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University of Minnesota Athletics
Player Profile: Brandon Lingen
8/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Brandon Lingen is the type of player every coach dreams of having on their team.
He is willing to do whatever is asked of him. Whether that be blocking as hard as he can on running plays or getting open downfield, Lingen is just happy to be on the field. (WCCO)
The Gophers are equally happy to have Lingen on the field. The junior from Wayzata, Minn., is on the John Mackey Award Preseason Watch List after a breakout sophomore season.
Lingen played in 12 games and started 10 catching 33 passes for 428 yards and three touchdowns. He was named Minnesota's Tight End of the Year and earned All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors.
After a slow start to the year in nonconference play, Lingen broke onto the scene against Big Ten opponents. He caught his first and second career touchdowns against Purdue. Just weeks later he caught five passes for 111 yards against Michigan, the most by a tight end since Ben Utecht had 104 against Wisconsin in 2001.
He was not done putting his name in the Maroon and Gold history books. He put up 105 yards against Iowa making him the first Gopher tight end to have two 100-yard games in the same season since at least 1950.
In the classroom, Lingen is equally as special. He was named a CoSIDA Academic All-American last season posting a 3.85 GPA in the first semester. He plans to major in engineering.
