Robbinsdale Cooper alum Jaxon Howard transferring to Gophers

The top-rated football recruit in Minnesota in the Class of 2023 is coming home to play for the Gophers.

A source confirmed to KSTP Sports’ Darren “Doogie” Wolfson on Friday that pass rusher Jaxon Howard is committing to the Maroon and Gold. As Doogie reported Thursday on “The Scoop,” the Gophers have been pushing hard to bring Howard home since he entered the transfer portal earlier in the month.

The Robbinsdale Cooper grad spent last season redshirting at LSU, although he appeared in five games.

After tallying over 100 tackles as a senior and also playing tight end, Howard was ranked by recruiting sites as the top recruit in the state and as high as a top-10 national prospect by some sites.

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Howard’s father, Willie, who was a 2001 draft pick of the Minnesota Vikings, coached him in high school.

The Gophers also signed the top-rated player in the state in this year’s class, Koi Perich, and recently received a pledge from the top-rated recruit in Minnesota for the 2025 class, Robbinsdale Cooper’s Emmanuel Karmo.