunderstorms in the Minneapolis area.

Minnesota star wide receiver Daniel Jackson will be a “full-go” for the season opener.

With Taylor out, that means Minnesota will have to rely upon either Jordan Nubin, Sieh Bangura, and Marcus Major to carry the load at running back. The good news for their rushing attack is they return plenty of offensive linemen from last year.

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Last season, the unit earned a Top 40 run blocking grade (68.0) from Pro Football Focus. The star of their offensive line is Aireontae Ersery, who’s expected to be one of the top offensive linemen selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. The 6-6, 330-pounder enters his third season as a starter at the tackle position and he earned second team All-Big Ten honors in 2023.

The Minnesota offensive line helped clear the way in the first half on Thursday night, allowing the Golden Gophers to punch in two rushing touchdowns. They were up 14-7 at the half, and a big part of the momentum swing was an interception by Golden Gophers corner Justin Walley. He picked off Max Johnson and returned it 70-yards all the way to the UNC six-yard line.

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Darius Taylor racked up over 800 all-purpose yards last season as a true freshman for Minnesota. Jordan Nubin had 559 rushing yards and three touchdowns for Minnesota in 2023. Sieh Bangura has been one of the best running backs in the Mid-American Conference the past two seasons for the Ohio Bobcats. In 2022, he racked up over 1,200 all-purpose yards and 15 touchdowns. In 2023, he had over 900 all-purpose yards and eight total touchdowns.

We’ll have to see how the 2024 college football season unfolds for both teams!