The Gophers on Saturday night added depth to their offensive line when former Purdue lineman Jaden Ball announced on the X platform that he is transferring to Minnesota.

Ball, 6-5 and 300 pounds, spent the 2024 season as a redshirt with the Boilermakers and did not play. He will have four years of eligibility remaining with the Gophers. Ball entered the transfer portal on Monday and received scholarship offers from Ohio State and Syracuse.

Ball was a three-star recruit in the 2024 class coming out of Bloom-Carroll High School in Carroll, Ohio. He was the 50th-ranked recruit in Ohio and the 117th-ranked interior offensive lineman by 247Sports.com in his class. A two-time first-team All-Ohio honoree, Ball was credited with 325 pancake blocks in his prep career.

Ball is the sixth player to join the Gophers during the spring transfer portal window, which closed Friday. His addition should help an offensive line group that must replace full-season starters in Aireontae Ersery, Quinn Carroll and Tyler Cooper, plus transfers Phillip Daniels and Martes Lewis.

WR Williams enters portal

Tyler Williams, the former four-star wide receiver to transferred to Minnesota from Georgia last June, has entered the transfer portal. Williams caught one pass in his Gophers career, an 8-yard touchdown grab against Rhode Island last year. The 6-3, 210-pound Waverly, Fla., native was a top-100 prospect nationally but didn't secure extended playing time at either Georgia or Minnesota.