Is Mekhai Smith starting?
Mekhai Smith is the projected starter at FS for Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Mekhai Smith is the projected starting FS on a Solid Minnesota — 81 OVR.
See full Minnesota Golden Gophers depth chart ›Depth at FS · Minnesota Golden Gophers
- 12281Mekhai SmithStarter
- 2465Zack Harden
What's Next
The Story
Making His Case
This season: 0 tackles, 4 INT, 0 PBU. That's 0% of the team's production at his spot — good for a 81 overall (Good tier).
- Jersey
- #22
- Class
- JR/TR
- Height
- 6'2"
- Weight
- 215 lbs
- Transfer
- Lehigh
Stats
| Season | Tkl | INT | PD |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Regular-season totals from public sources. Derived splits (completion %, yards per carry, catch rate) aren't available in our current dataset.
Recruiting Profile
- High School
- Lower Merion
- Hometown
- Ardmore, PA
Why this rating?
On a 84-rated defense; 63th-percentile production at transfer origin (×0.60 for competition level) put them -3 vs unit starters → 81.
2026 projection — based on SP+ (a respected team-efficiency metric; 2026 not published yet, using 2025), 2025 production, recruiting, and the 2026 transfer portal; capped to depth-chart order.
2026 Game Log
Sep 12LMSSTTKL 7
- TKL
- 7
- SOLO
- 4
- SACK
- 0
- INT
- 0
- PD
- 0
Final L 38-13
Sep 4WEIUTKL 3
- TKL
- 3
- SOLO
- 2
- SACK
- 0
- INT
- 0
- PD
- 0
Final W 59-7
| OPP | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 12 | LMSST | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sep 4 | WEIU | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mekhai Smith's 2026 game-by-game stat log.
The People's Ratings
Team Role
Overall ratings blend team strength (SP+), on-field production, and recruiting. Higher = more impactful.