Jack Negen has had his fill of Emmanuel Karmo, and that’s a compliment. Negen, the Armstrong High School football coach, has had to scheme against Karmo, the standout Cooper linebacker, six times over the past three seasons.

The Gophers nearly had the top-rated in-state recruit sign with the U in three straight classes, but Cooper defensive lineman Jaxon Howard went to Louisiana State for a year before transferring back to Minnesota. He played 118 snaps for the Gophers as a redshirt freshman this fall. .

But given how multiple schools like to be in their defenses, Karmo projects as a chess piece that can find a role in at any school and be an impact defender.

The Gophers football program kept a majority of the top in-state talent home in its 2025 recruiting class, while sprinkling in other prospects from coast to coast. But it’s been hard for Minnesota to crack the top 25 in the nation, or the top half of the Big Ten. The U currently sits at 43th in the country and 13th in the 18-team mega conference.