Building a Champion: Drake Lindsey on the Gophers' 2025 Mission

In this episode of Next Up with Adam Breneman, we sit down with Drake Lindsey, Minnesota’s starting quarterback for the 2025 season. Lindsey opens up about his journey from Fayetteville, Arkansas to Minneapolis, the moment he knew he was “a Gopher,” and what it’s really like playing for Coach P.J. Fleck. He breaks down his development behind Max Brosmer, the importance of NIL (and why it’s not his focus), how he’s building chemistry with star running back Darius Taylor, and what his “Why” is as he prepares to lead the Gophers into a new era. If you’re a Minnesota fan, college football junkie, or just love hearing from the next generation of leaders in the sport, this is an episode you won’t want to miss. PRIZEPICKS: Get a $50 bonus from PrizePicks with code "NEXTUP": https://prizepicks.onelink.me/ivHR/NextUp For sponsorships or business inquiries reach out to: [email protected] SUBSCRIBE HERE: https://www.youtube.com/@NextUpWithAdam?sub_confirmation=1 FOLLOW NEXT UP WITH ADAM: INSTAGRAM | https://shorturl.at/d9IdQ X | https://x.com/NextUpWithAdam TIKTOK | https://shorturl.at/qasuc SPOTIFY | https://shorturl.at/5ZdaK APPLE PODCASTS | https://shorturl.at/mW49D CHAPTERS: 0:00 - Intro :54 - Mindset going into 2025 1:23 - Growing as a QB 2:00 - Welcome to College Football moment 2:43 - Recruiting process 4:00 - Committing to Minnesota 4:38 - Being QB1 for P.J. Fleck 5:49 - Best P.J. Fleck story 6:53 - Biggest adjustment at Minnesota 7:48 - Tanner Morgan and Max Brosmer 9:26 - being ready for the spotlight 10:40 - Darius Taylor 11:10 - Check down vs. Big play mentality 12:13 - Offseason improvements 13:00 - What family means to Drake 14:15 - NIL at Minnesota 15:44 - Advice to younger Drake 16:20 - Expectations for 2025 17:11 - Drake’s why On Next Up, college football analyst Adam Breneman sits down with the most influential names in college sports and lets them tell their stories unfiltered, direct to the fans. Next Up is a Front Office Sports Network show featuring candid, open, and honest conversations with the most impactful figures in college sports including head coaches, athletes, athletic directors, commissioners, entrepreneurs, media personalities, agents, and executives shaping the business of college sports. Adam is a former All-American, Penn State alum and media personality. Front Office Sports is the leading multi-platform media and news organization covering the intersection of sports, business and culture.