The Minnesota Golden Gophers have hung around the top of the Big Ten West division for quite some years now, but have never been able to get over that hump and get to a Big Ten Championship. Facing a longstanding losing streak to the Wisconsin Badgers and a tough division with solid programs in Iowa and Nebraska, the Gophers are needing that extra push to take it up a notch.

Fortunately for the Minnesota program, the team landed newly acquired head coach P.J. Fleck following the 2016 season. Fleck, formerly the head man at Western Michigan, led the Broncos to an undefeated regular season last year before falling to the Badgers in the Cotton Bowl by one possession.

Fleck has already made a name for himself in the Twin Cities and is making an impression off the field with his recruiting abilities. A personable guy and smart coach, Fleck gets a lot of credit for the Gophers’ huge 2018 class, but so does the up-and-coming spirit surrounding the Minnesota program.

One of the many recruits entering in 2018 is three-star linebacker Braelen Oliver out of Douglas County High School in Douglasville, Georgia. The 6-foot-2 outside linebacker from Atlanta is ranked 53 at his position nationally and has a wide list of offers from various schools, including Colorado, NC State, Purdue, West Virginia and Indiana to name a few.

Still, Oliver found he had some sort of connection to the Gophers program and committed to Fleck back in July, via his Twitter account.

“The relationship I built with the coaching staff and I see the change that’s about to happen,” Oliver told Armchair regarding why he chose Minnesota. “I wanted to be around for that change.”

Oliver’s senior season with Douglas County High just got underway a few weeks ago and for him, he’s got a lot of football back home to focus on before hitting the road for the Twin Cities. An under-the-rated talent beginning his high school career, Oliver really took off his junior year, posting 73 total tackles on the season.

“My best [high school] accomplishment was going from zero offers to 25 in matter of a year and being nominated for pre-season all-state linebacker,” Oliver said.

While the season is his number one priority at the moment and the thoughts of a state championship are always looming, Oliver hopes to translate his high school success to the college level up in Minneapolis.

“I am looking forward to playing with the best in the Big Ten Conference and just bringing something to the Twin Cities that hasn’t been seen in a while.”

The Gophers have enjoyed winning seasons in three out of the last four years after finishing under .500 four years in a row. They have also won their last two bowl games following a seven-game postseason losing streak. By all indications, the Minnesota program is getting stronger and stronger every year. Oliver sees that and wants fans to know the best is yet to come.

“I want [Gophers fans] to know about my speed and aggression and that I want to come in and as a team change the way people look at Minnesota football.”

As someone who was overlooked for quite some time and experienced a spike in interest after years of hard work, Oliver knows how important it is to stay humble and not let the spotlight get to him.

“Continue to work hard and most of all stay humble and don’t let what others say throw you off, because once you get a glimpse of success there are [people] that will try and bring you back to their level,” Oliver said on his keys to success.

Oliver lists his parents as his main motivation in life and credits them for his accomplishments thus far. Going to Minnesota may cause some drama in the family, however, as Oliver’s mother attended Ohio State back in her college days. Because of this, it’s a no-brainer on who Oliver is looking forward to playing most in college.

“Ohio State because they actually were my favorite team growing up,” Oliver laughed.

The Gophers will set the tone for the upcoming years in 2017, the first season under Coach Fleck. Minnesota currently has 23 commits for the 2018 season, the most in the Big Ten, and Oliver will join a very talented incoming linebacker group.

“When I leave [Minnesota], I want fans to remember me as one of the best linebackers, not only for Minnesota, but for the whole Big Ten and for them to see me as one of the people that help change the culture of the program.”

Check out Braelen Oliver’s highlights here.

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