Gophers safety Kerry Brown returning for 2026 season
The Minnesota Golden Gophers continue to lock up key pieces of their roster for the 2026 season. Shortly after the announcements that starting left guard Greg Johnson and starting cornerback John Nestor were returning for the 2026 season, Dinkeytown Athletes announced that Gophers’ starting strong safety Kerry Brown will also be returning next season.
Brown is finishing up his redshirt sophomore season for the Gophers and has been a key part of the program’s secondary in each of the last two seasons.
Since the start of the 2024 season, Brown has played in 24 of 25 total games for the Gophers, totaling 118 tackles and seven tackles for loss as well as four sacks and eight pass deflections.
This fall, Brown recorded 55 tackles, four tackles for loss, and two interceptions with four pass deflections. According to Pro Football Focus, Brown allowed 27 receptions on 37 targets for 342 yards and two touchdowns this season.
The Naples, Florida native is especially strong downhill against the run, where he was one of the Gophers’ best run defenders in the 2025 season. He is a reliable tackler; Brown missed just eight tackles throughout the course of the season, including just two in the program’s final six regular-season games.
In 2026, Brown will be expected to once again be Minnesota’s starting strong safety, starting likely alongside free safety Koi Perich, although Perich has yet to announce his intentions to return for the 2026 season.
Brown was a three-star prospect as part of Minnesota’s 2023 recruiting class, ranked in the Rivals Industry Rankings as a borderline top-900 prospect, the No. 85 safety, and a top-130 player in the state of Florida. On3 ranked Brown in the cycle as the No. 77 safety in the country, the highest of the major recruiting services.
Brown committed to the Gophers at the time over offers from Duke, Louisville, NC State, Illinois, Maryland, West Virginia, Indiana, Boston College, Virginia, and Kansas, among others.
Kerry Brown provides stability to a shaky Minnesota secondary
It’s not a secret that Minnesota’s secondary during the 2025 season was shaky. While the Gophers had success at home, they struggled mightily on the road. That being said, Kerry Brown will help provide stability to the secondary for Minnesota.
The Florida native, over his two seasons starting, has proven to be a capable Big Ten safety who has tremendous upside. In 2025, he had times of struggle, as did everyone, but the Gophers’ starting strong safety still provided quality production both against the pass and against the run.
Brown will return in 2026 as one of the leaders of Minnesota’s defense while also providing stability. While a majority of his time will likely come at strong safety, Brown also can play the free safety role as well as dropping down into a nickelback role for the Gophers.
